The Return Of The Phoenix Healer

Four

Klein knew he was doomed. He took a good look at the woman, everything about her was expensive. Her skin glowed and shone like porcelain. Delicate, refined and radiant. Her clothes were expensive and even if he worked all his life, he was never going to afford just her handbag.

Slap! Slap!

Two hot slaps landed on Klein's face and he could swear that he saw stars. In just a few hours' interval, he had received several slaps across his face.

“Who even let you into this place in the first place? Does this look like where peasants can come into? Huh?”

Turning to the receptionist, she fired,

“Nina! I see you are tired of working in this company, right? How dare you let this low life in. We have important clients and guests everyday and they shouldn't meet something like this in the company. He freaking stinks! Do you realize the consequences of your actions?”

The receptionist was at this time slightly trembling. The woman whom Klein bumped into was the head of the human resources department. She was very pompous and sometimes she acted like she was the owner of the company.

Rumour has it that she was dating one of the higher ups in the company. Little wonder she always behaved like she was above the law.

“I'm sorry ma'am. I sent him out but he ran inside. He's a thief!” Nina accused Klein in self defense. “I'll call the security to throw him out.”

“I’m sorry, but I'm not a thief. I just had an appointment at the top floor and was asked to come here,” Klein immediately countered the accusation.

The HR manager, Miss Elena looked at him like he was a lunatic.

“An appointment with the boss, you say? You must be delusional. You not only sneaked in here, you also ruined my perfect outfit. My clothes cost ten thousand dollars and you are going to hand that money over to me right now. I have a meeting and I can't attend it looking like a mess. Quick, hand the money or I'll put you behind the bars!”

Klein, who was still on his knees, went further to prostrate on the floor before the woman and begged harder. He didn't have the money and he couldn't afford to be locked up. He would be forgotten about and left to die.

“Please, forgive me. It was an honest mistake, I'm…”

“Mistake my foot! Next time, you will think twice before barging into a company, you unfortunate thief!” Nina snapped.

She was annoyed that he made the HR manager scold her. She was even lucky that she wasn't fired. Elena was probably in a good mood and that was why Nina didn't get an earful, a query or a sack.

The security arrived in no time and Klein was lifted off the ground, kicked and pushed roughly. In fact, they were treating him like he stole some valuables.

“Get the police to arrest that lowlife,” Elena said, pressing her expensive phone.

The same security man whom Klein met at the gate rolled his eyes at him.

“You thief! I knew it was only a matter of time before you would be thrown out. This is for not leaving when you should,” he said and struck Klein painfully on the back. A low scream escaped his lips and he wriggled in pain. He thought that he was going to die.

At this time, the CEO’s assistant stepped out of the elevator and noticed the commotion in the company. He frowned and walked towards them.

“What's going on? Who dares to cause havoc in here?”

“Mr. Ben, it's this thing! He tried to barge in and look, he ruined my clothes!” Elena said, pointing at Klein. Klein decided to explain himself one last time.

“I did nothing sir. I'm Klein and I'm not a thief, I'm only here on an appointment with the boss.”

“Are you calling me a liar? You fool!” Elena yelled and rushed at him, her hands raised high in the air. Klein closed his eyes, expecting the nthn slap for the day but it didn't come.

“Stop! Let him go.” Mr. Ben ordered. The security men were all surprised but they did as they were instructed.

“What appointment?” Ben asked, carefully assessing him. His face was swollen from several slaps, he was bleeding from the corner of his lips and he has injuries on his head as well.

“I was called to come to the top floor in thirty minutes, sir.” Klein thought he was going to get the same result he got from the others when he told them he had an appointment. But the assistant said something different, to his greatest glee.

“What's your name?”

Klein struggled to get on his feet.

“Edward Klein, sir.”

“Edward Klein?” the assistant repeated and Klein nodded.

“How can you be this careless? Were you not informed that an important guest named Mr. Edward would be coming this afternoon?” The question was directed to the secretary.

“I was sir. We are still expecting him, sir.”

“You fool! How dare you treat the CEO's guest with disrespect! You even beat him up! Who called the security to deal with him? Who did that type of nonsense?”

Nina turned and looked at Elena who was suddenly silent.

“CEO’s guest? Mr. Ben, I suppose there's a mix up somewhere. He's clearly a thief and a….” Elena began but Mr. Ben turned around and gave her a tight slap.

“Shut up you i***t! Now, kneel and apologize to Mr. Edward, Now!”

Klein was surprised at the turn of events. He was called a thief and beaten up a few minutes ago, now, they were asked to kneel and apologize to him.

Could this be real or was it his imagination?

“Sir….you….” Elena protested again. She was never going to apologize to a beggar. Mr. Ben definitely wasn't sure of what he was saying.

“You have three seconds to do that or kiss your job goodbye.”

Elena immediately dropped on her knees. Skype company was a prestigious company and no sane person would do anything to jeopardize his job.

Turning around, Mr. Ben still noticed that the secretary and the security men were still standing and staring in shock.

“You fools…!” he was saying but they quickly fell to their knees too.

“Forgive us, Mr. Edward. We were very foolish…”

Mr. Ben stepped forward and bowed at a ninety degrees angle before Klein.

“Forgive me sir. Do you want me to fire all these employees that dared to lay their hands on you?”

Klein wasn't sure if this was real or not. He was just a poor, jobless boy about an hour ago. But here he was, asked to decide if the employees of Skype company could retain their jobs. He was still trying to understand what was happening and it would not be very good to start off by making enemies. After all, he was used to constant humiliation.

“No. Let them off this time.”

“Thank you so much, sir,” they chorused. To them, he was now addressed as ‘sir’ and no longer the thief they had called him before.

Mr. Ben bowed again and cast one last look at the employees.

“Scram you fools!” he ordered and they all scampered.

“This way please, sir.”

Klein bent down and picked up his broken jade necklace from the floor. When Mr. Ben saw the dismayed look on his face as he bent to pick up the broken necklace, he asked in a shaky voice,

“Is that yours, sir?”