5. DEMOTED... OR PROMOTED?
1339 Words
Morning came. Again.
The bus hadn’t even come to a complete stop before Selene squeezed her way through the crowd of passengers.
“Excuse me.”
“Sorry.”
“Coming through.”
The moment her shoes touched the pavement, she took off running.
The cold morning air slapped against her cheeks as she hurried across the busy sidewalk, maneuvering her way around pedestrians who seemed to be moving at the pace of a snail, much slower than Selene could tolerate.
Her handbag bounced against her hip with every step.
This morning was a disaster.
Grandma Hattie had misplaced her medication.
The bus had arrived ten minutes late.
By the time Selene finally reached downtown Los Angeles, she was so close to being late. Again.
Not that it was entirely her fault.
Being late three times this month says otherwise.
“Not helping, Nyx.” Selene muttered aloud.
Just stating facts.
Selene rolled her eyes and hastened her footsteps.
The towering Blackwood Corps building soon came into view, standing proudly against the morning sky.
Relief flooded her chest.
She might actually make it.
Key word— Might.
If the universe decides to show you mercy just this once.
Which it probably wouldn’t.
“Please be quiet.”
Selene pushed through the glass doors and nearly collided with a security guard.
“Sorry!” She called out, unwilling to waste an extra second.
The guard chuckled as she hurried past.
The lobby was already busy with employees rushing toward elevators, coffee cups in hand and phones pressed against their ears.
Selene glanced at her wristwatch.
8:03 a.m.
Her stomach dropped.
“Oh no, I’m officially late.”
By three minutes. Nyx snorted.
“Late is late,” Selene retorted.
Whatever helps you sleep at night.
Ignoring Nyx’s words, Selene hurried toward the elevators, whispering a prayer that Mr. Harris wouldn’t notice.
Getting off the elevator, she rushed to her seat, failing to notice the stares and whispers she was getting.
Muttering a quick Hi to Chloe, who sat with a huge grin on her face, Selene arranges her things on the table as she takes her seat.
“Should I be worried about that smile on your face?”
“Oh no,” Chloe replied, still smiling like a Cheshire cat. “But you should probably be worried about the glares you’re getting right now.”
“Wait, what’s going on?”
“You haven’t heard?” Chloe gasped.
“If I had, I wouldn’t be asking you,” Selene rolled her eyes.
“Oh! Right, anyway Mr.—”
“Miss Hart?” Mr. Harris’ voice echoed. “See me in my office now!”
Fear settled in Selene’s chest. Many thoughts ran through her mind about why she had been called.
Is this because of yesterday? Or maybe even today? But I wasn’t that late, right?
Maybe you’re getting fired. Nyx added.
You realize that you’re not helping matters, right? Selene shot back. But what if you’re right? What will I do? We’re already in a lot of debt, how will we cope? And what do I tell Grandma Hattie? Oh my goodness!
Suppressing the intense emotions in her chest, Selene raised a trembling hand to knock on Mr. Harris’ door.
She knocked. Twice. Then pushed the door open without waiting for a reply.
“You called for me sir,” Selene said, hands intertwined in front of her.
Mr. Harris looked up from the document on his desk.
For a moment, he simply stared at her.
Selene frowned slightly.
Something was off.
Normally, whenever he called her into his office, he got straight to the point. He made his point clear almost immediately, hardly ever hesitated.
Today, however, he looked... uncomfortable.
His fingers tapped fiercely against the surface of the desk.
Once.
Twice.
Then he halted.
Selene shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
"Is there a problem, sir?" she asked carefully.
"No."
The answer came too hurriedly.
A short silence followed.
Mr. Harris removed his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose before letting out a ragged breath.
That definitely wasn't normal.
If anything, he looked annoyed. Not at her, but at the situation.
"You may sit down."
Selene obeyed, sinking into the chair opposite him.
The discomfort in the room only seemed to increase.
Mr. Harris glanced at the document in front of him again as though hoping the words had somehow changed since the last time he had read them.
Unfortunately, they hadn't.
The order still stood.
Direct authorization from the CEO himself. There was no room for objections or negotiations.
As head of the Marketing Department, Harris knew exactly what kind of employee Selene Hart was: efficient, reliable , hardworking even to a fault. The kind of employee managers fought to keep. One he was currently about to lose.
And for what? The position of Personal Assistant.
His jaw tightened. It all made absolutely no sense to him.
If the order had come from anyone else, he would have rejected it immediately.
But it hadn't.
It came from Alaric Blackwood. The CEO himself.
No one argued with the CEO.
No one.
Finally, Harris looked at her.
"Miss Hart," he began slowly.
Selene's stomach tightened.
"Yes, sir?"
"Starting today, your position within the Marketing Department has been terminated."
The color immediately drained from her face.
“I’m sorry? I don’t understand,” Words rushed out of Selene’s mouth. “Did I do something wrong? Is my department underperforming? Is there a problem with the Q3 marketing data?”
“No… no, I mean you’re being transferred instead. You no longer work with the marketing department.”
Perplexity was very visible on Selene’s face. “Transferred? Where?”
“To the executive floor. The office of the CEO to be precise,” Mr. Harris responded, clearly unhappy that the decision was not in his hands.
Selene, too stunned to speak, was left gaping at her boss.
“You’ll be serving as Mr. Blackwood’s Personal Assistant.”
Silence. Absolute silence.
Excuse me? PERSONAL ASSISTANT? Even Nyx was rendered speechless.
“With all due respect sir, I work in Marketing. I cannot suddenly become a personal assistant.”
“Well Miss. Hart, I’m afraid the decision is not up to you or me.”
Without another word, Mr. Harris reached for a document resting at the edge of his desk and slid it across the table. "Open it. That’s your new employment package."
Confused, she lowered her gaze to the document. The first thing that caught her attention was the salary figure.
Her eyes widened.
Then she looked again. Maybe her eyes were deceiving her.
The amount listed was double what she currently earned. It was enough to cover all she needed at the moment.
Slowly, she read on.
A comprehensive health insurance plan had been included in the package, one that covered not only her expenses but also a dependent. Specialist consultations, prescription medications, hospital admissions, routine checkups, emergency treatments—services she normally had to carefully budget for were now listed as offered benefits.
Her grip on the paper tightened.
She immediately thought of her Grandma. The medical bills piled up.
The payment reminders seemed to arrive every other day. The constant fear of not having enough.
By the time she reached the final page, her mind was spinning.
The position might carry the title of Personal Assistant, but nothing about the offer felt like a demotion.
Quite the opposite.
For several seconds, Selene simply stared at the papers.
Then she slowly lifted her head.
"Sir..." she began carefully, almost afraid of the answer. "Is this really for me?"
“It wouldn’t be in your hands if it wasn’t.”
She stared at the papers, then at her boss, then the papers once again.
I’m not going to have to step in again? Am I? Nyx whispered..
“When do I start?”
Upstairs on the executive floor, the door to the CEO’s office flew open.
“She said yes!” Flynn grinned.
- Writer
