The Day I Kissed An Older Man novel Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Joanna hung up in such a hurry that Corinne was left listening to the dial tone before she could even ask anything.

Since she was still wrapped in a towel, she opened the closet to see if there were any clothes she could wear. Unfortunately, however, it was filled only with Jeremy’s clothes. With few choices available, she grabbed a random white T-shirt and put it on before hurrying out the door.

Jeremy’s T-shirts were sufficiently big for her that the hem reached down to her knees. It was the perfect size to be styled like one of those oversized casual shirt-dresses.

…

Upon reaching Alpha Enterprises, Corinne swiped her access card at the door, and Joanna—who seemed particularly agitated—ran out to find her.

“Corinne, you’re finally here! The manager wants you to go to his office immediately! You need to prepare yourself. Well, mentally, at least.”

“The manager is looking for me?”

It was rare to see Joanna looking so nervous.

“What happened?”

Joanna glanced left and right, making sure that no one was around. She then whispered to Corinne, “The company’s computers were all infected with a virus, and the system has crashed completely! All of the company’s important files were lost…”

Corinne frowned. “And what does that have to do with me? They should be calling a technician to fix it if the computer’s broken.”

Joanna was evidently anxious. “The technicians are doing their best to repair it. The point is, Zoey reportedly told the manager that the virus came from your computer after you downloaded a game using the company computer.

“To make things worse, the boss invited some big shots to take a look at the company’s new project today, but it’s impossible to recover the presentation file that our department has worked so hard on. The entire situation left the manager fuming, and he’ll definitely blame you right now!”

‘Zoey? Zoey Firwood? The one whom everyone says has inside connections in the company?’ Corinne thought.

Zoey, like Corinne, was still midway through their internship period. Their company, Alpha Enterprises, made the international top 500 list of companies. Annually, a large number of high-achieving students put in a tremendous amount of hard work and effort just to try and get into the company.

Corinne secured the internship after receiving a letter of recommendation from the principal of New Capital University, which was due in no small part to her excellent grades. On the other hand, rumor had it that Zoey was a relative of the manager.

With only one permanent position left that year in Alpha Enterprises’ permanent employee quota, the battle to land that position was only between herself and Zoey.

By connecting the dots, Corinne could form a rough idea of what transpired.

…

Before Corinne knocked on the door of the manager’s office, she heard Zoey’s voice from within. It sounded like Zoey was trying to persuade the manager to calm down.

“Don’t worry, Uncle. The computers will be fixed eventually! This is all Corinne’s fault for playing games during working hours…”

The manager, Richard Channing, said angrily, “Where is that blasted Corinne? Why isn’t she here yet?!”

Corinne knocked on the door and pushed it open. “You wanted to see me, sir?”

When Richard saw her, he yelled, “Finally caring to show up? Are you supposed to clock in for work this late? You didn’t give any reasons for your absence from work yesterday either! What kind of work ethic do you have right now?”

Corinne walked in and explained in a kind manner, “I’m sorry, sir. I got married yesterday, and I’m late today because I encountered some trouble this morning.”

Richard felt that she had made a ridiculous excuse. “You got married? Well, assuming you did, couldn’t you have applied for leave? What do you take the company for? Your own home? This is the first time I’ve seen an employee who does whatever they want at work! First, you were absent, then you came late today, and after that, you played computer games instead of doing your work!”

Corinne seemed to have been very obedient. “I don’t have a lot of experience in marriage. It is my first time, after all. I promise I’ll apply for leave next time around.”

Richard was speechless, while Zoey could not stand to hear the conversation anymore.