ONE

I could hardly comprehend how fast time flies. One minute I was standing helpless on a bridge, and the next I was putting on a wedding gown.

6 days until the wedding.

I jerked up as the alarm on my phone blared loudly. It turns out that was the third time it was ringing. I rolled off the bed and fell to the floor. I checked the time on my phone: 7:35. I had barely twenty-five minutes to prepare and go to the office on time.

I ran to the shower and squealed as the cold water touched my skin. I totally forgot that the heater broke last night. After managing to get a proper bath, I scanned through my only three work clothes before settling on the black dress pants and a white shirt. I put on my white canvas, the only pair I have, because I couldn't even afford work shoes. I stuffed the laces inside the canvas; I'll just tie them later. I tied my hair up in a messy ponytail—not the messy type that eventually looks hot but actually messy. My curls didn't even want to help, so I just left them like that and dashed out of the house.

I ran to the bus station and saw the bus already leaving. I was not fit, nor do I exercise, but I didn't want to lose my job. The number of times I've arrived late would make me fire myself if I could. Reaching the back of the bus, I banged my hand on the bus, trying to get the driver's attention.

"Wait up!" I yelled, banging it louder, and to my surprise, the bus actually stopped. I entered the bus, muttering 'thanks' to the driver before holding onto a bus strap. The guy beside me slowly backed away, and I didn't need anyone to tell me I looked horrible.

I alighted the bus, and I looked at the time. I still had ten minutes, and I was already looking at my office building. I took a deep breath and used the glass of the cafe beside my office to dress my hair. I was disgusted by my own reflection; my hair was all over the place, and my shirt was barely tucked in. I turned around and collided with a hard wall—a hard wall that moves. Before I could understand what was going on, I felt a hot liquid slide down my body.

"Fuck!" I heard a deep voice curse. I looked up at the tall man, whose eyes were hidden in shades, and immediately coiled back in fear. My shirt was already ruined with the brown liquid, not to mention my burning skin.

"You could've been more careful." I said I was trying to stop the sticky shirt from coming into contact with my body.

"What did you say?" The man seethed, and I stepped back. Another man in a suit whispered something in his ear, and he nodded. He glared at me before leaving with a bunch of other men in suits. He was probably some big tycoon who thinks that he's too big for this world.

I dialed Raya's number and waited as the phone rang.

"Elora? Where the heck are you? Travis got his knickers in a twist since. There's a rumor going around that the company is doing down the hill and some workers are being let off," she said before taking a deep breath.

"I'm right in front of the office, Raya, but a conceited jerk emptied his coffee on my shirt, and now I don't know what to do." I explained as tears started to cloud my eyes. I walked into the cafe's bathroom and sat on a toilet seat.

"Oh, where are you? I'm coming with an extra t-shirt," she said, and I told here where exactly I was.

A few minutes later, I was walking into the office with a t-shirt that had 'girl power' written boldly on it.

"Thanks, Raya," I said as I slid the employee card into the clock in the machine.

"No problem. I just hope we don't see Travis now," she said, and as the elevator opened, behold, Travis stood there with a scowl on his face before noticing us.

"Good morning, Mr. Lockwood." I greeted him, and he just grunted and walked away.

"Spoke too soon." Raya whispered, even though he was out of earshot. I sighed and dragged her into the elevator.

"Let's just go up." I sighed before clicking the button.

As soon as I entered the office, I was met with the department manager, who looked annoyed. She carried a bunch of flyers in her hands, specifically the ones I typed on Friday.

"Oh, Elora, how nice of you to come to work." Tasha said it sarcastically. She dumped the flyers in my hands, and I looked at her in confusion. "We have a deadline to meet today, and you had to make a mistake in the date. It's the 19th and not 91; what the heck is going through your head?" She said so, and I looked closely at the flyers and noticed the typo. How could I make such a mistake?

"We don't have time for you to retype it, so use a pen to correct all of them before three o'clock," she said.

"I'm so sorry." I apologized quietly, and she scoffed before walking away.

"There are like a thousand of those. She can't expect you to finish correcting them today. Tell her you can't finish it today." Raya said, but I shook my head.

"It's fine. I'll complete it today." I assured her, and I got to work.

My back was stiff as I corrected the last flyer remaining. I stretched my back and looked at the time: 2:40. Right on time. I carried the flyers to Tasha, who rolled her eyes and continued on her phone. Her phone rang, and she jumped a little before clearing her throat.

"Hello, Mr. Lockwood," she answered sweetly. "Oh, Elora? Ok, sure thing, sir," she replied before hanging up. "Mr. Lockwood wants to see you in his office," she said, not even sparing me a glance.

As I walked into his office, a thousand thoughts ran through my mind, and I could help but have a bad feeling in my gut.

"You called for me, sir?" I said, and he looked up from the files he was holding.

"Ah yes," he said, dropping the files. "You probably heard of the financial state of the company by now, right?" He asked, and I nodded.

"Sort of."

"Great. I'm telling you this because you are still a student and you have a bright future ahead," he said. "I'm sorry, but I have to let you off. It's nothing personal because I also let off other part-time workers." I stood in the middle of the office, and for some reason, I wasn't surprised.