{Found an image that was closest to what I had in mind for her appartment}
Unedited~
• • •
"Are you sure you're okay? This isn't too hard on you is it?"
"No, Ma," Sophia sighed, running a hand down her face before pressing them into her temples, "I'm always happy to help out whenever I can."
"Really, thank you baby, you know how it gets over here, Jeremy just lost his job again and it's really starting to take a affect him, I have no other choice right now."
"Its okay," Sophia rolled her eyes at the mention of that name and got up, putting her phone on speaker then resting it on the counter.
Her left eye twitched as she withheld her irritation.
After two full years of repeatedly trying to convince her mother to drop the dead weight called Jeremiah Jones her efforts were left without success and, unsurprisingly, instances like these happening over and over again.
"I'll send the money later today Ma, look out for my message. I have to go right now or I'll end up being late for work. I need to leave right now, I'll call you later."
"Okay, love y-" her mother's telephonic voice was interrupted by a pitched, almost demonic, screech.
Sophia winced from where she stood, bowl in hand. She heard her mother's curse followed by a shout that was even louder than the screech and the call immediately disconnected.
Sophia could recognize the sound of her young brother's voice without any guesses. He was a little over two and a little demon in the flesh. In fact, she had two younger siblings, Mai, an eccentric 10 year old sister who drew on any pieces of stray paper she could find and Mikah, the 2 year old boy who's favorite passtime was trying to tear down the building and break the glass windows with his screams.
She'd only just moved out into an apartment closer to her new job three months ago yet she still had flashbacks of their rampaging.
Even so, her small one bedroom one bathroom studio styled flat was a bit unnervingly silent when she first got here. She was too used to the noise and it took a while getting used to the muted sound of the busy streets outside instead of her brother's screaming.
Following her everyday routine, that had been partially interrupted by her mother's call a few minutes ago. She emptied the rest of her cereal milk in the sink, turned on the faucet to rinse it away before stuffing the bowl into the dishwasher.
Sophia blew out a long breath, no longer having the appetite to finish. She checked the time on her phone and it was only 7 am which meant she still had a full hour and a half before work.
Yes. She had indeed lied to get her mom off the phone.
It was too early to start off her day with the woes of Jermiah and his supposed "job" that her mother would had certainly gotten deeply into explaining if the call hadn't disconnected. She just knew that the moment her mother withdrew the money she sent, Jeremy would be the first one to dip his grubby little paws in it.
Sophia even had the sneaking suspicion that the bastard had lied about the "job" he got this time.
Her mother couldn't work at the moment because of Mikah and Sophia could bet that the savings they had was depleting rapidly as the days went by. Mostly because her mom was now taking care of bills, herself, her two children and the big baby called Jermiah.
Sophia's mother rarely asked her for money but ever since she moved out to be closer to work after being promoted to the main branch, her mother's calls had become frequent. Not that Sopha minded, she had saved so much in a year, living at home rent free while working after graduating B City Uni, the entire time before her promotion. Only paying for the necessities.
The only thing that grinded her gears was that man taking her money and doing god knows what with it.
Mikah was his son yet Sophia could hardly remember the last time Jeremiah supported him or even gave money to help the family after moving in. He was like a fucking leech.
Her mother was, unfortunately, blind to this and wouldn't be leaving him anytime soon so just their luck.
Sophia hissed her teeth. She had to stop thinking about it. Thinking about it made her mad all of a sudden and this was definitely not the right attitude to take onto the job.
She turned on the balls of her feet then went towards the bathroom. She still needed to wash up, brush her teeth and deal with the thick head of hair under the bonnet on her head.
An hour flew by, Sophia's front door swung open and she stepped out, making sure to hit the light switch before closing the door behind her with one of her keys. After few minutes of contemplation she had decided to put it all in one single tight puff, laying her edges before going on to wrestle herself into a black pencil skirt and a simple white dress top (that felt a bit tight around the chest area) with her signature black blazer.
Her short heels clicked on the floor as she walked down the building walkways to the elevator. In her hands were a bunch of files she had completed the night before and her purse.
