Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
~Harlow~
“Zara Maverick?” the mailman asks, looking a little shocked. Okay, who am I kidding? The poor man looks so shocked he could jump out of his own skin.
I nod and smile at him as politely as I can, while the only thought in my mind is to not close my eyes and faint right in front of him. I will drop dead before I let Thane humiliate me like this or fire me for a stupid joke he’s pulling.
I mean, who, in their right mind, sends their employee for an important package ten minutes before the supposed arrival of the mailman? That prick is more slippery than a sea cucumber.
I try to focus on deep breaths as I dig through my bag and present the mailman with my work ID. The old man sighs but still digs through the back of his van and hands me a huge envelope of what I suppose has to be some important documents.
I sign for the package, thank the man, and walk to the stairs in front of the building.
Once I reach them, I collapse on the steps.
My breathing is as heavy and rapid as it was when I caught the mailman.
And yet, even now, I don’t care that I might look homeless—I just ran down an entire street, all the way here in panic. They could give me a damn break.
Once I’m sure I can stand up without fainting or throwing up, I move toward the doors I saw the security staff unlock a couple of minutes ago.
As I enter the building, I show the security guard my employee ID and he lets me through. I ignore the odd look he gives me and hurry toward the elevators.
When I get to my floor, I walk around, turning on all the lights. Then, I turn toward my desk and power up my computer. Setting the envelope of documents on the edge of my desk, I dig through my bag for a hairbrush and the small set of makeup I carry around for emergencies. Such as this.
Hastily, I do a rush job of my makeup in the bathroom.
Taming my wild hair, I pull it into a bun on top of my head.
Satisfied with my appearance, I move to the kitchenette where I get five mugs ready and prepare them for the bosses' morning coffee, while making one for myself too. I dump two teaspoons of instant coffee in my mug and grin—this much I’ve earned after the awful morning I had.
Fuck, I hate running more than I hate morning-people.
I swear, once the coffee is ready and I can gulp down a few mouthfuls of the warm juice of gods, I can feel the caffeinated beverage warm my soul. There’s nothing better than the first coffee of the day.
I take my cup back to my desk and focus on checking all the work emails. I send the important ones to their tablets and desktops. Once I’m done with emails, I check their meeting schedules and equip the conference room down the hall.
As I walk back to the kitchenette, I’m about to make their coffees when a childish, evil thought creeps into my mind.
Thane wants to speak to me like shit and treat me as such. Fine, freaking fine by me! I dump his coffee in the trash and take his mug to the toilet, giving it a rise inside the toilet bowl. Snickering to myself, I flip off the cameras in the hallway. God, I hope they don’t check those.
Then I walk back to the kitchenette and use a paper towel to dry his mug before I wash my hands in the sink.
Retrieving his mug, I set about to make the coffee when I gasp. Fuck! It’s the wrong mug! The golden lettering I mistook for T is actually an L.
How the fuck did I miss that detail and mess up so spectacularly?
I’m about to quickly wash the mug and fix my stupid mistake, but I stop in my tracks when I hear footsteps coming from the elevator lobby. God damn it, they arrived already!
Rhen walks in first and retrieves his mug as my heart hammers against my ribcage. I quickly make Leon’s coffee, fully aware that if I wash the mug in front of Rhen, he might suspect my doings. What’s done is done; I can’t take away the stupid mistake I made.
The men file in one by one, retrieving their coffees, and Leon plucks his mug from my hand just as Thane walks in, as grumpy as ever.
“The files,” he demands. Oh, that means there will be no ‘good morning, sunshine’ now? I’ll show him! One day he will regret ever thinking about messing with me!
“On my desk,” I stutter out, and he looks at Raidon.
“Don’t you live on the other side of town?” Thane asks as he brings his hand to his face and pinches the bridge of his nose. What got him so worked up?
I nod my head, unsure if I should say anything at all. I was here to sign for the documents. Isn’t that what he wanted from me?
“How did you get here so fast?” Rhen asks, and I blink at him as this shitstorm clicks together. They are looking for a reason to fire me. How dare they? I’ve been an outstanding employee. Do they not remember the state of that damn filing room and the clusterfuck they left the kitchenette in!
“I always arrive early to work,” I lie, shrugging my shoulders to make my words more believable. “Early bird catches the worm,” I grit out, infuriated by the thought that these four men are trying to sabotage me.
“Good. You can get the mail every morning,” Thane growls at me and snatches his cup. As Thane brings the mug to his lips, my eyes dart to Leon’s right as he sips his coffee.
My heart does a double, no triple, backflip as I restrain myself from showing off the devious smile that tugs on the corners of my lips.
I grab my mug and walk out of the kitchenette, suppressing my laughter.
Maybe I didn’t get to hit my actual target, but Leon deserves this after what he did yesterday anyway, so it’s not all bad.
“I think our dishwasher needs deep cleaning again. My coffee has a funny taste,” I hear Leon whine behind me.
I don’t bother to turn around and observe my small victory, but I can’t help but smile as I walk back to my desk.
I reach for the envelope that turned my entire morning into a catastrophe and turn around to find the devil himself standing directly behind me.
By the devil, I mean Thane, because if the devil actually walks the face of the earth, there is no more precise representation of the source of evil himself than one of my bosses.
Thane snatches the envelope from my hand, turns on his heel, and storms off toward his office. Well, good morning to you too, asshole! I think as he slams his door, making the windows rattle.