01 || POWER HOUSE

Laughter and chattering filled the building as the workers moved about their workstations as if hit by a wave of eureka. Although the employees of Billings Corporation looked carefree, they were anything but and hopelessly aimed to impress their boss. 

It was 7:15 a.m., exactly fifteen minutes into the workday, and their boss were still not at work. Most of the time, their boss was here before 7 a.m. to avoid running into any one of them; most of the employees did not even know whom they were serving, but they had been warned about the tyrant of a boss and how they had to be punctual because their boss hated tardiness. Another thing they had been warned about was noise; they were told that the boss hated noise, so they had to be as quiet as possible- something they never failed. They feared a force they had never met. 

It was a shock when the entire building fell into silence. 

It was as if the place had suddenly turned into a graveyard filled with dead silence. The silence was so deafening one could hear a single pin drop. Everything was quiet, the only thing that could be heard were her heels clicking against the white tiled floor. 

She walked into the building with her head held high, her dark eyes burning anything and everything in her way. A designer suit consisting of a black pencil skirt, a white blouse, and a black jacket clung to her body, emphasizing her curves and tanned legs. Her long, shoulder-length, brown hair was tied up into a neat bun, further exposing her bronzed skin. She was holding a black briefcase that she probably brought to work every day and a brand-new expensive handbag that possibly summed up to three people's salaries in the building. She looked nothing like her age; she was short and looked like she was twenty. Nevertheless, her cold personality was what intimidated people. 

MJ Billings, the twenty-eight-year-old CEO of Billings Corporations and one of the richest women in London and all around the world, was a mystery to many. She was a force that had taken the world by storm ten years ago when she started Billings Corporations at the young age of 18, along with her brother, Jorge Billings. Two years into the business and they already had twenty branches in different countries, and by the end of the third year, they had made a name for themselves, becoming multibillionaires. All these in the shadows for MJ Billings. 

Some of the staff gave her curious glances. When they heard of MJ Billings, they thought it was a man, but one look at her explained it all; she was scarier than the MJ they had heard about. A group of interns that were standing in her way quickly stepped away as she marched towards the reception desk where the receptionist, Meryl Anderson, stood with glasses perched above her nose. “Good morning, Miss Billings.” She greeted with a warm smile on her face. However, her boss did not feel as chirpy as she was for a Monday morning. 

“When Anita gets here, tell her to come to my office immediately.” MJ Billings ordered in an icy voice. 

Meryl’s face turned white and she nodded eagerly before saying with a shaky voice, “Yes, Miss Billings.” 

MJ gave a curt nod before she graciously walked towards her private elevator. She pressed the button to the last floor where her office was located. The elevator opened, and as soon as she entered and the doors closed, everyone let go of their baited breaths. 

MJ arrived on the last floor and exited the elevator, only to be greeted by silence. She walked to her office and passed her secretary’s desk, which was currently empty. She narrowed her eyes at the empty space, wondering where her secretary, Beatrice Douglas, was. She shook her head and entered her office. 

Her office was spacious and extravagant. A large aluminium glass separated her office from the reception desk outside her office, and another one stood at the opposite side, overlooking the business sector of London. The other two walls were not made of glass, they were normal walls painted in grey. On the left wall, behind the huge brown mahogany desk was a set of painting collections and her achievement certificates. Left of the desk stood a huge grey cabinet with multiple drawers, and on the right stood a glass-stand with more awards and certificates. Then at the centre of the office, right against the front glass wall stood a big white office couch with royal blue cushions. At the other end, opposite MJ's desk stood another cabinet with multiple drawers and another desk three times smaller, which belonged to her PA, Anita Simmons. 

MJ walked to her own desk, placed her bag and briefcase on the desk before she walked around the desk and took off her jacket, which she neatly placed on top of the big Sienna chair. She sat down, took out her laptop from her briefcase, switched it on and started working. 

