Chapter 5 The Promotion Announcement

Sonia's POV:

This was a horror drama, I was trapped in a nightmare, and every step that Lucian Smithfield took reminded me of how little and unimportant I was. I nervously counted his footsteps, hoping he'd stop before getting to me.

“Will he sack me? Will he expose me for sleeping with a random dude?” Those two questions kept echoing in my head, and I couldn't find an answer.

Lucian's eyes were fixed on me, and he kept staring at me with an uneasy gaze.

“Magnus,” he murmured under his breath, and my eyes widened, wondering how he knew my name. He might be the boss, but he was still new to our company. So it was either he researched about each employee before coming or someone told him my name. Worst still, what if he's planning to punish me?

Angela looked at me with a sweet smile, her eyes shining with pride. But if only she knew how scared and breathless I was. The other workers kept looking at us, probably wondering what was going on. Even the director looked lost.

Luckily, when he got in front of me, he stopped, and a blank expression settled on his face. “Sonia Magnus, right?” He asked with a grimace, and I nervously nodded my head.

“Yes sir, my name is Sonia Magnus,” I stuttered, and Lucian stared momentarily at me before turning to face the director.

“I have heard good news about this department and its staff, and I've decided to promote some workers by the end of the month,” Lucian informed the director, and we were all shocked.

I could see the look of happiness radiating from the twelve workers present. Angela also couldn't believe her ears.

“Thank you so much for this opportunity, sir.” The director said and moved forward. “I have worked in this company for over fifteen years and while I love my job as a director, I wouldn't mind getting a higher position. I'm intelligent, hardworking, and a lively person. Also, two of my children work in this company, and I can recommend them for the position,” he explained with a bright smile. And the other workers immediately knew that they wouldn't be getting the promotion.

I wasn't concerned about the promotion, what I was eager to know was if Lucian remembered me, and what he planned to do.

“Mr. Tim, I understand your excitement about this promotion. But trust me, it's not open for you and your family. Just for the twelve workers present today. I will personally choose two of them and promote them,” Lucian said with a calm voice, and the director's eyes dropped.

“Oh…” the director muttered and turned to face the workers. I could see the broad smile everyone had on their faces, as they silently begged him to agree. But the director was unfazed.

“I don't think they deserve the promotion, Sir. To be honest, I do most of the heavy lifting myself,” Mr. Tim, the director, lied, and we were all taken aback.

“He's such a terrible liar! He never does any work! He just eats and grumbles every fucking day of his life.” That was what the workers wanted to say, but they managed to control themselves.

Lucian nodded at Mr. Tim. “Okay then. Make sure you teach them all they need to be ready, before the end of this month. If I notice any mistake when I come back, you will take the blame, and they will take your position as a director,” he explained with a polite smile.

“What?!” Mr. Tim growled and placed his palm on both sides of his cheeks, probably blaming himself for talking.

Lucian looked at me one last time before leaving. It was a kind of look I couldn't decode, and that left me unsettled.

I knew how hard it was to get a job at the Smithfield corporation. Four years ago, after I completed my college education, Angela and Georgia kept trying to get me a collar job but their efforts were futile. I had to wait tables, wash dishes, and do all sorts of merger jobs just to survive.

For two years I kept searching, sending my CV to different companies. I even thought about giving up, until one day. Angela suddenly called me in the middle of my shift, begging me to come to the Smithfield Corporation. I was confused, because I didn't send my CV there. Smithfield Corporation was the biggest company in the country, and I knew for sure that they wouldn't employ a runaway like me. Angela and Georgia who worked there always talked about how hard it was to get in.

When I got to the front of the company, I met Angela and Georgia standing in front, they looked anxious and Georgia gave me a box of new dresses.

“We sent your CV to the Smithfield Corporation without your permission, and we just got a call that you passed the test, today is your last interview. Don't mess this up!” Georgia hurriedly informed me in a stern voice. Angela smiled broadly at me.

That day changed my life completely, and I went from being broke and frustrated, to working in a multi-billion-dollar company. I couldn't afford to lose my job, it meant the world to me, and I know how hard my friends struggled to get me in.

“My friends?” I murmured under my breath, wondering if Georgia still considered me a friend.

“What is going on with you? Snap out of it, girl! You can't be daydreaming on a day like this,” Angela's sweet voice echoed in my head, and I turned to face her bubbling face.

“Hey, Ella,” I said to her, and put on a pretense smile.

“Don't hear me, girl! I know that something is wrong so it's either you start talking or I call Georgia for a group intervention,” Angela threatened with a smile.

At the mention of Georgia’s name, my throat tightened. It felt like Angela had just dragged a ghost into the room, one I wasn’t ready to face.

“Don’t,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. “Please. Don’t call her. Just focus on me.”

Angela blinked, her bubbly expression fading as she studied my face. “What is going on, Sonia? Yesterday, you told me you aren't mad at her. Don't tell me that you both haven't spoken since…?”

I shook my head, forcing a shaky breath. “I’m not fighting with her. It's just that her mother's condition is critical, and I don't want to bother her with my trouble.” I lied through gritted teeth.

“Fuck! Georgia didn't tell me. I thought she was seeing someone behind our backs,” Angela muttered with a remorseful voice, and although I wanted to control it, my eyes dropped in pain.

Angela noticed this, and her shoulders slumped, but for once, she didn’t pry further. Angela might talk a lot, but she knew when silence was safer than comfort. She offered me a smile and looked at my body one last time.

We both turned to our desks as soon as Lucian’s entourage disappeared down the hall. But even as I tried to focus on my computer screen, my fingers trembled too much to type. I wanted to tell someone what had happened. I needed to tell the whole world that the wedding was canceled and the groom was fucking my best friend, but the shame, was just too unbearable. Also, how would they react if they found out that I got drunk and slept with my boss?

Lucian Smithfield's voice echoed in my head: calm, deep, commanding. “Sonia Magnus, right?”