"Damn! I'm late for work!"
Kassandra shot upright in bed and grabbed her phone from the nightstand.
9:17 a.m.
Her eyes widened in shock.
"How did I sleep for so long?" she groaned. Then she turned toward the other side of the bed. "This is all your fault, Larissa!"
"Hmm?" Larissa mumbled sleepily. "What's wrong? I heard my name."
"If you hadn't forced me to watch movies with you last night, none of this would have happened."
Larissa rolled over and yawned.
"Don't blame me, baby. You had every chance to say no when I invited you."
Kassandra quickly got out of bed and rushed to get dressed.
Larissa glanced at her outfit and frowned.
"Don't tell me you're going to work dressed like that."
Kassandra looked down at her clothes.
"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" she asked in an annoyed tone.
"Baby, if you keep dressing like that, I bet you'll remain single for the rest of your life."
Kassandra snorted.
"I don't plan on getting married anyway."
"Don't say that. You have to get married someday so I can be your bridesmaid."
Kassandra laughed.
"You're single too, aren't you?"
Larissa opened her mouth, then immediately closed it.
"That's not the point."
"I'm off to work," Kassandra said as she grabbed her bag.
"Bye, my dear best friend."
The door closed behind her.
Larissa stared at it and shook her head.
"God, when will my best friend stop dressing like a woman in her forties?"
Downstairs, Kassandra rushed toward her car.
"This is the first time in three years that I've been late to work," she muttered.
"Good morning, Miss Kassandra," the employees greeted as she entered the company.
"Good morning, everyone," Kassandra replied with a smile as she walked toward the elevator.
The moment she left, whispers spread through the office.
"Wow! Did the sun rise from the west today?"
"What do you mean?"
"The ugly assistant came to work late."
"What?"
"For the first time in three years."
The employees exchanged shocked looks.
"Honestly, I still don't understand why our handsome CEO keeps her around."
"Maybe she's really good at her job."
"Or maybe our boss has strange tastes."
Before the gossip could continue, a stern voice interrupted them.
"Are you here to work or gossip?"
The manager walked over with a frown.
Everyone immediately lowered their heads.
"Get back to work."
"Yes, Manager."
CEO's Office
Kassandra knocked before entering.
"Good morning, sir."
Ryan looked up from the documents on his desk.
"You're late."
His voice was calm, neither warm nor cold.
"I'm sorry, sir. Something came up."
There was no way she was going to tell him that she had stayed up all night watching movies and overslept.
Ryan closed the file in front of him.
"I hope whatever it was has been settled. I don't want any distractions during working hours."
"Yes, Boss."
As she spoke, she adjusted the large sunglasses on her face.
"Get me a coffee."
"Yes, Boss."
Kassandra immediately left the office.
Ryan watched the closed door for a moment before returning his attention to the documents on his desk.
At least she had the decency to apologize.
A few minutes later, Kassandra returned with a cup of coffee.
"Here's your coffee, Boss."
"Put it on the table."
"Yes, Boss."
"And read today's schedule."
Kassandra opened her tablet.
"You have a shareholders' meeting at nine o'clock."
Ryan nodded.
"After that, you have a business dinner with the CEO of XZ Group."
"Continue."
"Lastly, your flight to the United States is scheduled for this evening."
Ryan leaned back in his chair.
"Good."
"That will be all for today."
After leaving Ryan's office, Kassandra returned to her own desk.
She had barely sat down when a female employee approached with a stack of files in her arms.
"Kass, can you please help me with these files?" the woman asked. "I need to submit them to the boss soon, but I'm still working on my project."
Kassandra looked up.
"First of all, stop calling me Kass. It sounds disgusting coming from you."
The woman's smile stiffened.
"Fine. Miss Kassandra, then."
"And secondly, why should I help you?" Kassandra continued. "I'm the CEO's assistant, not everyone's assistant."
The woman forced a laugh.
"Come on. I'll owe you one."
Kassandra raised an eyebrow.
"Owe me one?"
"Yes. Whatever you need in the future, I'll help."
Kassandra nodded thoughtfully.
"Then thank you in advance. I might need your help someday."
The woman blinked.
"Is that a yes?"
"Yeah."
Relief immediately appeared on the woman's face.
"Thank you!"
As she walked away, her smile disappeared.
