As I waited for the elevator to arrive, I got a notification from the Bank of America app.

A deposit of $715,000 was made into account ****4028

Wow, that was fast. I pressed the notification and after unlocking my phone, the app was opened. Although it was not even that much money, I couldn't help but stare at the digits in awe. Never had I had this much money in my account at once before. If only I didn't owe money Richard and Mrs. Barnes. I could finally get some clothes that weren't bought from a thrift shop, brand name purses, the new Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge phone (I was a Samsung fan because one, it was Korean and two, it was in some Korean dramas), a new Wright laptop... all the things that I've ever wanted slowly popped into my head. "If only" Two words I wished didn't have to start at the beginning of all my sentences when I wanted something.

I transferred $5,000 into Mrs. Barnes' account and $700,000 into Richard's account. When it was successfully done, I sent a quick text to Richard.

I have transferred the payment in full to your account. Did you see it yet? If you have, you can stop tormenting me to pay up now and if you haven't, you should go and check your account now.

And then, I felt as if I could finally breathe. The portion of the debt was paid, gone. Mrs. Barnes would not be at my door tomorrow nor will the police.

Ding! The doors slid open and I cheerfully walked in. Everything looked so much brighter now that a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Part of the debt gone, woohoo! I pressed the button for the 12th floor and watched the numbers increase as I went higher up.

✿ ✿ ✿

And I thought the stares I got when I was in the Employment Department were bad. The moment I stepped onto the 12th floor, they weren't just staring. They were whispering too. Loudly.

"How long do you think she'll survive?" one person asked.

"I heard she was bribed!"

"She won't last a week" one guessed.

"I bet she'll quit by tomorrow!"

"No way! She'll quit by the end of the day," one said with a chuckle.

First, the lady at the front desk called me a "victim" and now they're betting on how long I'll "survive"?? What's going on here? My eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

I stood there for 5 minutes until one of the employees finally told me where to go.

Right outside the elevators, there were several cubicles where the whispering employees sat. Farther down, there was a tiny break room complete with a coffee machine and mini fridge. Just past that were a medium sized oak desk with a Wright laptop and an office phone. A name plate sat on the desk too.

Cali Wilson, Personal Secretary

I let my fingers trace over the delicate carving of my name. I felt my lips slowly spreading into a smile.

Curious at what would be in the drawers, I began to pull them open one by one. One contained post-its, pens, pencils, highlighters.. etc. The second and third one was empty. I took out the key Mrs. Libbs gave me and placed it in the second drawer.

I looked around. Where was the CEO's office? There it was...

Even farther down the hall, between two potted plants stood a double door to the CEO's office. I could barely make out his name on the nameplate on the door.

I stood up and walked to the door. I softly but at the same time just hard enough, my closed fists hit against the door consecutively for 3 times before waiting for a response.

There was silence. No answer. I knocked again, just a bit louder this time. Maybe he didn't hear me? But still, no response. So I gave it another try, making the knock even louder.

"....in." A faint voice said from within. Was that a "come in"?

My hand on the handle, I took a deep breath and went inside. Let's pray that I heard what I thought I heard.

Wrong. My ears were so wrong.