Chapter Twenty-Five

When she confronted her boss about her pregnancy, the woman went through the six stages of grief. For two days, she lamented in her office and sulked in front of her large window.

She eventually came to terms with the news, but the pressure and reality had finally fallen upon her shoulders when she realized she had to do all of her work.

She had gotten the short end of the stick.

Sharlene being pregnant meant she no longer had relaxing and free-up days.

For today, a Wednesday morning, she was cooped in her office with numerous papers, unsigned documents, and other significant files piled up on her desk.

Wearing the reading glasses, she would rarely wear, Madam Sinclair looked the opposite of her confident and arrogant self. She looked like a nerd, and it made Rita smile from ear to ear.

Dropping the pen she tightly held in her hand onto the document that she was carefully reading over to sign, Madam Sinclair raised an eyebrow while removing her glasses from her face. She glanced in Rita's direction.

"Is there something funny you would like to share, Miss. Kim?"

Clearing her throat, Rita quickly shook her head.

"No, Madam Sinclair."

Recently promoted to Resource Manager of their department, Rita had become a regular visitor in her office.

Madam Sinclair did not like it. No, not one bit.

But Sharlene was happy since she could spend more time with her.

"I thought so."

Muttering, Madam Sinclair did not look convinced, but she had no choice but to let it go as she begrudgingly continued her tiring work.

Sending a wink in her direction, Rita playfully mimicked Madam Sinclair's pompous face.

Sharlene had to stifle her laugh.

"Is there anything else, Britt?"

Annoyed by their silent joke, Madam Sinclair glared at the papers on the desk.

"Yes, there is."

Massaging her aching head, though she was not halfway through the work, Madam Sinclair waved her free hand in the air.

"Please do tell. For, as you can see, I have a lot of work to do."

Her voice was still stingy and cold, but it had no impact because the tables had turned.

Smiling, Sharlene slowly placed another tall stack of papers near the one she had eventually signed.

Her mouth flew open in shock.

"Where...where did all this come from?"

Stuttering, she lifted her head to stare at Sharlene.

Sheepishly smiling, Sharlene stated the obvious.

"The department?"

"A smart answer," Madam Sinclair murmured. "I don't suppose you are awaiting an award?"

Sharlene slowly retreated as if she would soon begin throwing the papers back into her and Rita's faces.

Her glare and pursed lips caused this involuntary action.

Rapidly shaking her head, Madam Sinclair's dark mood increased.

Sighing as if the whole world was on her shoulders, she said through gritted teeth.

"You both are enjoying this, right?"

Rita evilly smiled.

"Very."

"Riri!"

Sharlene was shocked by her honest answer. Rita ignored her by placing another set of documents on the desk.

"No offense, boss, but we're growing tired of doing your work for you."

"Touché. Now get out and go do what you need to do to prepare for the important meeting we have in the next hour."

Muttering, she shooed them out of the room.

When they stepped out of the room with a soft click of the door behind them, Rita finally released the laughter she was holding inside.

Rolling her eyes and thankful the office room was sound-proof and the hallway was empty, Sharlene playfully slapped her shoulders.

"Don't sound so happy, Riri."

"Why can't I? It is about time she does her work."

Chuckling, Sharlene began to lead the way while pulling Rita towards her office by placing her hand in the crook of her arm.

"You sound like my mom."

Lightly knocking her head against hers, Rita chuckled.

"And she is right."

"Yes, yes, she is. Now let us get our stuff organized."

Humming, Sharlene pushed open her office door and gently pushed her inside. Nodding, Rita walked towards the laptop. Left open, it showed the PowerPoint of the information Sharlene had spent her six overnight days creating.

"Is everything on the laptop?"

"Yes. Even the drawings."

Scrolling down the PowerPoint and speed-reading the information, Rita was impressed.

"Mmmh. You never seem to amaze me with your love for working hard."

Smiling, Sharlene lifted the small pile of documents near the laptop.

"Thank you. These documents are for the people attending, including you, Miss. Resource Manager."

Whispering the last part with a teasing smile, Sharlene wiggled her eyebrows while gently tapping her shoulder with hers.

