He's not a boss but devil

Selena sat hunched over her desk, her forehead resting in her palm as she stared at the seemingly endless stack of papers. Her mood matched the gloomy gray skies outside.

Her stomach churned with cramps, her head throbbed from frustration, and every five to ten minutes, Julian’s sharp tone sliced through the office like a dagger.

“Miss Frost!” Julian’s commanding voice made her flinch. He was standing by her desk, holding a paper like it was a contaminated object. “This report is incomplete. Do you even read what you submit, or do you just hope for the best?”

Selena bit her tongue, swallowing the retort burning in her throat. “I’ll fix it,” she muttered, keeping her voice even.

Julian’s eyes narrowed, and he leaned closer. “Don’t ‘fix it,’ get it right the first time.” He dropped the paper on her desk with a heavy thud before walking off.

Selena sighed, slumping in her chair. She grabbed the report, her fingers trembling slightly as she scanned the pages. It didn’t seem incomplete to her, but apparently, Julian had a standard of perfection that bordered on obsessive.

Before she could even take a sip of her now-cold tea, Julian’s voice rang out again. “Miss Frost, where’s the client meeting agenda I asked for?”

Her eyes widened. “I emailed it to you earlier!” she said, her tone a little sharper than intended.

Julian raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms. “If you had, it would be in my inbox. It isn’t. Check again.”

Selena’s face turned red as she quickly checked her email. The draft sat in her outbox, unsent. She groaned internally, sending it immediately.

“It’s sent now,” she muttered, avoiding his gaze.

“All I ask is basic competence, Miss Frost. Try not to make that impossible,” he snapped before retreating to his office.

By the time lunch break rolled around, Selena was mentally and emotionally drained. She didn’t even have the energy to eat. Instead, she decided to escape.

Selena wandered the halls aimlessly, hoping to find some peace and quiet. That’s when she stumbled upon a door at the end of a hallway. Pushing it open, she found herself in a small, secluded garden.

The space was tranquil, with neatly trimmed hedges, a fountain trickling softly in the center, and a few wooden benches scattered about. Selena let out a long breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

As she walked deeper into the garden, she noticed someone else was already there. Leaning casually against a tree, a cigarette between her fingers, was Cassandra Blake.

Cassandra, the current “It Girl” of the industry, was effortlessly beautiful even with her tousled hair and slightly wrinkled blouse. The no-smoking sign prominently displayed behind her didn’t seem to bother her at all.

Selena crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. “You know there’s a no-smoking sign right there, don’t you?”

Cassandra turned her head, her lips curling into a lazy smile. “I know,” she said, exhaling a puff of smoke. “I just don’t care.”

Selena rolled her eyes, but the corners of her lips twitched. She didn’t have the energy to argue. She sat on a nearby bench, letting the cool breeze soothe her.

Cassandra broke the silence first. “So,” she began, her tone light but with an edge of mockery. “How’s life, Selena? Adjusting well to the…change in scenery?”

Selena met her gaze, refusing to rise to the bait. “It’s fine. Different, but fine.”

Cassandra chuckled, her laugh sharp and humorless. “Fine, huh? You used to be the golden girl. Every producer’s favorite. Every actress’s competition. What’s it like now?”

Selena’s fingers tightened around the bench. She took a deep breath before answering. “I could ask you the same thing. You’re the golden girl now. How does it feel?”

Cassandra’s laughter softened, her expression turning wistful. “It felt amazing at first,” she admitted, taking another drag of her cigarette. “Like I’d finally won. But now?” She shrugged, her eyes drifting to the fountain. “It’s exhausting. Almost… boring.”

Selena frowned. “Boring? Isn’t this what you always wanted?”

Cassandra tilted her head, studying Selena as if she were a puzzle. “It was. But I didn’t realize what came with it. The constant pressure. The fake smiles. The endless compromises. The things you have to do just to stay on top.” Her voice dropped, her next words almost a whisper. “The things you have to lose.”

Selena’s stomach tightened, but she didn’t reply.

“You wouldn’t understand,” Cassandra continued, her tone almost pitying. “You were lucky. You got to enjoy the good side of this industry. The glitz, the glamour. None of the dirt.”

“Lucky?” Selena repeated, her voice sharp. “Do you call this lucky?”

Cassandra smirked, taking another drag. “Your father’s influence,” she said matter-of-factly. “Don’t deny it. It protected you. Shielded you from the worst of it. Now that he’s not pulling strings, you’re seeing what it’s really like.”

Selena opened her mouth to argue but stopped. A part of her knew Cassandra was right.

Before she could respond, a man in a sharp suit approached them. Cassandra’s manager.

“Cassandra, we need to leave,” he said, his tone polite but firm.

Cassandra stubbed out her cigarette, tossing it into a nearby trash can. She turned back to Selena with a half-smile.

“I always envied you, you know,” she said, her voice softer now. “For your talent, your charm. But maybe you were the lucky one after all. You only saw the shiny side of the coin. The rest of us? We’re stuck in the dirt.”

With that, she walked away, leaving Selena alone in the garden.

Selena sat on the bench long after Cassandra left. Her words echoed in Selena’s mind, stirring a mix of emotions she couldn’t quite place.

Was she really as shielded as Cassandra claimed? Had she been so blind to the darker side of the industry?

She sighed, running a hand through her hair. Her stomach still ached, and her mood was still sour, but now she had something else to think about. Something she wasn’t sure she was ready to face.

Reluctantly, Selena made her way back to the office. As soon as she stepped inside, Julian’s voice greeted her.

“Miss Frost, you’re late. Again.”

Selena sighed, bracing herself for another round of scolding. It was shaping up to be a very long day.