Chapter 2

"Okay Team, we'll resume the meeting this afternoon" I announced.

Dad is kind but a bit impatient. His pet peeve is when people make him wait. An example is every time he picks us up at school, you  only have 5 minutes to show up at the gates or else we'll have to commute by ourselves.

Kuya Danny didn't say a word after that. He is just quietly walking side by side with me until we rode the elevator. However, I was surprised when  suddenly these words came from his mouth :

"Chia, You're screwed"  I don't know if he's purpose is to frighten me because he looked so sad. Is he pitying me or what?

"What do you mean?"

He shook his head as an answer.

I can't understand. What did I do wrong that made him upset? Why did Kuya Damny say that I'm screwed? My mind is completely preoccupied that I didn't notice that we're already reached our destination.

My heart beats faster as we reached the room. This room is  called "Audio Visual Room" one of the facilities that is built to test usability factor of a product. In front,there's a decent sized monitor, 3 meters away from the monitor you'll see the rectangular granite table, walk a couple of steps away from where the table is, you'll see there are 2 rows with 10 student desk chairs. At the right side is a small window for ventilation purposes.

Kuya Danny opened the door. Cold breeze from the A/C welcomed me. I wonder who touched the thermostat because I forgot to bring my cardigan. That's fine, if I survived the frigid temperatures in Pennsylvania, I will bear to wear a just chiffon dress. What's colder is the gazes of people here. It feels like I'm in a witch trial right now.

Let's do an attendance check. First row, leftmost seat, there's Dad who is holding a whiskey glass and savouring it. My Kuya Leo that looks grumpy as always, Mr. Inoue who is one of the board of directors,  lastly, we have the trashiest among all trash, Hana.

You might be wondering who is this Hanna a.k.a Hanna the Thot. Lemme answer that for you.

Hana is a new employee who entered the company 3 months ago.  
Though  her name means flower in Japanese, hapiness and grace in Arabic, she doesn't live to what her name means. If I will go to the therapist ('coz I really think I need to as long she exists in my perimeter), and he/she will ask me what's making me anxious over the past few days, I will just show her picture.

I am a type of person who doesn't hold grudges easily unless you deserve it. Here's the glimpse of what she did in the past :

Exhibit A :

She made me buy makeup for herself.

On her first week of working in the company, we noticed that she's not wearing any makeup. She said she doesn't own even a lip balm because she's poorer than a rat. I told her, she must look presentable because as a employee of this company, you have to be aware of how you present youself.

As a good citizen of this world, I bought her a complete set of makeup items from brushes to palettes. It is not just any makeup, I bought expensive brands. My mother said "If you'll give gifts, make sure it is good". Sadly, it turns out that she is lying about her being poor

Exhibit B :

She flirts all of the men (When I say men it includes my uncle, my Kuya Leo, Kuya Danny, the engineers even the Chief of Finance)  in this company. What made me angry is she even did that to my boyfriend!

She sends messages to my boyfriend saying that she's a better woman than me and I could give her what he needs. Good thing, my boyfriend knows how to distinguish gem and a trash.

I wanted to fire her but I can't because the boys in the company said Hana inspired them to work harder. Mr. Inoue also recommended her so I can't dispatch her easily.

Exhibit C :

There are times when she's late for 2 hours and she won't even apologize. Reports that didn't pass on time is another issue, in short she is a procastinator.I am just saying calmly that she has to be responsible because we are working as a team. After that, she'll make a scene saying that I mistreated her? Of course, people will believe at her so I won't say anything because she is Hana the Saint, and I'm Eschia who has it all and doesn't understand the feeling of someone who has nothing.

I tried to have a good relationship with her, God knows I tried. But it seems like we're oil and water.

"Eschia, I know that you are not in good terms with Hana but you crossed the line!"

I came back to my senses when Kuya Leo shouted at the top of his lungs. Hey, I'm just 6 meters away from you, that's not needed! What kind of brother are you? At least greet me  first. Where's your manners? I am your sister, we share the same blood then why are you siding with her?

"What did I do wrong Kuya?"

"Why did you pass the same report that Hana submitted 3 days ago?"

I knew it. She will resort to an old school trick to bring me down.

"Kuya, I don't know what you're talking about!" 

"Then what is this?" Kuya slapped the papers straight through on my face.

"You are a disgrace to this family!"

I just closed my eyes when I saw that he was about to slap me again.

If that's what makes you happy, go ahead! But I'll make sure you'll experience retribution later on.