4. The Boss Domination

Throughout the meeting, Gery appeared calm and composed. He made an effort to focus on the data being presented by one of the managers, while also referring to the files in front of him.

The image of the sweet girl kept flashing in his mind, but he quickly dismissed it. He needed to concentrate on the meeting because if he couldn't understand everything in detail, he would stumble when questioned by his grandmother, and he couldn't afford that.

Yes, his grandmother was the sole ruler of Vinestra. She was the CEO, but the ultimate decision-making power still rested with his grandmother. Mrs. Daphne Foster, despite her advanced age, could still think critically and refused to delegate all company matters to her grandson for several reasons. Particularly because of his somewhat unstable nature due to a traumatic past event that left anyone severely traumatized.

That's why Mrs. Daphne continued to oversee Gery's leadership. Although Gery had shown improvement in terms of professionalism and performance, due to their distant monitoring, Mrs. Daphne remained in the context of a supervisor for her grandson.

Finally, when the meeting was over and Gery had grasped the content in his mind to report and discuss with his grandmother later, he returned to his office. There, the thought of firing Eve resurfaced. He glanced at the clock and realized it had been two hours since the general office hours began.

"Huh! That girl must be too calm because there's still no termination letter on her desk! Damn!" Gery grumbled and called his assistant to give instructions.

"Do what I told you earlier, quickly! Go to the HR department and tell the manager to fire that girl!" He ordered without a hint of hesitation.

The assistant had no choice but to obey the boss's command. He felt a twinge of sympathy when he saw the fierce resistance from the girl earlier. Moreover, her face was sweet and her figure ... so slender and alluring. It resembled a Spanish guitar with beautiful curves in all the right places. It could easily captivate any normal man. Oh my!

When he met the HR manager and delivered Gery's order, the manager was quite surprised and asked for detailed information about what Eve had done to warrant being fired on her first day of work. To ensure clarity since Gery's assistant hadn't mentioned Eve's name due to his lack of knowledge, the manager took the initiative to call Eve herself.

"Wait, isn't there a mistake? Is it true that this is the employee Mr. Gery meant?" The manager asked, pointing towards Eve, who had just entered the office after receiving an intra-office call.

Dave, the CEO's assistant, reluctantly nodded.

"What have you done to be fired directly by Mr. Gery, if I may ask?" The bald-headed HR manager asked Eve.

Eve put on a determined face and answered loudly, "I haven't done anything wrong here, Sir. It's just a misunderstanding that occurred between us some time ago, in a different place."

The manager and Dave exchanged glances, a mix of surprise and confusion. They were torn between following the absurd order from the CEO and their conscience, which disagreed and felt sorry for Eve's fate.

"Perhaps it would be best if you meet with Mr. Gery and explain the misunderstanding in detail. But please do so politely, not with the confrontational attitude you displayed in the cafeteria earlier, Miss," Dave finally suggested to Eve.

Eve looked at Dave with a protesting gaze. "But your boss was continuously intimidating me, which provoked me to fight back, Sir!"

"Oh my! He's your boss too, by the way." Dave reminded her, starting to understand Gery's emotional reactions towards this girl. Eve's attitude was indeed challenging and provoked anger,he thought, shaking his head in bewilderment.

"Just try following Dave's advice for now. Maybe if you humble yourself a little and apologize, Mr. Gery will give you a chance, Eve." The HR manager chimed in, reinforcing Dave's suggestion.

"But, Sir! Didn't I sign an employment contract as soon as I started working here, which clearly states my rights and the grounds for termination? And I'm quite sure, even without reading it in its entirety, that there's no clause about being fired for having a personal history with the boss here!" Eve chose to protest against the HR manager. She believed that employee matters were under his jurisdiction and not the CEO's.

"But if Mr. Gery claims that you've been disrespectful to a superior, I can't defend you, Eve. You will still be fired." The HR manager replied with a puzzled expression.

He was old and certainly not interested in getting into trouble with a boss who could potentially cause problems in his work. He might even jeopardize his own position by defending Eve, who seemed equally stubborn.

"In that case, who can defend my rights?" Eve asked unabashedly. Her determination grew stronger as she realized that even everyone in the company seemed powerless in the face of Gery's authority.

Silence filled the room for a few moments. Then Dave finally spoke softly, hesitatingly. But it was audible enough for Eve to hear.

"Mrs. Daphne Foster."

The HR manager's expression turned fierce. He shot a reproachful look at Dave, who merely shrugged in confusion. Dave couldn't resist Eve's charm and had inadvertently provided her with a way to fight back against Gery.

"And she is ...?" Eve approached Dave with an enthusiastic expression. If Dave were a woman, she would have hugged her immediately to express her boundless gratitude. At least there was hope for her to defend her right to keep working there.

"She is Mr. Gery's grandmother. You can find her in the main office on the seventh floor, her name is written on the door. But the office is across from Mr. Gery's office--" Dave's sentence was cut short as Eve quickly bid farewell and half-ran to the elevator to go to the place Dave had just mentioned.

"Mrs. Daphne Foster, I hope you're not as mean-spirited as your mischievous grandson," she whispered, continuing to stride forward after exiting the elevator on the seventh floor, searching for the room with the name of the noblewoman mentioned.

***