Chapter 3: Confrontations
Leroy watched as Fiala ran across the car park to the big building. The rain had stopped down to a small drizzle, so he could see quite clearly. Fiala's handbag swung here and there as she ran. The wet cream-coloured tee clung to her body, as did her skirt, which clearly showed off her slender body.
Something about the woman intrigued him. Perhaps it was her shyness, or her blushing… At that, Leroy smiled. She often blushed, and her face coloured prettily. For some reason, he liked making her blush. But still, was she shy or what?
Ring! Ring Ring!
Leroy sighed as he looked at the phone screen. His father again? Snapping his phone open, he said, "Leroy Cary speaking."
"Son! Come back to the bank now! Where are you, anyway?"
"Coming, coming," Leroy replied, deliberately ignoring the last question.
"Good! Faster!"
The dial tone beeped rang in his ear; his father had hung up.
Exasperated, Leroy snapped his phone shut and put it on the dashboard. His father didn't even bother to say a "Goodbye"! And he wasn't even his real father!
The engine running, Leroy drove his car out of the car park.
When he was fifteen, he had been knocked down by a car, which caused him to lose part of his memory. He couldn't remember anything that had happened to him before he was eight. After being discharged from the hospital, his parents had told him that he was adopted. The Carys needed a successor for the District Bank's Chairman position, which was currently held by his father, Lionel Cary.
Leroy almost laughed out when he was told this. He, a chairman? The bank would flop!
Oh well. It's my life.
His phone rang again. Another look at the screen told him it was his father.
Again? Probably hurrying me.
Lerou clicked the "Reject" button and shut off his phone.
Irritating old man.
---.
Fiala stepped into the elevator, pressing the fifth floor button. Alone in the elevator, she wondered how her new boss would view her.
Would she think I'm untidy? Rude? Not serious about this job? After all, I am really drenched.
The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Fiala stepped out and looked around. There were two glass doors leading to the offices. In the area between her and the glass doors, there was a yellow sofa on her right. On her left was a glass table with three chairs around it.
A man stepped out and smiled, saying, "Welcome to Nature Travels' photography department. Are you Fiala Shirley?"
Fiala nodded mutely.
"Please come this way."
Fiala followed as he opened one of the doors and walked in, straight to a room with frosted-glass doors, with a plaque reading:
Miss Keisha Crawford, Manager (Photography Dept.)
The man knocked twice, and a woman from within replied, "Enter!"
The man opened the door and motioned for Fiala to enter. He closed the door after her and walked off. She walked in slowly, and tried to comb her hair with her fingers. Miss Crawford was sitting on a big leather chair, her back towards Fiala. She tapped a pen against the armrest of her chair, and commented, "Do you know that you are late for thirty minutes? As a photographer, you need to be punctual!"
She turned around and caught sight of Fiala in her dishevelled state. "And why are you wet all over? We, as photographers, need to keep up our appearance!"
Almost in tears, Fiala tried to find her voice. She had always been weak-willed, but still, no one had reprimanded her because of her appearance!
Mustering up all her courage, Fiala ventured, "I… I'm sorry I'm late, but… it suddenly rained… and… and I got drenched…"
"That's no excuse for your appearance, and 'sorry' doesn't cut it for being late!" the manager snapped.
"Never mind about the briefing. You're fired!"
Fired? Oh… oh gosh…
Fiala stumbled backwards, then turned and ran out of the offices.
---.
Leroy reached the bank and parked his car. Stepping out, he locked the doors, then walked towards the entrance.
Standing impatiently at the entrance of the bank was his father.
"Ah, son! You're here!" he said as he spotted Leroy.
"So, dad, what was so urgent?"
"Now, son, you're mistaken. Did I say anything was urgent?" Lionel Cary replied, nonchalantly, ushering Leroy into the foyer of the bank.
"Then why did you ask me to come back, and 'faster'?" Leryou asked, exasperatedly.
"Because," his father started, speaking slowly as if to a child, "you are the chairman-to-be, and you have to be present in the bank at all times."
"My colleagues feel…"
"Speaking of your colleagues," his father interrupted, "they don't respect you enough. They joke around with you like you are just their colleague! But you're not – you're their manager, and the chairman-to-be!"
"Dad! That is respect! They don't derogate me, do they? And the way your subordinates treat you is fear, not respect!"
"What?" his father spluttered.
"And I wanted to work from down-up, instead of just being announced as the 'chairman-to-be', for a reason! If I understand how and what our workers' workload was, I would be able to help them! I want my colleagues to treat me as their friend!" Leroy shot, then stalked out of the bank, saying, "Never mind, you wouldn't understand, anyway."
Fiala ran out of the building and stopped, tears streaming down her face. Two months spent on finding this job; two months wasted.
What should I do? I need a job, a salary, so I can live!
From her handbag, she took out Leroy's name card.
Should I call him?
Once again, many thanks for all of you who reviewed:)
S-Kelso-xo: Hi there! Actually, Leroy looks more like his (real) father while Fiala looks more like her mum, so they don't look that similar. :)
Barbados: Thanks for pointing out that 'coated arms' mistake! I wanted to give Fiala a coat, but then I thought it would be sweeter if Leroy gave her a jacket. I went through to delete mentions of a coat, but I guess I missed out that one! And I'll try getting rid of that bad habit... :)
emotionless-stares: Actually, Fiala means 'violet', which is one of the reasons I gave her this name. The 'violet' idea came from the phrase 'shrinking violet', 'cos Fiala's shy. Oh, and Violet Shirley sounds a little weird, IMO. :) Philon just looked interesting, while Leroy just came to mind. :)
I felt that this chapter was a little weird in some places, so if you have any ideas which I can use to improve this chapter, tell me:)