Chapter 39 By their shoes we shall know them

Chapter 39 By their shoes we shall know them
Sonia's POV

“Hi everyone, I'm Sonia Magnus, your new director,” I introduced myself with a little smile, and I could see the surprise on their faces.

“What? We have a new director already? Aren't we supposed to choose ourselves?” A short chubby lady asked.

I didn't know how to reply to that question. This was my first time receiving a promotion, so I wasn't sure on how the voting was carried out.

“Check your emails, you should have gotten a text from higher up,” I replied, moving to the center desk. “I hope we all get along, and work together for the benefit of Smithfield Corporation.”

The five workers still looked startled, and they silently watched me as I arranged my things on the desk. This is my first time in the marketing department, back when Georgia was a member, I didn't have a reason to visit her department, and she also made it clear that she doesn't want to be disturbed at work.

“Hmm, excuse me, but that's Miss Georgia's seat,” one of the workers, a young man informed me, and I froze.

I looked at the desk, it was the only empty one, and it was spacious. Exactly like that of a leader. Georgia and I were once friends, so to the workers sitting on her seat was an insult to her name. But in my defense, I have nowhere else to sit, and why can't I take her stuff? When she snatched mine without hesitation.

“Oh, is that so?” I replied with a measured voice, and offered them a smile. “It's alright, she wasn't the one who brought the chair, and I'm comfortable sitting here,” I completed my sentence.

There was a loud murmuring, I couldn't hear what they were saying clearly. So I don't know if they were praising me or mocking me. Nonetheless, I observed that the workers liked to gossip, and they don't have a perfect relationship with one another. Back at the financial team, our director was strict, and we had to painstakingly respect him, so as not to lose our jobs. But here, everything was different, too different for me to comprehend.

Angela was standing by the office door, looking at us with renewed interest. I wasn't sure if she was amazed by the workers' boldness or if she was amused by my gentle leadership's nature.

“Guys, I might not be in this department, but I can tell you that talking back to your boss can get you fired. I don't know how Georgia treated you during her tenure, but now you have a new boss, so you either respect her or prepare to get fired!” Angela threatened with a stern voice, the usual smile on her face was gone, and she had a deep frown. It was her way of telling me to handle my subordinate strictly if I wanted to be heard.

I straightened up my body, and crossed my arms. “Guys, I might not be what you expected, so you have all the right to be surprised. I was shocked when I got the news, but there's nothing we can do now, so let's put our differences aside and focus on our jobs. Okay?” I asked softly, and Mirabella smiled broadly at me.

“Yes, ma'am, let's introduce ourselves. I'll go first, my name is Mirabella Goodluck, I'm the social media influencer.” My homegirl introduced herself, and I noticed that the others scoffed at her in disgust.

“Does she think she will get promoted first or what?” One of the workers whispered to the woman beside him.

I pretended not to hear his whisper, even though every word was sharp enough to sting. Mirabella heard it too, her smile faltered for half a second before she forced it back, standing up straighter.

“Nice to meet you, Mirabella,” I said, giving her a supportive nod. “I’ve heard a lot about your work. I’m sure we’ll make a great team.”

I wasn't trying to ignore her or our shared memories, I just wanted my subordinates to know I took my work seriously, and everyone was equal before my eyes.

My words seemed to quiet the room a little. Then, one by one, the others reluctantly began to introduce themselves.

“I’m Carl,” the man with the neatly trimmed beard said first. “I handle marketing analytics and project timelines.” His tone was polite but cold, the kind that carried a warning: I don’t like you yet.

Next was the chubby woman, the same one who had earlier mocked Mirabella. She folded her arms across her chest and said, “Amby Oswald. I’m in charge of advertisement coordination.” Her tone dripped with pride, as if the title alone made her untouchable.

The others followed, one young woman named Tracy who handled content writing, and a tall guy, Felix, who managed client relations.

