CHAPTER FOUR
1426 Words
Dinner with Lance.
Florence stood frozen for nearly twenty minutes, a chilling sense crawling over her skin. She was being watched—she could feel it—but the corridor was still, eerily empty.
She looked around several times, but she was all alone standing in the corridor. She could have sworn that her mind was playing games with her but there it was—the note that said otherwise.
She looked down at the note and said,
“You don’t scare me. And you sure as hell don’t control me”
She immediately tore the note into two and disposed of them in the waste bin before she continued her journey to the cleaners’ quarters.
Immediately she entered the room, she noticed the change in atmosphere, as if she was a bad omen, but she wasn't going to let her environment get to her.
“Good morning, everyone”, she greeted with a forced smile.
“You must still think you are one of the executives,” one of the cleaners, Livia, who had just stepped up to her front, replied to her.
Livia was tall and sharp-eyed, she had a way of smiling like she’d just won a prize every time she insulted someone.
“You weren’t better than us—just lucky. And now? You’re not one of us. You’re beneath us.” Livia lashed at Florence as if she had waited for this moment her entire life.
Florence knew better than to get offended and start a brawl in the company so she simply moved away from Livia and made her way towards the superior's office.
But Livia wasn't done with her; she pulled Florence back with her hair, which made Florence scream, and that attracted the superior's attention.
“You must address us as your seniors as you are the newest employee in the group, you hear me, you spoilt brat” Livia screamed at her still holding on to her hair
Florence was still groaning from the pain she was feeling. She knew that either Livia was a big shot in the cleaners’ headquarters, or they all just hated her; that was the only reason they all stood there and none of them offered to help her.
The superior immediately ran out of her office and reprimanded Livia
“How dare you lay your hands on an ‘Everest’” her thick voice echoed throughout the office.
Livia quickly released Florence's hair from her grip. “Tell her to know her place, if not I might have to teach her to do it”. Livia said as she walked away into the washroom to clean herself up.
“No, you should know your place” The superior screamed after her before she turned to Florence to ask
“Are you okay?”
She quickly offered a hand to help Florence up.
“Don’t let her get to you, Miss Everest.”
“It’s okay,” Florence replied with a tight smile, brushing her tangled hair behind her ear. “I’ve faced worse”
“What brought you to my office? You don't need an interview to start working”.
“I know. Thank you so much but I have a little favour that I would like to ask you”
“Ask away”
“Can you please put me in charge of cleaning the laboratory?”
“We already have people who clean the laboratory, it is done by the laboratory attendant to avoid any of the cleaners damaging anything”
“I know, but don't you feel, I'm a more suitable person for the role, considering that I was an executive, I know exactly what to touch and what not to touch”
“You have a point, Miss Everest, please come in early tomorrow, and I will let you know if you can assume that role then”
“Thank you so much, superior”
“You are always welcome Miss Everest”
“No, please just call me Florence, you are my superior”
“I know, but it's going to take me a while to get used to the way things are now, please pardon me”.
“It's no problem at all,” Florence said as she got up to leave.
“I will see you tomorrow, ma,” she added.
The superior waved to her and smiled sweetly at her.
Florence could see the pity in her face, but she pretended and smiled back as she exited the office.
She’d had enough. Her pride was bruised, her mind spinning. All she wanted now was comfort—something soft, something familiar.
Stepping outside, she tapped Lance’s number on speed dial.
“My Boss, baby,” his delighted voice came from the other side of the phone.
Florence smiled, she finally felt a breath of fresh air, and she still had someone who cared about her regardless. Or maybe he doesn't know about her ordeal yet, so she decided to just enjoy the moment.
“I know, you have had a long day, you don't have to say anything, I'm on my way right now to you,” He said, and Florence could feel the delight in his voice.
“Really! You are back?” She asked excitedly.
“Of course, I have this whole date planned out for you, I booked the whole restaurant just for you”
“I need that, just to escape my reality for a bit”
“At your service, ma,” he said and hung up the phone.
Soon, a blue sports car pulled up just in front of Florence. Her mood was lifted.
Lance got out of the car in a style, walked over to her, grabbed her by her waist, pulled her to himself, and placed a soft kiss on her forehead while fixing her hair properly.
Florence held on to him, she hugged him tightly as if she could explain everything she was feeling to him through the hug.
Lance didn’t pull away. He simply held her, letting her bury herself in his chest, saying nothing—just being there.
After she had her moments, Lance opened the car door for her and he also got into the car with her.
“Do you want to talk or should we just go and eat?” Lance asked Florence because he felt that she was carrying a lot of the burden.
“I don't even know what I want right now, but I must ask, did you tell anyone about the serum we had been working on?” Florence asked, looking serious.
“No, nobody,” Lance answered, looking confused.
Florence adjusted on the car seat and said “I have been getting threats”
“Threats? What kind of threats?”
“About the serum, it's as if this person knows not only about the serum but also my every move”
“I'm confused,” Lance said as he took her hand and checked it thoroughly while he asked, “Are you hurt?”
“No,” Florence said and smiled. “Whoever it is has been sending notes”.
“Notes? Can I see them”
“One of them is in my office but I have been locked out, and I threw the other one in a waste bin in the hallway”
“There’s more than one?”
“Two notes. Just today.”
“Damn. That’s not random.”
“I know. I’ve tried to shake it off, but it’s getting under my skin.”
“It's fine, baby, no one can hurt you, he will have to come through me”
“I know, I'm just worried”
“Do you want to show me the note”
“Yes, I will just go and get it”
“No, you can't go alone, we have to go together”
“No Lance, all eyes will be on us. You might get a scandal”
“The media can say whatever for all I care”
Florence felt at peace to know that her lover was still on her side.
They decided to go and get the note together, as they came out of the car, Florence saw the same dark-eyed man—Dante—watching her from across the street.
She thoug
ht, “Dante?” Her heart skipped. “How could he be here?”
Before she blinked twice to be sure of who she was seeing.
He vanishes into the crowd.
- Writer
