Chapter Fifty-Three

"Oh my. She's out like a light. What should we tell her in the morning?"

Janice asked, smiling ear-to-ear. 

Looking down at her, Sharlene tried hard not to laugh. 

"She was so confident she'd win."

Mumbling in her sleep, Rita changed her position and faced the wall.

"That's Riri for you. Always confident when making a bet. Too bad she lost this time."

Sharlene gloated.

"Did she always win against you?"

Janice asked, genuinely curious.

"All the time. But this time, I'll sing my praises first thing tomorrow morning."

Giggling, Sharlene fixed the crumbled cover above Rita's twitching person.

Janice shook her head before averting her eyes back onto sleeping Rita.

"Are you going to tell Mr. Thomas off yourself?" 

She courteously asked. 

A little moment after Rita fell asleep, Sharlene told her in striking detail the plan she'd execute at work on Monday. 

Janice was a little apprehensive because her job and work life, were on the line.

"What if you get fired as well?" 

Humming as she contemplated the idea, Sharlene frowned.

"I did not think that far ahead, but if we let Mr. Thomas' attitude continue, potential people will get fired or even start hating Nick."

With a determined glint in her eye, Sharlene's goal was unchanging.

"Sometimes the unaffected people need to speak up on behalf of the affected."

"Just be mindful of what you say," Janice cautioned. Sharlene reassured. "Don't worry, Jan, everything will work out."

With an understandable nod, Janice held her hands in hers. 

"Then please be careful."

Smiling, Sharlene gently let go of Jan's hand. 

"You are making it sound like I am going onto a battlefield with a fork and spoon as my only weapon."

Returning her smile, Jan raised an eyebrow. 

"Isn't it?" 

Laughing, Sharlene shook her head before suddenly becoming serious, but her eyes were dancing with merriment.

"Then pray that my body will come back safely."

Janice laughed out loud before blocking her mouth when she remembered the sleeping human twisting and turning on the bed.

Soon, Rita, whose voice sounded groggy, muttered. 

"You're too loud. Get out."

Half opening her eyes, she added. "Can't have my beauty sleep when there is too much noise in the area."

Placing a finger on her lips, Sharlene watched as Rita muttered a few incoherent words before falling back to sleep.

With quiet laughter, Jan's and Sharlene's eyes twinkled.

 #

"Wait! You cannot go any further!"

An unfamiliar woman shouted, her eyes widening as saucers, as she hastily ran more like stumbled behind a stomping Sharlene, since the killer heels she wore were made for show and not exercise. 

Every eye looked in their direction, but Sharlene ignored them. Her mission—to meet Mr. Thomas, give him a piece of her mind, and hightail out of the area—disrupting all other mindless thinking. 

She had everything planned, her main reason for arriving early.

 *~*

Earlier, after she had dropped everything in her office, she had matched towards the conference room, where Mr. Thomas would spend most of his time drafting, re-drafting, sorting, and re-sorting the ideas about the event. 

She had discovered that information when she had gotten numerous messages from a private group chat titled 'Ice Cold King' that she got invited to last week. The theme of the group chat? They animatedly described Mr. Thomas's heavenly beauty, his status, achievements, and even the clothes brand he wore. 

She deduced the people in the group chat were more like stalkers than fans. Thinking of removing herself and reporting it to HR, she discovered they spoke of his whereabouts and what he did daily. 

That finding gave her a grand opportunity, for she was stressing how she could talk to him for the past four days since he was always busy when she tried to approach him after the meetings.

When she arrived in front of the conference room, she pushed the closed doors open and was about to call out Mr. Thomas, but bit her tongue when he was nowhere in sight. 

It was only the IT department that occupied the area. Consisting of six people, they were assigned to set up the equipment for the meeting in the afternoon. Upon hearing the door opening, they glanced in her direction with raised eyebrows. 

Removing her hands from the cold doorknobs, she awkwardly rubbed her arms with a sheepish smile. Opening the doors earlier could be compared to a sudden earthquake. And her actions in doing so were unprofessional and accompanied by immense irritability.

The most embarrassing moment was being the center of attention for the wrong reason. 

"I was just...um," the words lost on her tongue, Sharlene decided to remain silent. Should she explain her rude interruption? She was undecided.

Timmy, who was the first to recognize her, quickly excused himself and walked towards her with the hint of a blush. 

With a smile, he politely asked. 

"Hey, Shar. What brings you here?"

Averting her eyes from the peering people onto Timmy, Sharlene shyly blushed.

"Oh, hi, hi, Tim," she abruptly answered, his presence coming in the form of her savior. Rubbing her hands together, she awkwardly chuckled. 

"I was looking for Mr. Thomas."

"Mr. Thomas?"

He genuinely asked, his eyes reflecting his confusion. 

Sharlene did not hesitate in her response.

"Yes. I heard or read that he spends most of his time here. Quite fitting, right? Who know as a workaholic?"

She rambled, her smile tight on her face.

'Ground, please just swallow me,' she anxiously prayed.

"Oh, well, he just missed him. He said something about returning to do something in his office. Is something the wrong?"

