Chapter 10

"Please don't do this to me, sir", the words tumbled from Cynthia's lips in a begging manner as suddenly she dropped on her knees, falling to the floor in a prostrating pose. She caught his trousers' hem, her fingers clasping over it like pincers as she begged for forgiveness. Her face streamed with tears that fell from her eyes as in a heavy rain while she wept uncontrollably.

Her shoes slipped from her feet as she rocked back and forth, her body convulsed with sobs, her hoarse voice repeating pleadings. But he showed no compassion on his face at her anguished cries; his eyes flashed in anger, not softening. The more her tears seemed to enrage him, the darker his face grew with every passing moment.

"Andre!" Enzo thundered, his voice reverberating through the room as he called out for the security guard. There was complete silence-no response at all. Enzo turned back to Cynthia, his eyes flashing with anger, and pushed her hands off his trousers.

"Leave me alone," he snarled, low and mean, and moved backward, away from her.

Enzo 's hand came hard against Cynthia's; the force he used sent her tumbling onto the floor, her body falling onto the hard surface with a soft thud. The phone clutched in her hand flailed free to bounce upon the hard floor with a loud crack, sending the screen bursting into a hundred tiny pieces skittering in every direction as if shards of ice across the floor.

"Bo.a.rrrrr!" Cynthia screamed loudly in pain, shocked-the crack of a voice was heavy with fear and despair. Enzo 's face contorted in a scowl, his eyes flashing bright with anger as he wheeled away from Cynthia, shouting all over again, this time louder and more ominously.

"Andrew!" he yelled again, voice echoing off the office walls. A response was immediate, Andrew's voice calling out from beyond the door.

"Yes, sir!" Andrew replied, the sound of his footsteps pounding the floor as he ran to Enzo 's office.

Having sat at his desk, watching this drama unfold right before his very eyes, Marco was suddenly overcome by a cold thrill running down his spine. As Enzo had fired his assistant, he himself was next in line, something that made him shiver as rivulets of fear ran wildly through his veins.

Enzo 's eyes landed coldly on Andrew as he entered the office.

"Get her out of here," he snarled, his tone full of loathing, nodding in the direction of Cynthia, who was lying on the floor, shaking with sobs.

Andrew nodded expressionlessly and bent to drag Cynthia up off the floor. Enzo 's attention returned to the screen of his phone.

Cynthia's body crashed to the floor, her voice echoed through the room-a desperate cry that seemed to shake the very foundations of the company.

"Sorry." she shouted, her words trailing off into a sob, as she lay there, her body wracked with anguish.

He had been sent to take her out, but as his gaze fell upon Cynthia's tear-stained face, he knew his heartstrings pulled in pity. Her voice was cracky and broken, her words barely audible as she begged for just one chance.

Andrew's hands had risen to lift her up, but now they faltered, his fingers shaking with emotion as he tried to follow through with Enzo 's orders.

The tears welling down Cynthia's face broke all reservation, and in an instant, Andrew's eyes welled up in sympathy as he stared at her, remembering how nice she had been to him, so kind and considerate; his heart went out to her in her need.

By that time, Enzo had just about reached the end of his patience. Enzo got out of the chair, a scrunched-up face filled with disgust, strolled over toward him, and made a swift brutal motion with his hand. "P.o.a." he snarled.

The slap that Enzo delivered across the face of Andrew cut through the air with a crack of thunder; the office echoed with the sound, and a cold feel ran down her spine.

His eyes wide with the sting, his head shot back, in sync with his awkward backward stumble.

He held on to his cheeks-for what felt like falling off-as great alarm widened in his eyes at the harsh, just hurled words that came from the mouth of Enzo .

Her eyes, wide with horror, stared back up at Enzo . She was quite out of her mind with shock and disgust; the heartlessness, the cruel display that was so unpalatable before her now-Enzo . In that instant, she knew she was better off without him, the company, or the toxic atmosphere seemingly in every corner of the office.

"Take her out, and do not be moved by her crocodile tears," Enzo shouted in the most disdainful and contemptuous voice possible. Andrew let his gaze catch Cynthia, who still lay on the floor, quivering in fear, with a stream of tears flowing down her face.

But then came the moment when Enzo 's next words sent fear into Andrew's heart.

"Look here, I just fired her, and if you want me to do the same to you, I will do it with ease," Enzo snarled, in a hard, threatening voice. Andrew's eyes began to bulge with terror at this knowledge that his job was now hanging by a thread.

Without hesitation, Andrew waste no time in dragging Cynthia brutally to her feet and out of the company as soon as he could. The reason being very simple: he could not afford to lose his job with bills to pay and a family on his head.

He watched Cynthia stumble out of the building, her body shaking with sobs. Yet he knew such pangs of guilt and regret needed to be shoved aside in his battle for survival in this cutthroat world of corporate politics.