Chapter 08

Andy clenched his fists as he read Avery’s email the following day in his office room. Avery had clearly mentioned how she applied, then got accepted and then rejected out of the blue.

She had also expressed her disappointment about Aurora Airlines for being negligible about female pilots when they have proclaimed to lift them up. And hadn’t stopped from there. She had also attached the email that was sent to her by the Human Resources Department of Aurora Airlines.

Andy couldn’t believe how unprofessional the department head had been and it was obvious Serene had pulled some strings on him.

“Well... if that’s the case, about time he got fired.”

Andy muttered to himself as he read the email once again, his keen eyes going through every little detail. The more he read it, the more anger seeped through him.

He only got to know about this because Avery met him randomly and told him about it. This is something that happened to Avery, someone he knew. He wondered how many times this type of dispute might have happened right under the nose and he didn’t like how that felt to think about it.

Inhaling deeply, Andy got up from his chair after transferring the email to his laptop. For a moment, he thought whether he should tell Caden about this but then he had a better idea.

Now that Avery’s going to be accepted to Aurora Airlines anyway, it might as well be a surprise to the man.

Caden had told him he had moved on from the girl and had even insisted there wasn’t even a little feeling remaining of her. But Andy knew better. He has seen how Caden smiled along to himself from time to time, he has seen how the man’s eyes lit up when the slightest mention of Avery came up.

If Andy knew something, that is Caden is deeply in love with her.

He wasn’t sure if Avery had the same feelings, but that night when he met her, he knew she still had feelings for him as well. If Caden had fallen for Avery, Avery had fallen more.

Now all that was remaining was for the two of them to get together, and Andy believed he was the perfect person to make it happen.

But before all of that, he has to solve the current problem, which is why he clenched his jaw and departed to the Department of Human Resource Management himself.

---

When Andy entered the department, it was busier than ever. With the recruits’ applications they were receiving this year, to solve the disputes of the current employees, the department had its hands full.

But no matter how busy they were, when they saw Andy, each of them greeted him respectfully.

“Oh, Andy.”

He stopped to the familiar voice of a female and she beamed as he turned to her.

“Lara.”

He said, looking at the elderly woman affectionately. Lara Heath was the head of the Cabin Department. She had been serving Aurora Airlines for over a decade as an air hostess. Her husband has been a pilot for nearly twenty years in Aurora Airlines before he retired last year and the man was now an advisor for the company.

“What brought you here? Rare to see you out of the top floor.”

She had claimed with a tease in her voice and Andy chuckled.

“Something that disgusted me. I’m personally here to investigate it.”

He said without holding back. He trusted Lara more than anything. She and her husband have always been the second parents of him and Caden.

“I wonder what that is?”

The lady asked in response and Andy smiled.

“Long story short. Hans had been acting really unprofessional and seemed to have been bribed or pulled strings by Serene Airlines. He had made a grave mistake by turning down the best female pilot in the country who had applied to join our company.”

He said and Lara’s eyebrows furrowed.

“He dared to do that?”

“Apparently, he did. Don’t worry, he won’t be doing that for too long.”

“Does Caden know about this?”

She asked and then added.

“He will surely fire him in this case.”

“He doesn’t know yet and I haven’t told him for a reason. But I’m going to fire him myself now. Just don’t tell Caden anything about it yet. If he asks me, I know how to handle it.”

Lara nodded in understanding before she spoke with Andy about a few problems regarding the Cabin Department before bidding farewell to him to go on her way.

After Lara walked away, Andy straightly headed to the office of the Minister.

“Mr. Andy.”

The man stood up the moment Andy stepped into his office.

“Well, yes, Mr. Hans. It’s me.”

Andy said almost sarcastically as he didn’t bother to sit down even though Hans gestured him to.

“I have no intention of staying too long.”

He said, voice cold as ice, that it sent shivers along Han’s spine.

“Did something happen, sir?”

He asked meekly. Everyone knew not to mess with Caden and Andy. The two men were equally known for their temper and harshness in decisions.

“You tell me, did you do anything that has an ill-effect to the company?”

Andy asked, looking directly into his eyes and Andy could say the man’s wrongdoing flashed right in front of his eyes as the very first thing when the question was asked. Han’s pupils dilated rapidly before he pulled himself together.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir.”

He said a minute later and Andy smiled eerily.

“Good, then you shouldn’t be worried about what I’m going to show you next.”

He said, placing his laptop on the working desk and opened his email. Andy pretended to search for the email from Avery intentionally to make the man nervous and he knew he succeeded when the man started to sweat buckets.

“Ah! There it is.”

He smiled at Hans wickedly before clicking on the very first email and then turned the laptop to him.

“Care to explain to me what this is all about?”

He asked, his smile disappearing and replaced with a glare. Hans just read the email, the color of his skin disappearing with each line.

“For someone who insisted that had done nothing wrong, aren’t you a bit too pale?”

Andy asked, sniggering at the man and this time Hans looked at him with horror in his eyes.

“I don’t know what this woman is talking about, sir. Our company didn’t send her any email like that.”

“Oh really? Do you know what disgusts me the most, Hans?”

If Andy had at least a little sympathy for this man, it vanished the moment the man lied.

He leaned towards Hans making the man lean backward and then said with a baritone voice that went a few octaves lower than his usual, making it sound scary.

“People who fail to admit their mistakes even when the proof is fed to their throats!”

Andy hissed as he clicked on the original email sent by Hans, which was sent by Avery.

“Sir, I-“

“Yeah, what are the excuses you are going to come up with now, Hans Nicholas? You dared to make a mistake that tarnished the reputation of the company and now you are shamelessly coming up with excuses?”

Andy’s voice raised with each word that echoed in the office room and when Hans shut his mouth instinctively, it lowered momentarily.

“You’re fired.”

Andy said as he walked away and Hans didn’t have any more strength to talk against it. The man stood there solemnly, too shocked for words.

Andy guessed that the other employees of the HR might have heard the commotion with the way they started when he came out of the office. But they were intelligent enough to pretend they didn’t.

Then the assistant CEO went back to his office and sat on his chair once again before starting to type an email. At first, he wondered if he should reveal his position in the company to Avery, but decided against it until she was hired. He was just going to put his position in the company without a name.

He typed out the email which confirmed to Avery that she is officially hired and also informed her she can start working the next week itself.