She had a full thirty minutes before her work began and the building was only a 10 minute bus ride away so stopping for a coffee was usually apart of her routine. However, she decided not to today. She'd have to resort to making a bit of hot cocoa in the break room because the caffeine was starting to make her eye twitch at random intervals.
It took a bit more than the usual ten minutes for her to get to work but she was still earlier than most as she stepped off the bus. Sophia stood at the bus stop and stared up at the tall building that had the words Osoro printed in huge block letters way up there. The tall building wasn't just another skyscraper in the middle of the city. It was an empire, the main branch with two slightly shorter skyscrapers going up to its left and right. The three buildings were connected and was filled to the brim with sections and sectors of a variety of business majors.
Osoro was a name recognized by everyone, even Sophia who hardly paid attention to current affairs or anything on the net had come to recognize and respect it considering the fact that just because she worked here it was a ticket to the smoothest of sailings if she ever left her spot wanted to look work somewhere else.
Yes. The Osoro name was indeed that heavy.
Heavy enough even for a nobody like her working as a small manager with her own team in the PR, media relations and management team area to get by without much effort.
It was understandable though. The Osoro family were a family of giants and business monsters who created a whole empire worth tons of billions of dollars over the years. It hadn't even shown any signs of declining in the current period. Even after it had already been down a generation already.
Sophia only knew the basics. She hadn't got the slightest idea of the Osoros out of what was minimally required to do her job. Her job was media and pr, her team was responsible for scanning the net like hawks finding anything that would put the company into an unfavorable light, including even the simplest trash talk from basement dwellers online to sending lawyer letters to influential blogspots who may publish or report on fraudulent claims that might drag the Osoro name.
Sophia herself found it a bit concerning at first, even thought her job was plainly censoring the masses online but as time went by she hardly blinked anymore. It paid well. With her cheap tiny appartment she could afford to save whilst paying off her student debts simultaneously. She wouldn't ask for more.
Still, she was only one of the many managers of the media department. The whole department had a floor for itself on the main middle building and another floor on the building to the left. Not that she knew what their primary area of focus was.
The Osoro was like a huge wide web that spanned across the entire world. She only knew that the CEO that took over his father's spot years ago was young yet an investing genius and he had made that web stretch wider. They even had their hands in the entertainment industry, the real estate market, chains and chains of hotels and restaurants, factories, a whole market of brand items and this was just to name a few.
Their existence were indecipherable and Sophia knew better than to even think about anything beyond recognizing them as the world's greatest capitalist scum, do her job, collect her pay on every payday, leaving then going home.
Sophia spared one last glance at the huge words that was clear even from this far down where she stood, blocking her eyes from the morning sun that reflected off the glass. She began to walk then turned to a completely different direction from the path to the front lobby.
There was the main road that was lined with all sorts of fancy cars with brands she couldn't name parked into their designated areas and a pavement decorated to the max to display the might of the Osoro main building, that road led to the front doors into the main lobby area. Usually employees sould go in by the front area but Sophia preferred to enter through the underground parking lot and simply take an elevator up to the 39th floor where she worked.
She had been doing this from her first day and was hardly moved even when her coworkers would joke about it. To them it was a bit strange why she'd go from there when she didn't even have a car.
She never let those remarks get to her.
It didn't take long for her to enter the elevator and she guessed that she still had a few minutes before her work started. She simply hit the glowing number with a single finger and leaned her body weight on one foot.
Sophia was busy trying not to let her mind run on her mother or worse, Jermiah, in the dim silence of the rising elevator just as the elevator jerked oddly, sending her stumbling a bit.
"What the..." her eyebrows were pulled tight, looking around the empty space, the bright white lights flickered for a second before stopping then the elevator naturally regained its pace.
"What the fuck was that..." Sophia looked around once more, pursing her lips. Her heart had stopped for a second there.
'This fucking... Isn't this supposed to be the main building? How the hell was such a billion dollar company having these kinda problems?' She thought internally.
She hoped it wasn't anything serious.
By the time she had reached her floor, the elevator was almost packed with people that had entered from lower floors and she had to squeeze her way out, holding her files and purse to her chest.
She got out and took a big breath of air just as the elevator closed behind her. Her eyebrows rose as she finally opened her eyes to the main area.
