Eucatastrophe ~ h.s.

✗ one ✗

SHAY

3 Days Prior ~ 18 April

"Melissa, this can't wait." I hiss into the receiver, growing more annoyed with the cheeky ginger-haired intern that's located somewhere other than work at the moment. "I needed you to be here this morning at the financial meeting because you had the papers that I asked you to review."

She's always such a disappointment and I'm going to talk to Mr. Styles if she screws up one last time. I have also been saying that for the past two mistakes she has made.

"I know and I'm sorry Shay!" It's taking everything in me not to roll my eyes and hang up the phone as quickly as possible. "I wanted to be there, I really did, but something came up."

"Something came up?" I question, narrowing my eyes and leaning forward in my black, leather swivel chair. To be honest the chair probably cost more than the phone I'm speaking on so I can still chuck the phone across the room as I had planned before. "This is your job we are speaking about Melissa." Okay, she isn't getting paid, but it's still a job for her. When I did my internship at Styles Corp. three and a half years ago I was hired as soon as I finished. Melissa, on the other hand, will surely never be hired here after I gave my review coming up in the next two months. "You need to be here, rain or shine, whether you are sick in bed with the flu or healthy as ever. I need to count on you."

"I know and I am so sorry." She says sounding as if she's seconds away from beginning the water works. That's one thing that I can break me, crying. If I see or even hear her cry I will give in and let her off with a warning. I need to be stern. "It won't happen again, I promise." And I can hear her trying to contain the tears. Crap.

"There is a board meeting in an hour. Mr. Styles and I need a pick-me-up before we endure the conference."

"Oh, thank you so much Shay!" I roll my eyes for real this time and lean back in my chair, sitting very unprofessionally for an assistant who is sitting behind glass doors. Anyone can see me from my post if they simply walk past Mr. Styles' and my offices. "One hot tea with sugar and one White Mocha Frappuccino from Starbucks. I won't let you down." And with that the line goes dead because she had hung up on me, presumably in a hurry to get her ass down here.

"You better not." I mutter angrily into the receiver as I slam the phone down back into it's prospected holder.

"Better not what Shay?"

I squeal at the person's voice, immediately standing from my chair and smoothing out my dress slacks and white blouse. He stands before my desk, the glass doors shutting signaling that he had just walked in. It's odd because I thought he was in his office the whole time, his doors being a frosted glass so I can't exactly see into them at all times, unless I squint hard and lean at just the right angle. Plus, his office is behind my desk so it isn't like I'm paying much attention to anything back there.