6 months later
"Okay, let me stop you right there," Quinn huffed angrily as she extended her arm towards the hologram screen behind her.
"This is great work ok, but it's just repulsive to look at," She sighed, directing a menacing glare towards the associate across from her.
"I mean, it's a matter of opinion but-" the associate trembled, but Quinn was quick to cut him off.
"Try again," she sneered impatiently as she placed her fingers on her temples.
Marketing meetings were always the most frustrating part of her day. Her job position was enjoyable, but the obligations that came with the title weren't always so pretty. She hated having to be the one to slap the sense into her underlings, but she knew someone had to do it.
"Alright," the associate mumbled under his breath as he hastily disconnected his tablet from the hologram screen. Quinn was quick to notice the tension she had created within the board room. The associates were on edge, and Quinn was starting to feel the pressure herself.
"Guys, I don't want to be a villain here, but look at our charts! They were the lowest they have ever been just over a year ago, and I refuse to see those numbers associated with our name ever again!" Quinn stated assertively as she connected her laptop to the screen.
The charts she displayed for her audience showed statistics from the last 12 months, and coincidently, the numbers were only low when Mack was working her position. Quinn was unpleasantly surprised by Mack's incapability to manage the place while she was gone, and even though both girls were just as qualified for the position as the other, Mack lacked the initiative that Quinn had. The statistics showed the difference loud and clear, and Quinn was surprised the company was even still standing after everything Mack had done.
The meeting Quinn had scheduled continued accordingly. Unfortunately it went a little longer than planned, and once it was over Quinn was displeased to see how busy her schedule still was for the remaining hours of her work day.
She had two more meetings ahead of her, multiples appointments with other Microz officials, and to top it all off she needed to prepare an hour long presentation for a tech group over on Venus all within the next eight hours. It wasn't even eleven am yet and she was already breaking a sweat.
As she walked out of the boardroom with her laptop and coffee in hand, she couldn't stop thinking about the meeting she had scheduled for the next day. That hour long presentation she needed to make was looming over her like a dark cloud, and even though she wasn't presenting it alone, the anxiety was soul crushing.
Needless to say, the pressure was unbearable, and she made her way through the bustling hallways of her workplace, she couldn't help but let a smile grow across her face. She absolutely adored the stress she was feeling and she couldn't believe there was a time in her life where she seriously doubted her enjoyment for it.
Quinn hated thinking about the past anyways, and she rarely even let it alter her train of thought. She shook her head as she head towards her next meeting. There was no room in her schedule to be thinking about a life she never wanted to experience anyways.
...
"Quinn, what on earth are you still doing here?" A smooth, comforting voice called out as Quinn lifted her head up from her laptop.
"What?" Quinn asked as she directed her eyes towards the figure leaned against the doorway of her office. Her secretary was standing there with her arms folded across her chest. Her gold rimmed glasses twinkled under the fluorescent office lighting, and as she walked towards Quinn's desk, her heels clicked loudly against the hardwood flooring.
"It's nearly ten, the office is empty and you need a break," Quinn's secretary warned as she approached Quinn's desk. Her voice was always so soothing to listen to, even when Quinn didn't like what she said. But of course she was right as she always was. Quinn knew she needed to go home, but she was so invested with her work that she didn't want to leave.
"I guess I lost track of time," Quinn yawned as she stretched her arms over her head.
"I've already sent your presentation over to Fusiun, and your schedule is cleared for tomorrow," her secretary stated as she took a seat on the edge of Quinn's desk.
"Cleared?" Quinn panicked as she tried to remember what she was supposed to have planned for tomorrow. She had meetings- multiple meetings, and her presentation was going to take the full morning, and after that she had scheduled appointments.
"Sophie, there's no way you were able to-"
"Mark took your three o'clock, Amanda's doing the afternoon meeting on her own, and Mrs. Strand cancelled her four-o'clock anyways," Sophie reassured. Quinn's heart sunk back into her chest as she calmed herself down. She trusted Sophie's planning, but she didn't quite understand why she cleared her day.
