Chapter 7: SEVEN

Lyra felt her heart race as she glanced at her watch while running towards the bus stop. She knew that being late on her first day at work was not a good sign, especially when her bosses were three brothers who seemed to have a strict work ethic. She just hoped she could make it to the office before they noticed.

As she approached the bus stop, she saw the bus she needed to take drive away, leaving her frustrated. "Great, just what I need," she muttered under her breath. She took a deep breath and tried to remain calm, knowing that stressing out would not solve the problem. She looked at the time and realized that if she ran, she could make it to work on time.

Without further ado, Lyra began to sprint towards the office. She dodged pedestrians and obstacles along the way, her breathing becoming labored as she ran. As she turned a corner, she saw a bus stop and rushed towards it, hoping that it would take her closer to her destination. To her relief, the bus arrived almost immediately, and she hopped on.

Lyra tried to catch her breath as she took a seat on the bus. She couldn't help but feel anxious about what might happen when she arrived at work. She took out her phone and decided to send a text message to her coworker, Abby.

Lyra: "Hey Abby, I'm running a bit late. Could you please let the Director know?"

Abby: "Sure, no problem. You okay?"

Lyra: "Yeah, just had some trouble getting here."

Abby: "Don't worry, I'll let him know."

Lyra breathed a sigh of relief and put her phone away. She looked out the window, watching the scenery go by, hoping that the bus would get her to work as quickly as possible.

Finally, the bus arrived at her stop, and Lyra jumped out and began to run once again. She could see the building where she worked in the distance, and she knew she had to make it there before it was too late.

As she arrived at the office she saw her coworker Abby waiting for her outside. "Lyra, you made it!" Abby exclaimed.

It was a medium-sized space that could comfortably accommodate up to six people. The walls were painted in a soft cream color, and there were large windows that let in natural light, making the room bright and cheerful.

In the center of the room was a large, square wooden table that served as the main workspace. It was surrounded by three chairs on each side, and there were two computers on opposite ends of the table. To the left of the table was a cabinet that housed the office supplies, including staplers, pens, highlighters, and folders.

There were three doors leading out of the office, one to the left, one to the right, and one at the back. The door to the left led to the bathroom, while the one on the right led to the storage room. The door at the back led to the office of the Magazine Director, Jared.

Lyra's office was shared by two other secretaries, who were already seated at their respective workstations. One of the secretaries was a middle-aged woman with curly hair, Abby, while the other was a younger woman with glasses. They both seemed to be hardworking, and Lyra felt a sense of camaraderie with them.

Lyra panted heavily, her heart beating fast. "Barely," she managed to say.

Abby smiled. "Don't worry, I let the Director know you're here. He's been asking about you."

Lyra's eyes widened in surprise. "Already? I haven't even started yet."

Abby chuckled. "Well, you made quite an impression at the interview, so I'm not surprised. Now hurry, he left a message for you to submit your first report."

Lyra nodded and rushed into the building, thanking Abby for her help. As she stepped into the elevator, she took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. "You can do this, Lyra," she muttered to herself.

Shr rushed into the office, still out of breath from her sprint. She took a moment to compose herself before heading over to Jared's office. She knocked gently before entering, her heart pounding in her chest. Jared looked up from his computer screen as she came in.

"Good morning, sir," Lyra said, trying to sound as polite as possible.

"Lyra," Jared said, his tone less than pleased. "You're two minutes late."

"I'm sorry, sir," Lyra said, looking down at her feet. "I missed my bus this morning."

Jared sighed, shaking his head. "We can't have this kind of thing happening on a regular basis, Lyra. You need to be here on time every day. This is your second day, and you're already making a bad impression."

Lyra felt a lump forming in her throat. She knew that Jared was right, but it still hurt to hear him scold her. She nodded silently, not trusting herself to speak.

"Now, I need that report that I asked for yesterday," Jared said, gesturing to the stack of papers on Lyra's desk. "Can you give it to me now?"

Lyra nodded, quickly grabbing the report and handing it over to him. She watched as he skimmed through it, his expression growing more serious with each passing moment. Lyra fidgeted nervously, unsure of what to say.

"This isn't good enough, Lyra," Jared said, finally looking up at her. "You need to put more effort into your work. We expect a higher standard here at the magazine."

"I'm sorry, sir, I'll do better next time."

"You'd better," Jared said, his tone firm. "Now, get back to work."

Lyra remembered him being quite nice to her the previous day. Or was it because it was her first day at work and was in fact still as corky as before?

As she left the office, she could hear the sound of Jared's phone ringing. She knew he was busy, but she couldn't help but wonder if it was about her. She walked back to her desk, feeling small and insignificant.