Her Paper Marriage

Natasha

It was a beautiful day indeed. The sky was so blue that it made me wonder if the sky changed overnight.

I'd never been the one to gaze at the sky or appreciate nature however, today was different, even the breeze felt friendly.

"Kenzie!" I said excitedly as I reached the receptionist's desk. She was the most friendly person I've ever met. Little wonder she had her job anyway.

"You... your hair," She whistled excitedly. I was blushing like wildfire. It felt good to get acknowledged.

"I did a little thing with it," I muttered shyly. "You have such keen eyes for details."

The ringing of the telephone interrupted Kenzie's reply so I waited. She was talking to the CEO, Bruce Stamford, a man known in the business for his charisma, appearance, and ethics.

He was the perfect gentleman in the eyes of the public but at work, he was a total workaholic. What's wrong with being a workaholic, you would ask. Well, it's really bad when it affects the employees too.

I worked three days, two nights straight the day I was hired. But then, I got paid for the stress. These wealthy people, always settling things with money.

Kenzie dropped the telephone.

"There's an emergency meeting!" Kenzie announced. "I think our boss is quite furious. His voice... you know how he sounds when he is angry."

Of course, I knew. "I guess I'll have to run over!" I told her.

"Stay strong!" Kenzie encouraged me, smiling so widely.

I rushed down to the elevator and went all the way to the sixth floor. That was where we usually had meetings.

I entered and it was a full room already. I seemed to be the last to arrive except the one who called the meeting himself... Bruce Stamford.

"He is coming!" Someone said those dreaded words and we all struggled to compose ourselves.

Bruce entered and from his countenance, I could sense danger. He didn't say 'good morning' as usual. He simply glanced at us with his piercing eyes.

"Our most recent project..." He paused, looking around. Our eyes met before he looked away and continued.

"Project Fireball. We have been preparing for a long time, haven't we?"

"Yes, boss!" We all said in unison.

"This morning, I got the rudest shock of my life," Bruce continued.

"Mac Group announced their Godzilla project this morning and I believe I need an explanation as to why their announced project is exactly like ours!"

Silence. No one muttered.

"None of you is going to respond?" Bruce said calmly. His calmness was more frightening in this situation.

Then he shouted, "None of you!" I shook in fear.

The oldest manager among us stood up carefully and asked for permission to speak. Bruce simply nodded as he glanced at the old man.

"The information must have been leaked," the manager muttered. "I checked the details and it was too detailed to be a coincidence."

"How many people had access to such detailed information?" Bruce asked.

"Five people, sir," Sam, the old manager responded. "And uh... plus your secretary, that makes it six!"

Me? I was the secretary.