The Lonely Devil

Two weeks before, Lyra's day began like any other day. It was a Monday morning, and as a temp worker, she had to leave home by 5 a.m. she needed to get to work two hours before the superiors arrived. Being a temp worker meant that she was at the bottom of the corporate ladder. She was considered a superior only to the interns and office janitors. This meant that she had to work hard every day, putting in extra effort to impress the permanent workers, in the hopes that she might one day be offered a permanent position. As a temp worker, her position was precarious, and she was always aware that any mistake or misstep could mean the end of her job. As the sun began to rise, she stumbled out of her house, hair a mess, eyes swollen from crying and her shoes untied. She had also just woken up to a text from her childhood nemesis inviting her to her wedding to a rumored tycoon. She sighed,she knew she was obviously not going to go except she felt like being indirectly mocked by her childhood classmates. The reason for her disheveled appearance was that she had just found out her boyfriend of two years was gay. She had loved him with all her heart, but it was all for show. He had used her to keep his secret from his parents, but finally decided to come clean. She had thought he was going to finally pop the question but he came in with a handsome youth whom he claimed to be his true love. His parents barely said a word apparently too shocked to utter anything or maybe they probably didn't have anything they could say. His sister looked at Lyra with pity and it was so suffocating she had to excuse herself. The douchebag didn't even bother to stop her to explain himself.She ran home, drank and cried herself to sleep. Lyra hurried towards the entrance of the towering building, she paid the cab driver and dashed towards the lobby. It was nearly empty, save for the receptionist and a handful of security guards. Without wasting any time, she rushed to the elevator and pressed the button for the 16th floor, which housed the cramped, invisible temp workers' office. As the elevator doors began to close, she heard a voice shouting "Hold on!" Lyra quickly stuck her hand out to stop the doors from closing all the way. A young woman with round glasses and a friendly smile squeezed into the elevator with her. "Hi Lyra," she greeted her warmly. She grinned back at her, relieved to see a familiar face. "Hey there," She replied, grateful for the company on the long ride up to the top floor. "We're a tad late aren't we?" She sighed" The limpkin will not let us hear the end of it, hopefully he's in a slightly good mood" Mr Travis did not say a word about their tardiness, and he even managed to c***k a small smile. She breathed a sigh of relief and glanced over at her colleague, who seemed equally surprised. "We're cutting it close, but I think we made it in time," Lyra said, trying to make light of the situation. Her colleague nodded in agreement. "Yeah, and it looks like the Limpkin's in a good mood today. That's definitely a good sign." They couldn't help but chuckle at the nickname they'd given the notoriously grumpy boss. Mr. Travis was never one to give compliments, but they had learned to take any small victories they could get. Together with Vicky, Lyra went to the others seeking some explanation for the unusual behaviour, none of them knew the reason and were just as puzzled. To avoid changing the Mood that the limpkin was in, they all went to their various seats and started their pending work. It was soon lunchtime and Mr Travis hadn't thrown a tantrum. They all felt it might be the calm before the storm, some wondered if pay day had come earlier but even if it was pay day, the hawk would not be this calm. As the lunch hour approached, they gathered on the rooftop for their usual meal. However, today was different. They sat with worried hearts, barely managing to swallow their food. Unlike other workers who had their meals at the cafeteria, their group preferred the rooftop for a change of scenery. After cleaning up, they returned to the office where they found the hawk, waiting for them with a slight frown on his face. They knew that the storm they had been dreading was finally here. Each of them took their seats and waited anxiously for the hawk to call out the name of the unfortunate person who would bear the brunt of his anger. The sound of Lyra's name being called startled her, and she quickly realized that she was the one being summoned. As she stood up from her seat, she felt the pitiful gazes of her colleagues on her. She made her way to the boss's office and knocked on the door before entering. "Sir, you called for me?" She asked nervously. He wasted no time in getting straight to the point. "Would you like to get promoted soon?" he asked abruptly. She was taken aback by the unexpected question, especially coming from someone who was known for being tough and unpredictable. "Yes, of course," She answered without hesitation. To her surprise, he suddenly broke into a smile. "Great," he said. "Now listen, a very important person will be coming to the company in two hours and apparently, the higher-ups are really interested in partnering with this VIP. This is where we come in. We can try to win the favor of this person and get ourselves promoted out of this hole. I chose you because I know you have a bright mind. Please find a way to get his attention and give him a good reason to work with us." She nodded, determined to rise to the occasion. "Alright sir, I'll do my best," She said. "That is expected. You may leave. You have less than two hours," he replied. "Alright sir," She said holding back a grin before quickly making her way out of the office.