Claire woke up as the sunlight shone on her face through the curtains. She felt nauseous and her mouth was dry, but more so she had no recollection of what exactly happened last night and how she got home.
She checked her phone only to realise that it was already 6:30 am. Normally she'd be already at work, but today she felt it was almost an impossibility. She slowly sat up as the world seemed to spin.
She checked her phone again and noticed several missed calls from the night before and 21 text messages. Most of them were from Zoe and a few from Gina.
Claire made her way to the kitchen and got herself a glass of water. She only had a pack of ramen in the cupboard so she decided to skip her breakfast.
Claire took a navy blouse with white pearls out, along with a pencil skirt and some skin-tone tights. Zoe already returned it, and even though she still felt that her pride was damaged by wearing it as it may imply her accepting the blouse from Mr Moore, she didn't have enough clothes or money to spare and turn her nose against it.
She took a shower and dressed, trying her hardest to cover up the stench of alcohol.
She checked herself in the mirror she noticed one of her earrings missing. She removed the single earring and decided to call Zoe.
"Zoe, I'm sorry, I missed your call. I fell asleep and I didn't hear it." Claire explained as soon as Zoe answered.
"You left a voicemail to pick you up last night. Where have you been?!"
"Did I?" Claire tried to remember. "I'm so sorry."
"We have been trying to get a hold of you for most of the night. Where are you now?"
"I'm at home."
"I'm guessing that you've got home alright then?"
"I think so. I don't remember."
"I'm glad you're home now though." Zoe's toned eased off but Claire could tell something else was off.
"Zoe, are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine."
"Whenever you say that you're fine, you're not. What happened?"
"Why did I get fired?" Zoe started crying.
"What?" Claire held the bridge of her nose to stop the spinning. "What are you talking about, Zoe?"
"Yesterday afternoon I was handed my final pay and I was told not to come in today."
"By whom?"
"Someone from HR. Shouldn't you know that?!"
"Zoe, I swear I did not know of this. I even spoke of your amazing work with Chi Group reps. They've signed a contract last night. I promise you that I'll find out what happened." Claire sighed. "I wonder if it didn't come from above…."
"Are you implying it was one of the directors?"
"Possibly higher than that."
"Mr Moore?"
"I think he's on the rampage and does everything to spite me. He must've known that you're my friend."
"Does it mean that Gina might be fired too?"
"And myself." Claire sighed. "Zoe, I've done something stupid."
"What did you do?"
"I did a lot of stupid." Claire started crying.
"Claire, what happened?"
"I haven't told you everything that happened with Mr Moore. A few weeks back he made me come into an elevator with him, it was just after I applied for an extension, he stopped it between the floors and…" Claire started sobbing.
"What?!"
"He pushed me against the side and warned me, or threatened me. I was stupid enough to talk back at him. And then soon after I was mugged, and I'm not sure if it was him, but maybe?"
"Claire, why didn't you say anything?"
"I didn't want to worry you, or Gina. Besides, it was the first encounter. A week later, as I came back from work after the mugging he found some stupid excuse to get me into his office. I've made him so angry again. He pushed me against the wall and he punched the hole in the wall just beside my face. The stain on my navy blouse was the blood from his knuckles."
"Oh, God…"
"He tried to compensate me for the blouse but I kept refusing. Until I was given the bags of navy blouses. And I feel as if I betrayed myself for taking them. And I've had a few more runs in with him, and I did something so stupid…"
"What did you do?"
"I've called him an a*shole and son of a b*tch." Claire sniffled. "I'm so sorry, Zoe. I think I'm getting you all down."
"Don't be stupid. You had a tough time with him. You lasted longer than most. I think it's about four months now, isn't it?"
"Something like that."
"Even Gary didn't join the company until a year before his retirement."
"Zoe, the Chi Group is very impressed with your work. I have met someone yesterday, I might be able to get you their contact details. You may have a shot there if you want to apply?"
"I don't want to leave you alone in that hell."
"I'll be fine. I am starting to look for a new job anyways." Claire admitted. "Daniel offered some help with finding an apartment for my parents. He should send me a catalogue soon. So everything will be fine. And I think Gina is ready to follow us wherever we go."
"I think so. Thank you, Claire."
"I'm so sorry, Zoe."
"Is it okay if I share it with Gina?"
"Yes, of course. I didn't intend to hide it from her. But I need to get going."
"Claire?"
"Yes?"
"Promise me to not do anything stupid."
"I promise," Claire said knowing that it wasn't the full truth.
She hurried into work that morning, finding her way to the forty-second floor.
Pattison looked surprised to see her but he didn't intend to stop her. She took a deep breath and knocked on a door, more so as a warning than permission to enter.
Mr Moore was on the call, with his back to the entrance. As he heard her come in, he slowly turned around and watched her carefully. Claire was stoic. She stood elegantly on the other side of his desk, waiting. If he didn't see her drunk last night, he'd never been able to guess that she might've been hungover.
For a moment he wanted to smile at her, maybe even embrace her, but that would have been creepy. Then he noticed how tense Claire was. Something must've happened. Something stressed her out, maybe even infuriated her. It wasn't the same thing as the Poger Estate extension which was a violent rage. This was silent. This was deadly. Mr Moore hurriedly finished the call.
"Miss Thompson, I do hope that you're okay today?" He leaned back in his chair.
"Mr Moore, my understanding is that it is my responsibility to overlook the employees in my department."
"Yes, it is."
"This includes hiring and dismissal of any employees, correct?"
"Yes."
"What business did you have in firing one of my top employees?"
"Excuse me?"
"Zoe Green. She was responsible for the Chi Group project. Her performance is outstanding. She hasn't taken a day off in months. What was your reason to fire her?"
Mr Moore hasn't answered. He wasn't too sure what Claire was talking about.
Pattison was called in to help clarify things.
"Pattison, was there anyone fired from the Contracts and Services Department?"
"Yes, sir."
"Who was responsible for it?"
"You, sir." Pattison turned white. Claire hasn't shifted her gaze from Mr Moore.
"Well, Miss Thompson. I'm sure there was a reason for this decision."
"Mr Pattison, please tell me of a reason for firing?"
"It was…"
"You don't need to know it. You have no right to question my decisions."
"Oh, I see." Claire nodded. She left in silence, plotting the next steps of her plan in her head. She knew exactly what was going to happen.
"Pattison, what was this all about?"
"Sir, you asked me to fire a girl wearing the navy blouse that looked like the one given to Miss Thompson. It was Zoe Green. She was Miss Thompson's subordinate and her close friend."
"Was Miss Thompson wearing…?" Mr Moore hasn't finished the sentence.
"Miss Thompson did seem to be wearing the same exact blouse today," Pattison answered the question that Mr Moore struggled to ask. "Would you like me to contact Miss Green and explain the mistake?"
"No, not yet. Give it few weeks." Mr Moore decided. He was curious about what will Claire do to protect her subordinates and friends.
"Yes, sir."