Olga shut her eyes tight, compressing her lips together with a frown that screamed "not again."
She wondered what wrong she must've done to be faced with another encounter from the man who had no reserve in insulting her earlier.
She picked up a bouquet of flowers as a guise to cover her face and make it in time to her friends before she becomes noticed.
Thankfully, Harry seemed more focused on the bouquet he was getting. He didn't even notice her even when they were just few steps away from each other.
She quickly moved away from where she stood like a criminal trying to avoid being caught. She succeeded in making it back to the table she had sat earlier with her friends.
They all seemed surprised with the new sneaky attitude she was putting up when just minutes ago she was looking all high spirited.
"Girl, did something happen?" What's with the attitude?"
"And why do you have a bouquet with you and why does it seem like you're trying to use it as a cover up. Like you're hiding from something or someome?" Tom asked, trying to pull away the flowers from her face.
Olga quickly hit his hand off threatening to beat him up if he tries to snatch away the bouquet from her.
She pulls it to away from her face a little to look back at Harry and he wasn't yet done with his order. She winced in frustration, covering her face up again.
She could feel the peering eyes of her friends practically boring holes into her skin. "Olga! What's happening with you? Did you see a ghost or something earlier?" Katy quizzed, impatiently.
"Shhh! Don't say my name out loud, someone might hear you." She cautioned.
"Since when have you bothered about anyone hearing your name?" Asked Tom.
The trio stare at each other, shrugging their shoulders as they turn her gaze back to her. "It's not like I give a damn who hears my name. It's just...." She squeezed her face feeling frustrated.
"It's just, remember my boss had asked that I go get changed and head back straight to work?" They all nod in the affirmative, paying rapt attention to what she had to say.
"Well, obviously I didn't go as I'm here with you guys. But now the damned thing is the jerk, I mean my boss who had insulted me earlier happens to be here as well. And he's right over there buying some flowers now."
"We practically stood just few feet away from each other. It's a surprise he didn't notice me, not like it's a bad thing though. Any other day, it would've been but not today." She explained.
Her friends just stared at her weirdly, nodding heads at each word she spoke. Olga who had been taking glances back at Harry noticed the funny look on their faces.
"Okay, now you guys had better stop staring at me like I'm some crazy person. I expect as my friends you'd comfort me and probably do something nice but instead you all stare at me like that?"
"Wow! What great friends I've got" she scoffs, rolling her eyes as she takes another look at Harry.
"Ugh! What's taking him so long to leave? Is he buying the whole shop or something?" She cried.
Peter relaxes into his chair with a sigh whilst Katy and Tom gets busy with their drink.
"Relax Olga. There are a lot of people alot of people out here. I doubt he'll notice you at all. Besides our seat of far from his view, so just chill and lossen up." Said Peter
"True, you have a point there but then with the way she's dressed, I doubt he wouldn't notice her. I mean it's hard for her to not be noticed. I can count how many stares she's gotten since we've been here." Tom said.
Olga rolls her eyes in disbelief. "Really? I thought I was the only one who's noticed the stares. Never knew you were counting too." Katy teased.
They all laugh but were forced to swallow on it when Olga gave them a deadly scare.
"But seriously Olga, you're not the type to be scared of anyone. So I'm sure its much of a surprise to us all, not just me. What's the big deal with him anyway?" Peter asked.
"Trust me guys, he's a big deal alright?" She responded.
"Well then, tell us." Tom said.
"Oh right, I forgot to tell you guys. Remember Harry Johnson from high school? The best basketball player back then in school and how I had a big crush on him?" They nod, remembering who she was referring to.
"Well he's the same Harry that I now work for at our company. The new CEO and the same Harry who's here right now. But the jerk doesn't even recognize me one bit" She said, slightly pained.
They all turns heads from side to side trying to see if they could catch a glimpse of him.
"I don't see him anywhere in the flower stand." Katy replied.
Olga thinking he was gone quickly puts down the bouquet and searches round the shop with her eyes.
"You wouldn't see him cause your eyes are in need of a check up. He's over there now at the café counter, he's obviously bought a drink and enjoying it." Olga responded.
They look in the direction she mentioned but couldn't tell who she was referring to as there were other men sitted over there whose faces couldn't be seen.
"Whatever girl, just let it be. He didn't notice you then when you stood barely fee feet apart. He wouldn't notice you now. Besides we're all here to butt in his face of he eventually does notice you and tried to act all funny" Katy reassured, Peter and Tom nod in agreement.
"Thanks guys" she sighed
"Anyways let's get going before o get unlucky again." She said.
Just as they stood to leave, Olga's purse fell to the ground. She bends to pick it up but she raises her head to receive a very unpleasant surprise. Her eyes widened at the sight she saw. It was Harry standing in front of her and her friends.
"Sir...sir.. you're..you're here?" She stuttered.
"And so are you I see." He replied coldly.
"Uh, I was planning on returning to the office after a while but soemthing had come up sir." She lied.
"Really? Cause you've been out of the office for more than three hours and you are yet to even go home to get changed." He points out.
"Well sir you see....." She had barely finished her statement when Tom interrupted.
"Is everything alright Olga? Who's he?" He asked.
"Oh..um guys, this is my boss and these are my friends." She introduced but neither seemed interested in exchanging pleasantries.
"Guys, please go ahead. I'll catch up with you later." She told them.
"Are you sure you'll be fine?" Katy asked but she nods saying she will be.
They took one last look at Harry before leaving.
"I see now how much you prioritise your work Ms Dalton. You come to work dressed as one going to a club to get hooked and as if that wasn't enough, I asked that you go get changed at home but here I find you, having a good time with your friends."
"What kind of a person are you exactly? You have no proper work etiquette. Have you always had such free time to go fooling around?"
"A responsible employee would not play around with their jobs like you do. But what am I to expect? You're not even a responsible adult in the first place to become a responsible employee. Because of you were, you'd know to dress the way you want to be addressed."
"But I think the name, hooker or escort is what you delight in being known for. I'm sure you must've done the same nonsense you tried today at the office with my predecessors, probably that's why you've been able to keep your job for this long."
"Heck! How did you even become a secretary at the company? And why did you become one if you weren't up to the task?"
"You think it's so you can enjoy having free time to yourself to hang with friends? To use your body as a tool to getting up the charts?"
"You have no proper placement of priorities. You can even dare lie to my face that you had an emergency that stalled you from returning to the office for over three hours."
"You didn't even have the decency to leave immediately you noticed my presence here. Rather you kept put with your friends thinking I had no idea you were here." He kept speaking
Olga noticed everyone at the café has their eyes fixed on them because of him. She was sure they were thinking the worst of her too but not being able to put a word in hurt the most.
Her ears suddenly turned deaf to his words, as well as to everything else. Just the expression on people's faces she could see. The disgust was very much visible on them and none bothered to hide it.
A year dropped from her eyes as her heart sank to what seemed like the deepest ocean she could imagine. She wished she'd magically disappear to save herself from this much embarrassment but that was not the case.
She jolts back to reality hearing him scream the words "Ms Dalton, don't you dare keep me mute" as he held onto her tight by the shoulder.
She shrugged her shoulders off his grip and without thinking, have him a resounding slap that left him in shock as his eyes bulged and his lips compressed in anger.
"Don't you dare lay your hands on me. Fine you're my boss and I made a mistake dressing up to work like this and yes I lied about having an emergency but that gives you no right to insult me. Not infront of this much people." She yelled.
"You dare raise your hands on me, your boss?" He asked in shock.
"And I'll do it again if you keep insulting me. You think so highly of yourself just because you're the boss. Well damn you and the job." She fumed