"Thanks, Meg. You're a lifesaver," Olivia acted to hug Megan in happiness but Megan moved away while looking at her as if saying, 'Are you fucking crazy? I'm sweaty and you are damn dressed!'
Olivia had known Megan to have a foul mouth but she rarely cursed in her presence. She doesn't know why but she would like to think that it was because she was a woman. Not that Megan is not. But recently, Matthew said that Megan rarely cursed anymore ever since she got into a relationship with Timothy who hates cursing. Though Timothy made it clear that he wouldn't want Megan to change, Megan was being considerate of him which Olivia thought was so sweet considering those two were the coldest people she had ever known.
"That's my job," Megan just said and scooted further from Olivia afraid that the latter would do something crazy.
Olivia chuckled and said, "Anyway, I am running late. I have to go, see you around," She stood up and prepared to leave.
"Bye," Megan replied.
When Olivia reached her office which was located on the fifth floor of a building, she was immediately greeted by her friend who was the assistant of their chief editor.
"Morning," A woman wearing a black blouse with a ribbon on the neckline said. She has a black leather belt and purple pencil skirts and black stilettos. Her blonde hair which used to be black the other week was tied in a high ponytail.
"Morning Sasha, you're early," Olivia greeted back and headed towards her cubicle.
Sasha followed her to her cubicle in haste steps. Once Olivia was seated, Sasha instantly bombarded her with questions. "Hey, your boyfriend is friends with Daxon, right? Do you know where he was in the past few days? He hasn't been showing up with the band lately,"
Sasha was an assistant, not a journalist or a reporter. But she was a fangirl slash stalker. She was obsessed with Daxon, Matthew's friend, and always kept a tab on where he was, what he was doing, and who he was with. Olivia would not be surprised if one day, Sasha would face a lawsuit because of stalking Daxon.
Olivia had heard from Matthew that Daxon locked himself up in his apartment because he was writing a song. So, she was not surprised that Sasha wasn't able to find where he was. But of course, she would not tell Sasha where Daxon was.
Though she was a journalist, Daxon, who was a celebrity, trusted her that she would not sell him or his story to entertainment journalists. She knew what Matthew and Daxon were capable of, so she will never be ready to betray their trust. Not that she would.
So she said, "I'm sorry, but I really don't know where he is. He is a very private man," Which was the truth. Though Daxon said he was in his apartment, they can never be sure if he suddenly decided that he needed to be somewhere else to get inspiration to write a song and didn't tell anybody.
But it looks like Sasha was not convinced. She opened her mouth to say more but she was cut off by another voice. "But–,"
"Bennet! In my office," A woman dressed immaculately entered the office elegantly though in haste as if someone was chasing her. All the employees who were gossiping in other cubicles hurried back to their own cubicles including Sasha.
But Olivia was quicker to move than Sasha because she outran her as she followed the woman who called her into her office. "Excuse me," Olivia said as she walked past Sasha.
"Good luck," Olivia heard Sasha say. Instead of getting annoyed, she thanked her internally because she knew she would need that.
Since the woman was walking fast, the door to her office was already closed when Olivia reached it. She knocked first even though she was already expected. She didn't even wait for an answer because she knew that the woman behind that door wouldn't.
Olivia twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open. Once she was inside the elegantly designed office as if it was just recently constructed and no one has ever used that office before, she saw the woman already seated behind her unnecessarily huge office desk.
"Good morning, Miss Bardwell," Olivia greeted the woman and stood in front of the woman's desk. She didn't invite herself to sit nor waited for the woman to invite her to sit because she knew that she wouldn't.
Miss Bardwell was an unmarried, grumpy woman in her fifties. She was old yet she dressed, acted, spoke, and treated other people as if she was in her early twenties. Miss Bardwell was a renowned bully. Everyone was cautious of her because she tends to bully people that she just passed by even though they didn't do anything to her.
Everyone in their office hates her and if they had their way, she would've been out in her position. But higher-ups wouldn't keep her in her position if she does not deserve it.
Miss Bardwell was a smart woman. She was a keen observer and was very particular with details. She could see even the smallest details and just like Olivia, she was very inquisitive. The multiple death threats in her life in the past until now prove that.
