Ivell burst into her work place which was a small cafe , her face etched with worry as she approached her boss Rachel "Rachel, please! You have to help me!" she begged, her voice trembling.
Rachel looked up from the counter, concern etched on her face. "Ivell, what's wrong? You look like you've lost your last marble."
Ivell took a deep breath. "My dad's in the hospital. He needs surgery, and I need fifty thousand dollars to save his life. Please, Rachel, can you help me?"
Rachel's expression changed from concern to shock. "Ivell, I...I don't know what to say. I just let you go, like, an hour ago. You know, due to your recent performance..."
Ivell's eyes welled up with tears. "What do you mean? I've been working my butt off!"
Rachel hesitated, her voice firm. "Look, Ivell, it's not that you're not a great person, but...well, you know how it is. Business is business."
Ivell felt a sting from the rejection. "You're really going to leave me hanging like this? After all I've done for this cafe?"
Rachel shrugged. "That's just the way it is, Ivell. You're not the only one with problems, you know."
As Ivell left, Alex and Veronica were huddled in the corner, snickering. "Gotcha!" Alex whispered, high-fiving Veronica.
Veronica grinned. "Yeah, that was too easy. She should have seen it coming."
Alex chuckled. "Yeah, Ivell's always been a bit of a goody-goody. It's about time she got taken down a peg."
Veronica nodded in agreement. "Definitely. And we're the ones who took her down. Ha!"