After spending a day in the hospital, Emily went back to work like nothing happened. But the moment she stepped into the office, she knew something was up.
Everyone was huddled together, whispering.
"Did you hear? The contract from the other day got signed, and Paul even lowered the price by 5%."
"Yeah, I heard. Paul's a total creep, always harassing female partners from other companies and being cheap. What's the deal this time?"
Shirley, pretending to butter up Emily, chimed in, "Well, have you seen who our company sent to handle it? Emily can handle anyone!"
"Seriously? Emily and Paul?"
"But isn't Paul bald and overweight?"
"You might not know this, but I've heard that guys with a bit more meat on their bones are pretty good in bed! Could be a fun time, who knows?"
Everyone just shook their heads in disbelief.
Emily cleared her throat, pretending she didn't hear a thing, and headed straight to her office. 'What the heck is going on?' she thought.
She remembered things ended badly last time, so why did Paul lower the percentage?
'As long as it doesn't mess with work, who cares about my reputation? I lost that ages ago when I agreed to be Patrick's side piece to pay off debts and help my brother,' Emily thought.
For someone just trying to get by, who had the right to talk about reputation?
Emily didn't care about the rumors, but some people did.
Jennifer got to the office early but didn't go upstairs right away. She waited until Emily walked in, then followed. She planned to talk to Emily but overheard the gossip instead.
Jennifer stormed into Emily's office, pulled out a card from her bag, and threw it at Emily.
"I used to think you were into Patrick, that's why you stuck around him. But I overestimated you. You're just a shameless slut who'll sleep with anyone. No standards at all!" Jennifer spat.
Emily bit her lip, trying to keep it together, picked up the card, and handed it back to Jennifer.
Jennifer snapped, "Don't bother. There's a million bucks on it. I wanted you to take the money and leave Patrick, but I've changed my mind. You have no password, so it's useless!"
Emily just smiled and snapped the card in half. "If it's useless, might as well make it completely useless!"
"You're nuts!" Jennifer looked at Emily, stunned.
"Since I got unfairly fired, tell finance to pay me ten months' severance!"
Emily sighed in relief. With Shirley back, it was time for her to go. She started packing her stuff.
Patrick grabbed her arm, "Leaving? Did I say you could? Without my say-so, you're not going anywhere!"
His words left Emily, Jennifer, and Shirley at the door, speechless.
When Patrick was young, his dad racked up debts and ran off with another woman. Jennifer raised him and his sister alone, and Patrick owed a lot of his success to her. So, he never went against Jennifer.
Shirley stood at the door, glaring at Emily. Jennifer's eyes filled with tears.
Patrick said, "Emily, with this mess you've made, who's gonna clean it up if you leave? Don't think you can dump it on someone else!"
Emily was about to feel touched, but then she found it all pretty ridiculous.
"Indeed, it's more gratifying for you to keep me here, humiliated and gossiped about, than to let me leave. Patrick, you really won't get off my back, huh?"
Shirley, who had been eavesdropping, strutted in with a smug look.
"Jennifer, you're overthinking it. Patrick's just worried I'll get tired!"
"Good, some shameless people just cling to others, even when they're not wanted!" Jennifer smirked.
Emily clenched her fists. "Sorry, I'm quitting now!"
She grabbed her bag and was about to leave when Patrick quickly blocked the doorway.
Just then, Emily's phone rang.
"Emily, something's wrong at your house!" It was her neighbor Carol Lopez. Carol never called unless it was serious.
Emily tried to push past, but Patrick held the door frame tight. He winced in pain and let go.
"Emily, are you nuts?" Shirley, dropping her ladylike act, rushed to check on Patrick's hand.
Patrick frowned. "Mom, you go home. I have something to handle."
With that, he walked out without looking back.
"Emily, you wait for me!" Shirley snapped.
Jennifer watched in shock. "They're all crazy!" She stormed out of the Rivera Group.
Emily rushed to her house, completely disheartened. Emily's place was an old apartment building from the '80s, no elevator, mostly elderly folks still living there.
The stairwell lights flickered, and the narrow stairs were covered in graffiti and slogans.
Before she even reached her door, Emily heard her mom, Lisa Moore, begging on the floor.
Carol saw Emily and signaled her to stay back.
'Looks like there's trouble,' Emily thought.
She grabbed a shovel from the charcoal pile in the hallway, held it in front of her, and quietly approached.
Before she even got inside, she heard slaps and a scream. Emily burst in to find Lisa collapsed on the floor.
The room was a mess, with a bald guy in his thirties named Tom Miller, covered in tattoos, leading the chaos.
Emily stood in front of Lisa, surrounded by onlookers.
"You're breaking into my home illegally. You'll go to jail for this!" Emily shouted.
Tom sneered, "Big talk. Lisa owes money. How are you gonna settle it? Call the cops if you want! Don't think I don't know what Lisa did with the money!"
Emily glanced back at Lisa. To pay for her brother's treatment, Lisa had worked at a bar and developed a drug addiction.
Seeing Lisa's evasive eyes, Emily understood.
"Why so quiet?" Tom taunted, stepping closer.
Emily pointed the shovel at him. "Don't come any closer. How much does she owe? I'll pay it back!"
Tom snatched the shovel. "You'll pay it back? A million bucks. How do you plan to do that? Or, let's have some fun, and I'll reduce the amount. How about that?"
Lisa cried, "Please, don't touch my daughter!"
"Get out of the way!" Tom's henchmen kicked Lisa aside.
Tom approached, and Emily backed up until she was cornered against the wall, next to the sewing machine.
Tom's eyes roamed over Emily's chest, and he reached out with his chubby hand.
'If I die, so be it! This is self-defense!' Emily thought, grabbing a pair of scissors from the table. She clenched them tightly, staring at Tom's approaching hand.
'One, two, three,' she counted silently, ready for a fight to the end.