Throughout the meeting, Gery appeared calm and composed. He made an effort to focus on the data being presented by one of the managers, while also referring to the files in front of him.
The image of the sweet girl kept flashing in his mind, but he quickly dismissed it. He needed to concentrate on the meeting because if he couldn't understand everything in detail, he would stumble when questioned by his grandmother, and he couldn't afford that.
Yes, his grandmother was the sole ruler of Vinestra. She was the CEO, but the ultimate decision-making power still rested with his grandmother. Mrs. Daphne Foster, despite her advanced age, could still think critically and refused to delegate all company matters to her grandson for several reasons. Particularly because of his somewhat unstable nature due to a traumatic past event that left anyone severely traumatized.
That's why Mrs. Daphne continued to oversee Gery's leadership. Although Gery had shown improvement in terms of professionalism and performance, due to their distant monitoring, Mrs. Daphne remained in the context of a supervisor for her grandson.
Finally, when the meeting was over and Gery had grasped the content in his mind to report and discuss with his grandmother later, he returned to his office. There, the thought of firing Eve resurfaced. He glanced at the clock and realized it had been two hours since the general office hours began.
"Huh! That girl must be too calm because there's still no termination letter on her desk! Damn!" Gery grumbled and called his assistant to give instructions.
"Do what I told you earlier, quickly! Go to the HR department and tell the manager to fire that girl!" He ordered without a hint of hesitation.
The assistant had no choice but to obey the boss's command. He felt a twinge of sympathy when he saw the fierce resistance from the girl earlier. Moreover, her face was sweet and her figure ... so slender and alluring. It resembled a Spanish guitar with beautiful curves in all the right places. It could easily captivate any normal man. Oh my!
When he met the HR manager and delivered Gery's order, the manager was quite surprised and asked for detailed information about what Eve had done to warrant being fired on her first day of work. To ensure clarity since Gery's assistant hadn't mentioned Eve's name due to his lack of knowledge, the manager took the initiative to call Eve herself.
"Wait, isn't there a mistake? Is it true that this is the employee Mr. Gery meant?" The manager asked, pointing towards Eve, who had just entered the office after receiving an intra-office call.
Dave, the CEO's assistant, reluctantly nodded.
"What have you done to be fired directly by Mr. Gery, if I may ask?" The bald-headed HR manager asked Eve.
Eve put on a determined face and answered loudly, "I haven't done anything wrong here, Sir. It's just a misunderstanding that occurred between us some time ago, in a different place."
The manager and Dave exchanged glances, a mix of surprise and confusion. They were torn between following the absurd order from the CEO and their conscience, which disagreed and felt sorry for Eve's fate.
"Perhaps it would be best if you meet with Mr. Gery and explain the misunderstanding in detail. But please do so politely, not with the confrontational attitude you displayed in the cafeteria earlier, Miss," Dave finally suggested to Eve.
Eve looked at Dave with a protesting gaze. "But your boss was continuously intimidating me, which provoked me to fight back, Sir!"
"Oh my! He's your boss too, by the way." Dave reminded her, starting to understand Gery's emotional reactions towards this girl. Eve's attitude was indeed challenging and provoked anger,he thought, shaking his head in bewilderment.
"Just try following Dave's advice for now. Maybe if you humble yourself a little and apologize, Mr. Gery will give you a chance, Eve." The HR manager chimed in, reinforcing Dave's suggestion.
"But, Sir! Didn't I sign an employment contract as soon as I started working here, which clearly states my rights and the grounds for termination? And I'm quite sure, even without reading it in its entirety, that there's no clause about being fired for having a personal history with the boss here!" Eve chose to protest against the HR manager. She believed that employee matters were under his jurisdiction and not the CEO's.
"But if Mr. Gery claims that you've been disrespectful to a superior, I can't defend you, Eve. You will still be fired." The HR manager replied with a puzzled expression.
He was old and certainly not interested in getting into trouble with a boss who could potentially cause problems in his work. He might even jeopardize his own position by defending Eve, who seemed equally stubborn.