She kept checking her gold watch, impatiently waiting for her PA to arrive. It was already 10 a.m., and according to the rules, she was supposed to arrive an hour or less before MJ, but she was still not here. MJ sighed and picked up her office phone, about to dial Meryl's number when a slim figure appeared outside her office wearing a simple knee-length blue dress. 

The woman seemed oblivious to her boss's glare as she stood at the desk outside the office and continued with whatever conversation she was having on her phone. Anita Simmons was a twenty-five-year-old woman from Brazil who came to London seeking for a job, and somehow someway, she ended up in Billings Corporation as a PA to none other than MJ Billings and had been working for MJ for five years now. "Good morning, sorry I am late." She said cheerfully as she walked into the office. She placed her handbag on her desk and went to take a seat on one of the unoccupied chairs in front on MJ's desk. She placed her phone on the desk and a small envelope she held in her hand before she flipped her long brown hair and leaned back against her seat. 

“Why are you late?” MJ asked without looking up. 

Anita rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, "Monday blues." MJ looked up from the screen and closed her laptop before she leaned back against her seat and crossed her legs, rotating her chair from side to side as she studied Anita. Seeing as her boss was not going to give up, Anita sighed and sat up straight. "I was out sorting out the mess you created, Miss Billings, you missed the meeting with the accountants, so I had to meet up with them and find a way forward." She said. 

MJ leaned forward and said sternly, “I did not miss the meeting with the accountant because there was no meeting- I told you to cancel all my meetings and appointments.” 

“MJ, you are a multibillionaire, you run a multipurpose company with over a hundred branches worldwide. You can't cancel meetings like these; just for in case you haven't noticed, over 20 million dollars has been stolen from the company." Anita explained as if talking to a toddler. MJ clenched her jaw and pressed her lips into a thin line, not liking the way Anita was speaking to her. 

Anita was the only person close to a friend MJ had in the office. MJ ignored everyone but had to get close to Anita Simmons as her long ranking PA. “But we took care of it. The police have already found the suspects and- excuse me.” She raised her index finger as her phone started to ring. “Sorry.” She muttered before she answered the call. “Anita Simmons speaking, hello?” She said, eyeing her boss who was now turning the office upside down. “Oh, Liam! What can I do for you?” She furrowed her eyebrows, wondering what MJ was looking for while at the same time, listening to what MJ Billings’ driver was saying on the other end of the line. “Oh, okay! I’ll let her know. Thank you, bye.” She hung up and placed her phone back on the desk. “That was Liam.” She stated, eyeing MJ suspiciously. 

“Oh?” MJ muttered nonchalantly as she stepped on a small bank next to her desk, trying to reach the top shelf while cursing whoever took her ladder from her office. 

"He said to tell you that the car is ready and waiting for you in front of the building," Anita said, but MJ ignored her and continued with what she was doing. Anita sighed and got up from her chair and walked around MJ's desk to retrieve the file MJ was trying to reach for. MJ sighed in relief and jumped off the little bank before attempting to grab the file from Anita who held it up as if mocking MJ's height. "What car is he talking about? Going somewhere?" She asked. 

MJ gritted her teeth in annoyance. "The file." She said sternly, giving nothing away. Anita sighed and gave her the file before returning to her seat. MJ paged through the file and slid it across the table once done. Anita frowned as she picked it up, opening it to the first page. "McEnroe Construction Company…" MJ said while taking her seat. "An Irish construction company, the owner, Aaron McEnroe, recently retired and passed on the company to his 21-year-old son, Aaron McEnroe Jr." She stated begrudgingly. 

“You don’t sound like a big fan.” Anita pointed out. 

 

"He is a kid. He led the company to bankruptcy when he invested millions on a building and bought cheap materials, leading to the building collapsing and killing hundreds of people. He got his ass sued and had to pay billions to the affected families. He is not ready to run a business yet. Mr McEnroe should have hired someone to stand in for him until his son was ready." MJ said coldly. 

"He is just a kid," Anita said sympathetically. 

MJ scoffed. “He is not fit to run a business.” 

