Bedmates Soulmates

Canay in The Gilded Cap?

Canary In The Gilded Cage

"Instead of feeling remorse, he carried on with it,' Kira sobbed. 'Even went out with that woman in public. I forced myself to turn a blind eye, but it only encouraged him. He made out with that woman right in front of my face. Unbelievable, right?' The girl was stupefied.

She'd offered her consolation because Kira looked really sad.

They were about the same age.

She thought Kira was crying over a bad breakup or something to do with school...

Never in a million years would she expect to hear a story straight out of 'Desperate Housewives!"

Kira was weeping.

The girl raised a hesitant hand and patted Kira on the shoulder. 'There, there."

'My sister's husband was a cheater too, the woman seated one row in front turned around and said to Kira. 'She ran him out of the house and got a divorce a month later. You gotta know, girl, once a cheater, always a cheater." 'Ain't that the truth, another woman across the aisle chimed in..

Soon, Kira was surrounded by a small group of fellow sisters who commiserated with her and joined in a chorus of curses against her cheating bastard of a husband.

In the president's office at the M Group, the 'cheating bastard' sneezed.

Evelyn immediately approached.

"Mr McCarthy, are you okay?' the secretary asked solicitously, reaching out a tentative hand.

'Stick to your job description if you don't want to be fired,' Austyn said without raising his head. His voice was colder than usual.

Evelyn's hand shrank back as if scalded.

She blushed, bowed deeply and said, 'I understand. I'm sorry, Mr McCarthy."

The secretary set down the coffee, bowed again and fled the office.

Kira had pulled herself together by the time the bus stopped.

The impromptu husband-bashing-cum-venting session provided some much needed relief.

She found a public restroom in a shopping mall and washed up.

Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she raised her right fist and said, 'New day, fresh start. Forget about the bastard. Time to make some dough!"

Kira reported on the dot at the HR manager's office at nine o'clock.

She was given a shiny new employee ID after completing all the paperwork.

It had her name and her smiling face on it.

It was even laminated!

She caressed the smooth PVC plastic as she surveyed her title again.

Kira Hewitt.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

Intern, Product Marketing, Sales & Marketing, Telecommunications. Kira

did her research before the interview.

The M Group was a behemoth.

It had a finger in nearly every pie in the most profitable industries.

Energy, retail, telecommunications, aviation, venture capital, e-commerce...

It was also making inroads into fintech in the past couple of years

Kira grinned back at her beaming face on the ID.

Now that she had one foot in the door, she would give it her best shot.

Maybe she could turn the two-month internship into a full-time offer if it went well.

"Don't get ahead of yourself,' she patted her face. 'One step at a time."

But the morning had gone so well that Kira couldn't help taking it as a sign of good things to come.

She allowed herself a moment to fantasise as she stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom.

An internship, then a full-time job.

She could get a steady income.

The dollars would add up.

She would pay off her debt to Austyn.

Her father would wake up.

She would move out of the villa and live with her father.

Their apartment would be small and rented at first, but she could work hard and save.

Any day with her father, hale and hearty, would be a happy day for her.

She could hold her head high and stand tall.

No longer the canary in the gilded cage, depending on someone else's largesse.

Slowly, a smile spread across her face as she started decorating her imaginary new apartment.

'Stop daydreaming!' Kira snapped out of her reverie. 'Keep your eyes on the ball."

She hurried out of the bathroom.

Paul Flenderson showed Kira around the department.

Telecommunications took up four floors of the office building.

The Sales & Marketing team alone had twelve employees.

Flenderson introduced Kira to her colleagues.

The new intern turned on the charm.

She greeted them cheerfully with a bright smile and a firm handshake.

Canap in The Giled Cage

She was polite, upbeat, and eager to learn.

Her colleagues took an immediate liking to the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed intern.

"Thanks, Mr Flenderson, we can take it from here," said Mariana, who had been appointed Kira's

supervisor. 'By the way, when are we going to get a new GL? I need someone to sign off on the reports that are piling up on my desk.

"Ahem," Paul cleared his throat. 'That's the other thing I was going to announce-I am your new group leader."

"What?"