"In that case, who can defend my rights?" Eve asked unabashedly. Her determination grew stronger as she realized that even everyone in the company seemed powerless in the face of Gery's authority.
Silence filled the room for a few moments. Then Dave finally spoke softly, hesitatingly. But it was audible enough for Eve to hear.
"Mrs. Daphne Foster."
The HR manager's expression turned fierce. He shot a reproachful look at Dave, who merely shrugged in confusion. Dave couldn't resist Eve's charm and had inadvertently provided her with a way to fight back against Gery.
"And she is ...?" Eve approached Dave with an enthusiastic expression. If Dave were a woman, she would have hugged her immediately to express her boundless gratitude. At least there was hope for her to defend her right to keep working there.
"She is Mr. Gery's grandmother. You can find her in the main office on the seventh floor, her name is written on the door. But the office is across from Mr. Gery's office--" Dave's sentence was cut short as Eve quickly bid farewell and half-ran to the elevator to go to the place Dave had just mentioned.
"Mrs. Daphne Foster, I hope you're not as mean-spirited as your mischievous grandson," she whispered, continuing to stride forward after exiting the elevator on the seventh floor, searching for the room with the name of the noblewoman mentioned.
***
The personal room of Mrs. Daphne was specially designed for relaxation and made as comfortable as possible for an elderly aristocrat like her. She was no longer actively involved in managing the company. Her role was mainly to control her grandson, Gery Foster, to prevent him from relapsing into his unstable phase. The woman, always impeccably dressed in semi-formal attire, was sipping on a warm herbal tea that afternoon. Yes, she no longer drank cold beverages as it had proven to be harmful to her aging throat. Regardless of the season or the time of day, warm drinks were always her preference. "Madam, there is someone who wishes to meet you," reported a middle-aged woman who served as her personal assistant both at the office and at home. She had been devoted to Mrs. Daphne since the latter's younger days and marriage to the late Darren Foster, Gery's grandfather. They had been a couple who worked hand in hand to expand the family business, which eventually grew to its current si
The assistant had to call Gery to come to Mrs. Daphne's room after Eve had waited for a while with her heart beating, the door finally opened, and the cold CEO's footsteps went in the direction where Eve was sitting and looked down deeply."You?" Gery screamed to see the girl who had angered him so much in his grandmother's room."What is this girl here for, grandma?" Gery asked Mrs. Daphne. Mrs. Daphne casually swallowed her drink and made an expressionless face."Is that how you welcome guests, Gery? Although she is your subordinate, she is my guest in this room. You shouldn't behave like that in front of a guest." Mrs. Daphne rebuked her grandson. Eve was spontaneously a little shaken. Dave was right that Gery's grandmother didn't seem to favor him even though he was her grandson. Instantly, her confidence rose again, and she dared to raise her chin with a little challenge toward Gery.Meanwhile, Gery himself stared at Eve with a piercing gaze. He was furious and did not think Eve w
"Yeayy, Madame Daphne is cool. I just want to hug her!" said Eve, returning to her room.She crossed paths again with Dave, who was probably going to his boss's room. Immediately, Eve approached the young man whose face was quite handsome, even with his work glasses."Dave, thank you so much!" Immediately Eve grasped Dave's two hands and jumped up to make him dance for joy."Hey, you did it? Cool!" Dave joined in the cheering as Eve's happiness radiating from her face was so hypnotizing it rubbed off on him.Eve nodded vigorously and then cheered, "And it was all because of your help! It's a good thing you immediately mentioned that magic name, Dave."If Dave were a girl, Eve wouldn't have hesitated to hug or kiss him on both cheeks. Unfortunately, he is a man, so that is impossible."Haha, maybe it's your destiny to work here longer, Eve," Dave replied casually. It would be nice for him to see Eve hanging around in the same office. Maybe they could also get close or--oh, Dave immediat
