Natalie entered the already crowded canteen. The tables were filled with employees enjoying their food and filling their stomachs to supplement the energy that had been expended from work. However, something made Natalie feel strange.
It's only natural that if someone enters a place, those who are already inside will reflexively see the new one coming. But, now almost everyone in the cafeteria was looking at Natalie with various eyes.
This made Natalie feel uncomfortable. She had predicted this, but still receiving stares from many people was not something she could take lightly. Not long after, Natalie's ears overheard the conversation of two people gossiping about her.
"Hey, look! Isn't that Natalie?!"
"Oh, the new secretary, right?"
"That's right! She is Mr. Dimas' new secretary. I heard this morning she was embarrassed when Mr. Dimas rejected her morning greetings!"
"Isn't it normal to get rejected when giving morning greetings? You and I also experience it often! What's so special about that gossip?!"
"Listen first! How can it be normal when Natalie spends all day in Mr. Dimas's office?! Isn't that a strange thing?!"
"Oh, you mean she…"
"She might tease Mr. Dimas and get rejected. But, she shamelessly continues to approach Mr. Dimas!"
"What?! How come the new secretary seems to immediately approach the boss?! Then, how do you know if Mr. Dimas refuses?"
"Hehe… Of course, I know it from the source directly!"
"Who is that?"
"Mrs. Dessy! She's the head of the finance team. Can't she be trusted because she must be in the same place where Natalie works?"
"Oh, wow! From what you said, it seems to be true. When you think about it, it's suspicious."
"See! I can't say nonsense gossip."
"Yes yes yes. It's up to you."
Natalie's ears felt hot after listening to two people's conversations about her. Aren't those people's voices too loud?! Oh, did they purposely raise their voices for Natalie to hear?!
Tch, you annoying people! Just keep on gossiping until their mouths are foaming because Natalie really is as shameless as the girl they gossip about. Natalie approached Dimas intimately even though their relationship was hanging.
'I really have no shame!! But, don't embarrass me too with your filthy mouths!'
Natalie wanted to scream those words in the ears of those gossiping about her. Even though she had only entered the cafeteria a few steps, there were already many pairs of eyes looking down on her and laughing at Natalie openly. They didn't even hesitate to talk about it out loud.
"Oh, so, this is the dark side of the office world that makes many people feel uncomfortable and resign?"
All right, this isn't Natalie's problem, is it? She could deal with situations where she was gossiped about by people. Offended? Natalie is unaffected by all the bullshit of the surrounding people which she considers to be a broken radio. Natalie was even more hurt when Dimas forgot her. That kind of thing being talked about by people wasn't a big deal to her.
Angry? Of course, Natalie was angry, how could she not get angry when she was gossiped about like that?! Natalie was silent, but that didn't mean she wasn't angry. Is it true that angry people must always be shown openly, for example, throwing tantrums and yelling at those who talk about them? It doesn't always have to be like that, right? Well, that's accurately what Natalie was trying to do.
Natalie immediately stepped into the display case, on which there were neatly arranged breads. Natalie's hand reached out to take two packs of Dimas' favorite strawberry-flavored bread. For Natalie herself, she already had the chocolate-flavored bread that Zidan had previously brought.
All food in the company canteen is free, so all employees just need to take or order it. Then, for drinks, Natalie ordered avocado juice. After waiting for a while, the juice was finally finished and Natalie walked away to immediately deliver Dimas's order.
When Natalie almost reached the door, suddenly from the side came Dessy who hit her on purpose. Natalie is a little surprised because a cliché drama is going on, and she is the victim.
The drink Dessy was holding spilled onto the blazer Natalie was wearing. It all spilled over to Natalie and didn't even hit Dessy one bit. It was definitely done on purpose, everyone who witnessed would know that too.
"Oh my gosh! I accidentally bumped into you, Natalie. My drink spilled all over your clothes." Dessy put on a surprised face with her hand covering her mouth. However, Dessy's eyes narrowed and there was satisfaction in her eyes.
