Chapter 6 Memo

• “Have you already seen the CEO?” Lara randomly asked Kylene one boring day while she was photocopying memos to be distributed to the company's various departments.
• "Mr. Villareal? Not yet. Whenever there’s a meeting, he would only ask till the managerial level. Besides, he has his own elevator that goes directly to his floor,” Kylene answered. The woman was just a few years older than Lara.
• She also noticed that she was an introvert. She does not join the others in their department. In fact, she was being bullied. They were passing off their paperwork to Kylene.
• "He’s mysterious even here,” she whispered to herself.
• "You’re saying something, Lara?"
• "Nope," she said, shaking her head. She took the photocopied papers to another table and started sorting them.
• "Here’s more. It’s needed in thirty minutes!"
• The papers that Lara'd been sorting flew in the air when Lizzie slammed a thick folder on the table.
• If she hadn’t turned her back at once, she would’ve seen Lara’s dagger looks.
• “Let her be,” Kylene tapped her shoulders and took the folder.
• “If you’re going to let it slide every time, they will always do this to you! You’re all assistants here!” she protested in a not-so low voice.
• Lizzie heard her so she turned around and walked towards her with one brow raised.
• “Why? What are you here? Aren’t you the assistant to us assistants?” The woman gave her a once over. “If I know, you can only afford your branded clothes because of your rich sugar daddy that referred you here!”
• "At least you know how to distinguish genuine from fake,” she refuted, not the least intimidated by Lizzie who looked like she was the one who had a sugar daddy. "I am Kylene's Assistant! Not yours," she took the folder from Kylene and threw it to Lizzie.
• Because Lizzie was not prepared, she was not able to catch the folder and the contents scattered on the floor.
• "Lara!" Kylene exclaimed. She was surprised at what she did.
• Lizzie was flummoxed herself. She immediately played the victim card to gain sympathy from their colleagues.
• "What is going on?" Ms. Pascual, their supervisor, angrily asked. She looked at the papers scattered on the floor and at the seemingly aggrieved Lizzie.
• "Ma'am, Lara threw the folder at me. I was just asking her nicely if she could photocopy the files for me."
• "Is that true, Ms. Andrade?"
• "Yes, Ma'am," Lara answered, chin held up high. Her office mates were surprised by her admission. Why? Did they think she would deny what she did and also play victim? If they only have the slightest idea who she was! "Except for one thing, she didn't ask me nicely, Ms. Pascual."
• Lizzie’s eyes grew wider. Was she confident she would just take the blame blindly? She was wrong. She wouldn’t bow down to her.
• Lizzie was just an employee like her. What threat could she pose? Lara was bolder to even divorce their boss!
• Speaking of which, Lara reminded herself that she needed to have a word with Miguel about the job that he gave her. At first, she wanted to prove herself, so she accepted the job.
• But she realized she couldn’t prove anything if she was just facing the photocopier and filing cabinet every day of her life.
• "She was lying!" Lizzie protested.
• Lara won that time. But after that incident, her colleagues were always picking fights with her.
• "Was that your sugar daddy who drove you here, Lara?"
• She had just got to the office when Kendra asked her that question. She was friends with Lizzie, if not her minion. A trying hard socialite but didn’t know how to mix and match her outfit.
• They were not required to wear uniforms on Friday. And that day, Kendra was wearing purple pants and a yellow top. She looked like an ice cream—ube-cheese flavor.
• Lara laughed in her mind and decided not to mind the woman. Maybe Kendra saw her alight from the luxury car owned by her boss that she didn’t know was her husband.
• "Tell me, what’s his position in the company? Is he one of the Directors?" Kendra followed her to her workstation.
• “Guess all you want,” she answered nonchalantly. She now knew better than to stoop to their level.
• "Gosh! How many thousands was your allowance to afford such a car with a driver?"
• "I’m sure Lara is so good in bed," Lizzie butted in. She had just arrived but it seemed that she knew exactly what they were talking about.
