❇ Rachel's POV ❇

"Oh, God. I must be crazy saying all those things to her. " I mumbled under my breath.

My legs were almost giving up on me. I quickly grabbed my chair and placed myself on it. I absolutely did not picture this to happen on my first day of work. Whatever I just did or said sealed my fate on this job.

Earlier this morning, Mrs Wright asked me to pass a supplier's list to Eva. When I went in, she did not even bother to look up. I was coldly dismissed after placing that piece of paper in front of her. Thank goodness I have decided to work for Mrs Wright instead of Eva. I wonder who would be the lucky one to work for Eva, and wished the best of luck for that person.

Despite feeling awful for my actions, I still felt that it was necessary for me to say those things. I braced myself for the consequences because if Eva wants to make me suffer, she could do so. I sat at my table for a few more minutes to ensure that Zachary and his girlfriend already left the building. Mrs Wright and the others all went out for lunch while I was preparing for the meeting later on.

I did not have the time to interact with my colleagues, yet. But they did give me a friendly vibe when I bumped into some of them. Last night, I searched for places that were near and served delicious food to fill my forever hungry stomach. As expected on my first day of work, everyone went off without calling me along.

Baby steps, Rachel.

I scanned my card to unlock the door. Seeing that no one was outside, I let out a breath of relief.

To be honest, I dreamt of exploring somewhere new by myself and discover interesting things.

The city of Los Angeles was buzzing when I stepped out of the building. Everyone pulled their trench coats closer to them as a gust of wind blew by. Footsteps to the subway station were faster than normal. My lunchtime was ticking away with every minute. I managed to squeeze into the train just before the door shut right in front of me. 

It was really stuffy and my limbs could not even move an inch. Luckily, my destination was only one stop away. I scurried out as soon as the door slide open and took a breath in.

It would be nice if there were fresh air on that train.

I climbed up the stairs two at a time and found myself looking at a very unfamiliar street. My hands searched through my bag and took out the phone. Following the instructions on how to get to the bistro. I could spot the signboard in no time.

My heart sank when I saw the number of people in that bistro.

Oh boy.

It was so packed that some customers are waiting outside for empty tables. I stood outside the bistro and focused on my phone. According to the website, there's a cafeteria which sells affordable yet delicious food. Taking one last look at the bistro, I started to walk away from it.

"Hey, Rachel?" Unexpectedly, someone called me after taking two steps.

I halted in my tracks but did not dare to turn around. In case, the 'Rachel' was not referring to me.

My eyes were looking on the floor, and I saw a shadow before a person stood in front of me. It was my colleague from Gracefully Poise.

"Hey, you're here alone?" Bianca, one of the designers tapped on my shoulder.

"Ah, yes." I turned around to reply to her.

"You wanted to have your lunch here, right?"

"Well, yeah," I responded with a smile.

"Come on in and join us then!"

"Er... Is this okay with the rest?"

Bianca laughed as she led me into the bistro.

"Guys, move over a little, will you. Thanks." Bianca signalled them to make space for me. I placed my bag on the chair before ordering my lunch.

As I was queuing up, my fingers were twisting my bracelet out of nervousness. I thought that it would be easier for me to adapt to my new work life. I guess the introvert personality was still in me. It had always been this way since young. I have to embrace this side of me and try to work out whatever problems that pop out in my life.

"So, how's your first day with Mrs Wright?" Greg threw the question at me as soon as I came back with my food.

"Ah, er. It's still okay, I guess."

"Aren't you curious about your boss?"

"Huh?"

"As in, don't you want to know any bits of information about Mrs Wright?"

"Oh, right. Er, no pun intended. Anyways, I wouldn't mind if you guys have anything to share about our boss."

Everyone from the table exchanged weird looks with one another. Bianca was the first one to break the silence.

"Well, we didn't mean to scare you. But, you're the fifth person working for Mrs Wright in two years."

The spoon that was on the way into my mouth stopped mid-air. I gulped down my saliva instead as I observed their reactions. They wore a serious expression and avoided any eye contact with me. Except, Bianca who offered me a kind smile.

"Wh.. Why did they quit? Mrs Wright mentioned that the one before me just retired." I forced out the question but it still came out as a whisper.

"Beatrice was the only one who could tolerate Mrs Wright personality. She had to retire early after working for a year if it wasn't for her health."

"Oh my God. That means before Beatrice, Mrs Wright changed three assistants?!"

The only response I got was nodding of heads.

"You guys haven't told me why they had quitted?"

This time, it was Greg who replied to me.

"The main reason will definitely be Mrs Wright's hot temper. She is also a perfectionist. Not only did she pushed herself to produce quality work. She expected her assistant to do the same. All the assistants were afraid of her. They could no longer handle the pressure, therefore they chose to quit."

Fortunately, because I was starving just now. My plate was already empty by the time Greg finished talking.

"Then, have any of you hung out with her after work?"

I have no idea why my question that was meant to be serious became an inside joke between my colleagues.

"Did I hear it correctly? You asked if we've hung out with Mrs Wright before?" Greg's face was the colour of an apple when he directed the question to me.

"Yeah, I did. Mrs Wright gave me a choice of either working for her or Eva. She did mention her being strict when it comes to work, but after work, she'll be able to joke around like friends. So, I'm curious if that is true."

"And you chose her. Why?" Bianca was genuinely curious as she leant forward.

"I don't think Mrs Wright would like it if I choose Eva instead of her..." I trailed off as the thought of working under Eva made me shudder.

"I guess no matter who you choose, your work life will be a roller coaster ride."

"Eva isn't easy to work with too?"

"She's less strict than Mrs Wright but please don't tell her." Bianca surveyed our surroundings before she continued.

"Eva is a total snob and a bootlicker. All of us think that's why she's able to climb up the position ladder faster than any of us." Bianca finished off in a whisper.

My mouth formed the letter 'o' after hearing all the new information about Eva. I was actually a teeny weeny happy that I was not the only one who disliked Eva.

"It really sucks to be in your position, Rachel." Jayden murmured as he took a sip of his smoothie.

"Hey, stop scaring Rachel! I believe you will survive this! I really like your personality, hang in there!" Grace beamed at me which I tried to smile back.

Oh no. This was just the start of my new job. I took in a deep breath and breathe out slowly as a means to calm myself down.

"Anyways, thanks for today, guys." I finally spoke out after my nerves were not jumping crazily.

"No problem, join us for lunch in the future, alright!" Greg shot me a playful wink which I found odd. But, I did not dwell on it as we all prepared to head back.

Author's note :
Phew, I finally manage to update within a week after my last update. 😅 Okay, so I've entered a writing contest on Wattpad, with another book of mine (Quinn Meets Cadwell). There's a deadline to meet too. Therefore, I am going to focus on finishing that story for the time being. Which also means, In Time will have lesser updates. 😢 But, I will finish this story. If you're interested, you could check out QMC. 😛 I would not mind if you want to tap on the vote/comment/share button below here. 👇