Chapter Forty

One minute later, she met Janice and Rita patiently waiting for her a small distance from the elevator. 

"Finally!"

Exclaiming, Rita was relieved at the sight of Sharlene.

"I thought I would have died of hunger during that long wait."

She added further with a long sigh.

Smiling, though she did not feel so inclined to, Sharlene brushed the fallen strand of her hair behind her ears. Her anger had simmered down, but her cheeks were still red from the aftereffect.

"No, you would not."

"I could have."

Chuckling, Janice shook her head at Rita's silly whine.

Scoffing, Sharlene began to walk, and they quickly followed her. 

"So, what did Mr. Thomas want to talk to you about?"

Gritting her teeth in irritation at the mention of the daft man, Sharlene muttered.

"Let us talk about it over lunch."

Instantly, Rita sensed her irritation, and she frowned. 

Whatever had transpired between Sharlene and Hector was not pleasant. 

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 "뭐?!"

Screaming that her voice resonated around the already bustling room, Rita's eyes were ready to bulge out of her head. She was shocked, angry, and surprised all at the same time. Expressions that made her look weird, she did not know what to do with herself. 

Worried for her health, Janice passed her a glass of water, which she drank in one full gulp. Her reaction was all thanks to Sharlene telling both she and Janice about her encounter with their new boss or whoever he was.

Before her shock, she was happily chirping about the new dish added to the menu and gushing about how delicious it tasted. Sharlene was thankful she had swallowed her first bite when she spoke about the experience.

"뭐?! 그 남 자 는 나 쁜 다!"

Snapping when she placed the glass back onto the table with a soft bang, Rita was fuming. Janice, on the other hand, was as confused as a button. 

"What did she say?"

Whispering in Sharlene's ears, Janice was curious and surprised by the language and manner Rita spoke.

"Not so loud, Riri, and please speak English so Jan can understand."

Sharlene nervously smiled in the watching people's direction. 

Sheepishly, as Rita realized she was too loud, she cleared her throat.

"Sorry about that, Jan. When I get emotional, I tend to rant in my mother tongue without realizing it."

But Janice was not bothered. Instead, she was intrigued.

"That's alright. I quite like to hear it. What language is it?"

"It is Korean."

"Wow. But you do not look Korean."

Smiling, when Janice filled her glass again, Rita realized she deviated from the conversation. Was it because their lunch break was almost over? Or was it because of the women hanging on their every word? 

They were their colleagues from the meeting and sitting at the table behind them. Either way, she was thankful, for she could practically feel their eyes gnawing through the back of her head.

"That is because I am half-Korean and half-British. I was born and raised half of my life in England. "

"Oh, wow. So you are from Britain?"

"No. London. We both are."

Sharlene answered as she shared a knowing look with Rita. She also sensed the unwavering stares of the women behind them.

"Did you two meet each other there?"

Taking another bite from her meal but making a mental note to interrogate Sharlene more about the bad interaction, Rita nodded.

"We practically grew up together, well, minus the time Rita had to leave London when she was sixteen to live with her father for five years in Korea. It was about that time she learned Korean."

Sharlene explained while Rita hummed in accordance. 

As soon as she had swallowed the food, she added. 

"It is my first language, more or less, though I prefer speaking English. It only comes out when I am angry, excited, and sleep-talking."

"And because of that, I picked up a few phrases from her."

Smiling as she took the last bite of her meal, Sharlene winked in Janice's direction. 

"So you can understand her?"

"Not all the time, Jan. She tends to get lost, especially when I begin my ranting."

Rita teased.

Janice laughed.

"You two sound more like sisters than friends."

Rita smiled while lifting her glass towards her mouth. 

"Why, thank you for the compliment, Jan. We are sisters from another mother and father."

"I like that. What about your family?"

Janice enquired if she enjoyed talking to her new friends.

"Why don't we choose a day in the week, maybe Saturday, if you are free, that is, to hang out more since our time for lunch is almost over, Jan?"

Rita proposed, and Janice could not be any happier. 

"I'd love that."

"Good, then it is a date."

