All Work and No Play

As Melody finished her last chocolate drink, she noticed that her left stocking had sagged down to reveal a bit of her thigh skin.

Hearing footsteps coming towards her door, she assumed it was Jessica returning and said, "I just finished my chocolate drink. If you happen to be going out and come across some chocolate, could you also bring me some cheese sticks so I can indulge next time I'm feeling down?"

When she heard a man clearing his throat, she quickly glanced up and noticed that it was not Jessica who stood there. Her face turned red with embarrassment as she hastily adjusted her skirt to cover up her exposed thigh.

"Excuse me, Mr. Blodwyn, I..."

"Ms. Brynleigh, I've noticed that you and the other office girls have plenty of time to discuss about the troublesome undergarment issues. But in addition to putting together the Brimstone presentation, I need you to go down to the accounting office and conduct some analysis and market segmentation for Mount Venture," he said, straightening his tie and checking his reflection in Melody's window. "Do you think you can handle it?"

Morgan referred to her as an "office girl," which was surprising to Melody. Although she did perform assistant duties as part of her apprenticeship program, she had been working at the company for two years before receiving her master's scholarship. Additionally, Morgan knew that she was only four months away from completing her master's degree.

Melody thought about getting the title and freeing herself from Morgan's control. She raised her head and locked eyes with Morgan, who was staring at her intently. "I'm going to ask Eric the office boy if he..."

"It's not a suggestion," Morgan said, cutting her off. "I want you to handle it." He glared at her with clenched jaws for a moment, then swiftly turned around and rushed back into his office, slamming the door shut with great force.

Melody grumbled inwardly, wondering what the problem was that caused Morgan to slam the door like a petulant teenager. She picked up her blazer from behind the chair and began to walk towards the accounting office downstairs.

After she returned, she knocked on Morgan's office door but received no response. Trying to turn the doorknob, she found it was locked. She assumed Morgan may have been spending the afternoon with some woman, as he was known to keep in touch with many beautiful women despite being in a relationship with Sarah.

Melody had been frantically rushing around the office all day, while Morgan might have been enjoying himself. Melody, however, said nothing and avoided confronting Morgan because apparently even Sarah was totally fine with him being a jerk.

She slid the manila folder through the mail slot in Morgan's office door, wishing for the papers to spill out and force Morgan to retrieve them himself. She felt a sense of satisfaction at the thought, thinking to herself, "You deserve this."

She liked to imagine while Morgan was on his knees, picking up the scattered papers from the manila folder. However, she knew that, having worked with him for so long, Morgan would never do that. Instead, he would call her down to his office and make her clean it up while he watched from his desk.

After four long hours, Melody finally completed the latest status report on all three major projects. Most of the slides were neatly laid out, and she almost laughed hysterically when she realized just how terrible her day had been. She couldn't help but fantasize about planning a cruel and protracted bloody murder of Morgan. Jessica had already given her that idea earlier, and it seemed all too tempting at the moment.

The task seemed quite easy: print the documents, make copies, and staple them together. In and out of the room, easy peasy. But to her dismay, it ended up taking four whole hours.

Melody dashed through the empty, dimly lit corridor of the building, holding the presentation materials tightly in her hands as she checked her watch. It was already 5:15 pm, and she was running late. Morgan was sure to be there before her. Just like this morning, Morgan detested being late. The concept of tardiness was forbidden to him, as were words like "heart," "kindness," "affection," "lunch break," or "thank you".

So, there she was, dashing across the empty alley in stilt-like high heels towards the executioner's slaughter, trying to avoid the wrath of her merciless boss.

Breathe, Melody! She could smell fear.

As she neared the meeting room, Melody slowed down to catch her breath and composed herself. The closed door emitted a gentle light, indicating that Morgan was already inside, waiting for her. She took the time to tidy her outfits while ensuring that the documents in her arms were presentable. After a deep breath, she knocked on the door cautiously.

"Come in!"

Melody walked into a brightly lit room. The meeting room was huge; one wall was filled with floor-to-ceiling windows that provide a beautiful view of the city from a height of 25 floors. Dusk darkened the sky outside and the skyscrapers were like specks on the horizon with their bright windows. In the middle of the room there was a big heavy wooden conference table and Morgan was right facing her from the other end of the table.

He sat there, suit jacket hanging from the chair behind him, tie loosened, crisp white shirt rolled up to his elbows, and chin resting on his slender fingers. His eyes met Melody's but he didn't say anything or didn't seem angry because of her tardiness.

"Excuse me, Mr. Blodwyn," Melody said, her voice shaking, still out of breath, "The printing job required..." She paused.

Excuses will only exacerbate the situation. And besides, she wasn't going to let Morgan blame her for something she couldn't control. Who cares! With her newfound courage, Melody lifted her chin and walked over to where the man was sitting.

Without meeting his gaze, Melody sorted through the documents and placed the copies of the presentation on the table in front of them.

"Mr. Blodwyn, can I start?"

He didn't respond in a loud voice, but his piercing gaze was like trying to penetrate her soul.

Melody was thinking, "Gosh, it would be so much easier if he wasn't so handsome." But instead of making a big fuss, he simply gestured towards the materials in front of them and gave her a nudge to keep on going.