"You may want to go in first" Isabel suggested knowing full well Will would be more receptive of Theo then her, since no matter how much Theo pissed him off he held a certain respect for the man.
"Very well" he muttered before stepping into the main office, where everyone was busy working or attempting to look busy as they passed
Isabel walked several steps behind Theo as a sign of respect, since she was playing the part of the underling, only similar ranked staff walked side by side unless engaging in conversation, a particularly stupid and outdated rule in her opinion but alas that was just how it was done.
They entered William's office to find him silently fuming, slamming items down a little too harshly then necessary. It had been a long time since Theo had seen William so worked up, he glanced back at Isabel flashing her an small smile before his face hardened into a straighter, more serious expression.
"What is it?" William demanded without it looking up
"We have business to discuss William" Theo replied sternly in response of the younger male's disrespectful comment.
William's head snapped up at the sound of Theo's voice, his eyes narrowing at the sight of Isabel "With all do respect sir, I do not want that woman anywhere near me, she is vindictive, manipulative and deceptive, she is poison to this organisation, and I want her sent back to where ever was curse with having her before she transferred" he expressed a small hint of venom underlining his tone.
"I would be offended if anyone worth their salt had said that to me, but coming from you it's nothing, you hide behind your rules and regulation, desperately trying to make up for the things you lack. You hate me because you know I am the only on in this office who can see passed your bullshit and see what you really are, just a sad, little man who is taking his issues out on those around him. I feel sympathy for you William, what it must be like to be in your shoes…" Isabel retorted simple, matching the cold glare that he was sending her.
"Don't you dare belittle me Miss Winters! You know next to nothing about me, so stop plucking things out of the air, assuming that it makes any difference what you say, with it does not, for you will be deported back to where you came from as soon as physically possible, end of discussion"
This was when Theo stepped in, trying to prevent further argument "Mr Spears, you seem to be forgetting something, I am the one that hired her, so therefore I have the final say in this matter. I have been reviewing Miss Winter's work and I can not believe that I allowed her to slip through my fingers. Her abilities are quite noteworthy, her penmanship is excellent, her work detailed, precise and to the highest standard. She is a particularly great choice to fill the position of my assistant, so I point blank refuse to agree to your childish demands, William" he stated sternly "further more, it seems that you are the only one with a problem with Miss Weller here, for even superiors speak very highly of her"
"Very well, sir, if that is your final decision, I guess there is nothing else to be said in this matter…" William replied through gritted teeth,
"Well then, that's settled, Miss Winters, please go and collect your things, and while I have a chat with William"
"Of course, sir" Isabel bid politely before leaving the room
"William, there will be one day then you may come to regret your behaviour towards those around you, when you realise just how much can be gained by listening to them, empathising with them and generally getting to know them on a person to person basis. Who we are is shaped by our experiences, not how much we may or may not know, so live a little Will, remove that stick from up your rectum and try reaching out to people, you may be pleasantly surprised." Theo mused thoughtfully as his eyes glanced at the door,
"No matter how much I respect you, I will never understand why you do the things you do…" William stated, trying to downplay the derision in his voice, but not quite managing it.
"That would be because you down right refuse to attempt to see life through anyone else's eyes" Theo replied simply, noting his long fingers together "Empathy is that helps leaders become great, although it may not seem important to you, it is necessary to allow yourself to understand how your decisions effect your subordinates"
"Although too much could led to a leaders downfall, if you are too concerned about the feelings of those who work under you, you may end up not being able to make the crucial and difficult decisions." Isabel interjected
"And what would you know about this?"
"I am a very knowledgeable person actually, plus I've been a supervisor in 6 countries, a manager in 4, second in command in 3 and leader of 1, so I have to say I have a considerable amount of experience in the area of leadership." She justified with a shrug
"Impossible, why should I believe that pile of rubbish?!" William demanded, giving her a look that most would reserve for someone that they believed was legitimate the wrong kind of crazy.
"I have proof" Isabel stated before pulling out small stack of sheets about 7 pages deep, putting it down on Will's desk "This is my unaltered resume, it has names of people I have worked under and over, under the highest title I have owned in each country. If you are so determined to prove me unworthy, go ahead… and I tell you now if you can I will happily teleport myself back to where I came from" She stated as her eyes silently egged him on, before she turned and left the room.
"Hey, hold up Isabel" Theo called after her as she walked down the corridor towards Theo's office, reversing the way she left only this morning.
It wasn't until she got to his office did she even acknowledge that he was following her "What was all that about?" she inquired wheeling round to face him
"You mean, my complimenting of your skills?" Theo inquired, cocking his head curiously.
"Yes, you either bluff very convincingly or you have been paying my work an awful a lot of attention" Isabel estimated with a questioning look
"Don't you think that me wanting to take you off William's hands because of your skills, a much more professional reason than the simple fact you pair fight like cat and dog? It just so happens I have been preparing for such an event as this one for a short while, so naturally I've been overlooking your work making sure I can prefect my statement, I have the paperwork already completed ready, I was simply waiting for the opportunity to put my plan into action" Theo explained, flashing her a cunning grinning, looking rather pleased with his ingenuity.
"You sneaky son of a-"
"Language, Miss Winters" he stated sternly, pressing his finger to her lips
"Well you are, what else would you call this other then sneaky?"
"It got you out of Will's clutches, did it not?"
"Admittedly it did work quite well… so I suppose I should thank you…" Isabel grumbled under her breath
"No thank you required, think of it as compensation for putting you in that position in the first place, having read your profile I honestly could help myself... I never really thought about how it would effect you..." he replied, a small dose of guilt crossing his face.
Isabel thwacked him round the side of the head "I don't like being a pawn in your mind games," she stated before hitting him again on the other side "that's for assuming I didn't know what you was using me to amuse yourself, when I knew full well what you was doing from the very beginning"
"Stop that" he stated sharply as he took hold of her wrists "Why did you go along with it then?"
Isabel shrugged "you ain't the only one that likes to amuse themselves" she stated simply, her eyes starting to glow as she smiled devilishly at him "I thought it would be interesting experiment… on both him and you"
"So you were just playing along?"
"Pretty much"
A grin slowly slid over Theo's face "it seems I underestimated you…"
"Wouldn't worry about it, most do" Isabel shrugged
"I'm not worried so much as kicking myself for not realising just how much of a fool I was to put such a jewel in Will's company, instead of mine"
"Well slow as you may be, you finally got there so I suppose you ain't all bad" Isabel laughed before aloofly going off, sitting down before unpacking her things onto her new desk; which consisted of several fancy looking silver ink pots, several quills and a framed silver etching.
"I'm not sure whether to take that as a mild compliment or an insult…" Theo uttered thoughtfully as he settled down behind his desk, watching her unpack.
"Why not a bit of both, since that is how I meant it to be" Isabel replied not looking up
"Is that so?" he inquired raising an eyebrow "If you wish to go down that route, then let the games begin~" he added with a devilish grin.
"I look forward to it" she grinned back at him.
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A/N: I'm not completely sure whether or not to carry this one,
Sure it was fun to write but i don't want it to get boring or predictable...
So i look to my dear readers, for opinions... should I continue or not?
Thanks for reading~
Bittersweet~