Miss Bardwell raised her cake face and slightly tilted up her chin to show her authority over the woman who stood before her. She opened her red lips and said, "Bonneville's case turns out to be a false alarm." She shook her head in disappointment and continued, "I should have known about it. It was such a fucking waste of time. Anyway, I got something else for you. Hopefully, this one is worth your time,"
Olivia's expressionless face looked at her and waited for her to continue. When she didn't, Olivia thought that Miss Bardwell was waiting for her to acknowledge her words, so she said, "Okay," But it looks like that is not the word that Miss Bardwell was hoping to hear from her.
Miss Bardwell frowned and looked annoyed. "Okay? Just okay? Don't you know how to appreciate a job that was handed over to you?" She said. Her tattooed eyebrows rose up high as she scrutinized the woman in front of her.
Olivia couldn't help but curse internally. Though she has been working with Miss Bardwell for years now, she cannot seem to get her mood. Sometimes, she is hot-tempered, sometimes she is cold-tempered. Sometimes she is nice but most of the time, she is a bully. No one could really get on her good side. Because it seems that Miss Bardwell was adamant to get everyone on her bad side.
"I'm sorry. Thank you so much Miss for the job you are offering me," Olivia just said when she realized that Miss Bardwell wanted her to show her some gratitude. After all, Miss Bardwell always assigns to her the most interesting stories. Not that everyone wanted to be in her shoes seeing that the most interesting stories were always the most dangerous.
"Mr. Jove Latimer," Olivia frowned when Miss Bardwell mentioned the name of a business magnate. "I heard that he was being secretly investigated but I don't know by whom," Miss Bardwell continued, making the frown on Olivia's face deepen because she didn't get any suspicions that the businessman was being secretly investigated. Not even Megan mentioned it to her.
"Mr. Jove Latimer? But I haven't heard that–," Olivia was rudely cut off by Miss Bardwell. "Secretly, Bennet," Miss Bardwell said rudely. And as if it was not enough, she started to insult Olivia which she always does to everyone every chance she gets. "That is why you haven't heard of it. Sometimes I am doubting if you were just pretending to be smart or pretending to be stupid," Thankfully, Olivia had gotten used to her bad manner so she was not affected at all. It was like her words got in one ear and got out instantly in the other.
Miss Bardwell has always been like that not just to Olivia. It seems that bullying was her way of keeping up her self-esteem. Olivia was certain that Miss Bardwell was bullied when she was younger.
Miss Bardwell continued. "Anyway, an informant came to me and gave me names that were undercover. Go find them and see what you can get," She said then she slipped a piece of paper on her desk.
"Yes Miss Bardwell, thank you," Olivia said, and then she took the piece of paper. She took a look at it and read the names before she put it inside her pocket and looked back at Miss Bardwell. "Uhm…why are they investigating him?" She asked hesitantly. Since Miss Bardwell's temper was always unpredictable, she tried to give it a shot. But it looks like it was not the right time to ask because Miss Bardwell's red lips set into a thin line and her tattoo eyebrows lifted up higher.
"That's for me to know and you to find out. Now go," Miss Bardwell waved her hand in the air as if shooing Olivia away. But the curious side of Olivia always got the best of her. Instead of going, she stood there hesitating if she should bring up another subject or not.
Miss Bardwell noticed that Olivia wasn't moving so she asked, "Why are you still standing there?"
"Franklin Amudsen," Olivia quickly replied, making Miss Bardwell frown. "What?" She asked.
Olivia took a deep breath and said, "Franklin Amudsen, the man who–," But she was rudely cut off again.
"I know who he is and what he did. What I want to know is why you care about him?" Miss Bardwell asked, obviously annoyed that Olivia seemed to be wasting her time.
"I was just wondering if I could–,"
"Haven't you learned from Talon Bonneville? Amudsen's case is another waste of time. Now go and start working on the task I gave you before I give it to another who is willing and grateful," This time, Miss Bardwell's tone of voice rose a notch higher. Thankfully, the office was soundproof so the people outside didn't hear her.
Realizing that it was not her lucky day, Olivia decided to just let it go and nod her head once. "Thank you," She said, and then she took one step backward before she turned around and walked out of Miss Bardwell's office.