Kimbal (Kim)
I was living my best life as an editor at JYC, a prestigious book publishing company. My world was quiet, peaceful, and drama-free – just the way I liked it. That was until Rubie stormed into my life, literally.
"Kim, where you at?!" she screamed, almost flying to my desk. I rolled my eyes, wondering what she wanted now. This was her third visit to JYC that day.
"What's wrong, Rubie?" I asked, trying to remain calm.
"What have you done to my synopsis?!" she shouted, her face inches from mine. I stepped back, afraid she might bite my nose off.
"What about it?" I replied, trying to keep my cool.
"You shortened it!" she accused, her voice rising.
I took a deep breath and explained, "Rubie, I'm an editor. This is my job. I know what I'm doing."
But she wouldn't listen. "Did you even do any training or just waltz into JYC?" she sneered, questioning my qualifications.
That's when I lost my patience. "Rubie, this conversation is over."
But she wouldn't back down. "I'm talking to you, bitch! Why did you cut my storyline?"
The office had gathered around us, and I could feel my temper slipping away. "Rubie, watch it."
"What storyline? You've edited three of my books, and one of them gave you a big break. Is this how you thank me?" I shot back.
Rubie's face turned red with rage. "That's your job, bitch! JYC pays you!"
The drama had escalated, with people filming us on their phones. I stood my ground, refusing to back down. "Rubie, get out of here."
The crowd dispersed, and Rubie stormed out, defeated. I let out a sigh of relief, but the drama was far from over.
As I returned to my work, I could hear whispers around me. "What's wrong with her?" someone asked.
"That's Rubie. Her last two editors quit last year. Kim's the only one who can tolerate her," another person replied.
Mr. Joneses, our supervisor, arrived, looking annoyed that he'd missed the show. "What happened, Kim?"
I downplayed the incident. "Just Rubie's drama again."
He nodded and walked away, but not before I asked him to approve the edited copy of Jane's book.
Later, Jane walked in and apologized for Rubie's behavior. "She was just attacked by the media, and you're trending."
I was shocked. "Trending?"
Jane showed me her phone, and I scanned the screen, seeing positive tweets about how I'd handled the situation. This wasn't the first time Rubie had gotten me trending while trying to play the victim.
"Media angry at writer Rubie for cloaking her editor," one headline read.
I groaned, "I hate this. I'm all over the news now!"
And that's when it hit me – my peaceful life was about to get a whole lot more interesting. That was just beginning, I mean I was trending for the third time that week. Little did I know that my life would be turned upside down and be public for the press to critique.