But before Saskia could go on her well-deserved vacation, some reports and summaries had to be done. A few pleasant and quiet hours passed where she was not disturbed. Thus, she made very good progress with her work. Only the light tapping of the rain on the glass front of the building could be heard, otherwise it was as if the floor was deserted.

Hopefully the weather would get better, after all she really wanted to enjoy the beautiful nature in the countryside.

Slowly but surely, Saskia's stomach spoke up and demanded the snack she had prepared in the morning. Saskia activated the computer lock, safe was safe.

She circled her head and shoulders to relieve the slight tension. She got up and took the small snack box out of her bag and wanted to go to the common room with it. She walked leisurely down the hall. She was about to open the door of the break room, which was only ajar, when she heard sobbing behind it. Saskia paused in her movement and listened curiously to what was being said.

"H-Harry, the old man was so unkind to me again today," Evi whined.

"I'll get even with the old man, I can't tell you how much I hate him!" replied Harry in a hushed voice to Evi's reproaches, "he'll see what he gets out of this! And that fat cow Saskia will also get her fat," he added.

At this joke they both started to laugh maliciously and Saskia's anger grew.

Hahaha, it was very funny to have fun at the expense of the fat people. Actually she felt like bursting in there now, but she would rather keep listening, who knows what Harry was planning.

"I'll rip the old man off and he won't know a thing about it, you'll see. After that we'll be rich and the two of us can get away. Let him go to hell, that rich old bastard Shahbandar!" Harry said cockily at the end.

Saskia knew that the boss was not really friendly to Harry Deane, but he would have his reasons. She found her boss' reaction today to Evi's sloppiness just as understandable. He was right, she was just too lazy and too stupid.

Saskia had heard enough, nothing more was said anyway. She pushed the door open with a swift swing and both of them looked at her, caught off guard. She didn't pay them any attention at all, she took out a flavored water from the generously stocked fridge and sat down at another table.

Another perk that none of these idiots seemed to appreciate. There was plenty of choice of hot and cold drinks, as well as a fruit bowl and smaller snacks. Such a thing was really not a matter of course in any company. If the boss still seemed so cold and calculated, he didn't skimp in this respect. The chocolate in particular was very good and of high quality, and it also had Shahbandar's lion logo on it. Saskia, of course, was mostly careful not to snack on anything and only took a small bar on rare occasions. Only when she had been particularly annoyed with someone again. 

She opened the snack box, took out her sandwich and bit into it. Saskia took out one of the sliced vegetable strips and ate it with it. She opened the orange-flavored water a moment later and drank a few sips.

Harry and Evi just sat quietly at the next table. They had nothing more to say to each other, at least not in front of Saskia's ears. But she didn't really care, they could do without the hollow chatter anyway. She didn't really get along with Harry either, he had such an idiosyncratic way. Anyway, he worked for an area in which she was not at all familiar. She loved to go to different museums, but when it came to art, she liked to look at it, but she couldn't really tell the difference.

Supposedly, from what she had heard, her boss had a huge art collection in his country estate. Harry appraised the paintings for him and looked for lost or valuable art objects for him.

Saskia sat lost in thought for quite a long time until it was time to get back to work. She put the drunk glass bottle in the designated tray and went back to her small office with her empty lunch box, but not without having gazed at the chocolate bars from a distance.

After another few hours of highly concentrated work, Saskia didn't notice that the lights were gradually going out in the offices next to her. The colleagues all started on their way home, none of them staying longer than absolutely necessary.

Saskia was determined to get everything done, otherwise she wouldn't really be able to enjoy tomorrow's train ride to her cousin's house. She also had to pack her clothes today, she remembered seething hot, because the train would leave very early.

Lionel was actually a workaholic, often sitting in his office until late at night. After all, no one missed him at home in his estate anyway. Except perhaps for his numerous animals. That was just fine with him, everything else was mostly just a headache and he had enough stress.

He had really worked enough for today. He contacted Mihai his chauffeur to be waiting for him outside the door. Lionel walked out of his office and was about to go to the elevators when he saw another light on in an office. Probably, once again, a careless employee had not turned off the lights. He was already heading for the office to turn off the light switch, but then he saw that someone was still sitting in there.

Lionel leaned silently against the door frame, folded his arms and waited to be discovered. In the meantime, he let his eyes glide over the evening scene.

Saskia sat so concentrated at work that at first she didn't notice she was being watched. Only when she noticed a small movement out of the corner of her eye did she look up, towards the door.

"Good evening Lord Shahbandar," Saskia said quickly when she saw her boss standing there. His intense gaze rested on her face, making her feel a little uneasy inside.

"Good evening. It's enough mister, you don't need to mention my title," the latter replied.

Saskia raised her eyebrows in surprise, but only nodded in response.

"Do you need much longer?" her boss spoke in a velvety, dark voice, looking at her waitingly.

Goosebumps immediately ran down Saskia's spine. Most of the time, she had only heard her boss yell or speak in a commanding tone. That he could do otherwise, she knew only from hearsay.

"Maybe another half hour, I think," she answered Shahbandar's question.

"Well, I'll wait for you then, a young lady shouldn't be here alone. Come to my office as soon as you are ready," the latter ordered, seemingly not tolerating any backtalk.

"OK, boss," she said with a slightly teasing undertone. Why she reacted unexpectedly for the second time today, she still didn't understand. What was wrong with her? She seemed to need the vacation really badly.

Lionel raised an eyebrow, stared briefly in her direction, and then went back to his office.