Chapter 21: What Good Is Sorry
1078 Words
A thought suddenly occurred to Kris, and all of her fear and anxiety melted away as she realized that everything that Joanna was doing was in vain. When she had placed the file in Joanna's office, she remembered, it hadn't been the signed copy. It had been a fresh copy that she'd printed off. Thus, finding the contract would only make things worse for Joanna. After all, if it wasn't signed, it proved that it hadn't been reviewed – and that Kris was innocent.
Kris smiled as Joanna placed the document in Mike's hand.
Joanna: "Mr. Devine, this should prove my innocence."
Mike struggle to contain his anger as he accepted the document. It was getting very hard to control his temper. After all, nobody had ever defied him so blatantly. Of course, it would be unwise to lose his temper in front of so many people. Honestly, though, he really wanted to slap Joanna across the face. It would give him great satisfaction to hear her yelp in pain and see his red handprint rise on her soft cheeks. If he did hit her, though, he knew that it would ruin his employees' perfect image of him. Mike glared at Kris, and she feigned innocence. "How could this happen?" she gasped. I never received this document. How could it be on my desk?" Kris began to manufacture tears.
When the people saw this, they began to whisper. One person said, "I didn't realize that Kris was such a conniver. The evidence is there, though, so she may as well confess!"
"I think Kris tried to frame Ms. Devine deliberately," someone else said. "Good for Joanna for standing up for herself and fighting back. Girl power. Right?"
Everyone began to nod their heads - Girl power!
Nobody cared that Kris was crying, because they all saw through her façade. Their lack of empathy angered kris, and she wanted to scold them, but she knew that it would do no good. Finally, she turned to Mike and said, "Mr. Devine, please trust me. I didn't receive that document."
Mike frowned while when she grabbed his arm, and he stared at her fiercely. From the look in his eye, Kris knew that she had done something wrong. Kris immediately let go of his arm and turned to look at Joanna. She said, "Ms. Devine, since you said that I did not give the document to the general manager, are you sure you reviewed and signed it?"
Joanna: "I signed it."
Kris: "Well, let's check, just to make sure."
Joanna: "Go ahead. Take a look."
Kris flipped to the last page, and she nearly fainted when she saw Joanna's signature at the bottom. It had never occurred to her that Joanna might sign the new file. How could I have been so thoughtless? – she asked herself. It was just that none of this had occurred to her. She had expected everything to go smoothly, in her favor. Her biggest mistake had been underestimating Joanna – Who would have thought that she was capable of this? Before today, Kris had viewed Joanna as someone with a low IQ. And before she'd gone overseas, she definitely hadn't been this competent!
Joanna smirked and said, "Kris, have you found what you're looking for?"
Mike saw that Joanna had gotten the better of them, and he gave Kris a dirty look. "Do you care to explain yourself?" he growled. From the look in his eyes, Kris could tell that she would be the scapegoat and that there was nothing she could do about it. She frowned and said, "Mr. Devine, I am so sorry. I forgot to do it."
"You forgot?" Mike roared. "And then you placed the blame on Joanna? That's pretty low!"
Kris: "I'm sorry."
Mike: "What good is 'sorry?' Can I trade it in for thirty million dollars? If I pressed charges against you, you would go to jail! Do you know that?"
Finally, Kris began to cry for real.
Mike looked at his employees and said, "Get back to work." He turned to Kris. "As for you, follow me to my office."
Mike turned towards the door, but Joanna stopped him. "Have you forgotten something?" she asked.
Mike stopped. "What?!?!?!?"
Joanna: "I have always respected that you always keep your word, and I remember that you promised that you would apologize if it turned out that I was innocent…"
Mike couldn't believe his ears – The audacity! He looked around the room. No one had left yet, and everyone was waiting to see if their boss was a man of integrity. Mike was angry, but he knew he needed to put on a mask of humility, which was very difficult for a man of his stature. After a moment of silence, he sighed and said, "You are right. Of course, I apologize."
After Mike apologized to Joanna, he returned to his office, and the first thing that he did was slap Kris across the face.
"I-It w-wasn't m-my fault," Kris stammered.
Mike slapped her again and said, "I'm not interested in your f*****g excuses."
Initially, Mike had gone after Joanna as a favor for Sarah. Because Kris already had a vendetta against Joanna, using her had seemed like the simplest solution to his problem. And there had been nothing personal in his attack on Joanna. What she had done today, though, had made it personal. "She will pay," he hissed, "and next time, I will see to her demise personally, so that there are no more f**k ups."
In his head, Mike was thinking – Joanna, what happened to you during the five years that you were overseas? It is like you are a different person now!
"What about me?" Kris moaned. "What can I do to help?"
Mike laughed and said, "Nothing. You're fired. Obviously!"
***
Kris glared at Joanna as she packed her belongings into a box, but all Joanna did was smile. Kris touched her face. It hurt where she had been struck, and she could feel that it remained swollen. She was embarrassed by the handprints Mike had left on her face, but she blamed Joanna for them. When Joanna didn't look away, Kris shouted at her: "Joanna, you won't be happy for long! You'll see! Pride cometh before a fall!"
Joanna shrugged. "Your threats are as impotent as your plot to take me down was," she said, and then she began to laugh.
- Writer
