"She is back," they whispered.
"I thought she was gone for good," they sighed.
"Well, we should have enjoyed the short break. Good times never last," the employees of Gold's Foundation murmured to one another as their devilish boss stepped into the building after two days of absence.
Ariana stalked into the lobby without a single glance of attention to anyone as they all parted ways for her to pass through so they could avoid their ears getting chewed off this morning.
She was dressed in a baby pink formal dress which stopped right above her knees as it brought out her lean figure to full display with its elbow sleeves.
A flare was placed on the waistline and small designs dotted the hem of the dress which she matched with a white pair of high heels and a white handbag as well.
Her blonde locks were straightened to perfection and left to fall on her shoulders freely after being parted by the side.
All of a sudden, she stopped in the middle of the lobby as her hazel eyes which were covered behind the thick sunglasses stared right at the floor.
Then it was like a whoosh of cold breeze flew into the building as everyone stopped with her. They didn't move an inch and did their best at avoiding eye contact with her because they knew what fate would be waiting for them if they did.
Whenever Ariana Jatropesh came into the building or walked down any hallway, all her workers pray for is for her to pass without stopping for even a second. Her momentary stop meant something ominous and the doom for someone in the hall. And their fear was from past experiences.
Now that the she-devil has stopped in the lobby this perfect morning, everyone knew what to expect next.
Her wrath.
Ariana turned her head sharply to the right as she glared down at something or someone at the end of the hall.
Rapid pings which sounded like notifications from a phone rang all over the now still hall and it was followed by a little giggle from someone.
Everyone turned their pitiful eyes at the employee who was either about to be kicked out of the company or to be publicly ridiculed by their boss.
And frankly, the former sounded best to them all.
"Good morning, ma'am," Shimaya, the only one who seemed to be unfazed by Ariana's aura walked down to her boss and greeted her with a wide smile.
"How-" her next statement was shut off when Ariana thrust her bag in her arm unkindly and Shimaya caught it on time.
Ariana took her sunglasses off her face before she turned in the direction of the numerous notifications and walked towards them.
The employee who had been unaware of everyone's concern for her had her back turned towards Ariana who was now standing right behind her.
Another giggle escaped from the lady's lips and everyone feared it might be her last.
"What a wonderful morning, ain't it?" Ariana asked out loud.
The employee jolted up from the sudden noise and turned back despite the terror in her actions as her eyes widened when she saw who it was that was right before her.
The boss.
"B-Boss, I didn't k-know-" stuttering seemed to be a far synonym for her mispronounced words.
"Of course, you wouldn't know I have arrived. After all, you don't value your job, do you?" Ariana said with a tone as chilled as ice.
"N-No, I-I was just d-distracted," the lady tried to save her situation but it only seemed to worsen when Ariana's gaze broke into a frown.
"Do you think I pay you to be distracted?! At 8 am in the morning?!" Ariana snapped and rendered the employee speechless.
Wetness could already be seen at the edge of her eyes but Miss Jatropesh could care less as she went on.
"What department are you?" Ariana asked.
"D-Design and branding," She answered.
"Oh, a full-time employee, huh?" Ariana took her ID card in her manicured hand.
And in the blink of an eye, she had unpinned the card from the slash before she dropped it on the floor and stepped on it.
"Any contract worker here? A vacancy in Design's team is available," Ariana rang out loud.
"Me, ma'am!" Someone in the crowd raised her hand to seize the opportunity.
"The spot is yours. Fail me and you get fired without two glances, and you?" she turned back to the employee who was soaked in her tears of apprehension.
"There is a spot for you in Basement 1, apparently this company have a lot of old files to sort out. Don't worry, you can chat and giggle all you like down there," She finished off with a sweet smile before she turned back so fast that her hair slapped the employee behind her as she walked off.
"Get back to work," the single order of hers wasn't taken with levity as they all flapped their feet and busied themselves with one thing or the other just to get off the bad books of Ariana Jatropesh.
Ariana walked down towards her private elevator as her Head Secretary followed her promptly from behind.
"How are you feeling now, ma'am?" Shimaya asked after pressing the elevator's button.
"Don't ask, Kinder Joy," Ariana waved off and stepped into the elevator as soon as its metal doors were opened.
"But seeing as you are so feisty this morning, I can tell you are doing much better now," Shimaya continued and dismissed the uninterested tone from her boss.
"And I have been meaning to ask but how and what was an Antiano doing in your room? I mean, that is a clear classic Romeo and Juliet tale and do you know what happened in the end to both of them? They died! Yes, they-"
Ariana whirled her head to the mumbling Shimaya with a stern glare in her eyes.
"You have such beautiful hands, Kinder. Who don't you put them to use and cover that mouth, please?" Ariana said sweetly with a grit on her teeth.
"Y-Yes, ma'am," Shimaya nodded her head slowly.