Placing the cutlery on the edge of their plates, they all stood and pushed in their chair. Glancing at the women whispering amongst themselves when they had passed by their table, Rita frowned, for they were looking at Sharlene as they made their silent remarks. They too soon stood from their table when they were almost at the cashier.

Paying for their meal, they left the small building.

"Everyone is talking about Mr. Thomas and you, Sharlene."

Janice remarked when the woman, whom Rita was watching earlier, had passed by while gushing over the handsome face and fierce personality of Mr. Thomas. 

"Why would they not? He will be the new hot topic of gossip in the department for the next month or so, at least until he leaves the building, which I hope will happen soon. And I am still the number one searched employee on the forum."

Sharlene spoke with a scoff while muttering the last part to herself. 

"What are you going to do after what happened earlier?"

"I will prove him wrong."

"That's the spirit."

Rita edged her on.

"But that will still not stop him from viewing you as such, Shar."

Janice inputted, and they turned to look at her with raised eyebrows. 

"Why do you say so? You sound like you know, Mr. Thomas."

"I do. He worked in the same branch as me. I never personally met him, but from the rumors I heard about him, he is a dare-devil during or off-work hours. He never smiles until he is about to fire you, shame you professionally, or feel satisfied with anything related to work. Some people said he is a perfectionist, and because of such, his personality is not the best."

"In other words, he is the worst at expressing his emotions unless necessary. Meaning he treats people like crap."

"Exactly. He is the epitome of coldness and straightforwardness."

Bending a corner, they entered the bustling main lobby of the building. 

"And here I thought it was me with the problem. So he is straightforward, carries an air of supremacy, and is a perfectionist? And I became his target because of mistakes unknown?"

"That about sums it up, Shar. He picks on those who don't fit his pedigree. Maybe because he used to be the CEO PA."

They walked towards the elevator, a small distance from the stairs, but froze when they heard Janice's statement.

"What? He used to be the PA? Wow!"

Rita whispered yell.

"That's interesting."

Sharlene hummed.

"Yeah, it is. But is that a could thing?"

Rita asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"What is?"

Sharlene said.

"Is he promoted or demoted? Is being the Team Manager a permanent or temporary position?"

They all pondered on the reasonable fact.

"Well, considering working as the CEO's PA is a good thing, I don't think Hector Thomas being the Team Manager is permanent."

Janice hummed.

"It's none of my business otherwise. If he treats my best friend horribly, he deserves the demotion."

Rita huffed, and Sharlene smiled before asking. 

"But I am curious. Is he rich?"

"Of course he is, Shar. Why else would he carry an air of supremacy?"

Rita tsked."

Astonished, Sharlene placed a hand underneath her chin.

"But Nick is not like that."

She muttered with a slight blush. A knowing smile appeared on Rita's lips.

"Not everyone is like Nick, Shar. Maybe that's why he hired Mr. Thomas to be his PA. He gets things done in a flash despite his awful personality."

Nodding as she agreed with the reasonable idea, Sharlene sighed.

"Who is Nick?"

Janice asked with raised eyebrows, and Sharlene's blush intensified while Rita's smile broadened. 

"We will tell you about Nick on Saturday."

Pressing the button for the eighteenth floor, Rita groaned while quickly changing the subject.

"I already have a boss with I-am-miss-of-the-world kind of attitude. Why is there another person who has a worse disposition?"

Sharlene bemoaned.

She had sensed the wheels of curiosity were turning in Janice's head.

Patiently, they waited for the elevator, which had recently gone up on the same floor. Most likely by the women who had passed them earlier. 

"Worse bosses of the century."

Janice inputted with a laugh.

"Indeed."

Sharlene silently agreed though she did not find the idea of the new Team Manager being a perfectionist. That meant their workload would increase since they had so little time to prepare. 

Soon, the elevator doors opened, and they entered the steal room. 

"You two better don't forget to tell me who is Nick."

Janice teasingly warned, and Rita laughed while Sharlene loudly cleared her throat to dismiss her blush. 

"We won't, so do not burst your little head about it."