It was Wednesday, and Kate would be moving out tonight. While I was happy to unite the lovers, I also felt sad that she wouldn't be around. Living alone would be boring. I took a deep breath and knocked on Ryan's door. As he replied, I opened it and went inside.

He had a couple of files open on his table and was staring at his laptop like a hawk. His blazer was draped over the back of his chair, and his hair was slightly disheveled. Had he been working all night? He hadn't looked at me yet, so I called out, "Good morning, Ryan."

He glanced up and gave a half-hearted smile. "Good morning, Evelyn."

"I've finished the document you asked me to work on yesterday. Can you take a look at it, or should I come back later?" I asked.

He shut his eyes tightly, then opened them again. "Yeah, that report. Sorry, I'm very busy right now. Can you please take it to Eric? Get all the pages signed."

As much as I tried to avoid that man, it seemed the universe was not in my favor. Early in the morning, I'd have to hear his criticisms of my work again. Ugh. "Yeah, sure!" I replied with a smile.

"Thanks," he said, quickly turning his gaze back to his laptop.

I turned on my heels, but a thought pulled me back. "You look tired. Can I help you with anything?" Ryan had always been nice to me and helped me with a lot of work. I really wished I could do something for him. He looked stressed.

He stared at me longer than normal, so I raised my eyebrows. He seemed startled as he spoke. "Thanks, but you can't do much on this. And you already have that report and presentation to work on. I don't want to bother you with this."

"Okay."

"How's your leg?" he inquired.

"It's better now. I can walk... like a tortoise." I smiled.

A wide grin appeared on his face. "That's good."

I stared at the door for a moment before knocking. "Come in," Eric responded.

I stepped inside cautiously. "Good morning, Mr. Richmond," I greeted in a low voice.

He looked at me, and his expression hardened. His blue eyes narrowed and his eyebrows furrowed. His face screamed, 'Why the hell do I have to see your face early in the morning?' The feeling was mutual.

He didn't bother with a greeting, so I didn't waste his time either. "The low stock report you asked for is done. It seems the Texas, Sienna, and Vancouver plants are facing a decline in efficient machinery and are lagging in meeting deliveries. We're getting stockout alerts from these units," I informed him.

He didn't say a word and turned his gaze back to the screen. How arrogant! What should I do now? Just stand here and wait for him to finally acknowledge my report? "Keep the file and leave," he said in a sharp voice.

"I need your signatures on all the pages before sending it to the delivery centers," I informed him.

His left brow twitched, and he gave me a side glance before turning back to his laptop. I watched as his jaw clenched in annoyance. How could he be so obnoxious and sexy at the same time? His lips formed a straight line, and those were the same lips... My breath hitched. Oh no, don't think of that. It didn't happen. Right. That's what my mind and I agreed on. "I'll sign them later," he said firmly.

"Should I come back after-"

"I'll have them sent to Ryan," he said, still focused on his laptop. It seemed he hated my work, my face, and everything about me. Point taken.

I didn't want to push further, but I didn't want to trouble Ryan over this trivial matter. He was already engaged in other work. "You can tell me. I'll take them-"

"I don't like repeating myself," he said in a controlled voice.

If I said any more, it would only piss him off further. "I'm sorry. I'll leave now." I placed the file on the table, and my fingers brushed against his fisted hand. He moved his hand away so fast that it startled me. His other hand clenched into a fist as if he wanted to punch something.

"I'm sor-" I stuttered.

"Leave. Now," he yelled. Without wasting another second, I scurried out of the room as fast as I could.

I slammed the door to my room shut and sat down in my chair. My body was still quivering after witnessing his outburst. I felt his hatred before, but I didn't know it was this intense. I was close to crying, but I tried to hold back my tears. I'm not scared of him. I despise him. What did I do to deserve this treatment? I was just doing my job. If he was busy, he could have just said that. He didn't need to be so rude to me all the time. He is rude, arrogant, ruthless, and clearly not as perfect as he pretends to be.

After some time, Ryan came and dropped the file I had submitted to Eric earlier on my table. I stared at him in confusion. "Well... Eric said there are some errors and asked you to redo it," he stated.

I wasn't surprised. I didn't expect any better of him. "Did he say which part I need to fix?" I inquired.

Ryan shook his head. "Just review it once and see if you missed something. I think there might be some figure mismatch," he suggested.

I sighed. "Okay. I'll review it once again."

After spending five hours redoing the report, I sent it through Ryan to Eric again. I waited for an hour, and when the file didn't come back to me, I packed my bag and left. I hadn't made any progress on the other report and hadn't started on the presentation yet. Looks like I'll have to pull an all-nighter. As I opened the door, I found Ryan just outside. Our bodies were only inches apart, and his warm breath brushed my face. His green eyes widened, and he gaped.

I took a step back to create some space. "You're here? Do you need anything?" I asked.

