I wish I could say I got a good night's sleep and woke up puking sunshine and rainbows, but I can't. I didn't even get a wink of sleep last night. By the time I got home and took a shower, it was straight to working on the campaign Damien had passionately rejected with no explanations. I was glued to my computer screen until the sun rose and my alarm went off.
"Rough night?" Amy, my co-worker, asked on our ride to the marketing floor.
"You could say so." I did my best to cover up my eye bags with makeup, but it clearly wasn't enough. "Hey, Amy?"
"Yeah,"
"Do you think you could do the report this morning? I have some deadlines to catch up on, so I won't be able to make it."
"Of course!" Her eyes immediately lit up, and a bright smile spread across her face. "Anything to help, Isla!"
Amy had had the biggest crush on Damien since her first day here, and she'd take any opportunity to see his face. Not that I blamed her. It was sort of a rite of passage here at Frost corporations, where every new employee had a small crush on the CEO, myself included. But it fizzled out the moment I realized what a devil spawn he was. Three more weeks there, and she would too.
Sure, he had the looks, the brains, and money, which can't be said for most guys who are almost always lacking in one department or the other. The one place he fell short was his personality, which, unfortunately, overpowered whatever outward charms he possessed.
The day seemed to drag on forever. By the time it was lunch break, I felt like ten hours had already passed since I sat in that chair. "Someone buy me a casket. I'll need it in the next hour." I groaned, dragging myself out of my seat.
"Make that two." Lucas came behind me, throwing himself on my back like a sack of potatoes.
"Three." Kate chimed in, jumping into the group hug I didn't recall asking for.
"Can you two freeloaders get off me. The emotional weight on my shoulders is more than enough to carry." I shrugged them off me, Lucas especially since he refused to budge.
He groaned. "Someone sounds grumpy. You might need a drink."
"Or sex," Kate added.
"Drinks and sex!" They both squealed as if we weren't in the middle of a corporate office.
"I need sleep," I whined. "I'm running on empty here."
"Which reminds me, were you able to finish the work last night?" Kate asked.
I pointed at the bags under my eyes and the five empty cups of coffee in my bin. "As you can see."
"No wonder you're drained." Lucas rubbed my shoulders, giving me a much-needed massage. "The ice queen strikes again. I swear it's like the guy has a vendetta against you or something."
"If he didn't before, he will now." I sighed.
"What'd you say?"
"Nothing. Just keep doing what you're doing with your hands."
"Easy there, tiger, we're at work, leave the bedroom talk for later."
"Oh, shut up, Lucas, not everything is sexy talk." Kate gave him a hard punch on his arms, swatting them away from my shoulders.
"You two are kids." I smiled, laughing at their banter until I noticed they went silent all of a sudden. "Why aren't you guys-" Lucas tapped me frantically, but I didn't catch his signal until it was too late.
"Miss Kim."
I froze. Not again! I did a slow turn and felt my heart drop to my stomach when I saw Damien standing in front of me, an unreadable expression on his face. Why do I have to run into him at the worst possible moments? Kate and Lucas were quick to leave my side, parting like the Red Sea when it saw Moses's staff. Some friends they are.
I plastered a professional smile on my face and cleared my throat. "Do you... need me, sir?"
"As a matter of fact, I do. Meet me in my office."
"Uh oh." An awkward cough could be heard from one of the cubicles when he said those words. I wouldn't blame them. The last time he was on this floor was to fire someone- the person I replaced, by the way- and now there he was summoning me to his office.
I'm fucked.
Lucas and Kate gave me prayer signs, everyone else was too afraid to raise their heads and make eye contact, while Amy... she looked pissed! At me! I'm about to get fired, and the bubbly intern there is pissed at the fact that her devil of a crush wasn't here for her. Unbelievable. Though I'd be glad to trade places with her- anyone, for that matter.
As we walked to his office, my heart couldn't stop pounding. I hadn't been that nervous since I got called to the principal's office in third grade for beating up one of my classmates. The elevator ride to his office felt like hell. It barely lasted a minute, but it was the worst few seconds of my life. We rode in silence, and all I could do was pray as I stared at him clenching and unclenching his jaw.
He was pissed, and I just hoped it wasn't because he found out it was me last night.
We reached the top floor and passed by his assistant's desk. She gave us a confused look, so I guessed he hadn't informed her of my impending firing. Doesn't that make this special? I joked inwardly, trying to calm the storm brewing inside me.
His office felt more intimidating than it had in the last five years that I worked there. And me reminiscing about the fact truly made it feel like I was about to get fired.
Fuck, I knew I should have taken that offer from Dumont while I still had the chance. I wouldn't be jobless now, had I done that. So much for me staying loyal to this fuckass company.
I stood by the door while he got comfortable in his seat, adjusting the documents on his desk. "Take a seat, Miss Kim."
I bit my lower lip and sucked in a deep breath, slowly walking to the chair where I would soon get fired in. Here goes nothing.