Chapter 2

Miriam and Annalise exchanged glances. "What's up with her?" Miriam whispered.

"Um, there's a problem-"

"Annalise, get in here and take your notes!" they heard from the other side of the office door.

"Sorry, I have to go," Annalise said with an apologetic look.

"And come with Miriam too!" Elizabeth yelled from inside her office.

"Why is she so loud?" Miriam wondered out loud.

Miriam opened the door and they both went in.

It wasn't often that Annalise had seen this office. In fact, she had only been there twice in the six months that she worked for Uncle Fluffy. Most workers weren't allowed to come into the boss's office. Well, most of them worked at the bakery. But the few who did the paperwork seldom came into that office. Most times, Elizabeth sent her assistant to relay whatever message she had for them. Hence, the silver-colored walls and the black furniture weren't familiar to her at all.

"Both of you, sit down," Elizabeth said while tapping an almost short fingernail on the desk. While Miriam sat, Annalise went to the other side of the table to drop the file first.

"Thank you," Elizabeth said as she received the file. She glanced at it quickly and discarded it to the side.

She stared at the two of them coldly. "Miriam, when I came to work this morning and you wanted to accompany me for the board meeting, I told you no. Is that true?" she started. Miriam nodded with furrowed eyebrows.

"I want words."

"Yes ma'am," the lady voiced.

"Good. Did you ask yourself why?" Elizabeth went.

At first, Miriam was lost for words. "Well ma'am, I did wonder why you declined. I mean, I was with you for everything. I just decided that you had your reasons for doing so," she said after a while.

"So you do agree that I had my reasons. Good, at least we're getting somewhere. Well, I've decided to tell you my reason now."

While she talked, Annalise decided to take a look around the office and familiarize herself with the place. In her opinion, the talk with Miriam was none of her business so she did not want to be a part of it.

The office was furnished to a classy taste. The main table was sleek and pure black, so were the chairs. There was another tiny desk at a far corner, beside a door. That one was white and had three drawers. There was a white chair beside it. The white door beside them said 'Convenience'. The curtains were heavy and gray, with little scarlet patterns on them.

'Beautiful,' she said in thought. To Elizabeth's right, there was an ironing board with a coat hanger. The office was otherwise bare. It was a large office, very spacious and to Elizabeth's right was a large window. It almost took up all the space that was meant for the wall.

Annalise felt somebody nudge her. She quickly turned to an angry Elizabeth.

"Really? Are you always zoning out or are you just trying to annoy me?" and asked.

"I'm sorry ma'am," she said.

"Just shut up and pay attention." Elizabeth gave her a hard look and continued what she was saying. "As I was saying before I realized that one of us wasn't following, Miriam, you are not competent to be my assistant. Of course, there's no guarantee that Annalise over here is any better than you but since she's been relieved of her duty as head of the marketing department, it's best I see if she can fit in here."

"I see. Is there anything I can do to convince you that I should stay?" Miriam asked.

"No, nothing at all. You've been working for me for two weeks. You haven't proven yourself worthy at all," Elizabeth said.

"Okay then. Since there's nothing I can do, I guess I'll pack up and leave."

Elizabeth broke into a smile. "That's more like it. You're more mature than the others. They always resort to begging and it's quite pathetic."

"When do you want me gone?" Miriam asked her.

"As soon as possible. In fact, please leave in the next thirty minutes," Elizabeth said excitedly.

"Alright, ma'am. In thirty minutes, you won't see a trace of me in that office or this building," she assured her.

"That's great."

"But ma'am, I would like to discuss my pay," Miriam went on.

Elizabeth's smile suddenly disappeared. "What pay are you talking about?" she asked her.

"The pay for my two weeks of work. I may not have lasted long but I worked as hard as I could."

"You? You worked as hard as you could? I should have known that your so-called maturity would come with a price," Elizabeth replied. "You do realize that all the work you claim to have done was all part of your probation, right? So I don't owe you any money."

"Ma'am please, that isn't fair. There was no period of probation in the contract you told me to sign," Miriam said. She sounded surprised.

'Elizabeth is a sly woman. This isn't surprising at all,' Annalise thought to herself.

"Hmm, I see. Well, instead of having you go out there to tarnish my image, I'll pay you some money. Just start packing your things and I'll write the check. You will take it out with you and give it to the financial department."

"Alright, ma'am. Thank you," Miriam said and got up to leave.

"As for you," Elizabeth said as she turned to her new assistant. "You will go to your former office and pack your things as she's packing hers. She should be done in about thirty minutes. I want you to finish within that time frame as well. I'm giving you only an hour to settle in."

"Yes ma'am, I've heard you," she said and made to stand up.

"Did I tell you that I'm done yet?" Elizabeth barked. Annalise stayed put. "Anyway, don't forget your notebook. And also tell her to hand over all her notes to you. I want you to study them within that hour so that you'll know what to do next with yourself."

Annalise nodded. Elizabeth dismissed her.