...to death. But I acted like I was completely fine. I just smiled and lowered my head toward the computer and suddenly...
B - O - O - M!
The electricity went out!
Oh my God!
I had never felt so much happiness, not even on my birthday. My lips curled up more. I was ecstatic. My heart was dancing. I've been working in this office for more than 3 years, and this was the first time the electricity went out.
Lucky me! Hurray!
But I could see the big boss. He wasn't so thrilled. He was still staring at me like he was about to insult me, but the power outage saved me.
His face was cold, and he was staring at me without blinking. My smile started fading. It was very uncomfortable to meet his gaze. I finally said, "Sir, um... actually... the electricity is out!"
He roared, "I know!"
After that, he turned around and started leaving the office. I was shocked by his behavior. I just blinked. What did I do wrong?
Had I ever humiliated him?
I searched my memory. I had never met this man in my entire life. In fact, I didn't even know anyone named George or anyone who resembled him.
I started biting my lip. I just couldn't shake the way he stared. What did he want?
Forget it! Finally, he’s gone!
B - L - I - N - K!
The electricity came back.
---
I knew I couldn't let my work pile up now. If it wasn't George, someday Peter would scold me for falling behind. I’m not a lazy woman, but I always have to rush whenever the hospital calls me.
I only have one close relative, and that's my mother. I can't lose her. I could never imagine it.
But now, my mother was showing good progress. I felt free. I decided to work hard—whether at home or college, I would chat less, waste less time, and focus only on one thing:
Work, work, work!
As soon as I sat down, my first goal was to cover all the pending assignments and then start on the new ones. I smiled and got to work. It took me the entire afternoon to complete my 3 pending tasks.
After the boss, there were 3 seniors, and I was one of them. I was allowed a one-hour lunch break, but I took only 10 minutes to finish my meal.
Shallie Campbell, a good friend of mine, asked me to have lunch with her. I declined and explained my situation. She’s such a reasonable person; she even gave me advice and left without feeling upset.
After that, I got back to work. I had completely forgotten that just last night, I had done something unexpected.
---
It was 5 o’clock when I finished everything except one task—a pink file. I stretched and looked at the time, smiling.
I knew that if I completed my work on time, no one could ever point a finger at me. I also knew that if I worked diligently today and tomorrow, I could finish both the old and new tasks that I hadn’t yet touched.
Suddenly, my office phone rang.
I picked it up and said, "Hello?"
"Come to my office!" Then the call ended. The voice was cold, which was unusual. I knew who had called me—my boss, Peter Morrison.
I looked over at his office, but he was busy and not looking in my direction. Still, I smiled, knowing why he had called me. Suddenly, I felt a pain in my lower back. I realized that when you're busy, nothing bothers you, but when you're free, you start feeling everything.
All day, I hadn’t felt anything, but suddenly, seeing Peter reminded me of last night. I blushed. I cleaned my desk, stood up, and adjusted my clothes. For a moment, I opened my phone and checked the front camera to see how I looked.
I looked beautiful.
---
Knock - Knock! Knock - Knock! Knock - Knock!
I knocked on the door. After a minute, a voice from inside the office said, "Hmm, come in!"
I opened the door, smiled, and blushed. "Good evening, sir, may I come in?"
"Hmm," he muttered coldly. Only God knows why. He had even ignored me when I was pleading with the big boss. He had ignored me twice, actually. Why was he acting this way?
I walked in, sat on the chair, and smiled. "Hello, sir, you called me?"
He roared, "Who told you to sit?"
I was stunned, feeling embarrassed. My smile vanished instantly, and my face grew pale. I slowly stood up and took two steps away from the chair. His office was big, with glass walls. Anyone could see what was happening inside.
But luckily, his office was soundproof. I didn’t dare to look outside to see if anyone was watching. But I was certain that since no one could hear us, no one was looking either.
He said, "Miss Jenny Gomez!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Have you finished all your tasks?"
I swallowed hard. I still had one old task left, and I hadn’t even touched my new ones. I replied, "Sir, my old tasks are done, except one."
He folded his arms and asked coldly, "Which one?"
I replied softly, "The one for Green Company."
Peter straightened up and roared, "You... You couldn’t even finish that? Who made you a senior? I pity you every time just because you have a sick mother, or else I would’ve fired you long ago."
My eyes instantly welled up. I bit my lip, trying not to say anything.
He asked, "How many 'new tasks' have you completed?"
ZERO.
Zero was the answer. I lowered my head.
He gritted his teeth. "Only 8? Or 5? Don’t tell me you’ve only finished 3!"
I bit my lip again and lowered my head further. Seeing no response from me, he yelled, "Jenny Gomez! I’m not a fool to keep barking like this! I want an answer!"
Tears started falling. I raised my head and said, "Sir, please give me two days. I’ll finish all the tasks. I won’t disappoint you."
He rolled his eyes and said, "Jenny, do you know what a surprise inspection is? Why do you think the big boss didn’t give a surprise inspection to the other department? Why did he suddenly take an interest in the Public Relations Department?
Because he checked the data. The data showed him we’re wasting his money. That’s why he came here. He must have reviewed everyone’s work. That’s why he looked at you and asked more questions.
Jenny Gomez, you can fool yourself, but you can’t fool others."