6

CHAPTER 6

Sophia lowered her glaze as she sat on the couch beside her brother and in front of their father who sat on the coffee table, also dressed, just like her brother. She wasn’t sure if it were her anxiety or the gut feeling which kept whispering in her ear that there's going to be an argument. The cool conversation between the men made her feel at ease and made her feel apprehensive at the same time. She still had to reckon if her father knew about Lana’s denials with the job offer. Figuring out her father wasn’t productive because the Syde men knew well to hide their emotions. Her father once told her that having control over your reaction can help you avoid unsolicited problems.

True to his words, Miles had to discuss work with their father. As she realised that her presence was no longer needed, she quietly pushed herself off the couch, but froze when Miles’s hand circled her wrist as he mutely asked her not to leave. His gesture reassured her that the issue with her job wasn’t forgotten and there was still hope that, maybe, there was a chance for her to still get it. But the thought itself made her want to shrink into the pillows behind her and disappear at the thought of a possible argument to arise. She wondered why she was so afraid for a fight to emerge when she realised its reason, which was her fear of disappointing her parents again.

Sophia’s eyes wondered around the living room and the kitchen, trying to spot her mother. She wanted to know if her mother had realised her mistakes on choice of words. She knew keeping expectations with Lana was like talking to a stone, but the human part of her always believed in redemption. 

Pity. The word resonated in her mind and it made Sophia feel insignificant. She never needed anyone to show pity on her. Appreciation towards her work always something she appreciated like any other human being.

A pair of footsteps were heard when Lana's sandals clanked against the marble floor. She was dressed nicely reminding Sophia that she was still in her shorts and sweatshirt, making her conscious of the fact that she was the only one who was untidy.

''Good morning, everyone,'' Lana greeted cheerfully and settled her eyes on Miles. ‘‘Oh Miles, it’s been long since you visited,'' she smiled approaching her family.

Miles smiled a little as an appreciation to her attention towards him, ''Good morning. I was just waiting for you,'' he announced and Sophia took a deep breath. Here we go.

Lana crooked her eyebrow, ''for me? What's that you want to talk to me about?'' she questioned as she made her way towards her husband, also sitting beside him. The cold smile not leaving her face.

For 19 years of life, Sophia was under the influence of her mother, Lana. She was one of the few people who knew things Lana refused to share with anyone else with. One of those were her feeling for Miles and Pearl. She could never speak flowers and butterflies about them, quite the opposite as she clearly remembered, also cringed her nose at. Her mother once confessed her dislike for her step-kids, which was the mere fact that she didn’t give birth to them and hence they did not belong to her; ultimately becoming a threat to Sophia. She could never decipher how her siblings were a threat to her.

Miles nodded, ''Dad, Lana, this is related to Sophia,'' He spared Sophia a glance looking back at their parents. ''I think it's the best if she continues working at our company.''

Sophia straightened up in her seat and looked at everyone with determined, focused yet nervous eyes. She was paying attention as if it was some viva in her school and didn't want to mess up or it would cost marks.

Lana gave Sophia a meaningful glance. The one which said that she had gotten herself in trouble. She then looked back to her stepson, ''Miles, when I made this decision for Sophia, I knew what she was getting herself into. Which wouldn’t work well for her,'' Her voice was ice cold as she explained

''Miles, I think you should not get into this.'' Roy interrupted. His voice defeated and calm. Like he really wasn't ready for this conversation. For god's sake it was only quarter past 7. Yes, Roy considered himself as a good father. He knew what his kids held interest in, but he also knew how Lana influenced his decisions for which he could barely stand against.

One of Miles’ eyebrows quivered, ‘‘No, let me tell you why I'm getting into this. I became a part of this matter the second Sophia was assigned for the internship in my company. And as a brother, I too see only well for Sophia, and I insist you both to let her accept the job,''

‘‘The decision is already made,'' Lana grimaced her face.

