It was already morning. The rays of the sun penetrated through my closed eyelids. I furrowed my eyebrows at the provocation and turned to the other side where the sunlight wouldn't bother me. Just when I thought I was able to finally sleep peacefully, my phone started ringing. I groaned and blindly reached out to it on the coffee table.

"Hello?" I mumbled sleepily as I answered the call, my eyes still closed.

"Rise and shine!" The voice on the other end of the call chimed.

I sat straight and widened my eyes, "Who the hell is this?"

"Now, now, m'lady, don't you recognize the voice of your very own prince charming?" The voice pouted.

I sighed as soon as I heard the robotic tone and familiar weirdness, "It's you, Chainsaw…"

"It's Wrench," he protested.

"Aka The Weird One. What do you want?"

"Just calling for a chat."

I backed the phone away from my ear and took a look at the time, "at 7 o'clock in the morning? How did you even get my num-" I paused briefly and groaned, "never mind."

"Look, about the thing," he sighed, "I just want to tell you that the sooner you get it done, the sooner we can process with the whole 'Fucking Up Blume' operation."

"In case you didn't notice, I still haven't given you an answer," I said.

"You don't have to, we already know what it is. We already promised you we'd help."

"Hypothetically, how helpful can you be once I'm face-to-face with Nemec?"

"Very. Don't worry, we've got your back on this."

I stayed silent, "look," he said, "I understand that it's hard to trust a bunch of hackers, but you have to look at what's best here, for all of us. It's risky, but it's worth the risk, believe me."

I didn't reply, "All right, fine. I won't pressure you any longer. You have my number now, so give me a call when you decide to go for it." He hung up.

I stared at the screen for a minute before I threw the phone back on the table. I fell back on the couch and sighed. Ever since last night, I've been only thinking about this. I was becoming more and more convinced that this new alliance will be fruitful, as it might give me a chance to accomplish what I always wanted. But the cons weigh more than the pros in this case.

Deciding to digress for the meantime, I got up and went to take a shower. The hot water helped alleviate some of the anxiety temporarily. I got out and went to get dressed for work, brewed some coffee and grabbed my stuff off the counter before walking out of the apartment and heading to work.

I parked my car right outside the building and made my way to the entrance. The automatic door opened by itself and I got greeted by the front desk operators like every other time. I took the elevator to the floor where my office was located. I suddenly felt like anxiety was taking over me; my head started pounding as much as my heart was, and I felt like my breath was at a faster rate. I thought that making even the smallest mistake would cost me a lot.

I decided to head to my office in the meantime and get some work done. Hopefully, I'll talk to the BOSSMAN later in the afternoon. My job required little to no communication, that's what I love most about it. The only time I would talk to the other employees is when they delivered me the papers that needed to be translated, otherwise, they wouldn't even make small-talk. Sometimes, I actually feel like they're intimidated or something.

12:45

It's already past noon. I decided to head to the CTO's office and asked his secretary to see him. She smiled and affirmed that he was indeed in his office. So surprisingly, mister CTO did show up today. I knocked on the door before allowing myself to enter. Dusan was sitting on his desk, contemplating the view outside from his large windows. Of course, a CTO would never have less than a beautiful vista from his spacious office that had expensive, awe-inspiring decor and furniture. He turned his chair to face me and devilishly smirked, as a form of underestimation all Blume employees were definitely given.

"My favorite multiculturalist," he greeted sarcastically as he opened his arms, "what can I do for you?" His smile widened.

I've come to sit just opposite him on his desk, "I'd like to discuss something with you." His grin immediately turned into a frown, as if his hipster man-bun instincts were acting up and sensed something bad…

He turned his chair to the windows again, and his back to me, "What is it?" he sighed. That was disrespectful. I didn't like the way he disrespected his employees like that. The man had the power to ruin lives, but he was never respected, maybe it was because he never even bother to respect anyone who puts their efforts into their company.

I stood from my seat, making a loud noise in hope to regain his attention. "What I'm about to say requires your full attention, sir."

He turned his chair and stood up as well, "I hope it's something important. Because you clearly interrupted your extremely valuable work in order to discuss it." He smirked, "Well now, go ahead." His tone became cocky.

I furrowed my eyebrows and braced myself for his reaction, "I'm quitting my job," I announced sternly. He seemed dumbfounded; his eyes widened and his mouth gaped open as he stayed silent. Finally, he seemed to burst into hysterical laughter, which turned my frown into a more puzzled expression. He fell back down in his seat. "No, you're not," he said between his laughs.

"Yes, I am," I knitted my eyebrows again, as I became more angered with his response, "and this is not a funny matter."

Dusan finally stopped laughing, wiped away his tears of laughter and grinned. "And may I ask why you possibly want to quit your job?" he asked cockily.

I raised my eyebrows, "The paycheck I'm receiving isn't motivational enough for me to continue providing my services to this company."

He put his elbow on the left arm of the chair and his index on his chin, as he started rubbing it thoughtfully. "Then how much do you have in mind?" His eyes widened.

"It's not just about the money. Frankly, I've received better offers from other companies, ones that are tempting enough to make me quit my job here. So just make it easier for the both of us and let me get on with my decision."

"I don't think so," he folded his arms, "you see, you're the company's translator, which means that there won't be anyone to fill in for you in case you decide to quit. Plus, Chinese is a hard language to learn. We both know how hard it is to find decent Chinese-to-English translators, especially at such crucial times."

I glared at him. "So how about this?" he announced, "you keep working here for the time being, mhm?"

"This is the most irrational thing I have ever heard." I retorted through gritted teeth.

"Perhaps, but it is how it is, Miss Foster. While I admire your audacity, I will not accept this decision of yours. You are committed to this company, so you can't just walk out anytime you feel like it."

"I have made up my mind. I will not work any day longer for a company that ill-treats me and underpays me for my services."

I turned around, ready to storm out. Just as Dusan started speaking again, I froze in place, "You're too smart for this, Teagan." I turned back and dead-eyed him, "you know what you'd be getting yourself into if you don't keep cooperating."

"You're bluffing."

He chuckled and walked around his desk, "see those personal documents of yours?" he paused, "I believe they will make you reconsider your resignation. After all, they have done so the first time, haven't they?"

He was blackmailing me, again. "Think about it," he said, "what would happen if this time, your ex-boyfriend finally finds out where you've been hiding all this time?"

"You wouldn't." I clenched my fists, restraining myself from having an outburst.

"I won't if you keep cooperating," he folded his arms and smirked, "what do you say?"

I bit my lip in anger and walked out of the office. I took the elevator back to the floor on which my office was and immediately entered the bathroom. I took a moment to look at myself in the mirror. My face was almost red from all the anger, my eyes had bags under them from all the tiredness and anxiety. I ran my hand through my hair as I sighed. I went ahead and checked every stall almost twice before getting into the farthest one and locking myself inside. I took out my phone and hastily dialed a number saved in my contacts. My anxiety was increasing with every ring. Finally, the person picked up. "Teagan?"

"I talked to Dusan."

"And? You managed to get out scot-free?"

"Not even close."

"Wait, how bad is it?"

"Worse than you think."

"Are you serious?"

"Look, Wrench, I can't fill you in on the details. Let's just meet at your hideout and talk about this."

"I'll text you the address of my garage. Let's meet there."

I hung up and quickly got out of the stall. Coincidentally, Michelle, my colleague happened to enter the restroom.

She stopped and stared at me. "At least flush," she commented

I kept going, totally ignoring her stare. "Might be time to change your skirt, Michelle. The tighter it gets, the looser you become." I walked out of the bathroom and back into my office.