Chapter 47: Play a Game With Me (1)
The office soon descended into silence... not. Luellen had to handle both Shirley’s and Gala’s jobs after Leander fired them. Even if she had an inkling of what Gala’s job entailed, she still had to juggle speaking with clients and collating reports. The phone next to her never stopped ringing.
No wonder Gala’s desk had glass compartments. It was to keep her voice from resounding all over the office. Since she dealt with lots of other secretaries, Luellen had to keep repeating a fact. Galaxy Halloway was no longer affiliated with Wentworth Industries. Everything associated with her in these conversations and deals would have to go through Luellen again.
Click!
Luellen set the transceiver down and sighed. She massaged her face from all the smiling she had to do. Even if she spoke to people over the phone, she had to smile to sound like she was smiling. It even sounded like Gala gossiped heavily with other secretaries. The other women asked her a lot of things that shouldn’t have been discussed.
"You’re doing a fantastic job, Luellen." Madam Henny chuckled. She brought a bottle of water to the exhausted maiden. "You might need to find someone else to cover the reports for you."
"I’m okay. I’ll manage for now." Luellen glanced at the empty desk beside her. Maybe she could use that desk to hold more files, so she could still breathe in her space.
Luellen looked up at Madam Henny again. She asked, "Does this mean Leander’s files will pile up again?"
Madam Henny turned to the empty desk and then to the inner office door. She smiled back. "Maybe... would you like me to divert the files to you first? Like always?"
Luellen nodded. Those two were fired because of her, if not for her. Luellen had to make sure their office wouldn’t suffer after losing two people. Even if it meant her table would be cluttered, Luellen would juggle the workload of one regular and two interns.
The glass doors opened again, but Luellen was busy typing on her laptop. She still took the one Leander bought for her, leaving Gala’s office laptop stored in the cabi behind her.
As expected, Luellen locked in on her work. She breezed through the reports while responding to her emails. When Madam Henny placed a pile of folders on the vacant desk, Luellen reached out to go through them. Marking them with sticky notes should be fine for now.
"Oh, hi. Did your department send you to fetch a file from us?" Madam Henny’s voice was so soft in Luellen’s ears.
"Not really. I was called here for an interview."
Luellen paused, her hands light on her keyboard. She looked up and found Summer sitting on the waiting couch. Her best friend met her gaze and waved at her with a smile.
As usual, the bestie was in a stylish office attire. Her yellow blouse emphasized her full bosom, but the fabric didn’t hug the shape too much. Her dark skirt showed off her shapely legs, completing the office lady look. Moreover, she held a folder as if bringing a portfolio... or a recommendation letter.
The inner office door opened, and Houston walked out. He cleared his throat. "Miss Bloomfield, he will speak to you now. Please turn off your phone before coming inside."
Summer nodded and smiled at Luellen again. She turned off her phone and walked into the inner office.
Luellen felt like her mind swirled at the sight of Summer in their office. She was even there for an interview conducted by Leander himself.
Before she could ask the madam, the phone beside her rang. A familiar number registered, and Luellen cleared her throat. She picked it up and spoke to another company’s secretary. The conglomerate was so big that Luellen must have spoken to around fifteen of them on her first day.
...
Pain. Luellen felt like her fingers were sore. It was only lunch, yet her hands were halfway through their deaths. Instead of getting up to eat, she scooted to the empty desk and skimmed the documents piling up beside her.
The inner office door opened yet again. When Luellen looked up, Summer slowly emerged from the doorway. She had a paper in her hand, and her mouth moved as if rehearsing what was written on it. She glanced at Luellen’s direction, smiled widely, and went to borrow Houston’s desk phone.
She stood there in a stance, phone clipped between her head and shoulders. In her hands were the paper and her phone. Her thumb moved fast as if browsing for something while waiting for the other end to pick up.
"Hi! This is..." Summer wore her practiced Sales smile and voice. She flawlessly ordered food over the phone. Even Houston stopped working just to watch her.
"Thank you!" The former Sales agent ended the call and returned the phone. "Thanks for letting me use it. Uhm, sorry, Mr Leander ordered for everyone. I hope you don’t mind. I can still call again to append more orders. Do you want something in particular?"
Houston stared at her, only to frown at her. "No, nothing. I’m sure the pasta is for me. Is this for real, or are you playing a game with Leander?"
Summer didn’t even freeze. She just waved her hands innocently. "The latter, but I won. I’m sorry he dragged you into it. Do you want to share my spoils of war?"
"...no."
"Okay!" Summer chuckled and waved again before heading back inside the inner office door. Her gait was more controlled and less sultry than Gala’s, but everyone still watched her until she disappeared.
Even after the door clicked, no one else made a sound.
Luellen slowly leaned down and sighed deeply in her heart. Her best friend was simply the most alluring. Even the man who married his work would look at her from behind. Her fingers fiddled under the table.
’When will I be so confident? I’m shrinking...’
"Ms Piper, who was that?" Houston got up and walked toward Luellen. He placed a few folders in her pile. "She keeps smiling at you. Do you know her?"
The maiden straightened her back and chuckled. "Yeah, she’s my best friend. We’ve known each other since primary school. Uhm, does she bother you? I’m really sorry. Wait, did Leander tell you which position he’s interviewing her for? Did he interview Shirley like this, too?"
Houston snorted, but he was facing the inner office door. He then glanced at Luellen. "No. This is the first. Then again, it’s better to have a recorded interview."
Luellen twisted her lips in a pout. Yes, her ’interview’ happened in the garden. Leander didn’t even make it clear that he wanted her to work in his office instead. Moreover, Summer had been working in the conglomerate for years. She was more qualified than Luellen in any other way.
Her realization made her sigh. Luellen perched her face on her open palms. "Could she be interviewing for my position? She could handle Gala’s job way better."
’Even if Leander had to come to lunches and dinners with her all the time...’
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