"Haven't you seen the way he behaves?" One of the workers gossiped. She wanted to join in on the juicy conversation since they were less busy.
"He doesn't even give Lucy any attention like before," another chipped in with glee.
She had never liked the way Lucy prided herself in being the boss's playtoy. It had made Adam hate her because she had vowed to never stoop so low to doing what Lucy was doing.
The secretary's bitchy attitude was tiring and they couldn't complain. They didn't dare for the fear of losing their job. Ever since Adam turned his attention to her, she behaved like she owned the whole of the Smith's Corporation and even lashed out at them.
There was no respect for the workers and she spoke to them as she wanted because she knew Adam had her back. He would always defend her and listen to what she said most times.
However this wasn't the case. She looked at Lucy's livid expression. The blonde was in a bad mood. Her sulky face was enough to tell anyone not to dare cross her path or she'd do something.
Tiffany chuckled, steering her attention back to the lively conversation amongst them. It was so good to see Lucy at the receiving end of it.
"Why do you think the boss is acting that way?" Chloe, the most prominent office gossip asked the duo before her. She herself didn't know why he was being different from himself.
Most staff in the company had started asking questions.
Even though some couldn't utter it, they had the questions on the slab of their minds. They just couldn't voice it out for the fear of losing their jobs.
It was almost as if their boss wasn't the same again.
Some wondered if he was just putting up an act to see how they would react. They couldn't put anything past him. Adam acted like he was a jerk sometimes but this was totally different.
It had been going on for weeks now. Even if it was a facade, they should be able to see through the cracks sometimes. This felt surreal to them.
"He acts nicer but I think it's all a show," Lena, the third gossip said and she quickly added her reasons for saying so.
After her encounter with him two days ago, she was still confused as to what was really going on Adam's mind.
She had forgotten to drop the weekly report he always checked through. And by the time she had remembered, it was almost noon.
Lena had rushed up the stairs with the file in her head, her heartbeats thumped in her chests as she drew nearer to the wooden door with Adam Smith, CEO Smith's Corporation well imprinted on it.
She had released a sigh and knocked on the door to submit it. After all there was no way she could escape his wrath. She would rather face it then, than face it in the presence of her colleagues during the meeting like he had scolded her once.
She was embarrassed that day. She entered the office expecting him to lash out at her for always being so forgettable.
However to her utter shock, the reverse was the case.
"There's no need to panic, Lena" Richard (Adam) had said to calm her down.
Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. This wasn't him.
"Sir, are you alright?" She had asked for a reconfirmation.
This wasn't the man she had worked with for some months now. Adam complained even when there was nothing to complain about. This kept them all on their toes as regards the company's business and ensured they spearheaded other companies, thus shooting them into limelight.
By then, Richard (Adam) had realized the situation. He understood the underlying message of what she had just asked him.
For a moment, he had forgotten to act that part well. Richard's face had changed into a mask of anger.
"Next time, you must not repeat the same mistake," He had scolded her.
However, she didn't believe it. It was like he was fitting into something.
"Wellz I like the change, I'm not complaining," Tiffany said.
They couldn't complain about the change, but it was too good to be true. Moreso, it didn't take a weekend to change a man. It took more than that.
The three hree staff kept gossiping about their boss's fluctuating behavior. Suddenly Lucy walked up to them with a smile on her face.
She had been rude to them on different instances so she expected their curt reply and stony faces.
"What do you want?" Tiffany flared up.
She couldn't wait to see the woman pay for what she had done before.
"Calm down Tiffany," Lucy sighed.
The others regarded her with contempt written all over their faces.
"I'm sorry for how I might have behaved in the past. I know that you might not find it easy to forgive me,but this time around we need to walk together to find out what exactly is going on." Lucy said.
The three exchanged looks as they wondered what was going on with her. Lucy never apologized to them. She thought them below her so why was she apologizing?
"Nah, I don't believe you. If you think for a second that you can fool us then you've got it wrong, you had better walk back to your seat." Tiffany replied on their behalf.
Lucy sighed. How was she going to convince them?
"Look Tiffany, why don't we listen to her? She might have something better to say." Chloe said.
"Alright," Tiffany huffed, not believing for a second that Lucy was apologetic.
"You know I I was having an affair with Adam before he changed," Tiffany spoke immediately.
"Everyone knows," Tiffany rolled her eyes.
Lucy ignored and continued. She could keep her tongue in check until she had gotten what she wanted.
"But recently, he doesn't look my way anymore or even spare me a glance. It's like he's no longer the Adam I used to know," she sucked.
"He's better than the Adam you used to know,* Tiffany retorted in anger.
"You're missing the point here Tiffany. What if something is up?" She quizzed.
"Why don't we try my method?" Lucy winked at them.
"What method?" Chloe cleared her throat to ask. The lady always had tricks up her sleeves no doubt.
"It's a simple method. We just have to try out an experiment on him to confirm whether he is still Adam or is an impersonator," she rolled off her tongue with glee.
"Sounds fun," Chloe said
Ledger was passing by when these staff were having this discussion. He went straight to Richard's office and filled him in.