Flipping her ponytail-styled hair so that it could fall on her left shoulder, she squared her shoulders.

"Why, thank you, Miss. Esteemed Secretary. It is a pleasure working with you."

Raising an eyebrow, for she found the term interesting, Sharlene snorted.

"Is that the nickname our workmates gave me by any chance?"

"That and more."

Closing the laptop, Rita unplugged it before tugging it underneath her arm.

"They might as well make a group chat with that name as an alias."

Scrunching her nose, Sharlene found the idea nonsensical.

"Why go that length?"

"Because you are a legend in this department."

"I do not follow."

Shaking her head with a soft chuckle, Rita was astounded.

"Gosh, you are the first employee to stay and endure Madam Sinclair's harsh work ethic and make her do her work. Finally, might I add?"

"But that was because I became pregnant."

Rita cheekily smiled.

"And that is what makes it even more interesting."

Suddenly, there was a knock on her door before Madam Sinclair made herself known, which was shocking.

"Why are you taking so long, Britt? Thirty-five minutes have already gone by because you were busy chatting."

An annoyed expression adorned Madam Sinclair's face as she continued.

"Do you want the other departments to win this round?"

"Already?!"

Shrieking, Sharlene grabbed her phone from the table and placed it on the stack of documents.

"I will let your tardiness slide because this is your first major meeting, but do not take it for a habit. Let us make a move on."

With another huff, she flipped her hair before walking out.

A look in Rita's direction, Sharlene drawled.

"You were saying?"

Shrugging, she grinned.

"Well, she is still the same cheery Madam Sinclair."

"Exactly. Now go before I get my head put on a platter."

"Are you sure you can carry all this, including the laptop?"

Pointing at her filled hands, Rita hesitated.

"You are asking the wrong person. Remember college?"

Contemplating, Rita nodded as she placed the laptop back on the table.

"Now I do. If you could carry the entire college library in your hands at that time, you would."

"And that is why I can do this all on my own. So go."

Smiling, she shooed her off.

"Fine. Fine."

Muttering, Rita walked out of the room.

Placing the documents on the laptop, she carefully lifted it. With her task completed, she left the room.

It took her five minutes to reach the conference room on the eighteenth floor. Four floors from their department, which took up three levels of space in the tall building, the main conference room was where all the action took place.

She was both nervous and curious about the thrilling experience.

The IT staff were already there and setting up the equipment to display the planned and structured PowerPoints from the other departments, including hers.

"Oh, Timmy. Hi."

She called when she saw a familiar face in the small crowd near the power outlets.

Upon seeing her, Timmy excused himself and walked toward her with a friendly smile. There was also a slight blush on his cheeks.

"Hey, Shar. You're early. Are you ready to show your skills?"

As he spoke, he passed his hand behind his head. Rita had always said and reminded her that the IT staff Timmy Larison had a crush on her, but she never took on her teasing until now. Cute, sensible, and polite was what Timmy was.

She occasionally called him Tim because she considered him a friend. Sharlene felt sorry for not knowing his feelings sooner.

Smiling, she placed the items in her hands on the desk.

Gently, she placed everything in her hands down on the table. Lifting the laptop, she smiled.

"I'm a little nervous and need your help."

She stretched the laptop towards him with a broadened smile.

"That's fine. I am always there to help."

His blush increased, and she felt even worse. Not wanting to lead him on, she turned towards the documents.

"Thank you. I will begin distributing the files."

Awkward since he was at a loss of what to say, Timmy nodded.

"Go do that then. The water bottles are in that black bag over there."

Pointing at a black bag left unattended on the other side of the room behind her, Timmy felt shy.

"Will do, Tim."

A friendly smile made her radiant in Timmy's eyes, but unknowingly to her, Sharlene walked over to the bag. He walked back over and almost tripped on a chair back to his lowly snickering workmates. He occasionally stole glances in her direction.

When she was halfway around the table after ten minutes, the secretaries from the other departments entered the room and helped finish the rest.

Soon, significant people from the other departments followed, including Madam Sinclair and winking Rita.