REPORTS
Nolan sat in his office quietly as his head was in a total mess, right now he needed to put a lot of things straight.
Picking up his phone, he called Layla so she could get him the reports he told her to work on, but it didn’t go through.
Nolan was growing more and more frustrated. He couldn’t believe that Layla was ignoring his calls, she was usually so prompt and attentive. He started to worry that something might be wrong. “Layla, can you hear me?” he said into the phone, raising his voice slightly. There was no answer. He hung up the phone and went out into the hallway, scanning for any sign of Layla. The office was eerily quiet, and there was no sign of her anywhere. Where could she be? He thought to himself worriedly.
It was almost as if she had vanished into thin air. Nolan went to check the break room, the conference room, and even the supply closet, but she was nowhere to be found. He was starting to feel a bit frantic. What if something had happened to her? He pulled out his phone and called her number again. This time, it went straight to voicemail.
Seeing she was nowhere around. He guessed that she was out for lunch. So he proceeded to find the files himself.
Nolan grumbled to himself as he started to search for the files he needed. This was taking much longer than it should have, and he had other things he needed to do. But he couldn’t focus on anything else until he found the reports. After searching through several filing cabinets.
He still couldn’t find what he was looking for, he was about to give up when his eyes caught something.
Walking straight to the shredding machine, he picked up a few pieces of papers that had been shredded to pieces and if his eyes were not failing him, it was the same report he had asked Layla to work on. Nolan’s heart sank as he examined the shredded pieces of paper more closely. It was definitely the same report, no doubt about it. Why would Layla have shredded it when she knew he needed it urgently.
Layla’s eyes widened in surprise, and her face paled. “I… I’m sorry, I was… I was…” she stammered, clearly struggling to find the right words.
Nolan fixed her with a stern gaze. “Spit it out, Layla,” he said, his voice low and threatening. Layla took a deep breath.
“I went out for lunch..” Layla stammered in fear wondering why he was looking so angry.
Nolan’s brow furrowed in confusion. “You went out for lunch?” he asked, his tone skeptical. “Where did you go? And what happened to this?” He brought out the shredded papers tossing it on her face.
Layla’s mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. She looked as if she wanted to say something, but couldn’t find the words. What happened to the reports?
“How dare you destroy my reports!” Nolan’s voice thundered, his voice booming with anger. “You had no right to do that, and you know it!”
Layla took a step back, shaking her head frantically.
“No, no, that’s not what happened!” she protested., She had no hand in it, before she left she left the reports intact on the table as she was done working on them..
“Please, you have to believe me! I would never do something like that!” But Nolan was having none of it.
“You knew how urgently I needed this Layla!!” He fired angrily at her.
“I swear Nolan, I have no idea about this or how it happened” she tried to defend herself.
“I don’t believe you, you’re always bound to do something stupid, Layla” Nolan uttered his voice cold like ice.
“You’re clearly lying, and I won’t stand for it. You’re fired, effective immediately. Now get your things and leave”
Layla’s eyes filled with tears and her lower lip trembled.
“Please, you can’t do this!” she pleaded.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.
“I need this job. Please, I’m begging you, just give me another chance!” But it was clear that Nolan’s mind was made up.
“Go home Layla, there’s no need for you to work anyway. I take care of all your expenses. Just go home before you do anything more stupid..” he waved her off. He was refraining himself from doing something cruel to her, so it was best she left before he hurt her.
Layla felt like she had been punched in the gut. “You… you take care of my expenses?” she said, her voice barely audible.
“But I have to earn my own money Nolan ” How could he ask her to quit her job?
Layla’s mind was racing. She couldn’t afford to lose this job, not with her financial situation being what it was. And she knew she hadn’t done anything wrong. Something wasn’t right here. She couldn’t just let this go.
“Nolan, please,” she begged, her voice desperate. “I know you’re angry, but I didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t destroy the reports, I swear. You have to believe me!”
“I don’t know who did it,” Layla said, her voice growing stronger.
“But it wasn’t me. Please, I need this job. I can’t lose this job. Can’t you give me a chance to prove my innocence?” She could see the doubt in Nolan’s eyes, but there was also something else there. Something that made her stomach churn.
“Go home Layla..” he said softly. He just wanted her to leave.
“Nolan please believe..” Layla began in a low voice.
“I was out for lunch the whole time, you can ask Xander. We went together.” If there was any person that could help her out of this mess, it was Xander.
“Xander?” He called out as his eyes narrowed.
“Yes. Please believe me Nolan. I can’t destroy something I’ve worked so hard to arrange..” that was a very stupid thing to do. She spent hours getting the report done, how could she just destroy it.
“Go home for now Layla..”
“But I don’t..”
“I’m not firing you..” he chimed in.
“Just leave!”
“But Nol…”
“Are you deaf!!!?” He yelled at her as Layla clutched her purse tighter.
She guessed she had to leave for now, maybe in the process try to prove her innocence.
Turning her back, she slowly left, leaving Nolan in the office.