Chapter 5: Collision
1559 Words
Seraphina raised her head, staring at the woman in confusion. “I beg your pardon?”
“No wonder”, she muttered. “I see now why they gave you the job. It’s because of your pretty face. Otherwise, my cousin…who worked her ass off should’ve been here instead”.
Seraphina arched her brows and crossed her arms. “What makes you think I was given the job because of how I look?”
“It’s obvious. You pretty jezebels with nothing in your brain just waltz into companies, sleep your way through, and then bam—you’re suddenly employed.”
“Excuse me”, Seraphina’s sharp voice cut in, “you would watch the words that are coming out of your mouth before I sue you for character defamation. Besides, if your cousin was that good, she would have been picked. Instead of me”.
“You’ve got some nerves, you b***h! Just your first day here and you’re already talking back at me?”, she snarled.
Other employees present pretended to work but their eyes lingered on the confrontation. They all knew that Morgana was a handful. Most avoided her as best as they could—wary of the connection she had with whom they all believed was the CEO’s girlfriend. One wrong move against Morgana could ruin them.
Seraphina stepped out from the desk and locked her gaze on Morgana with a deadly calm. Morgana faltered, instinctively taking a step back.
“This should be the very first and last time you ever refer to me by that word”, she spoke in a dangerously low voice. “If you have a problem with me, take it up with HR”.
She returned back to arranging her desk, not sparing Morgana another glance which left her stunned.
The office that buzzed with low chatter now fell silent. Nobody had ever dared stand up to to Morgana before. Some shook their heads, certain Morgana would make her miserable while she worked here. Others believed maybe, she would bring an end to Morgana’s tyranny.
They hovered at a corner to place a bet between Morgana and Seraphina. One group placed their bet on Morgana—that she would succeed in frustrating Seraphina to leave the company. The other group bet on Seraphina that she would bring an end to Morgana’s tyranny.
Morgana’s face burned red with fury. “You just wait and see”, she said, jabbing a finger at her. “By the time Seraphine gets back from vacation, we’ll see just how smug you can be”, she said and stormed off with her heels clicking against the floor.
The name hit Seraphina like a slap. Seraphine. She had not heard from Seraphine in four years. It was like she vanished from the surface of the earth. Could the Seraphine Morgana was referring to be her cousin or just someone bearing the same name as her?
Her thoughts were interrupted by a tiny voice.
“Hi”, a girl said nervously.
She had short hair, freckled face, and was on glasses.
Seraphina stared at her without saying anything. She wondered if she had come to cause trouble for her too.
Sensing Seraphina’s body language, she quickly introduced herself. “Oh, um…I’m Zoey, Zoey Williams. Welcome to Serathon”, she said, stretching forth her slender fingers for a handshake.
Seraphina studied her for few seconds before she slowly shook her.
Zoey was relieved when Seraphina finally shook hands with her.
“So…are you a friend or foe?”, Seraphina asked.
“Huh? I’m a friend of course”, she smiled, while adjusting her glasses that seemed a little too big for her small round face.
“Okay. I’m Seraphina”.
“Oh, I know that already”, she beamed.
“How? Today is my first day at work here”.
“Well…Morgana had come in earlier and said all manner of things about you before you came in. She mentioned your name also”.
“So Morgana’s her name”, Seraphina muttered. “Is she always like this to everyone else or does she hate me because she thinks I stole her cousin’s spot?”
“Well, Morgana is like that to everyone, except her two evil friends—Portia and Natasha”.
“Wow, I see”, Seraphina nodded. “Is she somehow related to people at the top?”
“Yes. She’s besties with our CEO’s girlfriend who also works at the company”. Zoey scratched her head trying to remember something. “Oh yes, her name is Seraphine. Isn’t it funny how your names are so similar?”
A knot formed in the pit of her stomach. “This Seraphine, do you know her last name?”
Zoey pressed a finger to her lips thinking again. Her eyes lit up as she remembered. “Yes, her last name is—”
She was cut short as the office rose in unison. “Good morning, Mr. White”.
Zoey quickly ran off to stand behind her own desk.
Mr. White, head of the architecture department stepped in. At Serathon, hierarchy wasn’t taken lightly. Juniors owed respect to seniors; seniors enforced the rules. Those who disobeyed risked deductions, seized bonuses, suspension or worse. Seniors weren’t immune to this rule too should they fall short. Still Serathon’s reputation as the highest paying firm in the city with unmatched perks kept everyone eager to stay.
“Good morning, everyone. Please have your seats”, he responded cheerfully. “I know you all must be wondering why I’m here”.
“Yes, sir”, they chorused.
“Well, you must have noticed, we have a new employee in our midst, and as the norm, introductions has to be done so we can work better amongst ourselves”.
He motioned to Seraphina who got up and stood beside him. On his other side was Morgana—glaring at her, but she couldn’t care less.
“Go ahead, Seraphina, introduce yourself to your new colleagues”.
“Okay sir”, Seraphina cleared her throat. “Good morning, everyone. My name is Seraphina Walsh from Woodstock, Vermont, and I—”
Morgana scoffed. “Wait. Vermont? That countryside dump? So you’re a countryside bumpkin after all?”, she sneered while the other employees erupted in laughter.
“Morgana!” Mr. White snapped. “One more outburst from you and you’ll face disciplinary action”.
“But, sir, she’s from the countryside…”
“Enough!” Mr. White warned sternly “Make fun about that again and I’ll take it up with the board. Do you understand?”
“Yes sir”, she mumbled, tightening her fist in rage.
“Seraphina…please continue”, Mr. White urged.
She nodded. “As I was saying, I’m Seraphina Walsh, your new colleague. It’s an honor to be part of this great establishment. I look forward to working with you. Last but not least. I promise to treat you…” she added slowly, holding Morgana’s gaze without flinching, “the way you treat me”. The warning was clear. “Thank you”.
Mr. White oblivious of what had transpired earlier, gave her a round of applause, smiling. The others joined in with their weak chorus of ‘welcome, Seraphina Walsh’. Morgana was glaring at them so they understood. Portia and Natasha didn’t hide their disdain for Seraphina. They kept their hands folded.
Mr. White noticed their weak clapping. “I guess we’re hungry that’s why we can’t clap with energy huh? Don’t worry, today…everyone’s lunch is on me”.
The workers gave a resounding applause, hyping Mr. White up.
“Okay everyone, back to work”, he turned to Seraphina. “Hope you’re settling in fine and no trouble?”
Seraphina looked over his shoulder and Morgana gave her the death glare, like daring her to snitch.
“No, sir…everything’s fine”, she replied. Not because she was scared, but because she didn’t want to be seen as the new employee who ratted her senior out on her first day at work.
“Good, enjoy the rest of your day”.
“You too, Sir”.
As soon as Mr. White walked out, Morgana faced Seraphina. “You think you’re all high and mighty right? I’ll make sure you regret ever stepping your foot in this company.
Seraphina yawned, looking bored. “You must be pretty obsessed with me, Morgana”.
“W-what? You! We’ll see just how long you’ll last here”, she said storming off with her minions glaring at her.
Seraphina exhaled and faced the work assigned to her. Since it was her first day, she was given something small which she finished almost quickly.
After lunchtime was over, Mr. White gave her some rough sketches to amend. She was reviewing them while walking back to her shared office not watching her path.
Suddenly, she collided with someone and her papers scattered across the floor. She immediately bent to pick them up then froze.
Staring down at her was the last man she ever expected to see.
Her estranged lover—Anthony.
- Writer
