Chapter 11: Chapter 11

~ Two weeks later ~

She was surprised when she saw a rattled Tyler Brown one morning. He usually goes home on days when he doesn’t feel well or when he’s too angry to work. This ensured no one ever saw him angry or vulnerable. He probably wanted to set the right tone for his employees. No wonder they’re all like robots, Olivia thought, trying to make sense of seeing Brown vulnerable. Blanca gave Olivia a greedy smirk as she walked by Olivia out of the office. Walking up to his desk, Olivia was scared to say anything. She repeated her next words over and over in her head to make sure they wouldn’t be offensive.

“Coffee, sir? It’s always a great start to the morning,” Olivia finally managed to say.

“Well, what if it already started bad,” he replied in an admonishing tone.

“I don’t know, Mr Brown.”

She felt like a punished child.

“Why do assistants always want to make things right with coffee? You’re just the same as all the others!”

She tried stopping herself, but couldn’t.

“Excuse me, sir. A friendly ‘good morning’ is usually the way to greet your assistant,” Olivia said, surprising even herself with her directness. “Oh, did I say assistant? I meant one of your assistants.”

Stop, Olivia. Stop!

“Ms Acker, should I remind you who you are talking to. Start the scheduling for today.”

That shook her out of her anger. She walked out, before saying or doing anything else that would make her lose the job she still had. Blanca probably didn’t get this attitude from him, she told herself.

As the day went by his frustration continued. He even got irritated with Tina’s friendly gestures, which he usually showed respect for. At one o’clock, Olivia headed out in the direction of the coffee shop where she knew Kate would be waiting.

“What we would do just to have coffee together,” Kate laughed when Olivia told her the whole story. They decided to sit at a table in the coffee shop that day to avoid the frustrations and hustle of the office.

“Strangely, the head of accounting also seemed upset today. He and Mr Brown probably had a fight this morning,” Kate added.

“I don’t think so. This has never happened before.”

“There will always be ‘firsts’, right?”

“Sure, but while I walked out, I could hear him screaming at someone over the phone. Why would he not just walk over to the accounting department if he was talking to the head of accounting?”

“True.”

Kate stared at one of the tables in the corner, thinking. She always stared at far-off objects in a room when she was deep in thought. “Luckily, you’re no longer the only assistant coping with his anger. Blanca surely got some anger too.”

“Wonder if she got the same ‘experience’ working for Jack Roselli?”

“Jack Roselli? Never heard of him,” Kate added. “Is he a millionaire or something?”

“I assume so.”

The fact that Kate didn’t know him made Olivia curious. Kate usually knew everything about the rich and famous. She always dug up something about them and researched how they spend their millions. She was always talking about her latest find whenever she got the chance.

After finishing their coffees, they walked back to the office and parted at the big sliding doors. Olivia went over to Tina to see if she knew what had happened. Stopping in front of Tina’s desk, she could see the sadness and self-pity in Tina’s face.

“Hey, everything alright,” Olivia asked.

“Sure,” Tina lied, not looking up.

“I’m sorry for the way Mr Brown treated you today. He’s just not in the best mood. Believe me, I know.”

“Well, I tried everything. Nothing has cheered him up today.”

“Those strawberry tarts were delicious though,” Olivia said, watching Tina’s face light up. “Do you know what happened?”

“No clue. I just saw him in deep conversation with Blanca.”

“Blanca? What does she have to do with this?”

“Don’t ask me. That’s all I know.”

Waiting for the elevator to open to the top floor, Olivia was overwhelmed by confusion. As soon as the doors opened, Tyler Brown was on her.

“Now’s the time to return,” he asked, frowning.

Olivia could feel the tension rise.

“I was on my lunch break. I don’t see a problem with that.”

“I do. Assistants usually confirm with their bosses that they may leave.”

“I assumed you already know that Kate and I go get coffee at one.”

“Don’t assume anything. From now on, move your breaks to after work. Time is money.”

“Well, you know what, Mr Brown? I’d be careful what you say to me. I’m only here because you asked me to say.”

“I didn’t beg you, did I?”

“Do you like pushing away the people who care for you or is that just something billionaires do?”

“Ms Acker.”

“No, Mr Brown. I will no longer be treated like a child. And I am not going to allow you to compare me to your previous assistants. I barely have a job as it is,” Olivia said, standing firm with her hands on her hips. “If I’m such a bad assistant, why don’t you get one with lots of experience and some plastic surgery as a bonus?”

She turned to walk out, satisfied with what she had said, when Mr Brown replied, “The business is losing money and we can’t find out how.”

She was too mad and kept walking out, barely taking in what he had said.

Only later that night, while preparing herself dinner, did she think about what he had said.

The business is losing money.

How could someone steal money from a business with such high security? And it took him losing money to show his true emotions? Was I wrong in not showing even the slightest bit of sympathy?

She picked up her phone and dialled the number without thinking. It wouldn’t surprise her if Kate already knew about the financial mess.

“Hello?”

“Kate, we need to talk.”

“I’m listening.”

“By now you probably know about the financial crisis.”

“Tell me about it. Blanca put the whole accounting department on a rush to find the leak,” Kate said, yawning. “No wonder I’m so tired.”

“Blanca,” Olivia asked, without even thinking about it. “We should do something. Maybe hack into some other accounts?”

“By ‘we’ you mean ‘me’,” Kate said. “You’re too hopeless with computers.”

“Okay. You. Have you found anything yet?”

“No. Nothing. Not a single clue.”

“Hmm.”

“What,” Kate asked, curiously.

“No, I’m just thinking. If a group of IT people still haven’t found anything, maybe it’s something blindsiding. Something or someone rather we don’t expect.”

“Someone with high security,” Kate said, finishing off Olivia’s thoughts.

“Someone with money who can afford high security.”

“Who are you thinking of,” asked Kate.

“I don’t know. There’s something that’s been bothering me. Why did Blanca resign from her previous job if she got paid well?”

“Maybe she didn’t like it there,” said Kate.

“Sure, but she doesn’t look like the type who’ll let people walk over her.”

“I don’t know where you’re going with this. Who are you thinking it might be?”

“I don’t know if it’s him for sure. Can you please just look him up?”

“Who, Olivia?”

“Jack Roselli. Blanca’s previous boss.”

“Okay, it will take me a day or two to get some info, but I’ll keep you updated.”

“Thanks!”

Olivia hung up the phone. Why does it feel like it’s her mission to prevent anything bad happening to Brown? Even when he treated her like a child?