He dropped the wine glass on the table and adjusted his tie. "Call the public relations officer now!"
"Yes boss" Helena replied and left his office immediately. She had spent so many years working for him but she never got used to his temperamental issues.
She opened the door and walked in, there was so much fear written on her face. "You called for me"
"What nonsense is this I'm seeing online about our company? What the fuck is your job as my public relations officer? Answer me!" He yelled.
"I...I don't quite understand sir.." she stuttered.
He gestured at his computer on the table and she moved closer. She checked and was shocked at what she saw.
"I know nothing about this sir, I'll do something about it right away". She said politely.
"Vanessa! If by the end of today I do not see all these posts off social media..... You'll lose your job!" He said.
"I'm sorry, I'll definitely do something about it immediately sir, I'm so sorry" she said and left.
Few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. She didn't wait to get a "come in" she walked in majestically throwing her hair here and there. He stood up and welcomed her with a hug and a smile on his face.
"I've missed you honey, you didn't tell me you were flying back today, you must be jet-lagged." He said.
"Edwardo honey, my dearest fiance....a most wanted bachelor in the whole of this country. You know honey, I can't wait for our wedding. I'm tired of trying to take my mind off the fact that my billionaire fiance is still prone to advances from other girls." She said, giving him a passionate kiss on his lips.
He wrapped his hands around her waist and dragged her closer, they continued to kiss and he couldn't resist her anymore. He pushed her to the table and kissed her neck gently.
"Chloe, I also can't wait to be beside you forever. Do you think I feel any better seeing you right out there? I wanna see this happen okay?" He said.
"Come on, let's get more comfy and do this properly. Come come" she said, dragging him. He took his phone and car keys and they left.
Vanessa took off her jacket and relaxed on the couch, she had a really rough day and she needed some rest. Her brother came in holding a paper.
"Nessa, it appears we still have piles of bills to pay, look at this" he said handing her the paper.
"Philip I had a really bad day at work today, stop trying to add to my problems okay?"
"Well who's going to pay the bills then mum? You know it has to be you, her little salary at the orphanage can cater for close to nothing and we both know that." He said
"I'm sick and tired of our situation in this family, why can't things just get better, it always gets worse by the day. My boss frustrated me at work today simply because there was a post online about Skye Towers saying he was going to sell the company. I had to do a whole lot by contacting blogs and even negotiating with some to take it all down" she lamented.
"That stupid boss of yours needs to really stop, why must he always pick on you. I mean you being the Public Relation doesn't give him the right to make your life miserable."
"Oh tell that to the birds, I wish he could hear you. He's extremely arrogant and sees everyone beneath him, anyway aren't we actually beneath him? He has it all right?"
"Whatever men! He's crazy!" He said.
**************
He walked into the office the next morning and dropped a book on her table, she greeted him but he didn't reply.
"You have till the end of today to read this book and draft out twenty citations relevant to the business world. It appears you need to learn more about keeping a company's name and reputation" he said.
She picked up the book and flipped through the pages, she knew she could never finish it in a day.
"But.....sir I can't finish this in a day and you know it."
"Then consider yourself jobless by the end of today"
He said and left the office slamming the door.
She was tired, extremely tired of his behavior, she wondered why he hated her so much. Even though he didn't have a good relationship with all of his staff. Hers was totally out of it.
She quickly went online and browsed the name of the book and the author, she found a summary and a few citations. After getting an idea of what the book was all about she flipped through skipping some pages and reading some. Soon she had written something reasonable about the book. She went to his office by the end of the day and dropped it on his table.
Today was Saturday and she was out with her friends for some ice cream.
"Don't tell me your boss still bullies you Vanessa, I mean that's wired right?" Nichole said.
"I still wonder how you're able to work in such a toxic environment," Clare said.
"What do you guys expect from me? I can't afford to lose the job. But I'm so so tired of the way he treats me" Vanessa said.
"If you ask me, I'll say he likes you. We've seen these things on Telemundo right" she laughed.
"Telemundo huh, well this is reality and it's far from it okay. I'm still working on getting a job at Amigos chocolate factory. There's no opening for now but I'm optimistic it would be easier to work with Lionel Carpenter than with my boss Edwardo Runner"
"If I were you I'd try to seduce him, get pregnant for him and boom! You've made it honey" Nichole said.
"That's so stupid, can we please change the topic? Mr Edwardo would never want anything to do with me besides, I don't think I want to have any sort of link with such an arrogant bastard". She said.
The girls laughed and continued with their ice cream.
She sat on the chair in his office and crossed her legs.
"Edwardo son, I honestly don't think marrying Chloe will help your business. Like I said before, our reputation is at stake, she's too reckless for my liking. Take a look at how her videos at the club half naked was trending on social media last week" she said.
"Mum, I thought we've gone past all this already. She's just a freestyle kinda human being okay, and that's fine."
"Did you just say freestyle? Look, your father and I before his death raised this company to this level, there's none like it in the whole of America! I cannot sit and watch you try to ruin it"
"My marriage with Chloe has nothing to do with Skye Towers. Keep my personal life out of the family business. If you don't mind mum I have lots of work to do, if you'll please excuse me. I need to get busy." He said.
She stood up and walked out furiously without looking back. Vanessa came in a few minutes later with some files for him to sign.
" These are from Clinton cables, the transaction last month still stands unconfirmed and they have threatened to withdraw the contract sir" she said.
"Then take fucking care of the situation! I'm not paying you to keep bringing me files full of shit!" He screamed, throwing the files on the floor.
She was scared to death, she picked the files and left in a hurry. She got to her office and couldn't control her tears, she just couldn't hold it anymore. She didn't even notice someone come in.
"Vanessa....Van.....are you okay? You're crying"
"It's okay Victor...I'll be okay, thank you" she said wiping her tears.
"Here...use this," he said, handing her a handkerchief.
"You shouldn't let things get to you this much, don't be such a cry baby" he said and she managed to smile.
"Thanks for always checking on me and being here, I appreciate it"
"You can call me whenever you need a shoulder, okay?"
"Sure.....thank you"
Victor was a friend and a colleague all at the same time, everyone in the building saw the connection they had. Some even said he was into her. He was always angered by how their boss treated her but he had nothing to do about it.
His phone rang, the smile on his face would tell you who it was.
"Sugar.....how are you?"
"I'm fine, I just booked an emergency flight to India, I saw this cute baby hamster for sale. The company has lots of cute pets and I have to go check them out." She said.
"Are you being serious right now? Is that worth traveling for? Come on"
"Listen my love, I'll talk to you when I get there okay" she said and cut the call.
He spent a lot of time wondering how reckless she could be. How on earth could she travel to India to get a pet. He spent the whole day at home missing work, he just felt a bit lazy. This was a good day for Vanessa who often avoided meeting him.
Few hours later there was news on TV saying there had been a plane crash. He increased the TV volume immediately, he watched as the list of names of passengers and the location was stated.
The next minute he got a notification on Instagram saying " The fiance of the popular business tycoon Edwardo Runner was involved in a plane crash on her way to India, news reached us a few hours after her last post on Instagram
saying "off to india to get a hamster". All passengers were confirmed dead.
"No.....Noooooo this isn't true Noooo" he screamed.