Rapidly shaking her head when she saw the worry shining in his eyes, Sharlene quickly spoke. 

"No, no, nothing is wrong. I only wanted to see him about a matter with the event," she hurriedly denied while softly adding. "Yeah, that's it."

"Oh. Maybe you can catch him in his office before he leaves."

"Yeah, you're right."

Mumbling, she quickly added with a cough. 

"Then I will go find him. Thanks for, you know, telling me, Timmy."

Blushing, Timmy lightly cleared his throat.

"It's always a pleasure...to help, yeah."

Nodding, she was about to walk away when he suddenly stopped her by lightly pulling on her hand. 

Glancing down at their interlocked hand, then at his face, she furrowed her eyebrows. When he saw what he had done, he hastily pulled his hand away. 

"I'm sorry."

Sharlene smiled.

"It's okay. Is there something you'd like to tell me?"

Passing a hand through his soft brown hair, he blushed. 

"I just want to tell you to have a good day."

Her smile broadened.

"You as well, Tim."

With that, she turned and walked away. Externally, she looked calm, but inwardly, Sharlene beat herself up for the embarrassing encounter.

Watching her retreating figure, Timmy brooded. 

"Don't beat yourself up, man. There will be better opportunities."

Feeling a firm tap on his shoulder, he turned in the direction of one of his smiling workmates. Word in the IT Department about Timmy's alleged crush on Sharlene spread like wildfire among his workmates, and he said nothing against it.

"You think so?"

"I know so."

The man boasted while giving him another tap on his back before turning back around. 

"Now, let us continue our work before the Ice King descends."

Chuckling at his joke, the man walked towards his other workmates with similar thinking. 

Forming a fist with his hand, Timmy kept a positive mindset. 

'Maybe one day, she'll look at me.

 *~*

Meanwhile, Sharlene had gone towards Mr. Thomas' office on the same floor, but he was nowhere to be found.

She learned he was in another part of the building where the CEO's main office resided. She had received that information from Jan, who got buried with work for the rest of the week.

That was a twenty-minute walk from the west wing of the building, including climbing steps. That was because the employee elevators heading to the Sixtieth floor were under maintenance.

And she could enter the CEO's private elevator because it was off-limits for employees.

Her face flushed from perspiration and irritation by the time she had reached the last step. 

She was also glad today was casual wear in the offices. Her sneakers were perfect for climbing. 

When she arrived, Sharlene was amazed at the interior structure. Everywhere she looked was made of glass and beautifully polished granite. With marble tiles where she could see her reflection and hanging crystal chandeliers, Sharlene had entered into an undiscovered paradise.

Compared to the interior design of the east wing, this area was on another level. 

'Wow.'

She mused, her mouth slightly opened in awe as she walked along the bustling hallway. 

"It is even more beautiful than the rumors."

She murmured, the stories of the west wing of the building being on a more comprising level coming to mind. 

There were beautifully shaped figurines on expensive oak end tables, and paintings that looked refined and original were hanging on the walls. 

Professionally shaped plants occupied the empty spaces in the hallway. It brought about a special kind of semblance to the hallway. 

"I wonder how the offices and conference room look?"

Lost in wonder, she had almost missed the whispers surrounding her.

"What is an employee of the Visual Arts and Design department doing here?"

Someone inquired, their eyes scrutinizing her from head to toe as they passed near her with their partner. 

"Is she new here?" 

She heard someone else comment, but they were standing near a water fountain and enjoying a refreshing drink. 

"No, she is not."

A woman who had heard the question answered before sashaying towards her. Sharlene became perplexed when the woman approached her with folded arms on top of her chest.

"Who are you?" 

Her voice carried authority and poise, and her eyes filled with criticism. 

Ignoring her unnerving glare, Sharlene politely responded. 

"My name is Sharlene Cunning-ham."

"And what business do you have here, Ms. Cunning-ham?" 

Her tone was skeptical, with a hint of sourness as she scrutinized her from head to toe. 

"I am looking for Mr. Thomas. There is something of urgency I would like to share with him."

Scoffing as if she had heard the most audacious answer, the woman scornfully bit out.

"I am sorry, but Mr. Thomas is busy right now."

Detecting the arrogance in her tone, Sharlene inwardly sighed. 

'Why did I run into this pompous individual?'

Putting on her best smile, she spoke once more while stressing the words with gritted teeth. 

"It is an urgent matter."

With a straight face, the woman's tone was like stones rubbed together. 

"So? As I said before Ms, Mr. Thomas is busy. Whatever urgent matter you have can wait, and do please leave. You are making the employees here feel nervous."

'Was she serious?' 

Sharlene pondered, and her mouth slightly opened from shock. 

'Am I also not an employee in the same building? Why are they nervous?' 

She thought.

At that moment of shock, she had sighted Mr. Thomas walking out of a door with the CEO's secretaries flagging his sides. 

He was animatedly speaking, his eyes showing his famous stoic expression.

A chance had come her way, and it was her only one.

Ignoring the woman, she quickly sidestepped her.

Moreover, that was how she came to be in the situation with the woman shouting behind her.