Apparently she had missed something because the place looked...crowded, people rushing from A to B as if there was fire under their feet, people in groups speaking in hushed tones, few workers milling about.
Sophia blinked, her eyes scanning the area until she finally spotted one of her coworkers, Seong, who was a petite Asian guy with long black hair tied into a neat bun. She walked hurriedly to catch up with him, giving him a look of alarm as she ducked and maneuvered between people to get to him.
"What the hell is going on!" She mouthed to him, clueless yet not wanting to expose herself by speaking too loudly.
She was one of the 4 managers on this level, what if other people apart from her group found out she hadn't got single idea about what was happening.
He shrugged and, much to her relief, shook his head. "Morning Sophia, I honestly dont know either," it was a whisper as she got closer.
"Then why..." she looked around at the crowd of a little over 15 people that milled about. And there was still people coming off the elevator and entering the main area.
"Haven't you gotten the department email? It simply said we were to gather for a small briefing this morning," he spoke then pursed his lips, eyes narrowing down at her.
"-do you even have your phone turned on right now?"
Sophia paused yet didn't bother checking. She had indeed left her phone off most mornings before and after leaving her house, mostly to limit calls from her mother about Jermiah again and again. And on top of that she couldn't even remember if she charged the thing after the hellish night before.
She smiled sheepishly then shook her free hand in dismissal, "That is not the issue here Seong, you know I don’t check my phone that often outside of work 'cause I got other shit to worry about, plus this," she gestured wildly at the crowd, "-this is more than a last minute notice! how would I even-"
"I keep telling you about the irony," Seong laughed, "A PR and media specialist not actively using her phone and engaging outside of work, unlike you I practically live on it, even while off work," he grinned even wider, "shocking isn't it?"
Sophia rolled her eyes, "In my defense I was working late last night, plus...its just a niche preference, you know how it gets- "
"How boorish, it's really fun to watch the online brawl. You can't only be online when it's time for work, that's insanity. Plus if I'm remembering correctly you still haven't gotten faster wifi in your house yet, still living like a caveman, and did you even chat with the landlord guy about new installments yet?"
Sophia waved her hand, "Too bothersome, plus that old man would rather chew on dry grass than let anyone modify his-"
"Excuses!" He cut ger off "-I know I've been saying this a lot but you're like, so ancient Soph-"
"Attention Everyone!"
The loud crisp voice cut Seong off. Both heads snapped to the direction of the voice as the entire room plunged into silence.
"Good," The man smiled.
Sophia recognized him instantly. That was Ethan, the director and a personal supervisor over the managers on this floor. Like Sohia and many others in the gathering, his skin was dark, hair cleanly faded. Beside him stood a similar woman who's piercing black eyes circled the area. Sophia had never seen her before.
"Now that I have your attention, I trust you all know what day today is?"
Sophia gulped.
"Today is the day of Mr. Osoro's return which means I expect a 110% work efficiency and crack down on those media chains worldwide. After leaving this area move about with decorum and grace, especially with the words coming from your mouth when you think no ones around to hear..."
Everyone nodded simultaneously. Sophia also nodded yet her movements were dull.
Mr Osoro? Didn't he leave to develop a major area in Japan months ago? Was he was coming back to the main branch today?!
Her work really had nothing to do with the actual Osoro person in fact. She hardly knew anything about him except that he took over at a young age and made moves, destroying a lot of competitors and expanding. She didn't even know what the man looked like.
Maybe there was a group solely responsible for keeping him and his life out of the media because she hardly ever saw anything about his person. Not even while working and going through news upon news with the words Osoro in them.
She turned to Seong. "Did his return make the news or something?"
Seong nodded with a whisper, "I saw it while scrolling the net the night before...I didn't think we'd have to gather for it though."
Sophia sighed. Eyes going back to Ethan who was still going on the long tirade called speech. When he finally ended it two long minutes later, Sophia winced.
A small meeting. He wanted another small meeting with only managers. Sophia looked down to the files in her hand then looked up again. Indecisive.
Could she make it to her office to drop these off before going to that meeting.
...Maybe.
"I'll see you." She muttered to Seong before slowly moving with the small crowd that walked to the hallway that led to their respective offices and cubicles.
