“Offensive, you’ve got to be kidding me,” Sandra scoffed, then took a few steps toward Rose and got right in her face. “I’m the boss around here, I’ll talk to you however I want. I’m in control here, not you, so back off princess, and do your job.”
“I was trying to do my job,” she said, finding her voice again. “You keep making it more difficult.”
“I’m making things difficult, you’re the one who is incompetent, look at this place, look at this disorganized mess,” Sandra screeched, then went over and picked up one of the piles of invoices and dropped it on the floor. “Oops, sorry about that, you’re going to want to pick that up.”
When she walked over to pick it up, Sandra grabbed another one, pulled off the paper clip, and dropped the stack on the floor, then used her foot to scatter the pile across the room. Shocked, she could only stare as the older woman walked around the room doing the same thing over and over until the floor was covered with paper and the tables were nearly empty. Behind her, Malcolm silently slipped out of his seat in front of thetraining computer, then out of the room and down the hallway to Roger’s office, but she didn’t notice.
Instead, she was watching as Sandra continued to destroy the room, an evil smile on her face. “Roger will fire you for sure when he sees this mess,” she sang as she moved around the room. “Then Amanda can have your job and everything is going to be just fine, like it should have been all along.”
“Sandra, maybe we should sit down and discuss this,” she said, not sure what to do to stop her. “This isn’t going to work. Roger will know I didn’t do this, please stop, let’s talk about it, maybe there’s a way…Amber can get a job, too.”
“It’s Amanda, you stupid little bitch,” Sandra said, stomping over to one of the computers and yanking it to the floor with a huge crash. “There, that should be enough to get you fired, but we need just one more to make good and sure you’re out the door.”
Sandra reached for another computer but before she could throw it to the floor, Roger was in the doorway. “I wouldn’t do that, Sandra,” he said, stepping into the room. “You’re already going to have to pay for the first one.”
She froze for a second, hands only inches from the monitor, then slowly straightened up, a wild look in her eye. “I didn’t do this,” Sandra said, then pointed at Rose. “She did. I came in here to help her, and she started throwing a fit. She called me names and tried to hit me. I accidentally knocked the computer off while trying to get away from her. We should call the police, she’s dangerous. I told you it was a mistake to hire a spoiled rich girl like her, we should have hired Amanda, we wouldn’t be having all these problems.”
Rose opened her mouth to defend herself. “Roger, I didn’t…that’s not what happened,” she stammered, still in a bit of shock. “She just came in here and started…”
“Don’t listen to her,” Sandra barked. “She’s nothing but a little liar.”
Roger took a long, slow look around the room, then shook his head. “We saw what you did, Sandra, and I heard most of what you said,” he ground out between clenched teeth. “My office, now, we need to have a very long talk.”
CHAPTER 7
***MALCOLM***
Malcolm watched Sandra stomp out of the room, still shocked by her complete meltdown and even more stunned when she walked past him, cussing him out for running to Roger like a big baby. He’d never liked the woman all that much; she’d been difficult from the day he started, but he’d never seen her act like a lunatic before, and it was sobering to know that a perfectly normal person could become so unhinged.
Turning, he found Rose staring at the open doorway just like he had been, a look of complete bewilderment on her face, the shattered computer and monitor at her feet. “I didn’t…she just…oh…that was…” her words died away with a huge sigh. “I think I need to sit down or something…”
He rushed over to her and helped her through the broken glass and plastic, then pulled out a chair and helped her into it. “Hold on, I’ll go get you some hot tea,” he said. “I think that’s what you’re supposed to do in this situation.”
“Tea would be good,” she said, giving him a weak smile. “I feel a little shaky.”
“I don’t blame you,” he said, gently pushing her hair behind her ears. “Will you be okay by yourself for a few minutes?”
She nodded and looked up at him. “I’ll be okay,” she said. “She didn’t hurt me. It was just a little scary, but it’s over now.”
“Roger will handle everything,” he said. “I should have gone for him sooner. I didn’t think she was going to go that far. I never imagined she’d start breaking things.”
“I think that’s what scared me the most,” Rose said, shaking her head. “She was awful to me all last week, but today…I don’t know, it was like something inside her snapped. I feel kind of sorry for her, if you want to know the truth. There must be some very messed up things in her life right now.”
“Yeah, I feel sorry for her too,” he said, glad to see some color coming back into Rose’s cheeks. “I’m just going to grab that tea, I’ll be right back.”
Vanessa was in the breakroom when he walked in. “What’s going on?” she asked. “I heard Sandra yelling, then a big crash. They’ve been locked up in Roger’s office ever since. I swear I heard Sandra yelling at him, too.”
“She’s completely lost it, I don’t get it, she’s always been a little mean, but this was next level,” he said, filling a cup with water and putting it in the microwave. “She lost it on Rose and then destroyed a computer. Roger stopped her just as she was going to ruin another one.”
“Do you think he’ll fire her?” Vanessa asked. “It sounds like she went crazy. Is Rose okay? Sandra didn’t hurt her, did she?”
“Rose is a little shaken up, but she’s fine. She feels bad for Sandra,” he said, shaking his head. “Can you believe that? After everything she just went through, she’s not angry, she feels sorry for her.”
Vanessa studied him for a second. “It’s called empathy, smart guy,” she said, then started stacking cookies on a plate, and then looked back up at him. “You like her, don’t you?”
The microwave dinged, allowing him to dodge her question while he fixed the tea, including a generous amount of sugar. “I’dbetter take this to Rose before it gets cold,” he said, reaching for the plate of cookies.
“Not so fast,” Vanessa said, not letting go. “You didn’t answer my question.”
