Chapter 6: Evil CEO

Zarah thought that her dinner would go smoothly. Unexpectedly someone walked in to disrupt it.

She also realized that the atmosphere had calmed down and the people were whispering to each other.

Who would dare to speak loudly when their new CEO suddenly walked into the room together with Elliott, Chris, and Rupert?

The ladies were squirming as they could not hold back their excitement and at the same time tried their best to create zero noise.

However, Zarah was too busy with her food to mind everything that was happening around her.

Hope admired this attitude of hers and she decided to mimic her. She only had a few spoonfuls left on her plate.

The four of them then ordered their food and with Chris' lead, they approached Zarah's table.

By the time they arrived, Zarah had already eaten half of her food. She was pushing it with the bottled water she had.

However, she almost choked when she saw them coming.

She managed to gulp the food in her mouth but she was in a coughing fit and her face turned red.

Hope wanted to give her liquids but her bottle was empty. So she uncapped Zarah's water and gave it to her.

Zarah uttered a small thanks and chugged on it immediately.

Elliott became worried about Zarah and so he approached her and asked, "Zarah, are you okay?"

He also reached out to rub her back to help her.

Hope accidentally looked up and saw Xavier's sticky gaze on Elliott's hand behind Zarah.

Her eyes sparkled but they disappeared when she saw him looking at her.

Everyone gossiped about how embarrassing and unwomanly her actions were.

She acted barbaric in front of their CEO.

Zarah could hear them but she didn't care at all.

When she calmed down, she thanked both Hope and Elliott, "Thanks, E, Hope."

"Why are you in a hurry to finish your food?" Elliott asked.

"I eat like this nowadays." She replied shortly. She had a habit of eating faster after her schedule became tight.

The faster she finished, the better.

"Well, is it too late to join you then?" Zarah's eyes widened and she heard gasps everywhere.

"Wha-"

Just as Elliott asked for permission, the three other men also joined them.

Since the table was too small for six people, Chris dragged a table to join it with hers so they could eat together.

They were about to sit down at the table when finally, she heard someone else speak.

"What are you doing?" The man asked coldly which made Chris and Rupert also look behind them.

"Mr. CEO, aren't we going to eat dinner? Didn't you say you wanted to have dinner at the cafeteria?" 'Or did I hear him wrong earlier?' Chris asked and continued the rest for himself as he was really confused about his boss's actions.

"Yes, but not with an intern." Xavier finally clarified.

'Oh!'

The three men had a floating cloud of thoughts on top of their heads.

"Eh?" They didn't get it at all!

"Don't you hear me?!" He repeated and this time addressed his question to Zarah.

Unlike the three clueless men, Zarah knew that it was intended for her and so she scooped everything in one go and did not mind if she looked gross or not.

Hope became worried that Zarah would choke on her food again and the latter's image.

Little did she know that Zarah's action still looked cute to the men in the room other than Xavier who maintained a smug face.

Elliott offered to her his bottled water and she accepted it gladly.

When she was done, she got up from her seat and grabbed her bag and her tray containing the dirty plates.

"Thanks, E. I'll replace this."

"Are you both done?", Elliott asked and looked at Hope who was also putting the dirty plates back on the tray.

"Yes! I hope you enjoy your dinner. I'll head first after buying your water."

"I'll go with you, Zarah." Hope wanted to tag along.

"There's no need for that. I can buy it myself." Elliott wanted to refuse her; however, Zarah still insisted. "No, I drank your water. It's reasonable for me to replace it."

Zarah left to buy water at the counter and with long strides, she reached their table immediately.

She placed the water beside Elliott. Elliott uttered a small thanks and Zarah was about to leave when Xavier spoke again.

"Miss Jansen seems to have a lot of free time," Xavier remarked which baffled Zarah, "What do you mean, Sir?", she asked in a respectful tone.

And wait, how did he know her name?

"Buy each one of us a drink, too."

Zarah was baffled by his request.

They already had drinks with them on their tray. What else would he want?

"May I know what you like to drink, Sir?"

"Go and figure it out yourself."

'Eh?' Zarah was speechless but Chris and Rupert were holding back a chuckle.

They did not expect their boss and friend to have this childishness. They were so used to his serious persona all the time that they had to be on their toes when they talked to him for fear that their words might trigger him.

