Corporate Slave

Prequel

It's been exactly one year since Olivia worked at this company. One year since she said goodbye to insane college parties. One year since she prints papers she doesn't understand. One year that she has been crying alone for a job where she barely makes a minimum wage. When she arrived in, this morning, she hoped that at least one person would remember that she had been working here for a year. Unfortunately, not surprisingly, no one cares. Apart from a curt "Hello" from Morgan, the receptionist, nothing.

"I'm... nobody."

She sits at her desk in the open space, looking at the table to her left. Usually, Allison is already there since she arrives 30 min before everyone else.

-Allison is gone.

Carlos, without looking away from his screen, informs Olivia who seems lost.

-Gone? Just like that? Without a word?

-She got tired of the subway-work-sleep lifestyle. Tsk. She could at least wait until the end of the week. Now we're drowning under HER work.

Olivia nods silently and turns on her computer. As she types into her excel spreadsheet, her thoughts drift to Allison. Olivia is torn between sadness and jealousy. At work, even though Allison was a little older than her, she was the only one she had any semblance of a conversation with. Whether it was the barking of her neighbor's dog or her silly romance with that same neighbor, Allison would tell her little juicy pieces of her life. Olivia enjoyed listening to her anecdotes since the older woman's life seemed more exciting than her own. Plus, she had the audacity to quit her job. And that made Olivia jealous.

-Oh, yeah. They installed a new coffee machine... On the third floor.

The third floor, aka The Devil Zone. In a year, Olivia has only been there once, and that one time was enough to keep her from returning there.

With a snide tone, Olivia tries to interact with Carlos.

-What an idea. Who's going to dare enter The Devil Zone for a coffee, am I right?

No answer. Carlos keeps his eyes glued to his screen. He even has his headphones on. Used to being ignored, Olivia continues to type on her keyboard.

After two intense hours of excel and email writing, their head department chief asks everyone in the open space to come around him. Everyone, including Olivia, complies. Next to the boss, a new face, a man, about the same age as Olivia. He is smiling and exudes a positive energy, much too positive for Olivia and her colleagues. The boss starts talking and gets everyone's attention.

-Okay. As you know, Allison has-

-Cowardly left.

Carlos doesn't hide his displeasure. The chief ignores his comment.

-has left us for personal reasons. Luckily, next to me, we have Alexander Zhào, a freshly graduate who is just as good as Allison, if not better.

Alexander doesn't seem to be bothered by the boss's words and keeps smiling.

-Anyway, keep working. Olivia. Show him around and explain what Allison was originally doing.

Without giving Olivia any time to refuse, the chief locks himself in his office. She sighs and looks at Alexander.

-Well, well. Nice to meet you. I'm Olivia.

She gives him her most commercial polite smile and begins the tour. Honestly, it bores her, she clearly has better things to do than strut around the office. Besides, why is Alexander being introduced to the whole division and getting a private tour? On her first day, she had to beg Allison to show her the way to the bathroom. She didn't even get a formal introduction. As they enter the elevator, she looks at Alexander out of the corner of her eye. Even though he's handsome, what catches Olivia's eye the most is the watch on his wrist. What's a person with a 30,000 € Rolex doing in a post where you barely earn a studio rent? After a little more observation, even his clothes seem to be branded. "Zhào".

-Olivia?

Lost in her thoughts, she does not realize that the elevator has stopped. Alexander touches her shoulders to get her attention.

-Olivia? You're going to burn a hole in my face if you keep staring at me like that.

The young woman comes to her senses and blushes. She walks out of the elevator very agitated, with Alexander following her. Noticing her embarrassment, Alexander tries to lighten the air.

I'm aware that I'm quite good-looking, but not to the point of zoning out.

Olivia, even more embarrassed, avoids his gaze and coughs to hide the shakiness of her voice.

-I apologize if I made you uncomfortable. I'm just still confused about Allison's sudden departure. She just left and you're already here... Anyway, I digress. I'll continue the tour. Right now, we are in...

She looks around. Oh. The Devil Zone.