"Ugly thing," she muttered under her breath. "As if she'll ever need my help."
Back at her desk, Kassandra opened the files.
"What can I say?" she murmured. "Humans are surprisingly lazy."
She lowered her head and began reviewing the documents.
A shadow suddenly fell across her desk.
"What are you doing?"
Kassandra jumped and immediately stood up.
"Boss!"
Ryan frowned.
He had called her name several times while walking over, but she had been too focused on the documents to hear him.
His gaze landed on the stack of files.
"What are those?"
"Nothing much, sir. I was just helping the Production Department."
Ryan's expression darkened.
"Since when did that become your responsibility?"
Kassandra remained silent.
Ryan picked up one of the files and flipped through it.
"Are you part of the Production Department?"
"No, sir."
"Then why are you doing their work?"
Kassandra opened her mouth but couldn't think of an answer.
Ryan placed the file back on the desk.
"I want the department manager in my office. Right now."
"Yes, Boss."
For some reason, Kassandra almost felt sorry for the manager.
"B-Boss…" Richard called in fear.
Being summoned by the devil almost felt better than standing in front of his CEO.
Ryan didn't look up from his documents.
"Tell me… what am I paying you for?"
Richard stiffened.
"You're not only neglecting your work, but your subordinates are also dumping their tasks on my assistant."
"What?" Richard's eyes widened in shock.
Ryan finally looked at him, expression cold.
"Stop looking so shocked… unless you want to lose those eyes."
A heavy silence filled the room.
"You know what to do," Ryan said firmly. "Don't make me say it out loud."
"I understand, Boss," Richard quickly replied.
He bowed slightly and rushed out of the office.
The moment the door closed—
"Kassandra."
"Yes, Boss," she answered immediately.
Ryan leaned back in his chair, studying her.
"Do you know your mistake?"
"Yes, Boss."
"I will deduct your salary this month."
Kassandra paused for a brief second.
"…Yes, Boss," she replied softly, lowering her head.
Kassandra stepped into the restroom, visibly annoyed.
"That heartless jerk… why did he have to deduct my salary? I didn't do anything wrong."
She paused.
"…Or did I?"
She stared at her reflection in the mirror, trying to convince herself.
Outside the restroom, voices passed by.
"Have you heard? Sarah was fired."
Kassandra quickly stepped into a stall when she recognized the voices of two female employees entering the restroom.
"Are you serious? What happened?" the other asked.
"What else? The boss fired her because she asked Kassandra to do her work."
Silence followed for a moment.
Kassandra froze.
So someone got fired… because of her?
She slowly exhaled.
"So my punishment wasn't that bad after all," she murmured. "I guess…"
At lunchtime, Kassandra walked through the cafeteria, ignoring the stares and whispers around her.
As she reached for her food tray, someone deliberately bumped into her.
The tray slipped from her hands.
Food spilled all over her clothes as she fell to the floor.
"Oh my goodness—my bad, it was a mistake," the girl said, not sounding sorry at all.
"Why bother apologizing?" another voice laughed. "That's where she belongs."
Laughter erupted around her.
"That's what she gets."
"An ugly thing like her doesn't deserve to work among beauties like us."
"Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror?"
"Where did she even come from?"
Kassandra stayed on the floor, silent.
Then a cold voice cut through the noise.
"What is going on here?"
Ryan walked toward them.
He had been on his way to lunch when he heard the commotion and decided to check.
His gaze dropped to Kassandra on the floor.
"What are you doing looking like this?" he asked sharply.
"It's nothing, Boss. I just fell," Kassandra replied quickly.
"Yes, Boss," one of the employees added. "Miss Kassandra wasn't watching where she was going. She fell on her own."
Ryan's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Then why are you still sitting on the floor?"
A pause.
"Do you want me to help you up?"
Kassandra immediately stood.
"No, Boss."
"Follow me," Ryan ordered.
The employees quickly returned to their seats, whispering as they left.
"Lucky that ugly thing didn't complain…"
Ryan ignored them completely.
In his office, he handed Kassandra a bag.
"Change into this."
Before she could respond, he called out—
"Sky."
A guard stepped forward immediately.
"Yes, Boss."
"Find out exactly what happened in the cafeteria. Report back to me in ten minutes."
"Yes, Boss."
He left.
Silence settled in the room.