Unfortunately, they had to witness this firsthand at Zarah's expense and it worried them.

Zarah asked for a clue but unfortunately, they could not help her. Elliott was equally clueless, too.

Zarah had no other choice but to go to the counter and buy whatever drink they offered.

"Let me help you, Zarah." Hope offered but Zarah shook her head and said, "Thanks Hope but it's fine. You should go back to your colleagues. They're waiting for you."

She then left and approached the counter to buy their drinks. While Hope reluctantly went back to her previous table.

Though she was thankful Zarah didn't want to involve Hope in trouble so she decided to not accept her offer.

She returned with a can of soda drink. Rupert and Chris thanked her. However, Xavier was dissatisfied.

"Do I look like someone who drinks coke? Are you trying to make me sick?" He snorted indifferently.

"No. I don't dare to, Sir," Zarah inwardly sighed while trying to hold back her frustration and had no other choice but to go back.

There were ten options for drinks served at the cafeteria. So, did that mean, she had to buy them one by one to know which one he would want?

He already had a bottle of fizzy water on his tray. 'So what more does he like?', she asked herself.

She tried another one but he rejected it again.

She kept going back and forth until she reached the eighth option on the menu.

Zarah was not dumb to not realize what he was doing. Both Chris and Rupert wanted Xavier to stop tormenting her.

He had already expressed his point. The employees were now laughing at Zarah.

They thought that he was going overboard this time. However, they never dared to voice it out for fear that he would come at them.

Sometimes, they doubted if he treated them as his friends or merely his subordinates.

Zarah's patience was close to running out. She hated it when people dared to play dirty behind her back. What more when it was deliberate? But for the sake that he's her boss and she's at his mercy, she tried her best not to snap at him.

Hope could only worriedly look at her from afar. She could not explain why she felt sorry for her even though they had only met in this internship.

Maybe due to exhaustion and sleepless nights for days, Zarah suddenly felt dizzy and she could feel her legs shaking.

However, she neglected the slight discomfort that she felt. It was no big deal for her as this was not life-threatening. The sooner she could buy him the drink that he liked, then she could go back to the office and relax her legs for five minutes.

She saw that the latter was about to finish his food and so she hurried her steps.

However, she lost her footing and tripped.

"Zarah!" Elliott and Hope cried in alarm and went to her side.

"Are you alright?" Elliott asked and helped Zarah in getting up. Hope helped her, too.

Maybe due to exhaustion she lost her footing. However, Zarah knew better than anyone what happened.

Zarah would never let the person who did this to her scratch free. She looked at the table behind her and saw a woman biting her lips to hold back a cry.

Her face was also drained of color.

"Are you okay?" Her friends asked the woman and she reluctantly nodded her head and made a fake smile.

Zarah smirked after seeing her while the woman's face turned pale when they made eye contact.

She cowardly bowed her head but deep down, she was fuming. She wanted to slap Zarah. However, she knew that she was in the wrong. She didn't expect that Zarah would hurt her.

Zarah held on to Hope and rejected Elliott's hand. Elliott could only hold onto her back for support. Chris and Rupert looked at Xavier and they were sure that they saw how grim his expression was while looking at Elliott's hand behind Zarah.

However, it shifted when they blinked their eyes, and his gaze returned to normal like all they witnessed was just an illusion.

Zarah thanked Hope and Elliott when she was back on her feet. She brushed the dust off her skirt and started walking as if nothing happened.

Every lady in the room was shocked and in disbelief when they saw her walking normally after a bad fall.

"Is she even human?"

They questioned Zarah's pain tolerance level.

As Zarah and Elliott went closer to their table, Xavier stood up and grabbed a tissue to wipe his mouth.

"Miss Jansen, I forgot that I don't like it when a woman tries to buy me drinks."

Zarah felt like punching him in the face. She subconsciously hid her clenched hand behind her.

Xavier then left the table and though Rupert and Chris were worried for her, they had no other choice but to follow him.

"Mr. Floyd, I need the report that I asked you for as soon as possible!" Xavier called Elliott then looked at everyone, "Get back to work or I'll double the overtime hours tonight!"

With Xavier's warning, everyone started to hurry to leave the canteen. They realized that they still had ten minutes left from the break yet their boss wanted them to go back.

Now, everyone realized that he was not a nice CEO but a tyrant one.