‘‘The decision is supposed to be Sophia's, or at least there should be her agreement. Sophia do you want to reject the offer?'' Miles turned to Sophia without any coming warning.

She stared into his awaiting eyes for a few seconds. She gathered her shit together. She realised it was a now or never situation. ''No,'' she said, loudly and clearly turning to her parents. ''I want this job,''

Miles pursed his lips looking at Lana competitively. ‘‘look,'' he lifted his shoulders dropping them with ease.

Roy sighed, ''Miles, if Lana wants things to be like this, there must be some valid reasons.''

Miles nodded, ''well, I would like to know those valid points.'' He insisted. ‘‘Please elaborate,''

Lana clenched her jaw, ''Sophia is not old enough for a job. She isn't qualified enough. She has no experience of the world outside what so ever. And this job will only stress on her already degrading grades,'' She listed out, her nose faring with fury.

She knew Lana did not realise the damage done on Sophia’s feelings. It made her realise all the defects she inhered and how she never worked enough to make improvements. She felt her throat close up. Her eyes landed on her hands that were clasped between her thighs to avoid her family from seeing them tremble. She realised how her fear was eventually unfolding and that she could do nothing to stop it.

Miles nodded staring at his step-mother with a cold glare, ''In my opinion, we never know if Soph is good enough or not for something she has never tried. In these two weeks of internship, I and the seniors had almost found no mistakes in the graphs and charts she was supposed to do. In comparison to the other new comers, she did great. And about qualifications, she is enough qualified to be a part of the S-Groups. She can also study as she continues to learn from the company so that she would be further qualified for all those promotions. An experience? This is her time to acquire experience,''

Miles leaned forward and put both his arms on his knees and intertwined his fingers together. ''Sophia had been home-schooled all her high school. I'm sure her further education can be done the same way, huh?'' he asked and then there was silence. Miles' interrogation was valid. He looked at Lana as if daring her to protest any further. Lana had no space left for argument. Miles was shooting his bullets in the right target and Lana wasn't fond of it whatsoever.

On the other hand, Sophia felt an emotional gratitude towards her brother and it didn’t bother how annoying and arrogant he could get. It didn't matter how much he made her feel contempt about her lack of office manners. All she felt right now was pride for her brother for being by her side. She felt gratitude for giving her the priority when he probably had to cancel an early morning meeting at some posh café and instead decided to put up a fight for her sake.

Roy sighed loudly and turned to his wife, ''Lana, I believe our daughter needs a chance to prove herself,''

Lana looked at his husband and clenched her jaw. She didn't respond to him but turned to her stepson and daughter. Taking a deep breath, she spoke: ''fine. If that's what all of you want. But.... That does not mean I will accept any kind of down growth in you academics in the coming year,'' Lana bored her eyes into Sophia's.

Sophia nodded her head, her eyes almost wide open with excitement for the job and anticipation in the conversation. ‘‘Yes Ma. I understand,'' She said happily, a smile tugging upon her lips that she failed to supress.

‘‘All right then,'' Miles looked everyone in the eye before standing up. ''I should leave now,'' He glanced down at Sophia, ''fill the form thoroughly, I've emailed it to you, remember? And you can take a leave today,'' His eyes sought for conformation and left when he found it with Sophia’s nod.

Lana too stood up towering over Sophia, ‘’let’s just say that my expectations with you have escalated,'' She did not wait for Sophia’s reaction and turned to leave.

Sophia lost count of the sighs she took today. Meanwhile, Roy turned to his daughter. ''Go thank your brother. He must still be out there. If it wasn’t for his efforts, we could have never convinced your mother,''

Sophia widened her eyes and felt like slapping herself for her lack of manners. She stood up and raced out her house and took the breaks over her naked heels when she saw him getting into his car seat, his phone pressed against his ear.

''Miles!'' she yelled, waving an arm in the air.

Miles had already taken a seat on his posh leather seats but hearing his sister's voice, he stopped and kept the door half open. He looked at Sophia as she jogged towards him and took the passenger seat beside him. She had a smile on her face, an infectious one. He raised his eyebrow.