“You weren’t exactly old or fit when you started your business.” The words left her mouth before she could stop herself, causing MJ to tense. “MJ-” She tried to explain but was too late; MJ’s hand shot up and she gripped Anita’s hand. 

"You don't know a single thing about me," MJ said coldly, her voice almost unrecognizable. Anita went pale but held back her tears as MJ's nails continued digging into her skin. The MJ she was with just now was completely gone. At least the one she thought knew. Anita did not like this one; she was arrogant, moody, and cold-hearted - all the bad things suitable for a bad boss. Anita knew she could not blame her behaviour on Monday blues, she had crossed a line and was not about to deny that. MJ was right; Anita knew little to nothing about MJ Billings and was finally getting a better taste at whom she really was. "I really like you, Anita Simmons, but don't get it twisted; I am your boss and I pay you to work, not to give your opinion on how to fit you think I was when I started my business. Do you understand?" She asked, and Anita nodded her head. MJ let her hand go, and Anita quickly pulled her hand away and stared down at the desk while MJ continued as if nothing happened. "I am going to South Africa on an urgent business meeting, I don't know how long it's going to take, but I will be away for at least a week or three at the latest." She said and was not surprised when Anita did not bombard her with questions like she usually did. "Jorge will be here later today; he is going to take over while am away." Anita flinched at the mention of Jorge's name but was in no state to object. "I need you to be there for him and help him run the place. You will call me if you need anything." Anita nodded timidly and passed over the small envelope she came with when she arrived at the office. "What is this?" 

"My letter of resignation," Anita muttered under her breath. 

"You quit," MJ stated quietly while observing the woman in front of her. "You can quit, but I'll assume that this is your three months' notice," MJ stated in a matter-of-fact tone and pushed the envelope back to Anita without opening it. 

“That’s exactly what I am going to do. Let us just forget that any of these never happened. Let us pretend I never came late this morning. Let us forget that this conversation ever happened. You know, let us just pretend like we never met.” Anita said, her emotions getting the best of her. 

Anita pushed her chair back and stood up. She pushed the envelope back to MJ who was silently daring her with her eyes to reconsider. MJ’s eyes darted to the envelope, landing at the marks she left on Anita’s hand. “Book an appointment with a doctor under my name.” She said impassively. 

“I can pay for my own bills. Have a safe trip, Miss Billings.” Anita said and took her phone, and then she walked to her desk to fetch her handbag. She looked at MJ who looked at her with an icy gaze. 

“I am not going to stop you if that’s what you are expecting, Miss Simmons, I have better things to do with my time than running after a lousy PA whom I can replace for a few zeros," MJ said with a tight-lipped smile. 

Anita felt a pang in her chest, but settled for a weak smile and walked towards the door in a brink of tears. She stopped at the door and turned around to look at MJ one last time. "I hope that someday, you will realize that she is not your friend.'' She said before she walked away. 

MJ ignored Anita's comment and picked up the envelope. She still could not believe that Anita was leaving; too bad she had come to like her. Five years ago after MJ had somehow managed to fire five PA's within the same month, Anita had come in at the last minutes when MJ had already lost hope. 

 “Oh, Anita Simmons! You will be the death of me.” MJ muttered as she opened the envelope and slowly unfolded the white page inside. After reading it repeatedly until the words clicked in, she gripped the paper and closed her eyes as her anger slowly build up. She got up, wore her jacket, and packed her laptop and a few documents before she left the office. Two minutes later, she was marching towards the reception desk on the ground floor. 

Upon arrival, she slammed the resignation letter on the desk, causing Meryl to jump in fear while the entire floor went silent. “Call Beatrice Douglas and tell her that my lawyers will be in touch with her, and when Anita Simmons comes back, tell her to start looking for a replacement for Miss Douglas, or find someone else to do the job if she’s tired of working for me.” She said in a cold voice and marched out of the building without looking back. 

Once outside, MJ stepped into the car, not waiting for the driver to open the door for her like she usually did. The driver, Liam, got into the car and asked without further ado, “Where to, Mam?” 

"Airport," MJ answered as she watched the building slowly fade in the background.