I walked back into the building.
Most of the staff had already left. Only cleaners moved quietly between desks, the soft hum of a vacuum echoing against the glass walls. The place felt different in the evening.
Bigger and colder.
My heels sounded too loud, as I dragged my tired legs towards Victor's office.
The elevator ride felt endless. I watched my reflection in the mirror, trying to calm my sighs.
I looked composed but didn't feel it.
When the doors opened, they were already inside.
Victor sat behind his desk. Elena beside him. Loretta stood near the window with her arms folded.
I gave a small wave as I stepped in.
"Sit, Lys," Elena said gently.
I sat.
Victor cleared his throat.
"Alyssa."
Just my name.
It shouldn't have mattered, but it did.
"What happened today cannot repeat itself."
My stomach stiffened
as he turned slightly towards Loretta.
"Did you give her the documents?"
Loretta didn't look at him immediately. She looked at me first before responding.
"Yes," she said calmly. "I handed them to her myself."
Her tone wasn't sharp. It was controlled.
"I explained the key sections. I assumed she understood."
That one word lingered.
Assumed.
Victor leaned back as he turned towards me .
"Study them carefully. Work is work. Personal feelings stay outside this office. Understood?"
"Yes," I replied quickly, my voice steadier than I felt.
Loretta stepped forward before I could breathe properly again. She picked up the file from the desk and handed it to me herself.
Her fingers brushed mine.
She didn't let go.
Not immediately.
She leaned slightly closer, close enough that I could smell her perfume — sharp, expensive, calculated.
"You have to earn every penny here," she whispered.
My throat went dry.
Her grip tightened just a little.
"Don't think you're special because you're my brother's sister-in-law."
The words slid into my chest like something thin and cold.
"Victor might be naive," she added softly, her lips barely moving, "but I'm not."
I gulped.
Naive?
What did she mean by that?
Naive about what?
Before I could even process it, she straightened.
Instantly.
Like a switch had been flipped.
Her expression melted into something polite. Pleasant. Corporate.
Victor looked up from his briefcase.
"Everything okay?" he asked calmly.
Loretta laughed lightly — light, airy, completely different from the woman who had just warned me.
"Yes, yes," she said, waving her hand almost playfully. "Just officially welcoming your sister-in-law on board."
Elena smiled warmly. "That's good."
But Victor didn't smile.
He was looking at me.
Not at Loretta.
At me.
His eyes moved over my face slowly, searching my face like he sensed what just happened.
He held my gaze for two seconds longer than necessary.
Then he nodded once and picked up his briefcase.
"You may go," he said.
But his tone wasn't distracted.
It was aware.
Loretta stepped forward once more holding a file on her hands.
"This company runs on structure," she said loudly this time.
"We don't bend it."
Her eyes stayed on mine.
"I'm sure you understand the importance of that."
"You'll get used to it."Elena said, staring at me with a reassuring look.
"I'm sure she will," Loretta replied.
Before I could stand, she added,
"Board meeting tomorrow. You'll present the summary."
My head snapped up. "Tomorrow?"
"Yes" Elena replied, "lets say its like a test" she added softly
I felt heat crawl up my neck. Was she trying to test me? Or humiliate me quietly?
"Can I go now?" I asked, trying not to sound desperate.
Victor began packing his briefcase. "Yes."
Loretta moved before anyone else. She handed me the file herself.
Her fingers brushed mine, but she didn't pull away immediately.
"You'll need that," she said quietly, close enough that only I could hear. "Tomorrow's board meeting won't be forgiving."
Her eyes locked onto mine.
"Try not to embarrass us."
And suddenly I understood.
This wasn't about work.
This was about me.
Elena offered to drop me home, and I accepted without arguing.
The ride home with Elena was filled with careful advice.
"Don't give anyone a reason to talk," she said gently. "People will assume you're here because of us."
I stared out the window.
If only they knew how little that helped.
In my room, I dropped onto the bed without changing.
I stared at the file for a long moment before opening it.
Department 4D2.
What kind of name was that?
Charts. Percentages. Graphs. Tables.
I read one paragraph.
Then read it again.
"Client retention increased by twelve percent due to internal restructuring…"
Okay.
That sounded manageable.
I underlined key lines and tried to summarize them in simpler words.
Retention up. Costs down. Efficiency improved.
That's it. That's the point.
I stood up and paced slowly.
"Good morning," I practiced under my breath.
I stopped.
That sounded stiff.
I tried again.
"This quarter, Department 4D2 performed better than the last quarter."
Better.
Simple.
Clear.
I nodded at myself like I had just solved something huge.
I didn't need to sound like a finance textbook. I just needed to understand what I was saying.
Still, doubt crept in.
Was this a test?
Or was she hoping I'd freeze?
Because I wasn't just new.
I was family.
Which meant they'd either think I was favored.
Or waiting to fail.
I sat back down on the bed, rubbing my eyes.
I couldn't embarrass myself again.
Not in front of him.
Especially not in front of him.
My phone rang.
Cynthia.
Of course.
I answered.
"Tell me everything!" she shouted.
"Why are you yelling?"
"First day! Was it dramatic?"
I sighed. "I was twenty minutes late."
Silence.
Then screaming.
"Alyssa!"
"It wasn't my fault."
"Did your boss shout?"
"Of course, he almost killed me".
She burst into laughter.
"That's worse.
I couldn't even argue.
"What are you doing now?" she asked.
"Reading a report."
"You? Reading corporate data voluntarily? I'm scared."
"Department 4D2."
"That sounds like a robot."
"I thought the same."
She laughed.
Then her voice softened.
"Hey. Do well tomorrow."
"I will."
"You need this."
"I know."
"Don't faint."
"I won't."
"Don't cry."
"I won't."
"Don't flirt with your boss."
I paused.
"…I won't."
She gasped dramatically.
"You paused!"
"I'm tired, Cynthia."
She kept giving advice—what to wear, how to answer questions, how to sound confident.
I responded with soft "mhms" until my eyelids grew too heavy to fight.
"Alyssa?"
Silence.
"Alyssa?"
A soft snore answered her.
"…Unbelievable," she muttered before hanging up.
The file slid from my stomach to the floor.
And just like that, future board presenter, first-day disaster survivor, I was asleep before finishing page five.
Tomorrow was going to be interesting.