Shirley already knew that she would have to speak with her boss about what happened last night. She slowly got up and only glanced at her furious auntie. Leander spun on his heel and entered the inner office ahead of Shirley. Madam Henny arranged her desk and quickly went to see what would happen inside. Galaxy was only a step behind her.
The only two people left were Houston and Luellen. The male secretary pushed his glasses up and walked to his desk. He asked without looking at her, "Aren’t you curious?"
"Did you find out what happened in the pool?" Luellen got off the couch when Houston gestured for her to stand. She walked toward him and received a few folders.
"We did. We went to the hotel earlier and asked for their CCTV footage that night. The police had also come with us." Houston sighed and wrote on a memo pad as if jotting down instructions. "Leander wasn’t interested in pressing charges. He wanted to deal with Ms Hower himself."
Houston looked up at Luellen. "If Leander allows her to keep working here, what will you say?"
Luellen stared at Houston’s face, which was at a lower angle. She could only smile. "I want to know what she will say first. Then, I’ll decide what to do if Leander forgives her."
The first secretary nodded and placed the memo pad on top of the folders. "Make a summary note for those reports. Everything you need to find is written on the first page. See me again after you’re done. I might have more work for you."
"Yes, sir." Luellen walked back to the couch and sat down. She peeled off the paper with the instructions and pasted it on the back of the memo pad. She then read through the first folder, jotting down what she needed.
However, her hands slowed down at the third report. Luellen felt like the people inside had been there for a long time. Houston even had two calls diverted to his desk phone.
She looked up at the clock. It had been an hour since they entered the inner office. What were they talking about?
Since she was closer to the inner office’s door, she picked up on Madam Henny’s voice. It was loud and angry. Why was she suddenly screaming at Shirley? Was it at Shirley?
"What’s happening?" Luellen placed the folders down and quickly stood in front of the door. Would it be okay if she entered?
Houston soon showed up beside her after locking the glass doors from the inside. He opened the inner office door himself, letting Gala’s voice seep out.
It seemed that the two secretaries were in a screaming match in front of Leander. Shirley was even in tears, hiding behind her hands. The CEO only leaned against his seat on the single couch. The remote controller rested loosely in his hand, his finger tapping on the back in impatience.
The wall directly across the couches had unveiled the hidden television. The screen was paused on the camera footage from last night. It was shot from two floors up, with the pool area as its main focus. Luellen could make out the scene where the paramedics took Beckett away.
"Luellen, why don’t you sit down?" Leander pressed the button to backtrack the footage.
It started playing when Shirley stepped into the pool area with Gala. Since the video was in 2x speed, their argument was short. Then came Beckett and Sydney. The brother talked to Shirley for a bit, only for their conversation to devolve into an argument.
When Shirley stood at the edge of the pool, Beckett grew the angriest. It was also the time when Leander let the footage play at its normal speed.
"Bitch, stop! I can’t help you if you go through this for real!" Beckett even let Sydney down, extending a hand. "I’m still recovering post-surgery. I can’t go into the pool. Step! Away! From the water!"
"I don’t fucking care." Shirley laughed and waved her hand. "One way or another, you’ll get your hands all over me, and you’re done for!"
Before Beckett could reason out again, Sydney barked and rushed to bite Shirley’s gown. It was as if the dog wanted to pull her away from the edge.
Shirley gasped in horror. Her expensive gown was now holed by the teacup’s teeth. She tugged on her gown’s skirt, pulling the teacup close to her feet. "Let go of me, you disgusting thing!"
Kick! Shirley kicked the dog off her skirt and into the water!
"Sydney!" Beckett gasped and got to the edge. He tried to reach for his dog, but Sydney dropped out of reach. She even sank quite fast. He grabbed his hair before slamming his palms on the edge again. The man then turned to Shirley. "Please, I beg you! Help her! I can’t go into the water!"
"Sucks to be your dog, then." Shirley huffed and walked off. She was even examining the damage Sydney had done to her gown.
Splash!
Shirley turned around and saw Beckett rescuing his dog. She then screamed, "I thought you couldn’t go into the water! What are you doing? Hey! Can you even hear me?"
Everyone who watched the footage could see Beckett dive to get his dog. However, the pool was deep. When he got her to the surface, he was already going into shock. His face paled, more so when Sydney’s gown got on his face. He barely had the energy to keep her above water.
That was the time Luellen came barrelling into the pool.
Leander paused the footage again. He glanced at Luellen, who froze in her spot. "What should I do to her, Luellen?"
"You really kicked her..." Luellen turned to face the other intern. She stomped and screamed, "Sydney and Mr Beckett could have died last night! What were you thinking? What ’get his hands all over you’ were you talking about? You’re not content with torturing me, so you moved to Mr Beckett? How dare you!"
"Torturing you?" Shirley screamed back, seeing that the target was someone she could fight. "You benefited from everything! How could it be torture?"
Madam Henny and Gala stopped arguing when Leander played the footage. Right now, they could feel words erupting from their throats again. However, they were mature women. They should reel it in, no matter how much the other person deserved the words.
Luellen and Shirley just had to do the same. Even Houston looked like he wanted to yell at that audacious intern.
Silence first came to Luellen. Her throat would close up when she felt too angry. She even earned a total of ten Black Hearts in just a few seconds. Her eyes also watered, causing her to look away.
"What do you think is a suitable punishment for her, Luellen?" Leander asked again. He stopped the video and turned off the TV with a few button presses. "Beckett and Sydney are now far from danger. The court might just let her off with what will feel like...
"A slap on the wrist."