Battle Scars

Chapter 2 || Traduire?

'Strange', I thought, looking at my watch.

I held the steaming hot black cup of coffee in one hand and rested the other on my hip. The light on my desk glowed red, but the time was 7:59 AM. If Monsieur Kingst wants his coffee at 8 AM he would have to open up the door soon, or at least switch the light. 

I placed the coffee down on my desk and stood up straight, brushing off any imaginary dust on my black slacks and looked around the room. The steel grey filing cabinets filled up the otherwise empty space in the room. They were in rows of 8 and there were 10 filing cabinets in each row. As I kept looking around I saw how perfect everything was. There was no dust, no clutter, no spider webs... Nothing was out of place.

"J'espère vraiment ne pas gâcher ça..." I mumbled.

That's when I heard the buzzing. It wasn't quiet, but it also wasn't loud. I swirled around looking for the source of it before seeing something slip out of a little slot in the wall near my desk. Walking over to it, I picked it up, gently unfolding it to see what it read.

'You're late.'        -Kingst 

I furrowed my brows at the note before glancing at my watch. 8:01 it read. Looking over at my desk, I saw the light shining green. 

"Oh non..." I grabbed the coffee and ran over to his door, knocking gently. "Monsieur Kingst?"

A few seconds later, there was a small ping. "Come in."

I opened up the door and was met with darkness. 

"Monsieur, où sont les lumières?" I inquired but soon realized my mistake, "My apologies Monsieur Kingst, but where are the-" a small light came up in the corner of the office "lights..?"

A small laugh escaped my mouth, as I shook my head. But still, I could barely see anything. The soft glow of the lamp barely outlined his desk and him. His face was still a dark shadow. I set the coffee on his desk and stood up straight. 

"Leave." He ordered, and I nodded, not wanting to make him... more angry. By the sound of his voice he was not...happy. I exited the room and shut the door behind me quietly.

"Sainte Mère de Perles," I sighed. I walked back slowly to my office and sighed.

His voice was so cold, and he's rude! Oh pourquoi moi?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After several more awkward encounters with Monsieur Kingst, I have found one thing out. He is not much of a talker. Both with me and any of his clients. 

Right now it is 1 PM and so far I have talked with 17 men and women looking to do business with Monsieur Kingst. And he wanted to hear none of it. I was to catalog each and everyone who called and write down everything they said.

And by everything, I mean everything. 

He wanted to know when they stuttered, each breath they took, if they chuckled, or if they hesitated.

If there was one word I could call him, it would be... intraitable.

In the dealing kind of way. I didn't have to see his face to feel his glare. He was very displeased when I did not spell some of the words correctly.

Still, I tried to be polite and keep our conversations to a minimal. I forced myself not to frown or make it seem like I was upset. Because honestly, I am blessed to have this job. It pays well and it is also my first job in the states.

I tilted my head, a grimace flowing through my body as I heard and buzzing sound. I turned around in the office chair and picked up the note.

'Ms. Calla, it is clear to me that you cannot understand complicated words in english, so I will keep this simple. From now on, translate every conversation into french.'    -Kingst

I frowned a bit at this, before writing a note back. 

'Monsieur Kingst, do you beleve I am incapable of writing these conversations in english?'            ~Calla 

I pushed the little note into slot and it made a satisfying ping noise. The buzzing came back almost immediately and so did a slip of paper.

'Ms. Calla, I am surprised you knew how to spell 'incapable' but not 'believe'. These are the mistakes I am referring to. I would rather you complete these assignments correctly in french than incorrectly in english.'      -Kingst

I blushed from embarrassment. I knew I should have checked to make sure that I spelt everything correctly. 

'I apologise Monsieur, I see my mistake.'      ~Calla

"Comment suis-je censé survivre à cela?" I groaned, leaning back in the office chair.

A/N || All words in French will be italicized

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