I did not go to work the next day and took a few days off. Normally, I would never apply for leave unless there was an emergency. After all, I would be earning less if I did not work.
However, that was an exception. My face was still swollen. I did not want to be the center of attention in the company, nor did I want anyone to find out that I had been taken to the police station. After all, that was not something to talk about openly.
Natalie took a few days off as well, presumably sharing my sentiments. The two of us stayed in her house to rest and recuperate. During that time, Yuval sent me food every day. Of course, he brought Natalie’s portions as well.
After three days, the wound on my face was finally less visible. Only then did I return to work. The moment I stepped foot into the building, Millie came forward to pester me, questioning where I had gone for the past few days. I came up with a random excuse, saying that I was unwell and rested at home for a few days.
As I was chatting with Millie, Michael showed up. Millie and I quickly rushed to our seats and made it look like we were working hard. After being berated and criticized multiple times by Michael, I was not looking forward to feeling the wrath of his anger anytime soon.
“Anna, bring the proposal I asked you to redo into my office.”
Just as I thought Michael had ignored us, his low magnetic voice traveled to my ears. I looked up from my desk, only to see his icy expression staring back at me.
I gulped. A shiver ran down my spine as I shot Millie a helpless look before picking up the documents and headed into Michael’s office.
That proposal had been rejected by Michael countless times before. It had reached the point where I no longer knew what else to add to the proposal, nor how else I could amend it. I had absolutely run out of ideas, feeling like a machine under operation.
“Here’s the proposal you wanted, Mr. Shaw.”
I placed the documents gently on Michael’s desk and informed him flatly.
Michael peered at me wordlessly and started to skim through it.
He had barely glanced at it before tossing the proposal on the desk. “Redo it!”
Michael hurled the same word at me again, not even wasting his breath on another word.
His reaction was well within my expectations. Hence, I was not angered. Even I was not satisfied with the proposal myself, much less someone as picky and detail-oriented as Michael. In fact, it would have been shocking if he had approved the proposal.
Without a word, I picked up the proposal from his desk and made my way to the door. Before I could leave, he called out to me.
“Is this your attitude at work, Anna Garcia? Your designs have been rejected, yet you don’t even bother asking about the reasons? Don’t you want to know what you should amend?”
Michael’s anger underlay his cold voice. Recently, he had been reprimanding me almost every day that I had gotten used to it. Thus, I did not think much about his words.
“Mr. Shaw, if you had wanted to tell me anything, you would have spoken up long ago and would not have waited for me to ask. Since you did not wish to tell me, it’ll be superfluous and a waste of time even if I were to ask you. If that’s the case, it would be better if I don’t ask you.”
He had rejected my proposals so many times but had never told me what went wrong. All he said was that my designs were not innovative enough, which was of no help at all.
My retort caused Michael to go stiff for a second before his eyes flared up in rage.
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