The audible gasp from those hiding in the kitchen, along with the increased commotion outside the door brought Maddison back to her senses. Her hand was shaking as she took a step back.
She'd never liked confrontation, ever.
"You… you bitch!" Cassy yelled as she pointed her finger at Maddison.
Her face was twisted in anger and rage. She reached out her hand to return Maddison the favor, but Maddison dodged it quickly. Out of reflex, she grabbed hold of Cassy's hand. Everyone held their breath, uncertain of what would happen next.
[There's no way to salvage this.] Maddison sighed to herself internally.
So, she decided to lean in.
Maddison took one step forward, staring Cassy down with a cold gaze. No one had ever seen her like this before, no one knew what to expect. Even Cassy felt a shiver down her spine. Ever since she'd hired Maddison, she'd seen her as a weakling.
Someone she could order around, someone who would take the brunt of her scolding without ever fighting back.
The tables have turned!
"Five years, I've worked myself to the bone for you, Cassy. I'm grateful that you gave me a chance when no one else would. But consider my debt paid in full with change. I'm done," Maddison declared.
"You're done?" Cassy echoed her words, eyes wide in shock.
"I'm done, I quit."
With that, Maddison turned and never looked back.
Never in a million years did Cassy think her star employee would quit on the spot! Out of everyone she'd hired, Maddison was the only one who'd tolerated her arrogance without a word of complaint.
However, shock soon turned back into anger as she watched Maddison head for the kitchen. She gave chase, face red with anger.
"You don't get to quit! You're fired, you hear me? Fired!" Cassy yelled.
Everyone gave way as Maddison walked to the employee's backroom. Everything was a blur for her as she grabbed all of her belongings from her locker. Some of her colleagues tried talking to her, but she couldn't hear any of them.
Seeing her resolve, some of her co-workers held Cassy back, trying to get her to calm down while Maddison gathered her things. Once she had everything, she closed the locker door and turned back to leave.
Everyone stood there, uncertain of what to say. These were people she'd worked closely with for the last five years. Now that she was leaving, emotions bubbled in her.
"I…" She bit her lip, not knowing what to say.
"All the best, Maddy. We're rooting for you," Her sous chef, Anna, cheered her on as she came forward to hug her.
Anna had been there since day one. She'd seen Maddison grow, laugh and cry. Feeling the warm embrace, Maddison fought hard to hold back tears.
"I'll check on you later, okay? Now go!" Anna whispered to her before releasing her from the hug.
She saw the tears in Anna's eyes as they parted from their embrace. Maddison pursed her lips, nodding as she willed herself to move through the crowd. Seeing her leave, Cassy yelled louder. But her co-workers stood by her side, encouraging her to leave.
"Bye Maddy!"
"We're rooting for you!"
"Go! Quickly, before she says anything else!"
Maddison nodded silently with a grateful smile on her face. If it was up to her, she never wanted to leave this place. Her co-workers had long become her family. How could she bear to leave them behind?
But there was no way she could stay now. It was time for her to go.
"Thank you, everybody. Thank you," Maddison quivered as she spoke.
Anna emerged from the crowd, pushing Maddison along. Behind everyone else, they could still hear Cassy cursing and swearing.
"I'm going to sue her! She's never getting away with this!"
Maddison's heart palpitated in her chest, wondering what the consequences of her actions were. But Anna made sure she didn't dawdle. She pulled her towards the door.
"Are you ready?" Anna asked as she turned to her.
"As ready as I'll ever be," Maddison sighed.
"Good luck."
With that, Anna pulled the door open. The prowl of paparazzi saw the opening. They immediately swarmed towards the door, hoping to get an exclusive with Maddison.
"Miss Lane! Miss Lane! Why did you slap that woman across the face?"
"Do you have anything to say to the public, Miss Lane?"
"Was that a love rival, Miss Lane?"
Maddison made a beeline for the cab. To her surprise, the cab driver was true to his word. He was still waiting for her, ready to go. He opened the door for her from within, beckoning her to get in quickly.
She got in swiftly, slamming the car door shut.
"Hang on!" The cab driver declared as he got ready to drive off.
Maddison held onto the seat as they sped off down the road. She turned back, watching the paparazzi disappearing from view in a flash. Some tried to run after the cab but none of them were successful in doing so.
Turning back to face the front, Maddison heaved a sigh of relief as she gave the cab driver her address. The cab driver gave her a nod and drove in silence. Already exhausted from the day, Maddison leaned back as she let out a sigh.
[I've lost everything I'd worked so hard for.] She lamented to herself as she looked out of the cab window.
She placed her hand on the locket around her neck, curling her fingers around it slowly as she closed her eyes. This was the only connection she'd had to her parents. She could no longer remember her parents' faces.
Maddison recalled how things came to be. She'd woken up one day to find herself in Greenview orphanage. She'd been suffering from a high fever for a week before that. The orphanage's principal informed her that she was left on the steps with the locket around her neck and a piece of paper in her pocket.
The note explained that her name was Maddison, and the necklace was an important family heirloom. But nothing was more important than the final lines on the note.
'Maddy my love, I'm sorry. Your mama loves you with all her heart.'
Maddison didn't know what drove her mother to give her up. She wished she could remember what happened. But no matter how hard she tried, she could not recall any details.
"Mama, what do I do now?" Maddison whispered to herself as she kissed the locket.
Upon arriving at her apartment block, Maddison thanked the cab driver. Before they parted ways, they exchanged numbers. The cab driver introduced himself as William.
"If you ever need a cab, just call me!" He said to her before they parted ways.
Seeing that there were no paparazzi at her apartment building yet, Maddison heaved a sigh of relief. After waving to the cab as it drove away, she hurried into the building. However, as she took the lift up to her floor, Maddison felt uneasy.
Something was off. She could just feel it. When she got to her apartment, her heart dropped.
The door was unlocked!
"But I locked it before I left…" she whispered to herself.
Maddison's heart palpitated in her chest. She could see from the gap that the lights were on too! She was even more certain that she'd switched them off before leaving the apartment.
[This can't get any worse than it already is.] She thought as she carefully put everything else and pulled the door open.
The door creaked as she walked in. What she hadn't expected was to find her apartment empty.
She'd been robbed!