Her luck was never something to write home about because in three steps she heard a voice calling out her name loudly, attracting the eyes of a few coworkers.
Sophia hissed. Sucking her teeth. Turning and waking to the direction of the reception desk where Ethan and the woman stood.
"Ah, Sophia." He smiled as she got closer, showing perfectly straight white teeth. "Looking lovely as always."
Sophia smiled a tight lipped smile, nodding in thanks before giving her greetings to the lady.
"I saw you leaving with the crowd no? Were you too far away to hear that there would be a small meeting with managers?"
"No no," Sophia smiled politely, "I was simply going to drop of these papers but since I'm here now I think these can wait."
"They sure can," he laughed dryly, "Mr. Osoro's return is no idle matter." His eyes left hers, going behind her.
He nodded with a smile. "Now that you're all here, let us go."
He turned and so did the woman. Sophia fell into step behind them, joined by the other three managers, another woman and two males.
"This is Tamelia by the way." Ethan spoke up, "You dont need to know why she's here. She'll be shadowing me for the coming days so keep that in mind."
Sophia stared on their backs. She didn't know why the man was being so secretive. A blind man could tell that the lady was probably an inspector of some sorts. She wasn't here the week before yet here she was after Mr.Osoro's sudden return.
Sophia remained silent. Keeping her internal speculations internal.
They hadn't even settled completely into their seats before Ethan began another speech. Yet this time he seemed to purposely involve Sophia in the same way one would do to person who had the tendency to space out.
Except Sophia wasn't spacing out...at all.
Sophia simply smiled and responded politely each time. She still hadn't gotten used to his strange attitude towards her even after months of working.
He gave each individual talks and files he got from desk before sending each one out. To her surprise (not) she was left for last.
"Here you go, Sophia. This notice is much too short yet time waits for no one and adapting fast should be one of your strongest points to keep up inside this department. You have been transferred to monitor a recent addition to the outside sector."
" Your task and expectations are inside these files. How you handle this situation plus keeping them on clean slates will be up to you. Resources will be provided for you and your team and I would like to see results by the end of the month to decide on the next rotation."
Sophia nodded, keeping her face level and a small smile planted on her face.
On the inside she was screaming.
What the absolute fuck?!
She got up, smile still firmly planted and excused herself. Her smile stayed planted on her face until she walked the distance to her area and locked the door behind her. Then her face collapsed.
"I don't know what the fuck happened overnight but I'm blaming it on Osoro...and I'm definitely putting some on that Ethan too." Sofia hissed to herself.
Hearing her voice, heads peeked up from their respective cubicles. Her team of five she was responsible for. They all came out after seeing that it was her.
Seong, Sera and the other three people. Each waited in silence as she dumped all her things on an empty desk. Sophia quickly took up a file from the pack Ethan gave her and quickly flipped through it.
Sophia then closed it with a wince.
This new addition was another piece of the Entertainment sector that the Osoros acquired.
The acquisition wasn't surprising as the Osoro Corp already had a chunk of investments in that area. Investments that were so huge it wouldn't be a stretch if the companies stopped calling themselves music film and fashion titles and just branded the name Osoro in huge letters.
On the surface those people controlled that business area but under the surface Mr Osoro was the one who owned them and most of their shares.
The true problem and surprise was this being dumped on her without warning, she could only assume that her past tasks had already been passed to another group overnight.
Sophia rubbed her temples. A new headache coming in at the thought of her needing to pay a lot more attention to the internet these coming days. What were these agents thinking?! What was Ethan thinking?!
"What happened? I cant seem to access the clients or my pag-"
"Forget it." Sophia sighed. "We had it too easy following Mr. Osoro's absence, Its about to get a lot hectic, these coming days."
Sophia began handing each of them a file with a tired sigh, "We've been transferred."
• • •
It's finally starting *throws confetti*
Hope everyone's ready.
Because this is just the beginning, there will be three chapters published at first then it'll go to updates on a specific day, maybe on Fridays.
Be on the lookout for those other two starter chapters in a few hours.
Hope you'll enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing em ♡
Also...ignore any errors, I am not a great editor nor do I have one
~Nessa