Ortega walked into the modern building of the company, its glass walls reflecting the bright sunlight of the busy city. He headed towards the elevator on the ground floor.
As he approached the receptionist's desk, he greeted the lady with a friendly "Good morning!" but received a cold, silent nod in response. The receptionist barely acknowledged him, not even looking up from her work. Ortega was used to this lack of response and continued on his way.
As he stepped into the lift and pressed the button for the fourth floor, he couldn't help but smile at his reflection in the polished steel. His appearance was impeccable, with his well-ironed white-collar shirt and perfectly pressed slacks.
His curly, perm-styled hair added an extra level of appeal to his overall appearance, framing his face perfectly. His lips were a healthy pink and curved slightly, revealing straight white teeth. Ortega's posture exuded confidence, with his shoulders relaxed and his head bobbing in all directions to the upbeat music playing in the elevator. He was ready for another productive day at work.
The elevator dinged, and the double doors slid open. As Ortega walked out, he caught the attention of the women present in the hallways. They all gazed at him, giving different reactions as he passed them by.
Stopping at the entrance of the staff room, Ortega prepared to knock on the door but noticed the gazes of the women around him from the corner of his eye.
He turned his head to look at them, gave his best smile, and greeted his co-workers cheerfully. As he did so, the door clicked and abruptly opened, revealing a startled Gabriella.
Unfortunately, Ortega hadn't noticed, and his knuckles met the forehead of Gabriella as she stood at the entrance.
The women gathered and watched the scene play out in front of them, wearing expressions of amusement.
"Ouch!" Gabriella hissed as she rubbed her forehead with a frown.
Ortega quickly mouthed an apology and awkwardly tried to assist her in quelling the pain. "Don't. I can handle it," Gabriella said, holding his wrist and preventing Ortega from touching her forehead.
"Oh, I am so sorry," Ortega said, glancing at her fingers circling his wrist, "I didn't know you would open before I knocked."
"And I didn't know you would still knock after I opened." Gabriella let go of Ortega, her face angry as she berated him: "What were you thinking?!"
Ortega pursed his lips as Gabriella shut the door behind her and came out. Just like he had been, Gabriella was surprised to find out they were the center of attention. She clicked her tongue in annoyance, put on a stern demeanor, and bellowed at the onlookers:
"What are you guys looking at? Will you stop staring and get to work!"
"Yes, ma'am!" the women replied in unison, feeling like they had just witnessed the opening scene of a romantic comedy, but without the romance part.
Gabriella watched as the workers departed to their various posts. Her heart fumed as she gazed at Ortega with a frustrated expression. However, it was subtle, and Gabriella quickly forced a smile, hiding her true feelings. She hadn't forgotten her plans to make things difficult for Ortega, and seeing him standing there all dolled up fueled her motivations more. She wanted to see him struggle, and her smile widened upon imagining him flustered as he went through the tests she had prepared for him.
"You won't be doing much today, Ortega. I only need you to carry out a few assignments, and then we're done for the day," she explained as they walked down the hallway, then turned around and faced him, her eyes narrowed as she asked in a severe tone, "You're aware of how we do things here, right?"
Ortega shuddered involuntarily, sensing something was off with Gabriella. The woman standing in front of him was different from the first time he met her. What changed? Ortega pondered, his brows scrunched in confusion. Then he cleared his throat and muttered, "Sure."
***
"Have you completed the assignment I gave yesterday?" Gabriella asked. They were currently in the cubicles and Gabriella had just briefly introduced Ortega to the rest of the workforce.
Ortega opened his bag and answered, "Yes," as he took a deep breath and handed her the report. "I've analyzed the market trends thoroughly, including competitor analysis, customer segmentation, and emerging trends. I believe this data will be instrumental in guiding our product launch strategy."
Gabriella skimmed through the report, her brow furrowing slightly. "Impressive," she murmured, begrudgingly acknowledging his effort. "But don't get too comfortable. I have another task for you."
Ortega straightened his posture, letting his arms fall to his side, and said almost excitedly, "I'm ready." He was encouraged by Gabriella's appraisal of his work and felt confident in his abilities.
