She leaned back and spun around on her chair in excitement. She quickly wheeled herself back to her desk. She hovered the mouse over the save button and clicked on it. 'Error saving document' popped up. She dismissed it and clicked on save again. The same message came up again. Siobhan repeatedly clicked on save until her computer froze.
"No, don't freeze," she whispered to the computer.
Siobhan frantically moved the mouse around in an attempt to restore the computer, when suddenly the screen went blank. The computer had shut itself down.
"No, no, no, you stupid computer!" yelled Siobhan.
She pressed her forehead against the screen and banged her fists against it. Four months worth of work gone. Siobhan slowly sunk into her chair and placed her hands over her face. She was in big trouble, and she knew it.
"Sleeping on the job is unacceptable, Siobhan." A voice appeared.
Siobhan could smell a strong scent of men's cologne mixed with cigars, and could hear irritating nasally breathing, all coming from behind her. All of these attributes could only belong to one man, her nightmare boss, Daniel.
She quickly sat up and spun herself around to face him.
He was uncomfortably close to her, and staring directly into her eyes.
"I wasn't sleeping," replied Siobhan.
"Well that's what it looked like to me," said Daniel.
Siobhan spun herself back around to face her computer screen. She couldn't stand the sight of him.
"I'm assuming you have that article for me, Siobhan."
"Err, well..." Siobhan whimpered.
"You've got to be kidding me, the deadline for this was two weeks ago!"
"I know, I know."
"So why haven't you done it?" asked Daniel.
"I did do it! It was right there on the computer screen," she replied.
"Where is it then?"
"I don't know, the computer crashed when I tried to save it, then it just randomly shut down."
Daniel chuckled to himself. "You and your petty excuses."
"Excuses? I'm being serious, Daniel!"
"I'll give you one last chance, Siobhan. I want the article on my desk by eight o'clock tonight." Daniel slowly began to walk off.
Siobhan wheeled herself out of her cubicle and watched him walk away.
"Tonight? How can you possibly expect me to find four weeks' worth of work in twelve hours?" she shouted.
"I don't know, just do it," he yelled back.
Siobhan slid down her chair and onto the floor.
"What am I going to do?" she whispered to herself. "I'm fired, I just know it..."
"What on earth are you doing on the floor?" A voice laughed above her.
A pale hand stuck out in front of her. Siobhan held onto it and was pulled up. She turned around to see her friend Rosie giggling at her.
"What's wrong, Si?" Rosie asked.
"I'm done for..." sighed Siobhan.
"What do you mean you're done for?"
"I haven't got my article. Daniel wants it by the end of the day, how am I supposed to get all of that work back?"
"Make it up," Rosie said bluntly.
"Isn't the whole reason why our company has the best selling magazine because we tell the truth?"
Rosie paused and scratched her head. "I gotta go make some tea... Good luck!" Rosie walked off.
"Yeah, yeah good luck," Siobhan mumbled to herself.
She walked back into her cubical, dragging her chair along with her and sat down on it. She turned the computer back on and stared at the screen. She rubbed her forehead. How was she going to do this? Once her account was loaded, she clicked onto her documents and scrolled down through her files. There had to be something here that wasn't published that she could use.
After minutes of searching for possible material, Siobhan gave up. She slumped her head down on her desk and closed her eyes. She thought of the two alternatives in this dreadful situation. She could either quietly pack her things and go without anyone knowing, that way she could still leave with some sort of dignity. Or, she could apologise to Daniel, and hope that somewhere deep down in his cold, supercilious heart he'd forgive her and spare her the benefit of the doubt.
She shook her head, she knew option two was way off the cards. Siobhan slowly bent down underneath her desk and pulled out a large cardboard box. She placed it on top of her desk. She grabbed her retro drinking bird and stared at it in her hand. It was a present from her parents, a 'congratulations on the new job' kind of gift. If only they'd known she would be getting the sack six months down the line...
Siobhan huffed and placed it into the box. Just as she was about to gather more things to pack away, one of Daniel's personal assistants popped her head into Siobhan's cubicle.
"Daniel would like to see you in his office."
"Right now?"
"Yes, now please."
Daniel's assistant left, leaving Siobhan with her mouth slightly open. She nervously played with her fingers as she cautiously made her way to his office.
***
The heavy sound of her high heels clicking against the floor seemed to grow louder in her ears as she got closer to Daniel's office. She knew she was close by when she saw the dreary plant and sofa sat outside his office door.
When she was finally stood in front of his door, she quickly primped herself up. She took in a deep breath and knocked on the door. She heard his weighty footsteps nearing the door and clenched her fists. The door slowly opened, Daniel ushered Siobhan in with his arm.
She quickly walked in and sat down on the arm chair facing his desk. He walked his way around to his desk, making sure to pass behind her back. Siobhan shuddered as she felt his body heat near her. He was soon sat in front of her behind his desk. He clasped his hands together and stared at her. This man was intimidating.
Siobhan examined his face, she had never really done this before. She was always so desperate to move away from him, but this time she was stuck. His chestnut brown hair was cut short, with a little fringe that flopped down to his eyebrows. He had sharp, grey eyes with light brown freckles that sat neatly underneath. His face was freshly shaved, and he had on a rather nice suit. In that moment, it dawned on Siobhan that this man was quite handsome, but this didn't replace that fact that he was still a jerk.
She sighed quietly and she realised how messy she looked compared to him. Her strawberry blonde hair was held up in a careless bun by a childishly looking kitten clip. She had on a white tank top, underneath a oversized grey jumper which fell down just below her shoulders, revealing the strap of her tank top. She also had on a short black skirt, which was far too tight and showed off her large bottom.
Siobhan's gaze dropped from Daniel. She was growing impatient, did he just bring her here for the sake of having some company?
"Well, Siobhan, I've been thinking about your little situation." He paused and leaned forward.