"What you did in the meeting room was an absolutely unprofessional and careless behavior. Just because it's your first day, I'm letting it go. But I will not tolerate any unprofessional behavior next time, especially in a meeting room. Understood?" Danzel stated glaring at Coral.
After returning from the canteen, she was immediately summoned by Danzel. As soon as she entered the office, he began to lecture her about her mistake in the meeting room.
"Yes, sir. I'm sorry for disappointing you. I'll do my best next time." She replied.
"You have to." He paused and pushed the stack of files on his desk towards her. "Sort these files. Liam will explain everything. Don't mess this up." His rude voice held a warning.
"Yes, sir." Coral nodded, taking the file from the desk.
After instructing her, Danzel returned his attention to the documents in front of him. As Coral left the office with the files, Liam followed her to her cabin and explained to her the order in which to arrange the files. He also informed that he was taking care of some of her work as she was inexperienced and they didn't want her to mess up anything important.
She felt overwhelmed after seeing the files. But she didn't give up and tried harder. She vowed to do the task perfectly. After sorting the files, she brought them to Danzel. But he wasn't satisfied with her work because, according to him, she took too much time. Next, he gave her some documents to summarize. Again, she took too much time. He didn't even like the summary. According to him, it was too long. He could have read all the documents instead of the summary, as it was useless. Coral listened to his every taunt and humiliation silently.
She also had to answer calls and emails. At first, she felt overwhelmed trying to organize everything, but after some time, she began to get the hang of things. She didn't realize when the day came to it's end and employees began to leave for their homes. With a sigh, she stood up from her desk, holding the last file she was working on and entered her boss's office.
She placed the file on the desk. "It's done, sir."
Danzel's eyes were fixed on the computer screen. He didn't spare her a glance. Coral felt awkward at the silence. He didn't even look at the file.
When he didn't say anything, even after a while, Coral cleared her throat. "Is there anything else, sir?" she asked hesitantly.
It was past office hours, and almost everyone had left. She stood frozen when he didn't answer. Just when she thought he wouldn't reply, his voice rang through the office.
"Your duty has finished for the day. You can go home." He said without looking at her.
"Umm, sir..." her voice was nervous as she said, "When should I come tomorrow? I mean, what time will you be here? I don't want to be late."
Danzel paused before looking at her with his sharp gaze. "Arrive by 9 am tomorrow." He stated and returned his gaze to his computer.
"Okay, sir." She bowed her head and headed towards the door.
Danzel raised his eyes and looked at her with a hard glare as she left his office.
Coral returned to her cabin and slumped into her chair. She felt exhausted. Closing her eyes, she leaned into the chair. After a while, she slowly stood up and began gathering her belongings. She tidied the desk and made sure everything was secure before leaving. As she walked through the corridor, there was no one in sight. The floor was eerily silent. She hurriedly got into the elevator. Getting out of the building, she took a cab and left.
...
Inside Danzel's office...
"What do you think of her?" Danzel asked as he was leaning comfortably on the couch in his office. He held a glass of wine in his hand.
"She acted like an inexperienced person who messed up on her first day. There was nothing suspicious." Liam stated.
He was standing beside the couch. Danzel nodded and took a sip from the glass.
"It's just one day. Let's see how long she can keep up the act." Danzel said. "What have you get on her?"
He had asked Liam to look into Coral's background and the latter had gathered the information.
"She's an orphan, sir. At least, that's what everyone knows. Her mother died sometime after her birth in a car accident. There's no news on her father. And one more thing... She's a distant relative of the Stone family of Stone Group... but they have no contact with her." Liam reported everything he had gathered about Coral.
"Stone Group? Where have I heard this name?"
"It's a small company. It was one among the three companies that had collaborated with our company in the sea-side resort project." Liam informed him.
"Oh, I see. Is there any possibility that...?"
"They wouldn't dare, sir. They would want to join hands with us to grow their company instead of plotting against us. I don't think Miss Stone is working for them."
It was probable that Coral had no ties to the Stone Group and was living on her own. Otherwise, she would have been working in the Stone Group. It wasn't surprising that a wealthy family would cut ties with a distant relative. In the corporate world, everyone built relationships for their own benefit. Even blood relations were taken for granted. As an orphan, Coral had nothing to offer them, so naturally, they wouldn't have any connection with her.
"Hmm..." Danzel nodded. "Keep an eye on them. After all, people can do anything for money and power."
He had many enemies who had tried numerous times to bring the Knight Corporation down in the past. So he trusted no one.
"Yes, sir." Liam replied.
.....
"How was your first day?" Einar asked as soon as Coral sat on the couch beside her with a mug of coffee.
"It was horrible." She replied with a sigh before sipping her coffee. She felt better. After working the whole day, her head was throbbing with pain. The first thing she did after returning to her apartment was make a coffee for herself.
Einar turned towards her. "What happened?"
"I literally thought I would quit the job for a moment." Coral said and described her first day to Einar.
"Seems like your boss is really a cruel man. But hey... think about the salary. I think that's why the salary is so high."
Coral glared at her. Einar chuckled.
"Oh... it's just your first day. I'm sure it will get better."
"Let's see."
Their doorbell rang at that moment, drawing their attention. Einar went to open the door while Coral remained in the couch. A moment later, Einar came out with a man and a woman. Coral straightened after seeing the strangers.
"I'm Einar, and she's Coral." Einar introduced them but Coral was confused as to who they were. She stood up from the couch.
"Coral, they're here to look at the apartment." Einar added.
Only then she remembered that the new tenant was supposed to visit to see the apartment. Einar would move in with her boyfriend next month, so she would have a new roommate.
"I'm Sloane, and this is my boyfriend, Dane." The woman said flatly, looking around. "It's not bad. Which will be my room?" She asked.
"Oh, here. Please come with me." Einar led Sloane to her room.
Her boyfriend, Dane, shot Coral a lingering gaze before following them. Coral felt uncomfortable under his gaze. She stood there alone in the living room, feeling anxious.