When they were done, I smiled lightly. “Thank you. I’m happy to work with all of you. I know I’m not Georgia, and I won’t try to be. But I expect respect, cooperation, and honesty.”

A heavy silence followed. I could feel the tension settle over the room like dust: thick and suffocating.

Then Mirabella, bless her brave heart, broke it. “We’ll do our best, ma’am. Right, guys?” She said it playfully, but her eyes darted around the room, urging them to respond.

A few muttered “yes, ma’am”s followed, though none sounded sincere.

Angela clapped her hands once, snapping everyone’s attention. “Perfect. Now that you’ve all met, let’s leave gossip behind and focus on why you’re all here, to work. Director Sonia has a lot of presentations to review with the upper board this week, and if this team wants to keep its reputation, you’d better start pulling your weight.”

I could practically feel her “you’re welcome” energy as she turned to me, giving a tiny, proud nod before exiting the office. Angela really deserved to be the director, she was born for this!

The door shut behind her, and for a moment, there was nothing but the soft hum of the air conditioner.

“Alright,” I said, breaking the silence. “Let’s start with the upcoming advertising campaign. The higher up sent me the drafts from last month, and I’ve gone through them and—”

Amby interrupted with a sarcastic laugh. “You reviewed them? Already? I didn’t know the new director worked on weekends.”

Mirabella shot her a glare, but I didn’t flinch. I simply smiled. “Well, when someone’s name is tied to the company’s success, it’s smart to work ahead. Also, I never said I reviewed them during the weekend. I was informed of my new position today, so I reviewed them this morning!”

Amby's smirk vanished, and I continued smoothly. “I noticed that the proposal for the BeautyGlow partnership lacks a solid target audience breakdown. Felix, could you work with Carl to update that by tomorrow morning?”

Felix blinked. “Tomorrow? But—”

“Yes,” I said calmly, meeting his eyes. “Tomorrow.”

He nodded quickly, scribbling something in his notebook.

Mirabella’s grin widened. “That’s my director,” she whispered under her breath, and I couldn’t help but smile faintly.

After that, the atmosphere in the room shifted. It wasn’t warm—but it wasn’t openly hostile either. They were beginning to see that I wasn't the type of boss who would happily accept their disrespect.

I wasn't able to concentrate on my work because I kept noticing how Georgia’s name still lingered in the department. Her mug was still on the shelf. Her files still labeled Director G. Even her perfume still clung faintly to the chair I sat in. And the workers, oh, they were torturing me by mentioning her name every minute.

Every time I caught a whiff of it, something twisted in my chest. It wasn’t guilt, it was disappointment. How did someone I once called a friend become the person tearing down my name? This wasn't about Michael anymore, it was about my best friend and how she eagerly cut me away from her life.

Time went slowly, and I kept looking at the door, hoping it would open and my husband, Lucian, would enter. But he never did. If it wasn’t for the silence between us, I'd have gone to ask him about the promotion.

When it was finally lunch hour, Mirabella walked up to my desk. “Director Magnus,” she said in a low voice, “you handled them well today. They’re not used to discipline. Miss Georgia was…” she paused, searching for the right word. “…lenient. Especially with the ones who fed the company gossip.”

“Let me guess,” I replied softly, “Amby?”

Mirabella smirked. “All of us. But mostly Amby and Carl. Amby wanted to be Georgia’s shadow. Now she’s trying to be yours.”

I leaned back in my chair, tapping a pen against my palm. “Let her try. Shadows don’t survive long under light.”

Mirabella chuckled nervously, it looked like she wanted to ask me some questions but didn't want to sound disrespectful. I smiled, happy that she wasn't asking, because it'd surely make me uncomfortable.

“By the way, boss, a man is here to see you. He said he's in charge of your promotion and also manages all the sections of the marketing team,” Mirabella informed me, and I frowned.

“Lucian?” I murmured under my breath, my eyebrows raised.

“No…..Gawin. I'm Gawin Smithfield,” a voice echoed in the room, and I froze.

“Not again!”