‘‘Excuse me,'' he mumbled into the call.

For a moment, she thought it was directed towards her and her smile almost fell. Her misconception was soon clarified when Miles slid his phone down his ear and paid attention to her instead. The infectious smile was back on her lips, this time her bright teeth giving their contribution.

''Thank you so much Miles. I cannot believe you did that for me. I'd almost lost hope. I can't believe you made her come to an agreement. You're just so awesome!''

When she was finished, a small but amused smile had reached Miles' lips and eyes, wrinkling its sides. He raised his arm and displayed the screen of his phone. It said Pearl upon it and Sophia realised who he had excused a minute ago. Sophia smiled brightly and took the phone in her hands and pressed it against her ear.

''Hello?'' Sophia beamed.

‘‘Hey sweety, Miles told me everything. And I can't prouder,'' Pearl was evidently merry and soothing. ‘‘Now do your best and make us all damn proud,'' Both the girls giggled.

''I will.'' Sophia promised. ‘‘Thanks to you too, Pearl. You're the best sister I can ever ask for,''

''I don't usually blow my own trumpet a lot. But I know you’re damn right,'' Sophia visualized Pearl flipping her hairs off her shoulders as she said that. At the end of the day, if Perl hadn't look up on Sophia the other night, Miles would have never known the real reason behind her quitting and he would have never come for the rescue either.

Sophia giggled as Pearl laughed from the other side.

‘‘How’s camping going?'' Sophia leaned back on the seat, getting comfortable.

''We're great here,''

''Okay, I miss you,'' Sophia said softly.

‘‘Miss you too, baby. Can you give the phone to Miles?''

‘‘Sure,'' Sophia muttered and looked over to Miles whose eyes were closed and head was rested back on his seat. Was he taking a power nap? Sophia had once read that busy-rich people take power naps whenever they get time to restore their energy because they've to work all day.

''Miles,'' she called out softly. Mindful not to startle him.

Miles opened his eyes sharply as if he wasn't just asleep. He glanced at Sophia's hand and grabbed the phone in his. He shared a few words with his twin sister before putting the device aside and facing Sophia.

He took a deep breath and said: ''now do you feel good?''

Sophia nodded her head with a smile of gratitude. ‘‘Never felt this better,''

~

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration if we say that Sophia feel thrilled. Even if she had been in this huge building working for the past two weeks, she suddenly felt like a new arrive. The reason? Because she wasn't an intern anymore but a member of the company! She would probably have new responsibilities and most importantly, much harder ones. Her goal was both to learn and prove herself at the same time. Learn; new things like interacting with her colleagues and people from other sections. Prove; herself to her mother that she was worth more than what she alleged her to be. And moreover, she didn't want to disappoint her brother who stood up for her against their parents the other day. She didn't want to break the trust he'd built up for her.

She was afraid that her cube would be different now that she wasn’t an intern. And she was releaved when she learned that it was still the same. Had the same view through the huge glass windows and the same annoying neighbour too who still had that smirk on his face which Sophia only addressed with an eye roll that she did and secretly hope he'd not caught.

‘‘If you think I didn't see that, then you're wrong.'' Troy teased looked over his shoulder.

‘‘Shouldn’t you be minding your own business?'' Sophia muttered as she took a seat on her dear chair.

‘‘Talking to your employee is business,'' He stated as a matter of fact.

‘‘Ha-ha. Funny,'' Was Sophia's sarcastic remark and she failed to give him a pointed look.

Troy snorted and was ready with another comeback when someone interrupted their conversation. A man in dark outfit had entered in. everyone stood up wishing him a good morning. Sophia didn't recognize this man but because everyone was bowing, she did too. It was like a flock of sheep to her.

The man gave the impression of someone in his late forties. Despite his age, he had long, healthy hairs.He wished everyone back and told them to sit down. He put on an impression of someone at a higher post and Sophia almost peed in her pants when his eyes settled on hers.