Quinn raised an eyebrow as she gave Sophie a puzzled look. She could tell she was planning something based on the almost menacing expression on her face. One corner of her mouth was tugged upwards in a half smile while a mischievous aura emanated from her nonchalant demeanor.
"Now you've got the entire day to spend on Venus, take a break for once," she added and Quinn smiled up at her. There it was. Of course she had some sort of trick up her sleeve, and this was why she was such a good secretary.
She was cold, quick to the point, strict, and when she needed to be, but despite her threatening professionalism, she was a damn good friend. She looked after Quinn more than she needed to, and Quinn appreciated her more than anyone else in the workplace.
"God, what would I do without you?" Quinn chuckled as she closed her laptop screen.
"Also, what are you doing here still?" Quinn accused playfully as she stood up from her desk.
"I had a feeling if it weren't for me, you'd be here working all night. I do not need you pulling another all nighter like last month," Sophie chuckled as she slid herself off of Quinn's desk.
"Oh God that was awful," Quinn laughed as the two women reminisced, and as Sophie made her way back towards the doorway, Quinn began packing up her belongings.
"Any plans for the night?" Sophie asked as Quinn stuffed her things into her purse.
"Not a chance, my schedule is free for tonight," Quinn smiled as she snatched her coat from the rack next to her desk. Most nights were free for her. Ever since she had returned to Mars she had had no time for anything but work. She figured she'd pick up her old hobbies again at sometime, but for now it was all business.
"Good, take a moment to breath," Sophie yawned as she waited for Quinn to follow her out of the office. As Quinn buttoned up the front of her coat a sudden thought shocked her mind.
"Oh shit!" She groaned as she abruptly slammed her purse down on her desk.
"I forgot to send that one statement over to accounting," Quinn groaned as she ran back over towards her laptop.
"Oh Quinn come on, do it tomorrow," Sophie whined impatiently as she urged Quinn to follow her.
"It's not gonna take more than ten minutes I promise," Quinn assured as she opened her laptop screen.
"You go ahead with out me, I'll text you when I leave the office," Quinn shooed Sophie away as she searched through a huge mess of emails that had piled up in her inbox. To Quinn's surprise Sophie actually let her stay.
"Promise me you'll be out of here by ten-twenty," Sophie threatened, and Quinn sighed as she placed her fingers along her keyboard.
"I promise," Quinn smirked as she opened up the document she needed to send over.
"Better not be lying to me!" Sophie shouted as she slipped out of Quinn's office.
"You know I can't!" Quinn yelled back, and Sophie disappeared down the hallway. As she began sending her files over, Quinn listened to the sound of the elevator dinging down the hall. Sophie had left, and now Quinn was on her own, alone in the office space.
By ten fifteen Quinn was finished with her work. She was happy she finally finished her day, and as she closed the screen to her laptop, an oddly familiar sound caught her ear. A metallic clink echoed throughout the hallway Sophie had just disappeared down, but Quinn was under the impression she was alone.
She paused for a moment as she slipped her laptop into her bag. Surely she was just hearing things, right? She didn't panic, but she did begin to worry that someone else was on the floor with her. Quinn listened as she heard a sharp, flicking sound, followed by a second metallic clink echo throughout the hall. This time the sound was much closer to her office.
She felt her mouth began to run dry as footsteps began approaching down the hallway. Quinn had the last corner office within that stretch of hallway. There were no other offices passed hers.
So she wasn't alone.
She started to feel worried. Again, she wasn't scared, but she knew whoever was coming down the hall was on their way to see her. As the footsteps began to get closer, she grew more and more concerned. She almost felt like she should hide, but then again she didn't have a reason too. It's not like whoever was coming was dangerous right?
Quinn was simply worried because Sophie had confidently told her the floor was empty when it clearly was not. Sophie was never wrong, and this fact bothered Quinn more than anything else.
Quinn's office walls were made of sound proof frosted glass, but her office door was wide open. Her desk was directly facing the door, and as she swung her bag over her shoulder, she reached into her drawer.
She pulled out a small, sharp letter opener, and as she gripped it tightly within her right hand, a suffocating scent began to waft into her office.
Cigarette smoke.