“I need them done by the end of the day,” Francesca said, her tone sharp and commanding, as if she were talking to an intern and not someone who'd been at the company for years. Without waiting for a response, she turned on her heel and walked away.
Bryn stared at the pile of work in front of her, her stomach sinking. She could already feel the weight of it crushing her. Francesca wasn’t just pushing her around—she was testing her, pushing her limits. Bryn didn’t know why, but it seemed personal.
As she began to sift through the files, the office slowly started to empty out. Most of the team trickled off for lunch, leaving Bryn alone, buried under a mountain of work. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t feeling a little resentful. She’d already been under so much pressure and now this?
Nora, one of her colleagues and a good friend, noticed Bryn still sitting at her desk and walked over. Her face showed a flicker of concern.
“Bryn, you okay?” Nora asked softly, her voice tinged with sympathy. “Do you want me to help with some of this? Or maybe grab you lunch? You look like you could use a break.”
Bryn looked up and offered a small, grateful smile. She couldn’t help but feel a surge of relief at Nora’s kindness. “Well, I did feel my stomach grumbling,” she admitted, trying to sound lighthearted despite the weight pressing down on her. “If you could grab something for me, that’d be great. Thanks, Nora.”
Before Nora could respond, a cold, biting voice sliced through the air from behind them. “Miss Anderson, if you’re not happy with your work, feel free to take it up with me,” Francesca said, her words laced with sarcasm. “The company pays you to do your job, not to babysit.”
Francesca’s words felt like a slap in the face. Then, her eyes flicked over to Bryn and the look in her gaze was sharp, like a challenge.
“If she can’t handle a little work, maybe she shouldn’t be staying in this department or this company,” Francesca added, her tone dripping with disdain. She stepped closer, her voice lowering to a deliberate mockery. “It’s not like the job requires any real skill, right? Just make sure you can keep up, or maybe it’s time to find somewhere else to play house.”
Bryn’s heart skipped a beat, the words hitting her harder than expected. She was afraid that Nora would be the next target of Francesca's venom, so she quickly told her to go and take a break. Her breath caught in her throat as she stood, trying to steady herself. Taking a deep breath, she walked toward Francesca, “Miss Clements, I don’t know what I’ve done to offend you, but how can I possibly finish all this work alone?”
Francesca’s lips curled into a sly smirk, her eyes narrowing with a flicker of amusement. “You want to be the design director, don’t you?” she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She took a step closer, her posture poised, as if she were looking down at Bryn from some imaginary pedestal. “If you can’t even handle a little scout work, how would you handle a bigger task? It just shows you’re not capable of leading. Know your capacity, Miss Miller.”
Bryn clenched her fists, not wanting to let the words get to her, but it was hard. She was already on edge and Francesca seemed to be trying to break her. Bryn didn’t want to argue in front of everyone, especially with how things were already going with Alex and Francesca.
But before she could say anything, she heard the familiar sound of footsteps. Alex walked into the room, his eyes immediately narrowing when he saw the tension between the two women.
“What’s going on?” he asked, his voice calm but firm.
Francesca was quick to respond, her voice high-pitched with a hint of hurt. “Bryn seems to think I’m picking on her. I’ve just been giving her the tasks that need to be done and she’s making it personal.”
Bryn wanted to protest, wanted to explain that it wasn’t about the work—it was about the way Francesca was treating her, but Alex beat her to it.
“Bryn,” he said, his voice flat, “Miss Clements is new here. She hasn’t been familiar with how things work. As someone who started early, you should be more understanding, try to work with her. It’ll be easier for everyone.”
The words hit Bryn like a punch to the gut. Alex, the man she had come to rely on, the one she had trusted, was siding with Francesca. Her throat tightened as she struggled to process what he was saying. Disbelief and disappointment settled in her chest like a heavy weight. She couldn’t understand how he could believe Francesca’s words so easily. It felt like all the conversations they’d shared, all the moments they’d spent together, had meant nothing.
She stared at him, her eyes searching for any hint of understanding, but finding none. The hurt was overwhelming. How could he dismiss her like this? Didn’t he see what she was going through?
“Yes, sir,” Bryn finally managed to whisper, her voice barely audible as she swallowed the lump in her throat. She had to fight to hold back the tears that threatened to spill.
The room fell into an uncomfortable silence, the only sound the scratch of pens on paper, the ticking of the clock in the background. Alex stood there for a moment, looking at Bryn’s sad back. He was about to speak, but before he could, Francesca grabbed his arm, pulling him toward the door.
“Come on, Alex. Hector’s waiting for us,” she said, her voice light and dismissive, like everything was just fine.
Bryn stood there, watching them leave, the door clicking shut behind them with finality. She stayed in her seat, her hands trembling as she looked back at the files in front of her. The room felt empty now, the silence suffocating.
As the day dragged on, Bryn buried herself in the work, trying to keep her mind busy. But all she could think about was the conversation she’d overheard earlier, the one with Alex and Hector. She hadn’t wanted to believe it, but now there was no denying it. Francesca was Alex’s old flame. She was the one that had gotten away, the one he had been so obsessed with back in college.
That thought gnawed at her, twisting inside her like a sharp knife. Had she always just been the substitute? Was she never more than a replacement for the woman he really wanted?
The weight of everything started to press down on her chest. She didn’t want to think about it, but she couldn’t stop herself. She had given so much of herself to Alex. She had sacrificed so much and for what? To be tossed aside for someone else?
She pushed the thought away, blinking back tears. This wasn’t the time. She had work to do. But even as she focused on the documents in front of her, the nagging feeling of betrayal continued to claw at her insides. She had to get through this. For her family. For everything she had sacrificed.
Eventually, the office started to empty out, the usual sounds of chatter and laughter fading away. Bryn was the last one there, still hunched over her desk, trying to finish the mountain of paperwork Francesca had dumped on her. Her head pounded, her stomach twisted in knots and yet she kept pushing through.
She had no choice. She couldn’t afford to stop now.
By the time the office was completely empty, Bryn finally finished the last of the work. She looked at the clock—it was late. Her stomach gave a painful twinge. She hadn’t eaten properly all day and it reminded her of the times when she’d worked multiple jobs just to cover her dad and brother’s medical bills. Back then, she’d often skipped meals and now the stomach pain that came with it hadn’t really gone away.
