The Office Affair

Chapter 4: AMTECH

I can't believe I am finally sitting in AMTECH. I haven't met my rude boss since morning so everything is fine till now. I hope I can spend the rest of the day like this.

Suddenly I see a man come out crying from the boss' office. I stare at him bewildered. The big question mark on my face is noticed by Sonia, the girl sitting next to me.
"It's nothing new here. Everyday someone or the other gets fired when they fail to live up to the boss' expectations. And when you try to plead with her, she demeans you so much that even the strongest men start crying"

"She is an asshole", I reply furiously.
"Shhh. I know she is but don't be too loud. There are snitches everywhere", she whispered and checked around us to see whether anyone was listening.
"Oh. I am sorry. But I just hate her so much honestly ", I whispered back.

"Honestly, everyone does. But then again people pity her when they know that her parents died when she was 10. And since then she worked really hard to come up to this position. Also there are rumors that her trust had been broken by someone she loved and since then she has been a cold bitch"-
Before I could reply to Sonia, the speaker announces, "Riya Sharma, please report to my cabin".
Oh no. I hate my luck.
I quickly get up and rush to the cabin which I found as cold as a graveyard.

I knock on the door. " Come in", says Anika.
I go inside and stand against the door. Anika is busy typing something on her laptop. I wait for 3 minutes in silence until I finally speak up, "Did you need something from me? "
"Oh you are here to talk? I thought you are here to interview for the post of a gate guard or something", Anika said without looking at me.
" What do you mean?? ", I asked trying to keep my cool but kind of failing.
" You have been standing near the gate like a gatekeeper for the past 3 minutes. I hope u can see there's an elegant, black chair in front of you where people sit down for a conversation. Let me assume there's a big, swelling bruise on your hips that causes a lot of inconvenience when you try to sit, at least u could have walked forward, instead of standing exactly 21 tiles away from me. Like I said, I won't bite unless you want me to", Anika says in a mocking tone.

Honestly, I am scared of her. And to avoid whatever happened last time, I thought it would be a good decision to have a conversation standing atleast 8 feet away from her.

"I am sorry, Ma'am. I was waiting for your permission to sit down"-
Before I could complete my sentence she interrupted, " It's fine. I can understand when people are lying to me and I hate it. The sweat on your forehead, the way you are fidgeting with your fingers and your fast rate of breathing are telling me that you are nervous. Anyways, it's natural and I respect you. You want to stand and have the conversation, so be it".

She got up from her chair, took 5 steps forward and stopped.
"I called you here to talk about our first meeting", she said, " I am not talking about your interview. I know you remember what happened the night before that. So I want to offer you money and in return you have to sign a non disclosure agreement. "

I may be poor but I only accept money that I have earned by working hard. That's one thing my father always taught me.

"I don't need your money", I almost screamed. I felt insulted. She mocked me and now she is offering me money.
She took 3 steps forward until there was only 2 cms of gap in between us.
" People either want money or... Sex. If you won't accept my money then you want me remind you what I did that day, but this time while you are in your full senses and not drunk", she said with a smirk.

Before I could say anything she leaned forward. I should have moved away but for some reason I closed my eyes and stood like a statue, as if I was inviting her to kiss me. I heard a click noise and I realised she had leaned forward to lock the door behind me.
Fuck, that's so embarrassing. Why am I such a fool?? What was I even thinking!!

"You are a slut, just like I expected you to be. You are so desperate. Report to my office at 10:30 pm. I'll give you what you want, you little slut", she scanned me up and down.

I was so embarrassed. I realised I was flushed. I should have felt insulted. But somehow I didn't. It felt weirdly... Thrilling? I don't know the word.

I didn't know what to do next so I immediately unlocked the door and left.

I couldn't focus on my work at all. I kept checking my watch. After 8:30, all the employees started leaving one by one. I don't know what I was waiting for. But I had decided that once everyone leaves, I can finally have a proper conversation with Anika. I won't let her mock me again. I will prove to her that I am not a cheap, use-and-throw toy of hers. I may be poor but I do have some self respect which can't be bought by someone like her.

I checked my watch, it was 10 30.

I should have realised, going to the office would be my worst decision...