The suprised look on Angela Mandela's face was the first thing Juni Cartel noticed when he barged in through the door
"What?
" Wait"
" Who are you?"
" What do you want?"
" What are you doing here?"
The questions ranged on
"Juni..." Clara tried to say,her voice came through to him but he ignored her and proceeded into the middle of the hall seeing Angela at the farthest side from him surrounded by the directors and a bunch of paperworks
"You fucking bitch" he yelled and made to get at her but found out he couldn't as he was restricted by two men who he assumed to be her bodyguards.
"You fucking psycho bitch, What the fuck did I do so wrong to you? All i did was be a human and help you, why? Why are you hell bent on ruining my life"Juni kept yelling struggling to get away from the men's but only succeeded in flinging his legs everydirection
"You call sexually harrasing her being human,you bastard"in A voice said and that was when Juni finally noticed Stephen approaching him where he was being held down
"I did not harrasss her sexually! I have my own wife,Freak!.why?are you in on this too?I know you didn't like me but why?why do you want to destroy my life too"Juni yelled in frustration at him,
Stephen approached menacingly towards him still "I wasn't going to do this because I thought you would have some decency in you but apparently you don't and you just need someone to remind you of that"
And ,it was in that moment that Juni heard Angela speak with her eyes hidden behind a sunglasses,Juni couldn't see how guilty she looked "Stephen" she called out stopping her manager in his tracks
"Angela..." He drawed out while the directors just looked on
"Don't, he's not worth it plus" She paused turning to the officials present " why is he here? wasn't he supposed to be fired?"
They quickly snapped out of whatever silent meeting they were having
"Today is his last day,I didn't know he would make this much of a scene though,We apologize and not to worry, security is on the way"One of them spoke
Juni was so caught up in his anger that he didn't notice a man from the table side where the officials sat lean in Clara's earshot
"Is that him?" The man asked
" Yes" Clara answered
"That's really Juni Cartel, the editor you respect?"
He asked again
"I currently don't know"she answered.
Minutes later, security arrived and the two bodyguards released him from.their grip , straighting themselves and blocking him way further.
" Mr Cartel, we will escort you to your car"
One of them said
"You bastards"he said looking back to glare at them, they seemed a bit surprised as they always knew the young editor to be always composed , the man is front of them however looked like a ferocious animal, they quickly recovered from the shock though
"We don't want to have to drag you sir but we have no choice"
Juni slowed down his every breathing then chuckled to himself while everyone looked up in surprise
"Angela Mandela, you will regret ever trying to destroy me, believe that"
He said staring right at her, he could have sworn he saw her squirm but he ignored it and walked out the hall , giving it one last look .
The security bowed "Sorry for the inconveniences, we will make sure it won't happen again" they apologized and quickly bounded after Juni Cartel who was headed to the elevator
"We will escort you to your car sir" they offered politely walking side by side with him closely
He sent them a glare "I'm going to my office"
One of them moved to stop him in front of the elevator
"I'm sorry , Mr Cartel but we have strict orders that we have to follow"he said
Juni sighed in frustration" I need to gather a few documents, you can escort me there if you want"
" Mr Cartel... "One started to say but was interrupted
" I will make sure he leaves the building safely" Mark said coming into view from behind them
The security exchanged glances with each other like a secret cult while Juni glared at them
"Then we will leave in your hands, Mr Ruffalo. I hope you will take responsibility when if anything goes wrong" a frowning security said
" Nothing will go wrong" Mark said with a smile and soon enough, they made their way into the elevator and left giving Juni a last glance
Mark sighed
"They are quite the headache"
Juni didn't give a reply but rather moved to press the button on the elevator and got in , Mark quickly after him
"Don't be selfish , boss" Mark said letting out a nervously laugh under the silent glare of the young editor.
It was just by luck that they didn't run into the persistent bellboy as Juni bounded down his office hallway and threw the door open, the people passing by seem startled by the action but none dared to question it as Mark also got into the office and closed the door behind him only to see Juni sitting on his chair, his hands on the table and his head bowed
"Mr Cartel..?" Mark called out
"Mr Cartel?" He added again but no reply was forthcoming so he continued
"I'm sorry I broke your favorite coffee cup, lost your sharpest pencil and dumped your marshmallow in the dustbin"Mark paused for emphasis
" I'm sorry I didn't let you go earlier" he expected a reaction to that but got none
" I'm sorry I wasn't a competen.. -" he was about to add when he heard Juni speak
" Beyonce? "He called out
"Yes boss" Mark replied rapidly from where he stood in front of the table
" You are a really competent secretary and right now, I need you not to be"Juni said
raising his head up with a sad smile expression
" How so? "Mark asked , his voice at a minimum
"Because I need you to leave,I need some time to think and this,Beyonce,I have to do alone"Juni finally stated
There was silence for a few.minutes before Mark finally let out
"Yes boss" he replied curtly and made his way out of the office leaving behind a man he couldn't recognize.
***
They had been escorted outside by her private bodyguards after the signing process was over,Many had smiled at her as they passed through the company's lobby and Angela smiled right back feeling sick right from the depths of her stomach
Angela let out a sigh for the thousandth time as they neared the car
"What's it Angela?" Stephen asked as soon as they got into the car,him in the driver's seat while Angela sat at the back.
He turned to face her
"What do you mean?" She asked right back shrugging indifferently
"You have been moody all day since that mad man came barging in the hall, does he really affect you that much? Do you want me to get him arrested? " Stephen asked looking back at her in the car seat as she stared out the window
She quickly snapped her head back to him "No" she replied rapidly
"I think we have done enough" she mumbled out
"No, we haven't. He deserved that and more. I know you have a big heart but this is not the time to be sympathizing with someone who tried to harm you okay"Stephen stated
" I have a big heart huh? " Angela asked , her voice at a minimum
" Yes"Stephen paused before continuing "we just signed a good deal for your next best selling book .. be happy, don't worry"
"Right... "Angela replied trailing off
" And remove those sunglasses, they look terrible" Stephen added
making Angela chuckle and soon enough , Stephen joined her.
He always knew how to make her feel better and safe, he was like the brother she never had, he was the one who finally seperated her and her toxic boyfriend.a brother and a bestfriend ,that's who Stephen was, She thought.
That was why it had been so easy to convince him that Juni had made some kind of move on her after everyone left, that she had struggled and finally managed to push him away, he seemed so surprised at the resistance that he ran away, leaving his coat jacket behind, the next morning he had sent her a message telling her he wants to talk.
She had told him and he didn't take long to dial a few contacts to keep her story intact and rolling, he had come over that same day with drinks to cheer her up and they had watched Netflix together when her son, Angel was put to sleep. As she laid her head on his shoulder that night while the movie rolled out, with popcorn between them as he caressed her hair, she had never felt so ashamed .