Chapter 5 You Need to Pay for It
Jordan placed her work badge on Gloria’s desk. Then, she turned around to take a last look at the office.
The employees hurriedly looked away and went back to work when they realized she was studying them. Some gossiped about her.
She clenched her fist but decided to keep her silence as she walked toward the empty corridor.
Her life at Kinsley Group had been challenging. Perhaps, it was best for her to leave. She was confident in finding another role that was better-suited for her anyway.
A figure walked in her direction, casting a tall shadow over her.
She looked up.
What a handsome man! His ear studs added a ruffish quality to his sunny look. His features bore a resemblance to Ezra.
Connor stared at Jordan, who did not recognize him and merely assumed he was Ezra’s relative. She had no interest in learning more about him. She flashed him a bitter smile and went on her way without waiting for his response.
Since she had made the decision to leave, she could not care less about the people working in Kinsler Group.
“Aren’t you an intern? Why didn’t you wear your badge?” Connor deliberately confronted Jordan with a stern tone.
Jordan turned around to look at him. Before she could speak, he stuffed a document in her arm. “Get this delivered to Mr. Kinsler’s office right away. He needs it for a senior leadership meeting in five minutes.”
With that, Connor left. Jordan tried to stop him, but she pulled her arms back in the end. There was no one around her to delegate the task to.
She sighed and decided to treat this as her last mission in this company. After taking a glance at the document, she walked toward the elevator.
When Jordan arrived at the top floor, Marnie stopped her.
Marnie checked Jordan out. From Jordan’s missing badge, she could tell that Jordan had been fired. If so, what was she doing up here on the top floor?
At the same time, Jordan was checking out Marnie. This was the woman who erroneously informed her about the change in interview time. The employees called her “Marnie”.
“Who are you? And what business do you have at the CEO’s office?” Marnie acted like she did not know Jordan.
“Someone handed me a document. He wanted it delivered to Mr. Kinsler.” Jordan showed that document to Marnie.
Marnie glanced at Connor’s signature on the document cover.
“Give it to me. You can go.”
Marnie tried to take the document from Jordan, who pulled back. She had a nagging sense that Marnie was not to be trusted.
“That man wanted me to personally deliver the document to Mr. Kinsler.”
Marnie frowned but eventually opened the door for Jordan.
Both Ezra and Connor hated it when people went against their wishes.
Jordan had wanted to confront Marnie about the interview time mix-up, but she dropped the idea since she was leaving Kinsler Group.
She gave Marnie a look before knocking on Ezra’s door.
“Come in.” A deep and guttural voice sounded.
Ezra walked away from the floor-to-ceiling windows toward his desk. It was then he saw Jordan slowly walking toward him.
He thought, “Why is he here? What is he here for?”
“Mr. Kinsler, this is a document for the senior leadership meeting later.” She placed the document on his desk.
Ezra was confused. He had just gotten out of a meeting with the senior leadership. What was she on about?
He cast a puzzled look at the document, where Connor had recklessly left his signature on the cover.
He flipped the document open. On the first page was a huge cross scribbled across the paper. The second page was an image that had been printed wrong. The third page was filled with annotations and edits written in different pen colors.
He quickly closed the document folder. He’d have gotten Connor in a chokehold if that little rascal were here.
“Got it. You may leave.”
“Alright.”
Jordan had no idea what fueled his sudden anger. This man, her boss, was unusually bad-tempered.
“Wait,” he stopped her. “I’ve approved this proposal from the Marketing Department. Send it to Ron.”
“Okay.” She turned around and picked up the document from his desk, during which she accidentally knocked over his coffee mug.
She wondered in shock, “What’s going on? I didn’t think I even touched the mug!”
The coffee spilled all over the desk and even on Ezra’s phone. The mug rolled over and fell onto the carpeted floor softly, staining the camel-colored carpet.
Ezra furrowed his brows. He picked up his coffee-stained phone and wiped it.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Panicked, she helped him to clean up the mess. She couldn’t help blaming herself. She must not have belonged here. She wasn’t usually this clumsy and irritable.
After wiping down his phone, he pressed the button to turn it on, but the screen did not light up at all.
Despairing, Jordan thought to herself, “Damn it! I’ve ruined my boss’ phone!
“He should have used a waterproof phone! His current phone looked so old. God, please don’t tell me that his phone was a gift from someone important… Please, God.”
Jordan prayed fervently.
“This was my first phone. My grandpa bought it for me.”
Upon hearing Ezra’s remark, her heart sank. She knew she had messed up.
“I’ll get it repaired! I promise it’ll be working smoothly after.”
Ezra lowered his gaze to check out his stained shirt and pants.
Jordan even offered, “I’ll get your clothes cleaned! Or I can buy you a new outfit!”
Ezra’s gaze traveled to his carpet.
She suggested, “I’ll get your carpet dry cleaned.”
“It won’t be as clean as before.”
“I’ll pay!”
“Indeed. You need to pay for it.”
Ezra looked up and betrayed a slight grin at the sight of the panicked Jordan.
He gushed inwardly, “Oh, why is he so adorable?”
Then, he said to her, “Here. Take my phone for repair. If it’s still broken, get ready to pay me 15,000 dollars.”
He then removed his SIM card and handed Jordan his phone.
She accepted it with a bitter expression.
“But Mr. Kinsler, this is just an old—” She caught herself in time. “I get it. Your phone has sentimental value, but why do I have to pay 15,000 dollars for it?”
Ezra leaned back into his office chair and crossed his arms. He replied casually, “If my phone doesn’t get fixed, I won’t have a phone. Surely, I’ll need to get a new phone?”
“Yes.” But he did not need 15,000 dollars for a new phone!
Jordan was close to tears. She swore she didn’t touch that mug. How did it even topple over?
“All my phones are customized and one of its kind. My previous customized phone was worth 10,000 dollars. The brand has just launched a new model. I bet it’ll cost around 15,000 dollars.” Ezra did not bat an eye when he “extorted” Jordan.
He added, “By the way, there’s the carpet and my clothes…”
“Mr. Kinsler, I don’t have that money.”
Jordan hung her head. However, since Ezra was the boss, he had the final say.
She just felt unfair. Now that she was about to leave the company, why did he have to be so serious about a minor accident?
Jordan’s dad owned a company, but he hadn’t been managing it well since her birth. That company was deep in debt and in decline. Their family had to survive by taking out loans.
Her dad had promised to shut down the company for good after she graduated. Her family had never been supportive of her decision to give birth to Bella during college. As such, she had to shoulder the cost of raising Bella.
Hence, she was broke.
Ezra raised a brow in amusement. “Well, we can deduct that amount from your monthly pay. Forget about the total sum I suggested. How about 500 dollars per month for a year? That’ll teach you a lesson.”
“But—”
“You don’t get paid a lot as a clerk. Report to work in my office tomorrow. You’ll work with Coles Jenson.” Ezra pressed the call button. “Now, go.”
Jordan stood there in stunned silence.
“Why are you still standing around? Do you want to watch me change my clothes?”
She hurriedly waved her hands. “No!”
After leaving Ezra’s office, Jordan still struggled to wrap her head around the fact that she had just been promoted to the special assistant to the CEO.