He closed his mouth and then opened it again. "Uh, yeah... I was..." He pursed his lips and furrowed his eyebrows, trying to recall why he was there. "Right. The other report you were working on, Eric wanted to see it before Friday's presentation." I opened my mouth to ask something. "Tomorrow. Afternoon." Ah! Not even 50% done, and now he wants to see it tomorrow. My luck sucks. "I know it will be tough to finish this on such short notice, but it's very critical." He hesitated and sighed.

"I can do it," I said before he started giving more explanations about the difficulty.

He gave a stiff nod. "Also, I won't be here for two days. I have an emergency at home, so I'm flying to London tonight. I would have loved to help you-"

"Ryan, it's okay. I can handle it. Take care, alright? Have a safe journey." I gave him an assuring nod.

He smiled and licked his lips. "If you want, I can drop you home," he offered.

"Um, thanks for asking, but Kate will be dropping me home... You should leave early. You have a flight tonight."

He gave a stiff nod and pursed his lips. "Okay. See you on Monday then."

_____________________________________________________________________________

My eyes felt heavy, and my head was throbbing. I hadn't slept at all last night. I worked until four this morning and then dozed off for an hour because my body couldn't handle it anymore. I woke up, took a shower to wake up my mind, got dressed, and took the bus straight to the office. Yes, I took the bus. I can't afford a cab right now. I had already spent too much last weekend on shopping. I was saving that money, but Kate insisted we go shopping, and as usual, I couldn't say no to her.

I ordered a muffin and a packet of walnut cookies. If I didn't get time for lunch, these would be my saviors. Even after wrecking my head on the laptop all night, I still needed to do a last-minute proofread of the report and prepare the presentation too.

As I was stuffing my minimal lunch inside my bag, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to face the person and saw Christina. "Hey, Christina. Good morning," I said, trying to smile, though my skin felt too tight.

"You don't look very good this morning," she commented.

I bet. "I slept late last night," I admitted.

"I know the reason." She nodded.

I smiled wryly. "I'll maybe fix my hair later."

"You should. You look like a zombie," she said, scrunching her face.

I frowned. "Do I look that bad?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer was yes.

She nodded in confirmation. "Come on. I'll help you." I didn't have the energy to respond, so I let her do whatever she wanted to make me look human again.

I was dozing off now and then, and I didn't want to mess up another presentation. I tried hard to stay awake, but it was becoming really painful.

I went to the washroom and splashed water on my eyes. I drank three cups of black coffee. I did a five-minute jog inside my room. What else could I do?

It was past three. I was supposed to present my report to Eric at two. I could clearly see myself being thrown out of this company. And the honor would be done by Mr. Eric Richmond, obviously. It's not just the job; my dream and career are both at stake. I can't afford to screw this up. I need to do this right. "WAKE UP, EVELYN!" I scolded myself, gawked at the screen, and started working on my presentation again.

Three hours. Three freaking hours later, I was done with the presentation and report. I dared to check the time. Six-thirty. Eric wouldn't even glance at my work if I went now. Worse, he might throw me out of his room or the office. I shook my head. Every time I try to do something right, it just doesn't work out. I didn't have the courage to face him now. I groaned. He would probably throw the file at my face. I stood up, prepping myself for another embarrassing moment.

When I knocked on the door, there was no response. I turned to leave but couldn't. I knocked again. Still no response. My heart was beating so loudly that I could hear it in my ears. With a sharp inhale, I turned the doorknob and stepped inside the lion's den. "Mr. Richmond?"

He was leaning against the wall, his right leg crossed over the left, his hands in his black trousers' pockets, gazing at the city through the glass wall. I took a step forward. My pumps made an audible sound, but he didn't turn. Maybe he didn't want to see me. The way he flinched away when my fingers had grazed his skin flashed through my mind.

I shook my head and took three more steps until I was standing in front of his table. I hugged the file to my body as if my life depended on it. I cleared my throat and started, "I'm sorry for being late. The inventory performance report is ready. I've emailed you the presentation." He didn't say a word, nor did he turn. I continued anyway. "Can you please-"

"You're three hours and ten minutes late," he stated.

I gulped down my anxiety. "I'm sorry-"

"Time is money in business. Do you think your mere apology can make up for your indiscipline and incompetence?" he questioned me without turning around.

Indiscipline? Incompetence? The words rang in my head. "I was-" I wanted to defend myself, but he raised his hand to pause me.

"Leave," he said. He asked me to leave. He wouldn't see me. He wouldn't see my work. He just wanted me to go away.

"But-"

"I don't like repeating myself." There was a threat in his voice.

I exhaled a sigh. "But I've worked on this assignment. It's okay if you don't want to talk to me, but at least see my work. I've-"

"Get out." His chilled tone made me shudder.

"I'm so-"

"GET OUT!" I jumped at his angry voice, and the file fell to the ground with a loud thud. But I couldn't move to pick it up. I was too shocked. This is it. This is my cue to say goodbye to all my dreams.

*****
To be continued...