Leap OF Fate

Chapter 15

She looked at him squarely. Although she might look like she's able to hold up in a fight, deep inside

she's already feeling very weak. "I assure you I will maintain my professionalism and will not allow our

past to affect my work performance," she added to stress that in the end, she was here for work and

not to wreck homes.

He raised his brows. His mouth twitched as if wanting to say something, but decided against it. He then

knit his brows and stared at her. The ice daggers coming out of his eyes were all directed at her.

Ex boyfriend. Who would have thought that he would pave the way for these old flames to meet again?

He wanted to punch himself in the face for convincing Bryan to return to the country and work for him.

“So, he’s the 'Bry' you called that night?” he said with an eyebrow raised and a mouth raised to a smirk;

his tone laced with sarcasm.

“Excuse me, what?” She knitted her brows, trying to recall when did she even utter 'Bry' in front of him

other than in that small conference room yesterday.

“Alright. I trust that Ms. Ellis keeps her word,” he did not bother to wait for her to answer his question.

His words were simple, but he enunciated each word, making sure that she understood him well.

“Yes, Mr. Rain. I guarantee you, I will not harm your marriage and continue to deliver my best with my

work,” she stood up and politely added, “If there is nothing else, then I will go ahead.”

She turned and walked towards the door, keeping her back as straight as she could, and her head held

high. She released a deep sigh of relief as soon as she stepped out of Justin’s office.

She stayed true to her words. Returning to her workstation, she completed the tasks she had for the

rest of the day with no hitch. As soon as she hit send on the last email that she needed to send, it was

already seven in the evening. Almost all her colleagues have already gone home.

She gathered her things and tidied up her desk and called it a day. She felt extra tired that day and

decided to just take a taxi rather than drive herself home.

She felt beat today. She spent all her energies on dealing with matters about Bryan - whether with him

directly or with his husband. “This can’t continue,” she talked to herself.

She cannot believe that the person who used to be the reason she got up in the morning became the

bane of her existence.

The following day, she resolutely knocked on Director Kim’s office. “You have a moment?” He gestured

for her to come in.

“What’s up, Serene?”

“Mr. Kim, I would like to transfer to another department. I don’t mind even if I have to be a staff again,”

she pleaded, her clear eyes looking at him as if he were her savior.

“Why?” He looked at her with confusion written on his face. Yes, Serene had some blunders over the

past days, but other than that, she was excellent and he would really like to keep her. ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“It’s personal, Mr. Kim. But I assure you it has nothing to do with you. I am grateful that you became my

mentor. However, some things happened and I feel I cannot contribute to the company’s performance if

I stay here.” She bowed her head and stared at her hands that were resting on her lap. The man before

her just promoted her, and here she is, asking him to move her to a new department. She bit her lips as

she waited for his answer.

Mr. Kim seriously looked at her. The more he looked at her, the more he seemed to understand her

predicament. Although he can only guess what the details were, his gut feel tells him it might have

something to do with their new VP. “Serene, I’ll be honest with you. I don’t have the answer for you right

now. I will have to think this through and will get back to you.”

“I understand, Mr. Kim,” she nodded politely, “That’s all I have. I’ll take my leave then.” with her head

bowed, she left the Director’s office.

She went on about her day as usual, talking to clients, answering emails, and responding to questions

for her colleagues. She was very efficient with her job, which is a trait that is most loved by everyone.

She was reliable and very easy to work with.

It was almost the end of the day. As soon as she hung up her phone after talking to a client about a

product complaint, she received an internal call asking her to go to her VP’s office.

She mustered all her strength to walk up to Bryan’s office. After gently knocking two times, she heard

him say “Come in”.

He did not look at her until he had finished reading the document in front of him and signed it. He then

looked at her intently, and solemnly asked, “You wanted to transfer to another department?”

“Yes.” Since she did not bother sitting down. She towered over him as he sat on his executive chair.

He got up from his chair, walked to the front of his desk and asked her, “Why?” With arms crossed

around his chest, he looked at her.

The friendly and gentle vibe he used to have gone. The person before her seemed like a lion stalking

his prey.

"I no longer feel comfortable working in this department," while she kept her voice devoid of any

emotion, it still came out shaky.

“Why?” he continued to stare at her. Sharp eyes watching every change in her facial expression and

action.

“Shen…” he called after a moment of silence passed. She said that she did not want to be called that

way before, but he did not care.

“I don’t think I still need to explain further why. I think you know exactly why. Let’s make the working

environment easy for both of us --”

“I have no problems with the work environment,” he said nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders.

“We’ll I do, and therefore I wanted to be transferred to another department,” she snapped.

The corner of his lips lifted to a smirk. “What exactly is your problem with the work environment?” he

challenged.

Serene had enough of it already, and uncharacteristically, she raised her voice, “Stop power tripping

me! Stop acting dumb and pretending not to know why I want to be transferred.” She threw all the self-

control she mustered out the window. Her hands clenched into tight fists as she held them on her side.

Her face slightly blushed.

“But I am dumb, Shen. So I need you to spell out to me what the problem is. You just got promoted

barely a week ago, and now you are asking to be transferred? That does not seem right,” Although his

voice remained calm, Serene knew so well that he was trying his hardest to control his emotions too.

“I can’t work with you. And please stop calling me Shen. It's Serene,” it further added to her irritation

that he still kept calling her familiarly.

“I know you are so high up the corporate ladder that we’d not be interacting with each other. But the

thought alone of the possibility of that interaction already makes me uncomfortable. And I don’t think I

still need to explain to you why.”

“But I think you should. I like to know why just thinking of our interaction already makes you

uncomfortable.”

She can’t believe that he’s really out to make it difficult for her. She met his eyes, doing the best she

could not to cry, she answered, “Because I tried so hard to forget about what you did to me. How

you’ve hurt me, but now you’re here. A living reminder of how I got cheated on. Seeing you alone

reminds me of that day my life got thrown in shambles.”

In the end, she could not contain it. Pain written all over her face, tears rolling down her eyes

uncontrollably. “And don’t you fucking say that you’re sorry because we both know that you are not”.