The following day, the sister each returned to their lives. It was a Sunday; Gracey and Kelly did not need to go to school, but Whitney had to go to work.
After her father's death, she took two days off to deal with things. She worked part-time in other to support herself with her college expenses. After all, her father's money went to taking care of her sister.
Even now that she was fine, a large amount of money was deducted from his monthly earnings to pay the loan, so Whitney had to keep supporting herself.
If her father did not owe the devil much money, everything would have felt the same to her. She really missed her mother. Life had become difficult ever since her death. She had to help her father plan and manage the house. Yet it seems nobody cares about her struggle. She did not blame her father; after all, he lost the financial and emotional support of his wife. It was acceptable for him not to pay much attention to her since she was so grown up.
So, she had to plan for herself and her future. Her father did not know to balance everything, like her mother. His attention was on the new baby and her sick sister. As the big sister, she acted sensible and got a part-time job. This way, she was able to raise money to fend for herself. After graduating from high school, she works two to three daily jobs to raise money for her college fee. Fortunately, she was clever and received two scholarships that helped with her tuition fees and book.
She only needed to care about other personal needs like clothes and accommodation. She supported the house when she could. Her father never bothered to give her money; he just praised her for being excellent and not letting him worry.
Whitney left the house as early as six am that morning. She wanted to catch the bus since she could not afford a cab. Money was something she could no longer afford to spend if she could save it.
When Whitney arrived at her workplace, she was a few minutes late. She prayed and hoped the manager would not notice, but she was unlucky. The middle-aged man was waiting at the check-in spot.
"After taking two days off, Miss Warmer disregards work ethics," the middle-aged man said when he saw Whitney. It could be seen that he was waiting for her to arrive.
"Good morning, sir," Whitney's voice was very respectful. The man has been picking on her since she refused to become his secretary. Back then, she had noticed the lust in the man's gaze. He would always praise her for doing her job well, but Whitney felt uncomfortable with his gaze. since she knew he had impure thoughts towards her, she would be a fool to jump into his trap.
At that time, his secretary had resigned for unknown reasons, and the man had offered to move her to the position, but she smartly refused.
"Sir, everyone knows that I work part-time here. How can I become your Secretary? I will not do my job well," her excuse was very clever, so there was nothing he could do.
Whitney was not a fool, she knew what the man was thinking in his heart. She got this Job with the help of a classmate. In the marketing department, no one cared how often you came to work. The concept of being late was not a severe offence provided one was able to meet their monthly target.
This was why Whitney was able to work here. Usually, she did not need to go to work during the weekend, but because she had classes Monday to Friday, she came to work from Friday evening to Sunday to clear up her paperwork and submit her report.
Who knew that because she had rejected his offer, the manager decided to make things difficult for her and gave her a resuming time for Saturday and Sunday, under the cover she was making up for the week.
If the manager could, Whitney was sure he would have insisted on her coming to work every day. Still, because of the particular situation, everybody knew her schedule, and it would become evident to many that he was targeting her. Fortunately, she had signed a contract, so he couldn't do anything to make her work other days.
The marketing department cared about the result, and Whitney had never disappointed the company, so the man could not fire her apart from making things a bit difficult.
"I will deduct a thousand from your salary this month. Consider it a penalty for coming late," the manager said smugly. He knew the only punishment that could hurt Whitney would be taking her money. She had been working with the company for over a year, so he knew that she needed money the most
Whitney brought out her employee's card and checked in. "Sir, I am only nine minutes late. The company has the policy to let an employee off with a warning if they are late within ten minutes," she argued.
The man could scold or give her some unnecessary tasks, and she would bear it. This was a good-paying job for her as a student, so she was unwilling to quit, but she needed money the most at this time.
Her monthly salary was thirty thousand, which would have been manageable for her and her siblings, but she still had to pay a loan of twenty million. Every little bit of money mattered to her.
"Are you questioning my decision?" The manager had been looking for an opportunity to teach her a lesson. He felt that his past actions had not made her suffer enough.
Today was Sunday, and only a few people came to work. Many of them had so many things to do. How could they have time to watch what was going on?
He could add a demerit to her file for insubordination. Whitney knew what the man was thinking, but she could not allow it. Although she knew she might not be able to keep this job for long, she would still not let a demerit on her file. After all, if she can survive whatever the devil thew at her, she might need this recommendation to find a job in the future.
"No, sir, I only reminded you of the company's policy. As a manager, I understand you have many things to worry about. It is only normal to forget some minor details. As a subordinate affected by this little detail, I should help you remember, " Whitney was very respectful. This was a game of words, and she did not believe she would lose to the old man.
The manager hated her for being so sharp tongue. He came every Sunday and Saturday trying to pick fault, but the lady was always so careful. She never falls into his trap.
He knew that he could not take this money or write a demerit; after all, with what Whitney had said, she could go to the human resources department to seek justice if he took any of this action.
The company's policy frown against using the company's power to deal with personal issues. The manager angrily stormed out of the building. He felt that his coming was a waste.
After accusing her, he should have left and done what was on his mind. At that time, even if Whitney wanted to seek justice, it would not have been very sensible.
Whitney pursed her lips and went to her table. She picked up the first file but soon realised she could not concentrate. She made a mistake upon mistake.
The situation at home occupied her mind. She was worried that her sister and brother would be having a hard time.
Smart cooperation head office.
"What is the update!" Kevin asked. He did not know why but the Warner girl picked his interest yesterday, so he sent his men to keep an eye on them. He was curious about her next mood of action. After all, she had acted so boldly the previous day.
"The Warmer girls returned home. They even told their neighbours that they were only invited over for follow-up issues," Seb reported.
The other assistant stood at the side, and his eyes shined with interest. Knowing their boss, he usually did not care about the follow-up after yesterday.
Kevin smirked when he heard this reply. " She returned to work today. Her manager seems to have some thoughts about her. Should we create an opportunity for him?" Seb continues to report.
"There is no need," Kevin waved his hand. He could see that she had a strong will to survive. A person like her could only be slowly broken. What was the point if he rushed everything? Would it not mean giving her a way out easily?
"What about her job? Should we make her lose it?" Seb asked.
"How much does she earn?" Kevin asked.
"Thirty thousand," Seb replied. He knew his boss wanted to make it impossible for the Warner children to survive.
"Let it be. Just spread the news that the late Warmer has a loan of Twenty million, and his children are desperate to pay since they have a deadline of three months," Kevin instructed.