Let Life Surprise You

04. The Buffalo, the Impulsiveness, and the Baboon

Nice observation skills.

Damn right.

I'm knocking on his door this time. Once his voice tells me to enter his room, I open the door and walk in with the most stunning smile I can muster.

His room is huge and neat. The wall is painted dark blue with a large window displaying the city view. A yellow sofa, a coffee table, and a blue reading chair are situated on one side of the room, and a big mahogany desk on the other side. A gigantic bookshelf stands intimidatingly against the wall behind his managerial desk. Mr. Knight stands up when he sees me walking in his direction. He slips his hands into his pockets, plops down on the corner of his table, and crosses his leg over the other while his eyes are on me.

I keep my cool as I prepare myself for another round of insults he is probably going to throw at my face. "Your coffee, sir." I put the cup carefully on his desk, next to his other empty cup. I'm just hoping he doesn't catch my slightly trembling hand; the hand that is convicted of a misdeed.

"Ms. Garnett," he says gently.

"Sir?"

He sighs. "I was being too harsh earlier. That was not very professional of me. I apologize for that."

I stand rooted to my spot, not believing my ears. Did he just...?

"And I didn't mean to insult your skills. Max and I were through your profile and agreed that you have the qualities that we're looking for," he adds. "I hope what happened today doesn't give you the wrong idea. You know that things can be stressful and put a lot of strain on us, but most of the time, we are a solid team and we support each other."

I shift my gaze to him and am met with a pair of emerald green irises that are staring back at me. From the glints in his eyes, he seems to be sincerely remorseful but at the same time, his civil yet guarded attitude is back, exactly the same Mr. Knight I saw in the meeting room this morning.

"That's fine. I understand that perfectly, Mr. Knight," I reply, forcing a smile at him. "And I'm looking forward to contributing to our team."

Mr. Knight smiles back at me, making my traitorous heart leap. He then nods and props himself up. "Excellent. I'll see you tomorrow then." With that, he turns on his heels and heads back to his chair.

That is my cue to leave but my feet are glued to the floor as a realization dawns on me. I emptied one-third of the ghost chili sauce into his coffee because I wanted him to pay for the nasty attitude he gave me earlier. I was so pissed at him that I didn't think further about the consequences. I didn't care if I would get fired or if I had to find another job tomorrow because in my five years of working experience, I've never been treated like trash. My former boss wasn't an easy man, but he treated his subordinates kindly, and that was the reason I stayed in his company for so long without a clear career path.

Learning about what kind of person my current CEO is, I don't hold my breath about having long-term employment here. Still, what I'm doing now is a little bit too far and immature. He is my big boss for god sake. Despite his overbearing attitude and sharp words, he has the guts to apologize to his staff, which I truly appreciate, and it makes me feel even guiltier for spicing up his coffee.

What do I do now?

My breath hitches in my throat when his hand stretches out to reach for the deadly cup on his desk. Out of reflex, I grab the other side of its saucer, preventing it from moving closer to him. He frowns and pulls the saucer harder but my fingers clutch the other side of it for dear life.

"Ms. Garnett."

"Yes, sir?"

"I think you're grabbing the wrong cup," he says. "This is not the empty one."

"Oh. My bad." Yet I refuse to let it go.

Annoyance begins to sneak on his face. He knits his eyebrows before his full glare is directed at me. "What–"

"Am I interrupting something?" A feminine voice from behind me prompts us to stop the pulling competition and turn our heads to the source of the distraction.

A gorgeous woman in a red dress is standing at the doorway. Her wavy blonde hair cascades over her shoulders, glowing under the sconce of golden light that is hanging next to the door frame. She wears red lipstick, contrasting her pale complexion and she looks dazzling. The only thing that's missing is a fan to blow her hair as she's making her entrance.

I can feel Mr. Knight's grip loosen on the saucer. "What are you doing here?" he asks in his buffalo voice, almost growling.

The woman raises her eyebrows as she saunters in our direction. "Is that how you greet your sister after months of not making time to see her? Where have all your manners gone, my little brother?" The woman turns her head to me. "And she must be your new assistant. I didn't know you'd changed your mind about having a female assistant."

"It's none of your goddamn business," Mr. Knight says curtly before shifting his gaze to me. "You may leave, Ms. Garnett."

"Yes, sir," I answer while attempting to take the cup with me once again.

"Ms. Garnett! Leave my cup on the table, please." If a glare could kill, I would be six feet under right now.

"Oh, yeah, sorry." I grab his empty cup instead and trudge to the door, defeated.

It's happening again. My impulsiveness has taken over my rational mind and now I have to deal with the consequences that I'm going to regret. I do need to start calling around tomorrow and send my resume to all the job openings I can find on the internet.

After placing the empty cup into the sink, I make my way to the elevator, with my head down and shoulders slumping. Had I never touched that criminal sauce and just swallowed my pride, things would have been so much different. All I can do now is hope that he doesn't taste the spiciness in his coffee, which is highly unlikely. He will notice it right away, and tomorrow will be my last day working for this company.

I wonder if he will spurt the coffee out of his mouth once he sips it or if he will just gulp it before the burning sensation starts to smolder his throat. Wait, what if he is spicy food intolerant?

Shit! What have I done?

The elevator doors slide open but I pivot on my heels and run back to Mr. Knight's room. I have to get that cup back for whatever reason. I will risk getting fired right here right now than living with the guilt of murdering my boss.

As I come closer to his room, I hear a heated argument between the two siblings. Mr. Knight's sister is half yelling in her high-pitched voice, matching her brother's guttural voice. They sound almost like a baboon and a buffalo dueting in a serene jungle. I stop at the doorway, thinking about what I'm going to do next when Mr. Knight's sister grabs the cup on his desk and throws the contents at her brother's face.

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