[-IN THE PRIDE HOLDINGS ENTERPRISE-]
Richard Pride was seated behind his desk when he received an envelope with the red seal of the Hunters Academy on top of it.
His secretary handed over the white envelope with a stamped red seal on top.
It piqued the interest and curiosity of Scarlett Pride's father once he received the envelope.
As he opened the envelope, Richard Pride saw immediately what it contained.
*** INITIAL RANKINGS ***
Results from the selection process, list of newbies were ranked from the top 10 to the bottom ranking newbie.
They were ranked upon their performance and number of eliminated targets.
For Richard Pride, he did not care for the other names, aside from his own daughter. He instantly looked for her name, starting from the first top ranking newbie.
Until he reached on the tenth ranking newbie of the list.
~10. Scarlett M. Pride = 7.77 (cumulative general average result)
A hint of delight and relief upon seeing Scarlett's name amongst the top 12 ranking newbies. Even though he might have expressed his worries for Scarlett's decision to go through the path of becoming an official and professional hunter, but seeing her succeed in her own choice of path. It brought joy and pride to him.
Not too often people see their CEO smile, and that moment the secretary of Richard Pride saw their boss smile for a second.
"Kindly call my eldest son, Edward. Tell him I have something important to share with him," Richard Pride instructed his secretary.
"Yes, sir!" Richard Pride's secretary immediate response.
…
On the other hand,
[-STRATEGY AND PLANNING DIVISION-]
Scarlett arrived with her red velvet hair tied into a ponytail. Holding her branded bag while wearing her usual black laced dress.
Ivon was too focused in her own thoughts to even notice the arrival of Scarlett.
Other staff members were whispering at the late arrival of Scarlett in the office.
"Isn't she shameless for coming late just because she succeeded in her project proposal?"
"Look at her, she is so full of herself now, as if she's the boss of this division!"
"Can't wait for her ass to get fired!"
"I bet the division chief would reprimand her from being late and not appearing recently in the meetings."
There were exchanges of conversation and gossip between the other staff members. But Scarlett paid no attention with the whispering and gossiping around. Because she began to be immune from their unnecessary snide comments about her.
All that matters to Scarlett at the moment was achieving her own goals and obejectives.
"Where were you Miss Lively?" the division chief asked Scarlett.
Hearing the division chief confront Scarlett, Ivon immediately stood from her seat and was about to defend Scarlett and clarify her situation. But Scarlett was capable enough to stand for herself.
Scarlett took a glance at Ivon reassuring her that she could handle it on her own.
"Haven't they informed you? I thought the CEO and the Vice President have sent the memo about my absence? Didn't the other staff informed you about it?" Scarlett's quick response to their division chief while looking at some of her peers.
One of the staff members forgot to send the memo in regards to the condition of Scarlett and her inability to come to the office. This was due to her indifference towards Scarlett.
A look of guilt was painted on her face as Scarlett glared at her.
And instead the division chief being satisfied from Scarlett's reply, the division chief of Scarlett felt his ego was undermined.
"So, are you telling me that you only consider the CEO as your direct boss and not me? This can be grounds for insubordination clause in the ethics rule book," the division chief mentioned one of the clauses in the ethics rule of their company.
Upon hearing the threat of their division chief towards Scarlett, most of the staff members snickered and gave a disdainful look towards Scarlett, except for Ivon.
Ivon felt more nervous and worried for Scarlett who was receiving so much reprimand from their boss. And it was as if he was sounding insecure of Scarlett more than his reason for reprimanding her.
Though, Scarlett easily defended herself by pointing out that it was not her fault if the division chief was not able to get briefed by her situation.
"You can file a complaint to the human resources division or even file to the higher ups. For me, I did my job and what was asked from me. If that's not enough, then it's not my problem because to be honest it's not my fault if others are just innately incompetent in their job," Scarlett was pertaining towards her fellow colleague in the office but their division chief assumed that it was meant for him.
He knew that causing a scene would only cause a backlash with his intention to put Scarlett on a bad light.
So he gave up and let Scarlett be. But he swore to himself that he would find a way to fire Scarlett from the company.
"Let this be a warning to you, there will be no next time for you! Sooner or later, you will eventually run out of luck to hide from," the division chief returned to his private office.
As they parted ways, Scarlett went to her own desk unbothered. While Ivon approached her friend.
"I am really amazed with your confidence and articulation. Where do you get all this unbelievable boldness and fortitude?" Ivon wondered as she continued to praise Scarlett.
"Nah, it's more of, not letting others step on you especially when you did nothing wrong and knowing when to stand up for yourself. That is why, if I were you… learn from it and do not let others clip your wings. Because being too sweet and too tamed would only give others the power and opportunity to trample you down," Scarlett explained to Ivon with such conviction in her eyes.
In an unexplainable turn of events, the glass nearby Scarlett and Ivon broke while they were in the middle of their conversation.
-CRACK!-
-TZZZZ!-
"Woah, what was that?" the other staff members nearest to the glass were spooked.
Including Scarlet and Ivon.
~Moments After~
"That's weird, some glasses and mirrors have been breaking or cracking around since this morning when I left my apartment," Ivon mumbled.
Scarlett noticed the worried look on Ivon.
"Don't you worry! Just be careful and don't go home alone. I will accompany you until you get back to your apartment," Scarlett reassured Ivon.
"Thank you, Scarlett!" Ivon expressed her gratitude then she remembered something.
"Oh, by the way, Sir Gavin… the marketing and advertising specialist consultant of the vice president dropped by to check on you. I think he is really worried for you," Ivon remarked as she informed Scarlett.
"Hmm, I forgot to thank him for saving me. I became too preoccupied with my own family issues," Scarlett's reply to her friend's words.
The moment she reached for Ivon's arm, a random vision and puzzling images of Scarlett surrounded with bruises and wounds while a man wearing a crown stood over her while she was on her knees and cuffed.
A terrifying random scene that involved Scarlett.
"Are you alright, Ivon? You are looking pale!" Scarlett extended her concerns and worry for Ivon.
…
<<<_TO BE CONTINUED_>>>
…
…