"Mine was from the HR department." Another one stated.
"Didn't you hand out the papers based on the departments?" Raymond, who was also present in the room, asked, looking at Coral.
"Umm... no, sir. I just handed them out one by one." She replied.
"Miss Stone."
Coral froze when Danzel's voice rang through the room. She nervously looked at him.
"It was mentioned on the front page which department's paper it is. Can't you read?" He said through gritted teeth.
"I am sorry, sir. I didn't know that... I just..."
"Out." He yelled, making her flinch.
"I'm sorry, sir. Give me a minute, I will fix this." She pleaded.
"I said get out." He yelled, looking furious.
Coral gulped down the lump forming in her throat and hurriedly left the room.
"Liam."
He didn't have to say any further. Liam approached and took back the papers from the members and began to distribute them accordingly.
.
Outside the meeting room, Coral ran towards her cabin, her eyes welling up with tears. Fortunately, no one was in the hallway. She reached her cabin and entered the attached bathroom and closed the door before leaning against it. She burst into tears. She felt ashamed, humiliated, and useless. She had never been in the middle of so many professional people before. She was utterly nervous and she had messed up. Her boss even humiliated her in front of all the people. She wanted the ground to open and swallow her whole. How could she ever face them after such humiliation? All she wanted now was to run from the building and never come back. But she couldn't do it either. She sat down, buried her face in her knees, and cried her heart out.
After crying for a moment, when she calmed down, she washed her face. She made sure she looked presentable before leaving the washroom. As she returned to her cabin, she had no idea what to do. The meeting was ongoing, and she had been excluded from it. She was feeling down, but she couldn't give up. She had to survive the day at least. She looked at the time, and it was still two and a half hours until lunch.
In just one and a half hours of her first day at work, she felt like leaving her job. It had been that horrible and she still had the entire day ahead. God only knew what further humiliation was yet to come for her. She shook her head. This wasn't who she was. She was a hardworking person and did everything with perfection whenever given a task. Everyone had always praised her work. She couldn't give up so easily. With determination, she opened the computer and began to check the day's schedule. Taking a piece of paper she noted down important things. She was so engrossed in her work that she didn't notice when a person arrived and stood before her desk.
"Hello, Miss Stone."
She raised her head and saw Raymond and stood up immediately. As she looked at the time, she was surprised. She didn't realize that more than an hour had passed and the meeting had also finished, as Raymond was there in front of her.
"Sit down." He said before taking the seat opposite her.
Coral sat down.
"Umm... do you need something, sir?" she asked, feeling awkward as Raymond was looking at her face intently.
"Were you crying?" He asked, taking her by surprise.
"I..." She was speechless.
"I can understand... after what happened in the meeting room. That's the reason I came to see you." He said.
Coral remained silent with her head lowered, having no idea what to say. Raymond leaned forward.
"Don't think much about what happened in the meeting room." He continued. "People make mistakes even after years of experience, and it is your first day. It's normal."
Coral looked at him. She hadn't expected him to come to console her over the meeting room incident.
"It's just that your boss is way too strict, but don't take his words to heart. He just wants everything perfect. You will learn with time. Just don't give up. Okay?" He added.
Coral nodded, forcing a small smile on her face.
"Raymond, come to my office." a heavy voice rang through the corridor, drawing their attention.
Coral turned her head to see her boss, who was looking furious. Liam was behind him. She swallowed when their eyes met. His gaze was intense. She immediately averted her gaze.
"I will see you later." Raymond stood up.
"Okay, Sir... and Thank you." She thanked him for his encouraging words. It did help her a little.
Raymond nodded and headed towards the president's office. While Danzel and Raymond went inside the office, Liam approached her cabin.
"Input these data into the computer in a separate file and send them to me." He instructed, placing a file containing some papers.
"Okay." Coral nodded.
As she checked the schedule, there were no meetings or anything important before lunch. She was worried about what to do. It was relieving that she had been given a task even after messing up in the meeting room. She got to work immediately.
By the time she finished her job and arrived at the canteen for lunch during her break, she was both exhausted and starving. Most of the tables were full as she looked around. She grabbed some food and found an empty table to sit down at. It was her first day, and she didn't know anyone there. A few colleagues glanced at her, but no one talked to her. She lowered her face and began to eat. She felt nervous at the thought of everyone knowing about how she had messed up in the meeting room. She didn't want anyone to think she was unworthy of her job.
"Can I join you?"
A voice brought her out of her thoughts. She raised her head and saw Lisa, the same girl who had shown her around the office the previous day.
"Oh, hi. Yes, please." She smiled at her.
Lisa sat down beside her and began eating.
"So, how's your first day going?" She asked after a while.
Coral stopped eating. She hesitated to answer.
"Tough day?" Lisa asked, realizing the truth as she saw her sad face.
Coral nodded.
"It's ok. Don't be sad. The boss is a very ruthless person. He never lets go of even a small mistake." Lisa consoled her.
Danzel was always a ruthless boss to everyone, demanding perfection in everything and never forgiving even a tiny mistake. He had even fired many employees if he thought someone was unworthy of their job. Coral became more nervous as she heard the stories of Danzel's ruthlessness from Lisa. She realized her job was much more difficult than she had anticipated. Was this how her days would be here? She felt utterly hopeless.
When Lisa turned the topic to something else, only then did she feel a little more at ease. But she found Lisa to be a nice girl. She needed friends in her workplace, and it seemed she had gotten one in Lisa. She felt good after talking to her. After finishing their lunch, they headed back to their respective workplaces.