RHEA POV
Oh good Lord.
Help me survive this.
Help me survive this.
That was my prayer on repeat, looping in my head like a broken hymn, from the moment I stepped into the meeting hall that afternoon.My lips didn't move, but inside, I was practically chanting. Survival mode had been activated. I wasn't asking for miracles. I wasn't asking for wealth or love or enlightenment. Just survival. Plain, simple survival.
At first, the universe had appeared to be on my side.
Mr. Cortez had an important meeting.
Important meetings meant silence. Important meetings meant stress. Important meetings meant he would be too busy terrorizing powerful people in expensive suits to terrorize me. And more importantly—when the boss was out of the office, people tended to leave early. That had been the unspoken rule here. A silent blessing passed from employee to employee. No Cortez, no overtime misery.
So yes, I was happy.
