Sold to Fate

“Why are you still standing there, this place isn’t going clean itself” I was still standing in shock as I looked at all the papers that I spent 3 hours searching for and organizing, scattered on the floor, some even torn apart by the man who calls himself my boss. I stared at him as he left the office. I wish I could kill this insecure misogynistic son of a urrrgggh. I had never been so frustrated in my entire life. I only started working here two days ago and I already officially hated my boss. The pot-bellied man with reclining hair and an aggressive attitude had it out for me every time. ”Don’t let him get to you, he is just an old sad sack” I turned around to see Amanda smiling at me. She was my co-worker and my closest friend at the office. She had the nicest personality that went well with the innocent look that her slim fragile body painted her to be. She had a pale face that held the most gorgeous blue eyes and she was so beautiful and very petite that you could mistake her for a highschooler if possible. “Is he always like this?” I asked. “Only during work hours” “He has bosses who also bully him so he takes it out on us” She bent down and started helping me with the scattered documents on the floor. I paced myself and started packing the torn pieces of paper that were scattered everywhere in the office. “Well that seems very healthy,” I said sarcastically with my eyebrows raised slightly. “Just do what he asks and stay out of his way for the most time and you will realize that the rest of us are fun people to work with.” I looked at her and she was smiling at me. I smiled back as my mind drifted away. There was a time that I was like her, happy, trusting people, not having to worry about anything, but at the end of the day what had that gotten me? Pain. “Earth to Claire” She was waving at my face. I turned to look at her face as she asked. “Are you okay?” “Yeah, I’m fine” ”I just got carried away for a second” “What did you say?” “I was saying that I am excited about the CEO’s interview today” “What” “The Interview” “Don’t tell me you forgot about it” “No, I didn’t” “In fact, ‘your boss’…” I said with an air quote. “...Asked me to create five different interview guides with different approaches” “All of which are now lying on the floor, their innocence torn into many tiny pieces” “You are quite a drama queen, I love it” She was grinning as we finished cleaning up the mess and exiting the office. The CEO of Denver Groups where I worked was coming to the company because of a new product that they were about to launch. I am working with the PR/Marketing team so we were busy with the Product campaign and marketing strategy and part of that strategy is to get the CEO to do an interview explaining what the product is about. Not that it is a big deal but Amanda won’t just shut up about it. “It’s not that big of a deal” “I have never even seen the CEO’s face before” “You should” “He is every girl’s dream, rich and handsome” ”That’s not my dream” ”I just need to focus on my job and make money” “Well my dream is to find the love of my life and live happily ever after” Love? That has gotten me nowhere in life. It has only taken me backward. My mind drifted back to my ex-boyfriend, Carl. I loved him and did everything in my power to make sure that he was happy. We planned our lives together. We worked and saved throughout college in a joint account. The plan was to save enough money to finally start a small business after college and eventually, our own little family. However, I made one stupid mistake, I trusted him and I not only got heartbroken, but I also got duped. All my savings for four years down the drain. Now people walk over me because I am a helpless and pitiful orphan with no money. Even if I died, no one would even notice. “You are always getting distracted, what is it this time?” “Nothing” “Well we need to hurry so we can be ready for the shoot” She was getting excited as we were nearing the studio. There was commotion everywhere as everyone was trying to get ready for the shoot. Everything had to be perfect when it came to the CEO of the company. “How strange that a man who was not even present could command such respect from people.” “THE CEO IS AROUND!” The rowdy area cleared almost immediately as two bodyguards led two men in black tailored suits into the studio set where the interview would be conducted. It was a huge green screen with two comfortable chairs and a side table that was positioned in between the two chairs. On the camera screens, the green screen disappeared and was replaced with a beautiful garden-view scenery. The two men walked elegantly into the studio and even though they were both in expensive clothes and walking side by side, I could still tell who the CEO was. The aura that was coming from him was very frightening and admirable at the same time. I was not able to see his face though, due to the crowd around, and as he entered the studio, videographers, photographers, reporters, and all followed him inside so it was impossible to even get a glimpse. Deep down, I was also excited to see the CEO of one of the biggest companies in the country, such a brilliant mastermind. “I need you in my office now” Mr Ceasar, my boss was looking very worried as he scurried to his office almost immediately. It was like the mask of aggression had fallen off his face and I could see the true him. I followed him almost immediately, leaving Amanda as she kept struggling to get past the crowd and into the studio. “Is there a problem sir?” I asked him as I closed the door behind me. He looked at me and the worry on his face changed back. He looked at me and with all the aggressiveness he could mutter, he ordered me to do a ridiculous task. “I have just been told that the CEO wants to review every department’s performance, so I need you to get the record of our activities for the last six months and go through them one by one, verify that each project was carried out duly and that there are no irregularities in them. If you find anything illegal or weird, let me know immediately.” “Alright sir, I will get it started first thing tomorrow morning” “No, you will get it started now” “The review is going to start tomorrow so everything must be ready before then” ”But sir, it is almost 6 pm” ”There is no time” ”And the more you stay there, the more time is going so, get to work” “And you do not leave this office unless you are done with it” Are you kidding me? I am going to be here all night. At that moment, I was very sure that I would end up killing him and burying his body in an abandoned truck by the roadside. I went to get the records which in itself takes time to sort before I started the work. Amanda came to check on me and helped a little before leaving for her house. She explained that the shoot went well and the CEO announced that he would run things in the company directly for the period of the product launch. “That means that he would be around for the meantime” She said this before scurrying away excitedly. I was on my own again working on the report. The entire building was quiet like there was not a single soul left or at least that is how it felt in my head. I kept working till 11:30 p.m. when I finished. I wrapped up everything and submitted the documents to my boss's office before closing the office and exiting the building. It was cold outside and quiet too. The company was located in a neighborhood so there was hardly any car in sight. I started trekking fast because I was scared and did not have any option but to reach the bus stop before the last bus for the day left. As I passed the dark alleyways, I heard funny sounds around. Bats chatting and chirping, dogs barking, growling, and howling and they just added more chills to my spine. The dog's growling became fiercer and fiercer. Something was wrong The growling was beginning to sound like monsters than dogs and I could hear the sound of crashes like there was a fight and properties were being destroyed. I took a few unsure steps forward and with every step I took, the sound was also coming closer to me. I was so scared that I began running away but then something was chasing me and it was closing in on me. The sounds I was hearing were coarse and ugly. The type you hear from monsters in a horror movie. I tripped over a stone on the side of the road and fell on my back. I saw it. It looked like a wolf with crimson red eyes but it was standing on two feet and its body looked like that of a human who had animal skin. The hair on its battered face and claws were drenched in blood and it looked weak. It kept coming closer to me and I was trying to get away but to no avail. The last thing I remembered was that I saw the creature’s claws about to attack me before I blacked out.