Chapter Nine

The middle-aged woman sat in her office, her face red with anger. She had called Sarah, the underling, to her office, and she was not happy with what she had to say.

"Sarah, how could you not tell me in advance?" the woman cursed, her voice rising in frustration.

Sarah felt wronged by the accusation. "I sent you an email, but you didn't reply," she protested.

The middle-aged woman sneered at her underling. "You think that's an excuse? You should have made sure I got the message, it's all your fault."

Sarah's heart sank. She had been working hard to keep up with the demands of her boss, but it seemed like nothing was ever enough. She tried to speak up, but the woman cut her off.

"Enough. You'll just have to help this young man finish the process. And don't mess up again, or else you'll be out of job."

With that, the woman sat back in her chair, pulling out her cell phone as if nothing had happened. She suddenly paused and turns to Davide who gave been quietly watching her and Sarah.

"Go with her." The woman's lips warped in a sneer and she focused on her phone again.

Davide abruptly lifted his head staring at the woman with disgust. 

The woman wasn't at all pretty, her hair had strands of white and her glasses were like those in the eighties. 

His gaze fell on the underlings, and a quiet sigh slowly escaped his lips as he watched her say,

"Let's go to the business department, that's where you've been employed."

Sarah forced a smile, but her reddened eyes gave her away. At a glance, one would know that she was putting on a facade. 

On seeing how frustrated Sarah looked, Davide grunted, and followed after her as they walked out.

...

As they walked down the hallway in silence. 

Words of comfort hung on the tips of Davide's lips. The silence was slowly eating deep into his skin. 

When they got to the elevator, Sarah paused and stared at the elevator. It was four floors away.

"We should take the stairs, it's just the next floor, no need to wait." She said to Davide.

"Okay." Davide swallowed as he walked after her in silence. 

Shortly after, Davide slowly forced out the words, "Hey, are you okay?" he asked, noticing the distressed look on her face.

Sarah lips widened as she let out a small smile. She stared at Davide for a moment, and quickly looked away when his gaze met hers.

Sarah sighed. "I'm just tired of being treated like this. No matter how hard I work, it's never enough."

Davide suddenly went off for a moment. There was something about her words that seemed similar to how he lived his life. 

No matter how much he loved Avery and forgave her, it was never enough. 

"I know how you feel." He scoffed, "But you're doing a great job. I can tell you're a hardworking girl, and I believe you'll be promoted soon."

Sarah shook her head, a sad smile on her lips. "It's not that simple. Mrs. Hillary is a relative of a manager. She won't let me move up the ladder."

Davide's expression darkened. "That's not fair."

"Nothing is fair in life." Sarah responded as she opened the door to the next floor. 

"This is the business department." 

They headed to the Manager's office, when Sarah knocked on the door. They heard an angry voice from inside, "Go away!"

Sarah was about to knock again, but her thumps curled into fist and a sigh escaped her lips as she turns to Davide.

"I'm sorry, I don't think we can finish your onboarding today." 

Davide nodded. "Okay."

But before they could turn around and walk away, they heard a girl cry out in distress. Davide and Sarah exchanged a worried look, and Sarah pushed the door open.

Inside, they saw a young woman, huddled in a corner, tears streaming down her face. The manager stood over her, a look of anger on his face.

Davide's heart raced as he stepped into the office, taking in the sight of the distressed young woman and the angry middle-aged man towering over her. His eyes widened as he noticed the man's hand placed on her shoulder, his touch making her flinch.

The man turned to him, his face red with anger. "Who are you? Can't you see I'm in the middle of an important meeting with my employee?"

"How is this a meeting?" 

When the girl noticed that the young man doesn't seem to be leaving, she took it as a cue and freed herself from the fat man's grip. 

Davide's heart sank as he saw the girl run out of the office, her tears leaving a trail behind her. He couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. 

As the door closed behind her, the fat man turned his attention back to Davide and Sarah. "What do you want?" he barked.

"We're sorry to interrupt," Sarah said, her voice trembling. "We just wanted to finish the new employee's onboarding process."

"Well, you'll have to come back later. I'm busy right now," the manager replied, his tone dismissive.

Davide felt a surge of anger rising in his chest. He felt guilty, standing there and not saying the words that tightened his chest. 

 "Excuse me, sir," he said firmly. "I couldn't help but notice that the young woman who just left was upset. Is everything okay?"

The manager's face contorted with anger. "That's none of your business, get out of my office." he growled.

Davide felt a surge of anger as he watched the fat man sneer at him, but he knew he had to keep his cool. He silently cursed the manager in his mind, vowing to keep an eye on him.

"Fine, let's just get this over with, I mean the onboarding." Davide said, forcing a polite smile.

The manager glared at Davide's daring gaze. He felt threatened by Davide's words. 

He had asked him to get out, but the young man didn't seem fazed, rather, he had a proud demeanor, one that almost made him feel like he was speaking with his superior. 

'Who is this stranger that feels he can he walk over me?' The manager questioned Davide's guts in his thoughts, and a smirk played on his lips.

'I will teach him a lesson he'd never forget.' 

The manager grunted and handed Davide a stack of papers. "Fill these and give them back to me."

Davide nodded, took the papers, and quickly scanned them. It was a long list of questions about his personal information, previous work experience, and education.

When he finished filling out the forms, he walked to the manager's desk-

"Excuse me, I'm finished," Davide said, trying to keep his voice steady.

The manager looked up, his eyes cold and calculating. "Good. Give me the papers."

 After the onboarding was done, Davide walked out of the office with the Sarah. 

Davide went to his seat Sarah showed him and coincidentally, his seat was just right beside the girl he met in the manager's office earlier.

"Hello!" He forced a smile and the girl smiled. He seats next to the girl. 

It seems awkward for a moment until she said, "I'm Gwen." 

Just before Davide could introduce himself, the manager stepped out of his office and cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. 

"Attention, please," he said loudly. "To celebrate our new hire, Davide, we'll be having a departmental party tonight at Twelvewest bar. Don't be late, and make sure to bring your ID."

As he spoke, he glanced around the room, and his eyes settled on the girl from earlier. 

A lecherous grin crept across his face, and he openly ogled her from head to toe. Gwen blushed and looked away, feeling uncomfortable.

Davide noticed the manager's gaze and scowled in disgust. 

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