The morning briefing started without any further delay or issue.
Andy barely paid attention, his mind was too focused on Ken. Eventually, within the first 10 minutes, he excused himself without a word.
He took the elevator and went back to his department and back to his office. The room was clean and most of the files were gone.
Andy sat hard on his chair, spinning once before placing his feet on the desk. The scene replayed in his mind over and over.
The comments, the embarrassment and finally the slap. His breathing hitched slightly, and he bit his lip hard enough to draw blood.
Then he heard it.
Knock, Knock, Knock!!
It snapped him out of his trance, he immediately organised himself, covering his mouth before answering.
"Um, come in." He shouted softly.
A young woman with messy hair entered, she slowly entered the room. "Um m-morning boss... You probably don't know me but my name is Marie Winchester."
"I'm umm....your secretary. Basically Rumi's assistant but also your assistant in a way." She tells him, her body swaying side to side.
Andy blinked a few times, his hand turning red from the sheer amount of blood. "Oh nice to meet you, it's really nice to meet you."
He told her, wiping his hand on his pants. He smiled at her as his lip and nose bled a little. Marie noticed but didn't say anything.
"Yeah, so anyway.... I just wanted to ask if I should bring in the remaining files."
"Remaining files?" Andy asked.
Marie nodded slowly, her gaze glancing over towards the desk filled with incomplete work. "Yes, Rumi forgot to bring the rest of the files that remained."
As Marie said this, two individuals entered the office carrying a pile of even more files and documents.
Andy sighed heavily, "Just put them on the floor over there." He guided them.
Andy looked at the pile of documents that suddenly started accumulating space. This pushed him back to 0.
"So when you're done just call me or Rumi or me. Whoever you're comfortable with." She told him.
Andy smiled, a big bright smile towards Marie, "Alright, I'll have this done in no time."
"I'll prove to all those bastards that I'm not a pawn, but I'm a player in this game." He thought to himself.
Marie nodded, she saw the determination in his eyes.
As soon as Marie left, Andy started working. He received a call from Jade who told him that his attitude towards the briefing was childish at best.
Andy apologised and said it would never happen again.
Andy continues to work throughout the day and into the night. The clock ticked slowly with every passing second.
Tick, Tick, Tick.
The hours soon turned to days as Andy kept on working. He barely left the office, the only time he'd be seen was during briefing or meeting.
Rumi would come over and bring him some food and fresh clothes.
She also told him that if he wanted to take a shower, he should go across the street by the gas station.
Andy asked her" why not just build a shower inside the building if you're not going to allow your employees rest and relaxation."
Rumi told him because of leaks, and that was all.
As the days went by, so did Andy's mental health. Lack of sleep plus extended stress was not a good combination.
Eventually work soon started to get to him, his eyes developed bags and soon he had a bad posture.
After a week, Andy had literally started living at the office, his daily routine was work, bathroom, sleep and work again.
Rumi and Marie were the only ones who would visit from time to time.