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Doom

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Chapter 1: Doom (Persephone's POV)

"Percy." 

I stopped typing and looked up at Daniel. "Yeah?" 

"Mr. James is calling you." 

"Me?" That's weird. Our boss never talks directly to me. In the three years that I've been working here, I've barely interacted with our boss one-on-one. Daniel nodded and then walked back over to his desk. I stood up hesitantly and made my way over to Mr. James' office, knocking on the glass door. 

"Come in!" 

I pushed the door open and walked in, stopping at his desk. "You called for me, Mr. James?" 

"Yes, Persephone," he mumbled while typing on his computer. He sent out an email and then turned to me. "Have a seat, please." 

Am I in trouble? I think I'm in trouble. I pulled one of the chairs and sat down, picking at the dead skin around my nails, nerves balling up in my stomach. I'm nauseous. And kind of dizzy. "Is something wrong, Mr. James?" 

"Where do you work, Persephone?" 

I blinked in confusion. "Excuse me?" 

"Where do you work?" he repeated. 

"James Publishing House," I answered. 

"And what do you do here?" 

"I'm an editor." That's what he hired me for. 

"Then please explain why you haven't been editing." 

I've been editing here for three goddamn years, what is he talking about? "Sir..." 

He sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Persephone. You have the most clients at our firm, do you realize that? Most authors work with you." 

"Yes, sir." 

"But you're failing to meet deadlines. You're late on seven new books. Seven." 

I pulled my lips together and stared down at my hands in my lap. 

"Is there a reason for that?" 

I looked up at him. "Sir, it's really hard to work on so many projects at the same time. I can't do it alone." 

"All editors are working alone, aren't they?" 

"All editors don't have thirty active projects," I mumbled. 

"Persephone," he said sternly. "If you can't handle it here, then quit." 

"Sir—" 

"You're delaying our projects and the company's name is going bad. Authors are hesitating to work with us because our current projects are more than a week late on their launch dates. It's clear as day that you can't handle the workload here." 

"That's not fair," I reasoned. "No other editor is given as much work as I am." 

"The authors ask to work with you." 

"I'm not allowed to say no, am I?" 

He watched me silently for a moment. "You're in no position to reject authors." 

"I'm not rejecting authors, I'm rejecting working on their projects. I have thirty books to edit. Most of them being over three hundred pages. It's impossible for any editor to work that fast and efficiently." 

"We're not talking about any editor, we're talking about you. And currently, you're failing at your job. Miserably. So, I ask nicely, quit your job, Persephone. Hand in your resignation." 

"But sir—" 

"Or I'll be forced to fire you."

I stared at him in shock. 

"The board of directors concluded that to be the solution. We'll hire a new editor, someone better than you. You can either quit on your own accord or we'll have to fire you. I'm sorry," he apologized, giving me a small shrug. "But it's what I have to do as the director." 

"I've been working here for three years and none of my clients have ever complained," I huffed. 

"You're a fabulous editor. You're just not sufficient enough for our company now. We need someone better. Faster." 

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "You could have warned me earlier," I said softly. 

"I'm warning you now. You have three days to pack your stuff and leave. Today will be your last day." 

Fine then. I stood up. "And my salary?" 

"Your salary. What about it?" 

"You haven't paid me for the last three months, saying that the company is struggling. But no other employee hasn't received their salary, just me. I'll leave when I get that." 

He eyed me. He didn't think he'd get away without paying me, did he? 

"You can't not pay me for my three months of work," I said firmly. 

"It'll be paid to you at the end of today. Come collect your paycheck before leaving." 

I nodded in understanding. "Anything else?" 

"You may go." 

I walked out, closing the door behind me. I should delete all my fucking work from the computer here so whoever comes to take over has to start all over again. I fell into my seat, staring out at the New York view. I let out a huff while grinding my teeth. I grabbed the post-it with my deadlines written on it and crumpled it up, throwing it in the trash can with more force than necessary. 

Now, what the hell do I do? 

My parents are nowhere to be found either. They claimed to be going on a cruise in the Caribbean a whole month ago and I have no way of reaching them now. That's considerably normal, they love disappearing for long periods of time and throwing their money on vacations.

