Chapter 44 Did you forget who I am?
I tried to ignore the stares from the other managers as I sat near an empty table.
Agatha sat across from me and offered to get my food, asking what I liked. Her kindness seemed to stem from my new position as her boss. Despite this, I hesitated, wanting to maintain some independence.
"It's okay, I'll get it myself," I replied with a smile. However, as I attempted to stand, a force pushed me back into my chair.
"Where do you think you're going?" The only person bold enough to challenge me like this was Nicole, leaving me puzzled about her relationship with Gianni.
Yet, Gianni had made it clear that no one should bully me, so I felt Nicole should be no exception.
"Why else would I be here? I don't have gossip partners like you," I shrugged, noticing her scowl. Her words cut like sharp razors.
"No matter how Gio tries to elevate you, you'll never be more than the trash you are. And remember, he has a wife and a son. Even if he were to leave his wife one day, his mother would only approve of me as his partner."
I just confirmed that Gianna is married, and I'm happy for him but I was still clueless as to the relationship between Gianni and Nicole.
There was always this confidence about her that revealed there was more but I could just no put a finger on it.
"I thought she was respectable, but it turns out she's just a slut like before," one of the male managers said. I wasn't hurt by the comment as I was used to such remarks.
"Yes, and she's here to seduce the boss too. How shameless."
"Molly, if you know what's good for you, take this money and leave for good." Nicole took a stack of cash from her handbag and threw it in the air above me.
Though I felt pain inside, I decided to stay quiet since I didn't have any friends here.
"You should stop now. The boss said to treat her with respect. If you have a problem, why don't you go to the boss? He's the one who brought her," Agatha said, surprising me. Nicole's smirk made me feel like something was off.
“You! Who gave you the right to talk? Do you forget who I am?" Nicole confronted her, and before I could react, a slap echoed through the room, causing Agatha to fall to the floor.
"How could you hit her? Gianni will hear about this," I warned sternly as I rushed to Agatha's side to help her up.
Feeling upset, I was on the verge of calling Gianni when I noticed an alert on my phone. It displayed a deposit of twenty thousand dollars, and just as I was about to inquire about it, a text message arrived.
‘Until your position is confirmed, your weekly salary will be paid from my personal account. Use it wisely,’ the message read.
I was taken aback by this unexpected gesture, especially considering Gianni's earlier statement that I wouldn't be on a salary and the amount was too huge for someone like me, lacking experience and fending off his generosity.
However, I set aside this confusion for the moment and focused on assisting Agatha. "Are you okay?"
Before she could respond, Nicole grabbed her by the hair, dragging and throwing her harshly onto the floor.
"In this company, you need to know who to align yourself with. I can have you fired in an instant."
No, I couldn't let this happen. Agatha was the only one who had stood up for me, so I quickly dialed Gianni's number.
"Gianni..." Nicole snatched the phone from my hand, grabbed Agatha's hand, and used it to slap me hard across the face, causing my vision to blur.
I couldn't comprehend what she was trying to achieve, but the pain was unlike anything I had felt before, even worse than the pain I endured from Kiara on the day of my divorce.
"If you want to keep your job here, you must learn not to defy me, or your life will become unbearable."
Nicole resembled a wicked witch at that moment, and I began to regret coming here for lunch.
The managers wore satisfied expressions, indicating that no help would be coming my way. Fortunately, my phone started ringing.
“You saved his name as Gianni. How dare you?" Nicole raged, but I hadn't recovered from the slap and asked her, "What do you want from me?"
A smirk lifted the corner of her lips and I could already anticipate where this was going. "First of all, answer this call and tell Gio that everything is fine."
My fingers balled into fists as I saw the fearful look in Agatha's eyes. I couldn't let this happen.
"No. If you are proud of what you did, then you should stand up to your actions," I retorted, expecting her to be upset, but she only smiled.
"Okay. Just a phone call and this woman would lose her job."
That didn't sound good. Gianni would always be there for me, but would it be the same for Agatha?
"Tick tock, tick tock. The clock is ticking, Molly."