For the rest of the day, Gery was grumpy. He nagged Dave as well as some of the managers who happened to see him that afternoon. Everyone wondered what was wrong with their boss. It was apparent that he was in a bad mood."What's wrong with Mr. Gery?" asked Ms. Jenni, the marketing manager who was Eve's boss.Dave just shrugged his shoulders. He was in a bad mood because the work atmosphere was no longer comfortable. It was unusual for Mr. Gery to be like that after the incident about two years ago when a very personal problem entangled the man.The woman then stepped into the CEO's room to meet Mr. Gery, who had called her on the parallel office line with a furious tone. She became a little afraid of whether she had made a mistake or what to be called so suddenly without any need beforehand.Inside, the tall man was sitting behind his desk, gazing down at the files."Um, sir... did you call me?" asked Ms. Jenny as she cleared her throat slightly to announce her presence, even though
Sofia handed over the documents from her investigation into Eve the following day. That is a thick file containing her data, educational history, the results of a psychological interview from the Vinestra company, and other data that Sofia's people had searched for and observed. Mrs. Daphne, who had just finished her morning tea, immediately received and examined the file sheet by sheet. Several times she seemed to chuckle or clear her throat a little, but her eyes remained focused as if she didn't want to miss anything. "Excellent! I knew Eve was a pretty special girl. Isn't that right, Sofia?" commented Mrs. Daphne after examining the file. "That's right, ma’am. There are hardly any blemishes in her record of achievements and grade results during her education. Also, her external and family demeanor is quite good and harmonious. As for her social life, she often associates with college friends who communicate often and go on trips or vacations together." Sofia mentioned the things
And that night, Gery didn't leave the house. He usually preferred to spend the night at his favorite cafe or studio to relieve stress after work by playing billiards and drinking with his friends or business colleagues. He had to give in and stay home to wait for dinner with his dear grandmother.He knew she had something important to talk about because it was unusual for her to ask him to dinner at home. Yes, Mrs. Daphne had been giving Gery free time in the evenings since she had been driving him all day in the company. That wise woman would know that a young man of Gery's age would also need time to himself to enjoy his life as a young man without the restraints and strict supervision of his grandmother."Am I interrupting your big plans for tonight, Gery?" asked Mrs. Daphne when they finally gathered in the large dining room with the large, luxurious oval table that would, unfortunately, be occupied by just the two of them eerily quiet.It was also the reason why the two of them v
Eve has been working overtime at night for the past few days. She had yet to hear that the new employee could work late at night. But because of Mrs. Jenny's strict attitude, Eve didn't dare to argue. Moreover, recently, she had seen her boss woman behaving strangely toward her. There seemed to be something wrong, but she didn't know what.Even though she had a tough day at the office, Eve considered it a test during her internship. Maybe Vinestra is the company that initially molds its new employees into tough workers. Hence, it immediately imposes heavy work with long overtime hours. Perhaps it's just their way of finding the best of the best, Eve thought, consoling and encouraging herself.And when Mrs. Jenny became increasingly nasty by blaming her for things that weren't her fault, Eve kept patient."What's wrong with her? It's like she's having problems with her husband, oh gosh!" grumbled Eve as she stepped out of the room with a permit to the bathroom, even though Eve avoided
"But, Sir. So what if I feel attracted to Eve and want to get close to her? Isn't that okay if it doesn't interfere with my work?" Dave finally asked. He was starting to wonder about the prohibition that his boss had just stated. Why was he strictly forbidden to get close to Eve? What could it be? His mind was wandering all over the place.Hearing the assistant's protest, Gery was outraged. He thought it was a deliberate act of defiance."Oh, now you dare to go against my orders, right? Whereas usually you always say yes to whatever I want. See how you've changed since you got to know that girl. That's why I told you to stay away from her, Dave. It's all for your good!" Gery argued with his opinion that everything was Eve's fault.Dave was getting suspicious. "I have been obeying all your orders because they are worth obeying, Sir. But this time, I'm sorry that I have to ask your absurd prohibition because, in my opinion, my closeness to Eve in this office is none of your business."G