The Last Thorn

10. Boss

Florence comes back to Eugene’s apartment for the last time. She takes 2 big suitcases and heads out. She’s not going to say anything to Eugene nor Garrett. They’re both sitting in his room and it seems like they don’t plan get out of there any time soon.

“Well, if he isn’t going to say goodbye, neither will I,” she thinks spitefully. She leaves her keys on the table and heads out. The suitcases are huge and super heavy, but at least she won’t have to come here twice.

It’s almost 2 hours until she’s in her new apartment. She’s sweating and breathing heavily. It was quite a workout.

She sits on the chair and looks around. She doesn’t have money for a new mattress, so the bed frame is still empty. It’s pretty late, so she makes a space to sleep. She folds one blanket- that’s what she’ll sleep on until the next salary comes, and the second one is to cover herself up at night.

She puts her clothes in the closet. It doesn’t fill a single shelf. It’s practically still empty when she unpacks.

She took a saucepan to boil water, a cooking pan, a bowl, a single fork and a spoon from the apartment. She was too proud to take anything more even though she bought many things. Her phone beeps. She receives a message from Eugene.

“Is this all you’re taking with you? Don’t be ridiculous! Those were your things!” he writes. Florence doesn’t even reply. She wants nothing to do with him.

She looks around and sighs. Florence is too tired to go and buy something to eat, so she decides to wait until tomorrow. They give lunch for free. It’s just 10 hours away.

Florence goes to sleep. She covers herself up with a blanket and falls asleep crying.

Florence wakes up at 6 am. She’s all stiff from sleeping on the ground, but she gladly wakes up. She doesn’t want to spend time on the floor more than necessary. Her stomach rumbles, so she decides to drink water. However, she realizes that she forgot to take any mug with her. She takes the bowl and pours water in it. It feels so humiliating that, as she puts the bowl to her lips, she starts sobbing uncontrollably.

She puts the bowl down, slides on the floor and cries for 10 minutes straight. However, she won’t let this break her. Eventually she stands up, washes her face and puts makeup on. Her face is slightly puffy, but it might be because of lack of sleep as well.

She’s at work before the clock hits seven. She waves at security guards and they greet her warmly, “Happy to see people who are eager to work,” the oldest says. Florence smiles and passes them in silence.

An hour later Florence’s phone rings. It’s Amanda. Florence knows that something is wrong straight away. There’s no reason for Amanda to call other than she’s got into trouble. “Florence, the boss asked for you to come to her office RIGHT NOW,” Amanda’s voice in Florence’s phone beams. She’s sure Florence is in some kind of trouble if Alex asks for her to come to her office.

The turn turns chilly. Florence clicks to end the conversation. She doesn’t know what’s coming to her, but she sure knows, that it isn’t going to be something enjoyable. She straightens up and checks herself at the front camera. It’s not like she can do anything about her tired face, but she’s at least relieved she’s wearing makeup, so she doesn’t look that bad.

It takes Florence 20 minutes to get to the boss’ office. There’s Amanda, obviously enjoying the spectacle. “The boss will see you right away,” she says as she opens the huge wooden door.

The office is spacious. There is a furry carpet and a huge sofa on the right corner. The office sure looks expensive. There are full length windows from 3 sides as well as a huge wooden desk in the center. The chairs are white and huge. They look very comfortable. Florence doesn’t know what’s going on, but she’s happy that at least the view is going to be nice.

Alex has turned her back and faces one of the huge windows. She likes embracing the view every morning. Alex doesn’t turn around. She knows who’s in her office.

It’s a long, quiet pause. Florence feels uncomfortable, so she speaks, “ You wanted to see me, boss? It’s Florence Williams, ma’am?” she trails off unsure-ly.

“Oh, I know who you are alright,” Alex says as she turns around. She’s wearing high wasted trousers and an over sized white shirt. A huge golden- black necklace is embedded in the deep v-neck of her shirt. She looks authoritative, cold and unapproachable. It’s obvious that she’s not in good spirits today.

Florence swallows nervously. She now definitely understands why everybody is intimidated by Alex. She’s got those predator eyes, which makes it look like she’s gonna eat you alive if you move even slightly.

“I guess you’re not worth my time,” she says casually, “so I’ll cut the chase. Is this how you imagine representing my company?” Alex asks as she throws some pictures on the table. Florence is standing at the opposite side, so she gets a perfect view. There she is, wearing that glow-y black dress she was wearing yesterday. She lays there, but it doesn’t look that flattering. She’s obviously drunk there. However, she doesn’t understand where the picture was taken. It’s like some fancy car interior or something.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand. Where did you get the-” Florence shakes her head. Alex interrupts her, “Well it’s not that important, isn’t it? However, I’m quite disappointed that my employees visit get drunk in the Chapel and lay in random bus stops like pathetic homeless people,” she mocks her disdainfully.  

“Well, it’s not like I’m a representative of your firm or something,” Florence says spitefully. She can’t lose her job now. She’s gonna fight. “Even though I don’t understand who sent you these pictures, but I’ve got my rights to spend my time outside work however I want.”

Alex raises her eyebrows, “Is that so? So it shouldn’t be my concern that my employee was practically rubbing herself against another female on the dance floor?” she says with a vicious smile on her face.

“Again, my preferences isn’t your concern, boss.”

“So you enjoy being a bad girl,” Alex asks amused. “Excuse me? It’s inappropriate,” Florence says confused.

Alex laughs and comes closer slowly. She pierces her light brown eyes, her pupils dilated. It feels like she’s gonna burn a hole in Florence’s face. It feels like the room is charged up and there’s an electricity beaming on her skin. They’re so close that Florence could touch Alex’s perfect skin with a slight movement. “You know what,” Alex tilts her head and looks closely in Florence’s eyes, “it actually is my concern, Florence. You can’t even imagine,” she says warning-ly.

Alex suddenly releases the mental grip she had on Florence. There's no tension between them suddenly. “However, because of that little project of yours, I need you to work longer every day. And you come to tell about your progress every evening. 6 pm. Sharp.”

“But, boss,” Florence rushes in. It doesn’t make sense. She knows her plan is good, but it doesn’t seem as nearly important to report to Alex Benson every day. “I don’t see why. It’d just waste your time.”

“That’s all,” Alex says and turns around, ignoring Florence. Florence just stands there absolutely confused, but Alex totally ignores her.

“It doesn’t make sense, boss,” Florence says as she heads out, “You’ve got no programming background, plus it’d be a complete waste of your time. Sleep on it. I bet you’ll see my point tomorrow morning. You won’t see me any time soon.”

Alex turns around and sits down on her char with a vicious smile. “Six p.m, sharp,” she says.

Florence turns around to close the door. The last thing she sees are those brown eyes, piercing through her soul. Those eyes make her legs feel weak.