ELARA POV
Standing in front of my new locker with my white coat on and my hair packed in a rough bun, I couldn't help but feel a bit down. I had not decided this because it was what I wanted. Yes, I had always fought to get a good position in Axiom Biotech Co.
But now that I had it, I felt empty. Mostly because they were throwing me into a secret experiment; I knew it would be something illegal. I just didn't know what exactly it would be. And I just didn't know if I would be doing something bad or something good. But I had to do this.
I closed my locker, pinned my name to the left pocket of my coat, and turned around, standing in front of the other scientists. I stuttered a bit when I saw Marcus walking toward me with that woman. They were both laughing together, their hands intertwined, and people were whispering around them.
Of course, why wouldn't they whisper? We were already planning to get married. Everything was perfect. We had even bought a house for our family. And then everything crashed. All of a sudden, Marcus was seen with another woman. And of course, they would gossip about me because they would wonder what I did wrong. Maybe I was the one at fault. That is why he gave everything away. That's why I lost him.
I knew everyone would assume the worst, but I did not care. I had to face what I came here for. After all, I was placed as the lead scientist, which meant that everything I wanted to do was up to me and nobody else. No one could take away this position from me. Not even Marcus.
I slowly got closer and closer to him, and just when he stood right in front of me, he grunted silently. I did not even bother to look at them for a second. I raised my head high and walked right past them.
But just then, I heard my name, making me stop in my tracks almost immediately. I turned slowly toward him, and was about to wave off his words.
"I called you, Ella. I see you are wearing a white coat. Which position were you given? A janitor?" he said as the lady beside him laughed.
I clenched my coat tightly and walked toward him.
"No, I wasn't given a janitor's position. I am the lead scientist of a case you fought so hard to take over. Nobody is being paid as much as I am," I said to him as he laughed.
"That is crazy," he said as the lady beside him looked at me with keen attention, clearly looking at my badge. Her eyes almost bulged out when she read what was there. She looked at him and bumped his shoulder.
"It's okay," she muttered as I stood there, my hands folded, a crowd already gathering around us, clearly noticing what was going on. I smiled, waiting for him to say something else.
He also looked at the badge on my chest and tried to read what was written there.
Immediately he saw it, he laughed.
"You found your way, huh? I'm sure you slept around with like three of the board members before you got to this position. I know at first you did not want to sleep with them, trying to act like you're better than you are, but you realized you had to. You slept with them like a prostitute," he said as I raised my hand to slap him.
Just then, I saw Raya at the end of the hall.
"Elara," she called to me, her hands folded, staring at me angrily, clearly not wanting me to get into any argument or fight. I stood there, my hand still in the air, unable to say anything as I slowly placed it down and rushed toward her.
And then at that moment, she made a ticking sound with her tongue.
"Why? Why are you trying to ruin a reputation you fought so hard to build? You know he's trying to get you to say things, to get angry, to make moves, and you are accepting his moves. Know when to stop. Know your limits. If you want to become somebody greater than everybody in this company, you have to work for it. Concentrate on what brought you here. Stop trying to chase clouds," she said to me and stormed off, leaving me to my thoughts.
I almost broke down at that moment. I found my way to the female restroom. The moment I stepped in, I sat down on the closed toilet lid, and I couldn't help but pour out all the tears I had held in.
Why? Why can't... why are these things happening to me? I have to concentrate. This is all I have left. All my years led to this. I went to school through hardship because of this. No parents, just me. I knew what I had to pass through, and I would not let it crumble so easily.
Just like that, I stood up, cleaned off my tears, became more firm, and readied myself to start what I had come here for.
I was more than ready to face this strange animal that was being kept a secret. And clearly, from the looks of things, even Marcus and his team knew nothing about this animal, yet I was the one assigned to investigate it. Maybe that was one of the reasons they had tripled my salary, trying to prove a point that I was going to have to keep this a deep secret.
I went back to my locker, packed up my file, picked up the key that had been handed to me strictly for the investigation, walked toward the door, opened it, and slowly turned the doorknob as the door swung wide open.
Standing in front of me was a very different image from what I had expected.