Back in the day, when her father had been fighting cancer. Emily had sometimes gone with her mom to pick him up after he had completed a session of chemo.
Back then, walking through the huge corridors of the hospital, she had often looked around. Spying on people in a way only children could.
And during her adventurers in listening in when she was not supposed to. Emily often heard things that she was not supposed to. Not because they were secrets, but because they were personal things that were not meant for other people's ears.
More often than not, the things she heard often circled around the same things.
"I love you,"
"Do not leave me,"
"Fight, you have to fight, fight for yourself and for us,"
"It is alright to let go if you are tired," She had not known what the words really meant until she was much older.
But one time, while listening in to a sick old man and his son's conversation. Emily had heard something that had shaken her to the core. Her eight year old self running, terrified back to her room.
"I hate you, I hate you...just give up already. Why are you still here, no one wants you, dad," The son had said to his father and Emily had been shaken. So shake in fact that she has asked her parents, forgetting that she was not supposed to have been listening in the first place.
"That's his daddy, why would he hate his own daddy? Don't all people love their daddies?" Emily had asked as she'd clung to her dad for reassurance. When her mom had gone to reprimand her for eavesdropping, her dad had stepped in, explaining the whole thing instead of getting angry.
"Sometimes when people grow older, they forget how to love, they let bitterness overwhelm them and become filled with hate," Her dad had explained.
"But aren't they lonely," Emily had asked, looking up at her dad, just tall enough to see the bottom edges of the beanie he wore to keep the cold out.
"They are, but because they are so full of hate, they do not even know it," He'd told her.
"I will never hate anyone, daddy," Emily had promised him. And for the most part, Emily had kept that promised. But as time passed and Emily instead of being home embroidering, was stuck trying to reach one Sebastian Haven. Watching the sun rise from her desk, instead of at home she felt angrier and angrier. To the point where her dislike of the man was quickly morphing into hate.
Sebastian Haven was a despicable human being. She would call him the product of money and power from birth, but that would not be fair on people like Derek. He had been born rich too, but he did not act as reprehensibly as his uncle did.
It was one thing to be a rude, skirt chasing pervert who saw women as nothing but walking breasts and thighs. But with all of that, the man should have at least been good at something other making a big mess and disappearing into the night and expecting other people ro fix it.
Earlier, after Derek had stormed out, Emily had followed him to his office. She had found him already seated, obviously about to start trying to reason with the striking workers.
All over the building, people were running around, putting out fires that they did not start. It made Emily so angry she wanted to punch something. Preferably Sebastian Haven's face, or maybe she would even kick him in the nuts.
In the hours that she had been trying to get in contact with him, he had not responded once and Emily's professional tone in the messages was quickly fading.
Her messages had gone from…"Mr Haven, this is about the Joy solar panel plant, please get back to me as soon as possible or reach out to anyone at the company,"...to…
"Mr Haven, I understand that you are currently very busy being balls deep in an airheaded bimbo, but you have made a mess and everyone is trying to fix it. Stop being such a weasel and talk to your nephew,"
They were words that would no doubt earn her a disciplinary hearing if the man decided to follow up on the matter. But she was beyond caring. The man had not even bothered to switch off his phone. Wherever he was, he was most likely just out there listening, enjoying their struggle. Scared that she would say some things that would make even sailors blush, she decided to stop trying to reach out. Instead she left a voice message for Lucas.
"Lucas, answer your phone. You are not helping your boss by staying quiet," She left it at that, at the end of the day, the man was just a PA, his boss was awful, but it would not help her to take digs at him too, no matter how annoying he was.
When she looked at the clock again, she realized that it had just gone eight. She could give in to temptation and watch the news, to see how bad things were out there. But she decided against it, she already had enough stress. Checking on Derek felt like a much better option, so that was what she did.
Knocking once, she waited a beat. There was no answer so she slowly pushed the door open.
"Derek?" She called, but he did not seem to hear her, too busy pacing. Only noticing her presence when she went to sit on the couch.
"Oh, good, you are here," He said, not really seeming like he was seeing her. Emily recognized the look of someone needing to vent instantly.
"Tell me everything," She said, and the flood was unleashed.