[Pri Group]
"I thought you liked her."
Yugi’s voice broke the silence in the CEO’s office, catching Penny standing by the window, looking out.
"She left."
"Mhm." Penny had her arms crossed, her eyes down where she could glimpse the building’s entrance. "I know."
She had been watching, after all.
Yugi shrugged slightly, leaning against the desk. "Aren’t you being a bit harsh on her?"
"Harsh?" She slowly peeled her gaze away from him. "I need to be harsh if I want her to stop harassing ."
"Harass? Well, if you say so," he humd, watching Penny unfold her arms and move behind the desk. "Penny, I think you should give her a chance."
"Yugi, I can’t believe you’re saying that. On top of having no qualifications for such an important role, she bullied Nina for years." Penny snapped her gaze at him as she slowly sat down. "She might try to change her ways, but she’d better do it without in the picture."
Yugi rocked his head slightly, studying Penny as she started working. "I know she bullied Nina, and like you said, she’d be better off without you. But do you think Nina would’ve let her be all these years just because? Nina understands just how deep a stab she dealt that woman when they were children. I’m not saying that’s a license for Miss Miller to bully my sister, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned from you, it’s that... everybody deserves a second chance."
"And her second chance is not welco in my life," Penny replied without hesitation. "Yugi, I know you kind of feel sorry for her. But even if, let’s say, she’s trying her best to change and is no longer the Patricia Miller I knew, the job she wants is too great for her to grasp, let alone embrace."
She shook her head, eyes on Yugi. "One slip-up, and she’ll be the worst mistake I ever make."
This ti, Yugi couldn’t argue. After all, being Penny’s assistant wasn’t as easy as it sounded. The Pri Group worked with many influential people, so of whom openly disliked each other. It was a delicate situation, and Penny was the only one keeping certain clients at peace as per their contracts.
That was why, until now, Penny had never had a personal assistant. The role was too complex. Besides, being her assistant also ant handling highly critical information. If Penny allowed soone weak like Patricia to take the position, those who disliked Penny and had been watching her every step—waiting for her to make a mistake—would see her weakest link.
Patricia didn’t understand the gravity of what she was asking for.
"If that’s what you think, then—" Yugi pushed himself away from the desk, shrugging. "You’re the boss. It’s your call. Just saying."
With that, he turned on his heel and walked away, waving without looking back. "Just ca to check on you when I heard you were banning soone from this lax place."
When Yugi closed the door behind him, Penny leaned back with a sigh. She clicked her tongue and glanced at the window.
"She’ll be fine," she whispered. "Knowing her, she’ll find another place and another person to annoy."
Shaking her head, Penny pushed thoughts of Patricia away. The company was already hiring qualified candidates for the role, and she was certain they’d find the perfect person soon.
---
anwhile...
Sniffles and hiccups echoed in the car as Patricia muffled her cries, wiping her eyes repeatedly and ruining her makeup.
"That an girl..." she hiccuped. "She didn’t have to get dragged out like that and humiliate ."
When she glanced at the mirror and saw mascara sared under her eyes, fresh tears welled up again. As they stread down her face, her shoulders trembled.
"It’s fine, it’s fine," she told herself repeatedly, forcing herself to look at the rearview mirror again. She forced a smile, though her eyes and face were swollen. "It’s okay! Fine! She’s going to fire —so what? It’s not my loss."
Her breath ca in short bursts as she stared at her reflection with a determined nod. "It’s not my loss. She’ll regret this. Does she think she’ll find an assistant as pretty and as smart— I an, as determined as I am? Damn it. She’s so cruel. Why be nice to and save if she doesn’t want to be friends?! Gosh! She’s so annoying!"
Her tears turned to denial, then to rage. But in the end, Patricia sat in silence, her heart heavy.
"Whatever," she whispered. "It’s not like she’s the only person who dislikes . I don’t even like her, so... it’s fine."
Again, Patricia lifted her gaze to the rearview mirror and frowned. "This mascara is a scam. They said it’s waterproof. I even bought it just in case Penny made cry while on the job, but turns out it’s a scam! I swear I’m never buying from that brand again!"
It took Patricia a while to calm down after blaming everything in sight. But once her anger had burned out, she had no choice but to drive ho. What else was there to do? Cry in her car all day when she could just do it in her bedroom? She had no friends to call and vent to, and telling her parents wouldn’t be a good idea either.
So, she sat there idling in her car until she was sure her eyes weren’t too swollen.
When she reached ho, a maid greeted her.
"Where’s Mom?" Patricia asked, masking everything with a smile. "Is she in the kitchen?"
"The Madam left this morning, Young Miss."
"Oh." Patricia nodded absently. "I see. Okay."
She was about to walk away when the maid called out.
"Young Miss," the maid hurried over, handing Patricia an envelope. "This arrived this morning. Your na is on the back."
"Huh?" Patricia furrowed her brows, taking the envelope suspiciously. Had it been a different kind—smaller—she would have imdiately assud it was another invitation from the person who had nearly gotten her killed. But this looked like a billing statent.
However, when she checked inside, her expression froze.
"Ahem!" Patricia cleared her throat, snapping her gaze to the maid. "If that’s all, don’t bother ."
"Yes, Young Miss."
With that, Patricia jogged up the stairs and locked herself in her room. The second the door clicked shut, she ripped open the envelope and unfolded the letter.
Her hands clenched around the paper.
"A demand letter?" she muttered, scanning the notice informing her she was being sued.
Her face darkened.
"That bitch..." she hissed, crumpling the letter as Cassandra’s two-faced smile flashed in her mind. "Just when I thought my day couldn’t get worse—damn it!"
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