Anastasia is busy with work as it is, so I can't ask her to help me either. 

I'm running late on rent, thanks to Mr. James, who didn't pay me for the past three months, and I'm probably going to be kicked out soon if I don't get my paycheck today. I should have just listened to my parents when they offered to let me live off of their money. 

Damn my pride. Look at where it got me. 

I don't want to come back here tomorrow. I should just pack all my stuff now, collect my paycheck, and go. So that's what I started doing. I was packing up my desk when my phone rang. I answered it, reading my landlord's name on the screen. "Hello?" I asked, holding the phone between my ear and shoulder. 

"Persephone, do you plan to pay rent? Ever?" She huffed in frustration. 

"Celine, I'm really sorry. I'll pay it today, I swear. They're giving me my paycheck today." 

"What happened to your paycheck for the past three months, huh?" 

"Celine, please. Just this once." 

"It's not just this once. You're late on three months worth of rent. And I have tenants here who are willing to pay me double your rent." 

"Celine, please, I'm begging you. Work with me here. I have nowhere else to go," I groaned, leaning against my desk. 

"Figure it out, Persephone. You have two weeks." 

"Celine, please don't—" 

"Two weeks, that's it. If you're not gone by then, I'll have to force you out. Two weeks. Pack up, find a new place, and move." She hung up before I could say anything. 

"Oh my god," I cried, dragging my hands down my face. I groaned into my palms. 

"Percy?" 

I jumped, getting startled while turning around. "Daniel, hi." 

He stared at my desk. "What's wrong? What are you doing?" 

"Packing." 

"Packing?" 

I looked at him. "I quit." 

"What? Why?" 

"Long story," I scoffed to myself, throwing the rest of my stuff into the box. "Did you come here for something?" I stopped packing and waited for him to answer. 

"I just came to ask if you want to join the rest of us for lunch, but... you look like you'll be busy," he chuckled awkwardly. "Anything I can help with, or...?" 

I shook my head, mustering up a smile. "Enjoy your lunch." 

He nodded and then gave me a pitied look before walking away. 

I've worked here three years and yet surprisingly, my desk isn't personalized. Apart from a few cups, stationery, and photos, it's the same. I only have one photo up here of Anastasia and me and that's it. So packing wasn't a hassle. I closed the cardboard box, securing the lid on it, and then walked back to Mr. James' office, knocking on the door again. 

"Come in!" 

I walked in, not bothering to be polite now. It's not like he's my boss anymore, is he? I stuck my hand out. "My paycheck." 

"Sorry?" He frowned in confusion. 

"I'm leaving now. My desk is all packed. My paycheck." 

He sighed and took out his checkbook, signing it and then filling in the amount before handing it to me.

Now I have to stop by the bank too, great. "Goodbye, Mr. James." I spun around and walked out. I put the paycheck in my purse and then grabbed the box, not even sparing my desk a glance. I started walking to the elevator and then got down to the lobby. I stopped at the front desk, handing in my ID, which is what we must do if we quit. Then I left the building. 

I swear, I can't seem to get rid of this doom and cursed bad luck. It follows me everywhere. It has, ever since this summer began. From the start of this summer, up until now, I've been cursed with doom. There's a dark cloud, full of bad luck and all the curses people ever threw at me, which follows me. 

Those were my thoughts as I walked along the sidewalk and my phone rang. I answered it while waiting for the walking light to turn green so I could cross the street. "Hello?" 

"Percy! Do you want to go to lunch together? I'm finally free on my break," Anastasia's cheery voice flooded my ears. 

I squinted under the sunlight while holding the box under one arm. "Um, I'm a little busy with work today," I lied. 

"Everything okay?" God, she's asking so genuinely. 

"Yeah, of course. Everything's fine," I lied again. "I've just got a situation here. I'll tell you later, okay?" The light turned green and I slowly started walking with the rest of the crowd. 

"Okay, we'll talk later, okay?" 

"Okay," I replied before she hung up. 

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Chapter 1

Look at how cute the little chapter thing is at the beginning 

anyway, tell me what you thought of this chapter and our main character

I said 'doom' so many times it's because of doom at your service, istg. I can't hear the word 'doom' without thinking of it now

next chapter: glowed