‘‘What the fuck is this asswipe doing here,'' she heard Troy whisper sharply. And before she could even question him for his displeasure towards this new person, the man was already approaching her.

‘‘Good morning, Ms Syde. I’m the manager of this department,'' he greeted her with a smile.

Sophia looked up at him and stood up slowly. ''G-Good morning, sir,''

''Heard a lot about you from Mr Syde. Told me you hold a lot of potential. It would be great if you could follow me. We’ve a lot to discuss,'' he smiled at Sophia who nodded. ‘’I’ll be in my room. A-16,’’ he addressed before leaving.

Following the offer, she started following his lead. She was abruptly stopped when Troy grabbed her arm, pulling her towards him a little.  She frowned looking up at him. Whilst, he wasn't even looking at her but at the man who's just asked her to follow him. His bright, forest green eyes met her chocolate brown ones. His eyes didn't leave the hint of frustration. Sophia tried to twist and turn her wrist but it was like he had a bruising hold on her.

‘‘Stop it. You're hurting me,'' Sophia shrieked.

Troy quickly set her free at her hissing voice and his eyes showed some kind of emotion that she couldn't comprehend.

‘‘What?!'' she demanded an explanation.

''I- Sophia,'' he licked his dry lips nervously. Not really knowing what to say. ''He’s a twisted man. You shouldn't go with him,''

Sophia frowned and pushed his arm away forcefully, ''stop it with your games, Troy. He probably has something important to say,'' she casted him an angry look and headed towards the manager who was probably waiting for her ignoring the desperate eyes of Troy. When she stood outside his cabin, she first fixed her white shirt and then knocked on the door. When she heard him give her permission, she stepped in and took a place on one of the chairs In front of him

The room wasn't as big as Miles' but it looked comfortable. The walls were painted light pink and a few random nature devoted photo frames were hung on the wall. Over the desk, there was one computer and a laptop and a few files. Altogether, the room was quite comfy and Sophia couldn't be more annoyed at Troy for accusing such a simple man.

Sophia also realized that this man was indeed a gentleman and treated her respectively. He introduced himself politely as Ayaan Khan and told her about his four years of experience in the S-groups.

"My job here is to train you for a months before you get to the real thing on your plate," Ayaan summed. Apparently, when someone joins the company, a month-long training is necessary. So that you learn the basics and necessities for the company.

"I understand." Sophia told him politely.

Ayaan addressed her that he would give her easy, medium and difficult tasks all month. And no matter what, she has to complete those to really start over with the main thing. He handed her the work for the following day and she politely left with a pleasant smile. Sophia found this man very polite and genuine. His nature was so respective and well behaved. It was a shame for Troy to call him a 'Twisted man'.

Sophia frowned when she found Troy, Tara and Josh around her cube, circling each other and talking in whispers.

"Excuse me?" Sophia called out.

The trio jumped apart hearing her sudden voice. All of them had worried expressions and starred at Sophia weirdly.

Tara suddenly lunged at Sophia and grabbed her arms. She looked at her body searching for something. "Hey, are you okay?" Tara asked worriedly, her eyebrows creasing.

"Yes, yes. I am," Sophia tried pushing her away. "What is wrong with all of you?’’

"Can you all please not speak so loudly," One of the colleagues, Peter asked politely.

The girls muttered a sorry before joining the boys standing beside them. Josh then suddenly asked her if she was okay too and that only frustrated her more. She was damn okay! He backed away after he got a frown from her.

"What is wrong with you all?" She asked, her face showing discomfort.

Troy walked forward and stood In front of her. He was a lot taller than her and she had to crane her neck up to be able to look into his eyes because of the lack of distance between them. His eyes held the seriousness that for the most of the time never lingered close to them.

"Listen to me, Sophia," He said in a growling voice. "That man you just met, he’s a sexual predator. All women of this office had been a victim of him. And I’m afraid that you might be his next victim,’’