Elliott was reluctant to leave Zarah behind but knowing that someone was there to aid her, he decided to go.

Everyone left the cafeteria except Zarah and Hope as soon as Xavier walked out.

Hope sat down on the chair and heaved a sigh. She rubbed her temples and closed her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Hope asked her but she ignored the question and got up from her seat.

She was about to walk when she staggered. "Oops!" Hope was quick to help her but then her eyes widened when she saw Zarah's foot swelling, "Oh my gosh! Zarah, your foot!"

Zarah looked at her foot and simply said, "Oh, it's swelling." She said as if she felt nothing.

Other than a headache and emotional pain, Zarah was almost numb to other pain. Then did it mean that she had the worst headache?

"Seriously, don't you feel anything?" Hope asked in disbelief.

"It felt like a mosquito bite." Was Zarah trying to convince a child before taking his first flu shot?

"Let's go!" Hope said and dragged her out of the chair. "Where are we going?"

"To the clinic. Do you want to wait for the worst? You might not be able to walk that tomorrow." Hope said to convince her and it seems like it worked.

When they reached the clinic, Zarah saw the woman who tripped her together with her companion. Seems like they were waiting for the doctor to come out.

Since Xavier was no longer there, she furiously spat at Zarah, "This is your fault!" She was about to stand up to slap Zarah in the face but she was stopped when she felt a stabbing pain in her foot.

"Ouch!" She cried and her companion suddenly became worried and helped her back to her seat.

"Oh my! What happened?" The doctor immediately asked after she heard someone cry.

The doctor was surprised to see two patients visiting the clinic that night.

"What a scene! How can I help you, ladies?" She asked them and the female companion of the other woman spoke.

"Dr. Miles, my friend, started complaining about her foot after we came back from the cafeteria."

"I see. Let me check." Dr. Miles said and approached her to check on her foot.

While she was at it, Hope helped Zarah to find a seat so she could rest her foot.

Zarah stretched to remove her shoes but Hope was quick to do it, "Let me," and Zarah nodded in response.

"Oh, you sprained your ankle. Did something fall hard on your foot?" Dr. Miles asked the woman but she got a response from Zarah.

"She tripped me earlier and I made sure to fall on her foot."

Silence engulfed the whole room. They didn't expect an angel-looking beauty like Zarah could become this petty, too.

The woman was holding back her whimper while trying to defend herself, "I didn't trip her! I was only stretching my legs."

She got angrier after seeing that Zarah was not complaining of any pain. 'Is she trying to mock me?' She asked herself.

"Oh? What kind of idiot would stretch their legs outside the table at the same time when Zarah's passing by?" Hope asked in Zarah's defense.

Though she was far from where it happened she had put the two pieces together and believed Zarah.

Before anything became spicy, Dr. Miles decided to stop them, "Okay? Why don't we calm down?" She got up and left to grab two ice bags for the two ladies to put on their injuries.

After getting their ice bags, Hope helped Zarah ice them.

"Wow, your foot looked awful," Hope said and the doctor looked at them.

The swelling on Zarah's foot became worse yet they didn't hear any cry from her.

"Oh my!" She asked her companion to hold the ice for her while she'd check on Zarah first.

She closely examined Zarah's swollen foot which had a growing purple patch on it.

She tried touching the areas around her ankle to see if Zarah would show any discomfort. However, Zarah looked calm.

"I have high pain tolerance. It won't work, doc." Zarah told her and so Dr. Miles had no other choice but to send her to the hospital for a scan.

It was better to be safe than sorry. To control the swelling, Dr. Miles taped Zarah's ankle with the ice pack.

"I hope this will help with the discomfort. Are you sure that you're not feeling any pain?"

"I do. It's like a bug bite."

"Like a mosquito." Hope repeated what Zarah told her and the doctor chuckled. "I'm surprised to hear that. No one was naturally born with high pain tolerance unless those patients with rare conditions. But I won't classify you as one of them."

Dr. Miles theorized that Zarah's pain tolerance was built up over a long period. Like people in the military or people involved in dangerous jobs.

"I'm not one of them, doc. I still can feel my headache."

"Well, that's good." She said while handing out the referral form.

"Don't worry, I'll make a report and send them to your superiors so they won't be mad at you both. If I'm not mistaken, both of you are still interns."

"Yes. Thanks, Dr. Miles. We appreciate it a lot."

***