Gabriella raised a brow at Ortega's enthusiastic response. Then smiled with dark glee, thinking she was going to have a splendid time overwhelming Ortega with difficult tasks.
***
"What?! Already finished?!" Gabriella asked in exaggerated surprise, wearing an expression of disbelief as her eyes darted between Ortega and the files he held.
What she assigned him this time was no joke, and she had anticipated that Ortega would come back a while later, confused and unable to carry out the task.
After all, it entailed brainstorming content ideas for their social media advertising platforms, and doing so required a good understanding of the target audience.
This was a task too difficult for an intern, but Ortega had surpassed her expectations by completing it all within an hour.
Additionally, judging by the thickness of the paper stack, Gabriella could guess that Ortega came up with lots of ideas. She was dumbstruck at his efficiency and snatched the files from him. As she skimmed through, her gaze occasionally went from the pages of the document to Ortega's pale face.
Then she closed the file and let it drop on her desk. Hiding her frustration, she managed to utter a few words of commendation, standing up as she praised his efforts with a shaky smile.
Ortega only nodded and kept his arms behind his back. He was uneasy, and completing Gabriella's assignment was no easy feat.
He would have fallen short if not for his 'Diligent Employee' title. Undertaking the assignment with its help was a thrilling experience, and Ortega could still remember the burst of creativity he felt while the title was equipped.
His mind brimmed with new ideas, and he even found it difficult to keep up with the overflow as his hands typed vigorously on his keyboard, trying to get down every single thought.
This just showed how effective the title was. His adaptability and problem-solving skills also came into play, further helping him to accomplish the task.
However, Ortega was met with a heart-stopping message the moment he finished:
{Your Social and Leadership skills are now disabled}
{30 minutes till drawback recedes.}
"Shit." He cursed, then picked up the files and quickly made his way to Gabriella's desk. His plan was simple: give the documents to Gabriella, get dismissed, and rush home.
The situation was very grave, and he understood. Ortega could imagine getting fired for inappropriate behavior or worse even, verbal abuse!
He could manage well with his leadership skills being diminished, as he never relied on it. His leadership's starting evaluation was a basic level one anyway, so he wasn't going to be severely affected by the drawback.
But unfortunately, the same couldn't be applied to his social skills, which was something he heavily relied on. And seeing as it worked hand in hand with one of his talents, disabling this skill's level would be akin to crippling him.
Because then, he would be no different from a robot, and adapting to social situations would be very difficult.
"How bad could things get? It's only for half an hour," Ortega thought, wanting to be optimistic as he kept his smile straight and plastered on his sweaty face.
"Ortega, is something wrong? Why are you sweating?" Gabriella scrunched her brows as she asked, unable to come up with a logical reason as to why someone would sweat in a room jam-packed with air-conditioners.
Ortega quickly shook his head and gave a thumbs up. His mouth opened, wanting to say something, but he slapped his hand over it, muffling the words that spewed.
{Your ability to speak is now limited to cursing aloud, and you have no control over what you say.}
Ortega's eyes bulged as his body became stiff and his feet shuffled unnaturally as he attempted to walk away.
{Your movements are impaired. You have no control over your body.}
Eventually, he tripped and fell face-first on the cold floor, much to the bewilderment of Gabriella.
Her expression became panicked as she rushed to him and yelled, "Help! He's having a seizure!" Thinking the worst had happened. Her cry for help was well received, and Ortega was surrounded by a dozen ladies. Soon, they placed his convulsing body on a stretcher, and one of the women, in an attempt to calm him down, removed the hands covering his mouth...
As soon as Ortega's palms left his mouth, the words he had painstakingly tried to prevent everyone from hearing poured out uncontrollably.
Ortega hollered as he was pushed to the clinic by four women urging him to stay calm:
"Hey beautiful, that's a lovely set of melons you've got there. Can I give those peak twins a squeeze? You'd love it!"
Thwack! Ortega was sent unconscious by a heavy slap from one of the ladies pushing him.