Chapter 203
Chapter 203:
“You need to look like you are being mistreated,” June said. “When we walk out of this office, I am going to humiliate you in front of the entire floor. You need to cry. You need to look resentful. Then go to the bathroom and call Alycia p>
June picked up a stack of non-essential data reports from her desk, deliberately shuffled them into disorder, and handed the messy pile to Abbie.
“Go,” she said.
Abbie took a slow breath, opened the door, and walked out into the large open-plan office where dozens of scientists and analysts were at their stations.
Five seconds later, June’s office door flew open.
She marched out, heels striking the floor with deliberate aggression.
“Abbie p>
і𝘯𝘴𝘁a𝗇t 𝖺𝗰𝗰eѕ𝘀 𝗈𝗇
The entire floor went silent instantly. Every head turned.
June crossed to Abbie’s cubicle, took the stack of reports, and drove them down onto the desk. Papers scattered in every direction.
“Is this your idea of data compilation?” she said, her voice cutting and cold. “The decimal points are completely wrong. The logic is a disaster. Are you typing with your feet p>
The surrounding staff stared in stunned silence. June was demanding by nature, but no one had ever seen her publicly berate someone like this.
Abbie’s eyes filled immediately with tears, her lower lip trembling. “Dr. Erickson, I’m so sorry. I’ll redo it right away p>
“Redo it?” June said sharply. “Apex Bio does not pay for incompetence. If you cannot handle a basic spreadsheet, pack your things and leave my lab p>
At that moment, Brogan stepped off the elevator. He took one look at the scene and frowned, crossing the floor quickly.
“June, what is going on? Why are you yelling?” he asked, stepping between her and Abbie.
June turned the full weight of her gaze on him. “My assistant made a serious error. I am addressing it. Do you have a problem with how I run my department, Brogan p>
Brogan looked at Abbie — visibly shaking, tears running down her face — and exhaled. “If she isn’t working out, I can have HR reassign her p>
“No,” June said. “I don’t have time to train someone new. But if she makes one more mistake, I will handle it myself p>
She turned on her heel, walked back into her office, and shut the door.
Abbie covered her face and, ignoring the sympathetic looks from her colleagues, walked quickly to the women’s restroom. She locked herself in a stall, drew out her phone, steadied her breathing to keep the tremor in her voice, and dialed.
Alycia answered on the second ring. “Is it done? Did she find out p>
“No,” Abbie said, letting the sobs back into her voice, thick with manufactured resentment. “She didn’t find out. But she’s been in a horrible mood since the hospital. She just screamed at me in front of the whole company — threw papers at me.” She paused, injecting raw bitterness into her tone. “She threatened to fire me. She treats me like absolute garbage. I hate her p>
On the other end of the line, Alycia burst into loud, satisfied laughter. The tension drained entirely from her voice.
“I told you she was an arrogant fraud,” Alycia said. “You did perfectly, Abbie. Keep your head down and keep watching her p>