• But that insult didn’t sit well with Lara. For her, that was below the belt.
• She counted down from ten to calm herself. She was not that kind of woman. And she would never ever think of doing that with Miguel Villareal, who, aside from being her guardian before they got married, remained to be her dead sister’s love.
• "Am I right, Lara?" Lizzie approached her while Lara balled her fists. But the lady put a hand atop her clenched fist as she insulted her further, even whispering her next words right beside her ear. "You're a slut. Everything you have is from your indecent job of making an old man happy in bed."
• "Why so silent, Lara? Did Lizzie hit a nerve?" Kendra added.
• Pissed, Lara stood up. She didn’t care that Lizzie was leaning forward while her hands were on her desk. The impact sent the latter staggering backwards while holding her mouth, which she accidentally headbutted.
• "Aww!" Lizzie cried. Her eyes were wide as saucers when she saw the blood from her lips that were so red with lipstick.
• Lara ignored her. It was not her fault if she was in her way. She then walked out of the room. She felt suffocated!
• But that incident sent her to the HR office later that morning. Lara felt like she was in grade school where there was a guidance office and she was summoned minus her parents because of bad behavior.
• "We don't tolerate this kind of behavior, Ms. Andrade!" Ms. Salvacion told her. "Are you really trying my patience? We have many employees here, but you, you’re the only one who didn’t go through the normal process of hiring and yet has the guts to do a ruckus!”
• "You weren't there. But you're accusing me like you witnessed what happened first hand," she answered, refusing to just accept her words.
• "Really? So what is your account then?"
• "Why would I bother to tell you if you're already convinced that I was the wrong one?"
• The manager just shrugged her shoulders. Lara thought she would really remember her and inform Miguel about her bias when she got the chance.
• "Get back to work. I'll serve your memo before the day ends."
• She suppressed her anger and marched out of her office.
• Lara would give it another few days. If she fails to get along with her insecure colleagues, she won’t come back to work anymore. She will find herself a job where her credentials will be valued and she will be respected as a human.
• Because sadly, the good working environment that she was looking forward to in Miguel’s office was impossible. His employees were a bunch of insecure and trying hard socialites.
• ___
• Lara shouldn't have given them another chance. The next Monday, she was in Ms. Salvacion's office once again. She was just given the memo that was not served last Friday.
• "It's supposed to be a suspension, Ms. Andrade. But the Vice President for Human Resources disagreed to give you that kind of sanction," Ms. Salvacion told her in a gentle but laced with doubt tone. "And it got me thinking, why would she interfere with a small matter like your case?"
• She didn't answer, she just let her talk. Because what does she care about? If it was a small matter, why the need to accelerate the issue to the Vice President’s level?
• "Anyway, just sign this and submit a written explanation, Ms. Andrade," Ms. Salvacion continued.
• She just signed it to be done with it. The explanation will just be submitted via email. What if she copied the CEO?
• That was a joke. Lara was not aware of Migo’s email correspondence, just as she had no idea what his telephone number was.
• Besides, for what purpose, if ever? To boast that she was involved in a petty fight with her colleagues even if she was just an Assistant to the Assistant?
• "Are you not suspended?” Lizzie asked when she was back in her seat.
• “Not yet,” she taunted.
• Annoyed, Lizzie turned her back and continued her work.
• It was coffee break when Ms. Pascual asked her to buy coffee from the coffee shop downstairs. She gladly obeyed just so that Lizzie and Kendra would be out of her sight even just for a short while. The duo seemed to always be planning something against her.
• Because Lara could afford expensive coffee, she also bought a couple more for herself and Kylene. She had just got back to the office and was already in their area when Kendra bumped her from out of nowhere.
• The coffee spilled on her and all over the floor…
• Thirty minutes of mopping the floor later and a yell of incompetence from Ms. Pascual, Lara found herself calling Chester Salas.
• "Ain't your brother a lawyer, Chester?" she immediately asked once the call got connected.