Everyone giggled, feeling funny at the scene between Natalie and Dessy. Natalie looked at Dessy coldly, she lowered her eyes to see that the gray blazer she was wearing now had a big red stain from Dessy's strawberry juice.
Natalie straightened her eyes to look at Dessy. "Shouldn't you be apologizing?"
Dessy's face immediately changed drastically. Her brows carved with eyebrow pencil dipped sharply, her eyes glaring at Natalie. "What are you saying?"
Natalie chuckled sarcastically. "Hah, you said yourself that you bumped into me accidentally. Shouldn't you be apologizing to me now so things can be quickly resolved?"
However, Dessy basically doesn't want the problem to be solved quickly. She wanted to create new conflicts that would make Natalie difficult. She did not expect Natalie to respond to the discrimination she did.
Dessy folded her arms with a haughty face. She rolled her eyes, staring defiantly at Natalie. "Then, what if I don't apologize? Are you going to get angry or…"
Dessy put her mouth close to Natalie's ear. "Reporting to Mr. Dimas?"
It was clear that Dessy didn't want to apologize. Even among the many people in the canteen, no one had any intention of intervening to prevent a bigger conflict from occurring. Everyone was too lazy to take care of other people's problems and pretended like they didn't know anything when they saw it.
Natalie's expression was still under control, as if she wasn't offended by Dessy's words. This made Dessy feel annoyed. She distanced herself from Natalie. The unexpected happened because Natalie splashed the avocado juice she was holding on Dessy's clothes.
Natalie's actions were so blatant that she did it on purpose. Everyone was shocked to witness the incident, including Dessy who became the target of Natalie's splash.
Natalie smiled sweetly until her eyes narrowed. "Oh, I'm sorry that I did it on purpose. Then, ..."
Natalie put her mouth close to Dessy's ear, just like what Dessy had done before. "Are you going to report it to Mr. Dimas?"
Natalie tilted her head with an annoying face. Dessy's body trembled with anger. Natalie immediately took a step back away from Dessy.
"You! How dare you do this to me!" Dessy shouted angrily with a raised index finger pointing at Natalie.
Natalie raised an eyebrow, feeling funny at what Dessy said. "What? Didn't I apologize? So, problem solved."
Natalie shrugged nonchalantly, it was obvious that she didn't feel guilty at all for what she had done. This made Dessy even more angry. "Natalie! You!"
"Natalie, Natalie, what?! You've been calling me angry all along like I'm the only one who made a mistake! Tch, I already apologized. Wasn't what I did better than you not apologizing at all?!" Natalie spoke in a high-pitched voice. Her eyes glared sharply at Dessy. Natalie is in a bad mood because of Dimas' attitude this morning. Why are people now even looking for trouble with her?! This only irritated Natalie even more!
Dessy flinched when she heard the high notes of Natalie's words. She shrank a little after receiving a sharp glare from Natalie. However, Dessy ventured to defend herself and blamed Natalie.
"You! You…" Dessy was at a loss for words. She couldn't find the right words to put all the blame on Natalie.
Seeing Dessy who was confused, Natalie chuckled lazily and then turned her back to Dessy. Natalie glanced back, giving her a condescending look. "Heh, I didn't expect the team leader to be this kind of person! Bullying other employees and not wanting to apologize when they made a mistake."
"Report to Mr. Dimas? Huh, you think I'm a little bitch who complains?! Why would I do something like that if I can solve it myself!"
After saying those harsh words, Natalie walked away, leaving Dessy with all the humiliation she felt. Natalie looked down at the avocado juice she was carrying. Natalie smiled proudly to herself. She had already expected that this kind of clichéd scene would happen to her.
Wouldn't the bully's target always receive bullying? So, Natalie prepares for vengeance even before being bullied.
On the other hand, Dessy was very embarrassed because Natalie splashed water on purpose. This is even more embarrassing than what Natalie received. That's because Dessy said that she didn't do it on purpose, in contrast to Natalie, who openly confessed.
Dessy gritted her teeth, her hands clenched so tightly that her fingernails stuck to her palms. Dessy hissed angrily with eyes filled with malice. "Natalie! I will never forget this humiliation!"