"Oh... One more thing. There is a newly hired young woman in your department, Diana. She is extremely..." He fell silent for a moment. "Energetic... " He made a resigned face. "She is still learning and making a lot of mistakes. Somehow you are her idol" He frowned, looking at the girl's surprised face. "Don't worry about her excessive animation. Actually, it would be good if you could direct her energy to work effectively"
It looked like he didn't believe what he was saying. He left, leaving the girl stunned.
"Oooookeyy. It wasn't weird at all. Apart from the repetition of my office experience with the secretary, I do not feel concerned about this fact at all. I'll just do what I do best" She consoled herself as she sat down behind the desk and started going through all the data carefully, making her notes. Some fifteen minutes before nine, employees started to come into the marketing section. Sophie didn't leave her new office until she was introduced. She sat quietly, not attracting attention until one of the employees noticed her name, written on the manager door.
"What the? Have you seen it? Is this some stupid joke?" She pointed at the badge on the taunt with disapproval. The rest of the crew took a look with disgust on their faces.
"Apparently there's no point in having a sense of humor"
"You have to report it. It's not even funny anymore"
"Hopeless joke" One says to the other, returning to their seats with disgust on their faces. Suddenly, through the glass entrance door, a charming young girl with braided hair and beautifully glazed, black eyes appeared.
"Good morning everyone!" She said cheerfully. "Today is another beautiful day" She sang to herself.
"Not necessarily that good, Diana" One of the colleagues, pointing to the door of Sophie's office. The girl approached them, turning her head to the side. A second later, she cupped her hands over her mouth.
"I don't believe it!" She revealed with surprise. "Is it true?!"
"Come on" Another woman waved her hand. "It's just a stupid joke"
"Aaa" Diana quickly became sad. "Too bad..." She sat slowly in her seat.
The co-workers looked at each other with understanding. They knew they shouldn't start with a topic about her beloved idol, whom they didn't care about. To everyone's surprise, the boss's assistant, Noah, arrived at their department a few minutes before nine.
"Good morning" The officers almost chorused, rising from their seats and bowing to the man who stood next to the new manager's door.
"Hello everyone. I have an announcement for you. From today, the marketing department will be managed by Miss Sophie Forzani, whom you all know" He opened the door and a confident woman came out. Looking at all the shocked employees, she bowed to them with a soft smile on her face.
"Good morning everyone. I hope for successful cooperation. I will try to make this company reach the top thanks to our achievements" She said confidently. However, there were no smiles on the faces of her new co-workers. On the contrary. They looked at her with disbelief and disgust, not hiding their feelings in any way.
Sophie knew it would be hard and it would take some time before they warmed up to her. However, they needed trust and willingness to cooperate to create a well-coordinated team that would crush all its competitors, including her former father's company.
"Say hello and introduce yourself to your new manager" Noah encouraged, wanting to help the girl at least a little. Diana ran up first, with joy in her eyes and a truly sincere smile on her face.
"I'm Diana and it's really nice to meet you, Sophie!" She barely refrained from hugging the surprised woman. She eagerly shook both of her hands, staring at the new manager as if she were some kind of deity.
"Nice to meet you too, Diana" With a trademark smile, she nodded to the girl excited by the sight of her, internally happy that at least one person would be on her side. The rest wasn't so fun. However, Sophie kept her professional expression until the end. After getting to know everyone, the boss's assistant returned to his position and the new manager was left with the extremely reluctant employees.
"You can go back to your work" She stoically informed her colleagues who were looking at her with fury. "I'm not closing the door. If anyone has any questions for me, please ask. Once I'm done settling into my current projects with new clients, I'll need a few things from you. In our office, you can freely call me Sophie. Outside our office, call me manager"
Okay, Sophie! We will try to make this day go smoothly and quickly" Diana eagerly informed the woman, clenching her fists.
"Thank you, Diana. I'm counting on that" She nodded and returned to her desk. From time to time, whispers could be heard between men and women. Sophie, however, was very focused on her work. She wanted to show everyone that she had good intentions for the company.
"Sophie" The voice of a charming girl interrupted her concentration. "It's lunchtime. Are you coming to eat with us?" She asked with hope in her voice. The woman looked at the rest of the group, disgusted by this question.
"I need to finish checking my background information. Go without me. Enjoy your meal" She nodded to them.
"Can I at least get you a sandwich?" She asked, disappointed.
"I won't refuse that. Thank you, Diana" She smiled at the equally smiling girl
"Cool! We'll be back soon" She waved to Sophie and left with the rest of the staff.
The woman quickly returned to work. She wrote down everything she wanted to ask and changes she wanted to make to some of them. As she was about to write down another item, she noticed that her notebook was missing. She looked around the desk until she suddenly noticed Darell sitting in front of her. She leaned back in her chair and, with folded arms, waited for the man to finish reading her notes. There were a lot of insults and shouting, but that was only in her thoughts. Outwardly, she maintained complete professionalism. Darell flipped through her notes and placed the notebook back on the desk.
"Not bad. I didn't expect anything else from you. Why didn't you go to lunch with everyone?" He asked, raising one eyebrow, obviously mocking her.
"I need to finish looking at the rest of the data. Besides, it's not yet time to go out with everyone, but I'll get to that. Please don't worry about me" She explained lightly. A smile on her face, letting him know that he wouldn't piss her off. The man looked at the sofa next to her desk, obviously thinking about something.
"Sit at the end" He finally said, getting up from the chair and taking off his jacket.
"What? Why?" She asked suspiciously.
"Follow your boss's orders" He said coldly. Sophie gritted her teeth as she slowly stood up. Reluctantly, she walked over and sat on one end of the sofa. Darell wasted no time in laying down on the sofa, resting his head in the shocked woman's lap. Sophie fought the urge to throw him to the floor and scream some very, very unpleasant words. After a few deep breaths, she decided not to kill him, just yet.
"May I know what the boss is doing?" She asked through her teeth.
"They say resting on the lap of a defenseless enemy is the best form of relaxation" He looked with his laughing, black eyes at the woman's irritated face. "Indeed. Incredibly pleasant" He closed them, feeling strangely safe. Again.
"Defenseless, huh?" She supported her head with her hand and put her elbow on the back of the sofa. "If only the pen wasn't so far away"
She muttered under her breath with a visible threat in her voice. A slight smile appeared on Darell's face. Anyone in her position would be thrilled to be in such a situation. However, she was thinking about how to deal with him here.
"Wake me up in twenty minutes" He ordered, feeling himself fall asleep. He knew Sophie wouldn't do anything to him. She needed him too much right now. Hearing his calm breathing, she looked at her sleeping enemy in disbelief.
"Amazing" She hissed, looking out the window. "How did I get into this?" She whispered, rubbing her eyes. But this wasn't the time to think about how to murder the boss. In her mind, she began to calculate the next steps that needed to be taken to improve her position. Exactly twenty minutes later, Sophie stared with a twisted expression and a raised hand ready to slap the forehead to wake up her helpless enemy. Actually. It would be incredibly pleasant, but very dangerous. Sighing deeply at her broken dream, Sophie began to move her knees.
"Boss. End of Time. It's time to get up" She said monotonously with visible reluctance.
"Haaa" He sighed deeply. "Ten more minutes" He purred as if begging.
"Oh no" She nudged her knee harder. "The rest will be back from lunch soon. End of nap. Go back to work" She scolded with irritation in her voice.
If the others found them in this situation, all hell would break loose. The entire company would probably start talking about how their greatest enemy seduced their beloved boss and wants to bring them down by breaking his heart.