Chapter 14 Compensation

Everything escalated within a matter of seconds and everyone in the office was caught off guard. Seeing the two women got into a heated fight, the manager quickly went over to pull them apart. “Please calm down, Ms. Greene. None of us wanted this to happen. We will make sure to compensate the damages in full as per the contract,” he assured. “Do you think I want the money? I have to bear the consequences now that Mr. Beaumont knows about everything!” Anais cried out at the manager. Eleanor shook her head, looking at Anais speechlessly. You’re planned all this singlehandedly. And now you’re afraid? Do you expect someone else to bear the blame for you? “Ms. Greene, are you trying to pass the buck now? It’s very selfish of you to just shirk responsibility like this. Have you ever thought about the damages I have to suffer?” Eleanor snapped. “Stop talking like you’re taken advantage of. Tell me, what damages have you suffered?” Anais questioned and eyed her in disdain. Eleanor’s lips quivered at her impertinent attitude. This woman had been walking all over her in front of everybody ever since she came in. “Ms. Greene, not everyone is interested in sleeping with another man like you are!” Eleanor’s words triggered Anais and Anais pushed the manager away, charging towards Eleanor again. “What did you just say?” Anais lashed out, choking her at the neck. The manager came in between the two women and pulled Anais away. “Can’t you just shut up? Stop adding fuel to the fire!” the manager reprimanded, glaring at Eleanor. Eleanor pouted her lips and looked away without another word. She could tell the manager was doing all he could to prevent things from going out of hand. “Where are the photos you took yesterday? We can at least salvage the situation if you have the photos,” the manager said in a repressive tone. “Yeah, where are the photos? I remember you took some photos,” Anais interjected impatiently. This was the only way she could get herself out of this mess. “Oh, the photos? I deleted them,” Eleanor admitted without a second thought. Since she had already promised Casper to pass him the photos, there was no way she could give them to Anais now. “You deleted them?” Anais yelled in disbelief. “Yeah... Mr. Beaumont found out about it and he forced me to delete everything.” “You useless piece of sh*t!” Eleanor looked at the ground with her face downcast. She obviously did not like how Anais was talking her down, but she knew she was the one at fault here. “Urgh, what am I expecting from an incompetent person like you? I should’ve known better. You’d better pay all the compensation according to the contract within a week. The deposit is one million, which means you’ll have to pay a penalty of five million since you break the contract. Try running away and you’ll regret it!” Speaking, Anais took up her handbag and stomped out of the office without waiting for a reply. Over in the office, everyone fell into silence. After some time, the manager finally spoke. “Pack your things and get out before the day ends. You’re fired,” he said in a low voice. He could not afford to get on Casper’s bad side. Eleanor almost dropped to the ground at his words. Yet she knew there was nothing else her manager could do. She clenched her fists and told herself to hang in there. “It’s been a privilege working under you. I’m sorry for all the inconvenience I’ve caused the company. Rest assured I will deal with Ms. Greene on my own.” With a bow, Eleanor left the office and headed out to pack her stuff. By the time she got out of the company, a rumbling thunder lit up the grey sky, and a sudden downpour wet the roads within a matter of seconds. She stood at the entrance of the company and looked at the sky helplessly. A feeling of dejection overwhelmed her and tears choked her. Now that her father was gone, she only had Mike by her side. She became a paparazzi to make ends meet so she could give her son a better life. But just when things could not get any worse, she landed on Casper’s bad side and even got into a five-million debt. Eleanor had always believed that better days would come for her and her son. As long as she worked hard enough, there would be light at the end of the tunnel. That was why she had persistently soldiered on no matter what challenges came her way. She knew that as long as she had Mike with her, she would fight for him. Yet life showed no sign of going easy on her. The heavy battering of reality kept beating her down and she felt lost in a vortex of hopelessness. But she knew she had to weather through the storm—for herself, and for Mike. She thought of him and fought her tears back in. As Mike had said, it was no use crying. Even a kid like him knew crying could not change anything—what more a grown-up?