Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 194

Chapter 194

Garrison and Bellagamba both stepped outside and, after a moment, the lady from HR stepped in. It was the one you and Gemma hadn't reported to, who worked up on the second floor. She'd been there during one of your interviews but you hadn't seen her since you started at the firm.

And you quickly decided that you were happy about that.

This lady just stood there at the doorway, starting out a little startled that Garrison firmly shut the door as she stepped in, and then simply frosty and glaring. The strange thing was that she hadn't seemed to be so... well, bitchy when she'd sat in on your interview. Was that just a front, or had something happened to make her act like that?

She was eyeing all of you, and all of you were watching her.

"Ahem," she coughed, glaring.

All of you got back to work, typing softly and only stealing glances towards her and the door. The typing, however, didn't overpower the muted, stern voices that were happening out in the hallway. You couldn't tell what was being said, but it was clear that Garrison and Bellagamba were having an intense discussion.

'Mom and Dad are fighting'' Sabrina sent over the slack channel we all shared. Not the official Intern one, since Joy was in that one.

You knew exactly when Gemma read it because she almost spit out a laugh and coughed to cover it up. Glancing over to her, you met her eyes as she kept coughing into her elbow, her eyes watering a little. You looked over at Sabrina and she was trying not to giggle at the response she'd gotten. The HR lady didn't seem to be catching on.

"Hah!" Eric barked out a quick laugh when he saw the message.

The HR lady turned and glared at him, and he shrunk in his seat a bit as he stared at his laptop screen and mumbled an apology.

The voices outside the door cut off abruptly, and a moment later the door opened. Garrison was holding it open and Joy walked in. The smirk on her lips, and the pleased crinkle of her eyes as she looked around the room, was more than enough to let you know she was feeling totally in control and had a secret she was keeping.

Garrison shut the door again once she was inside, which broke that facade for a moment, but she turned back to the room and gave the HR lady a smarmy, simpering smile. "Good morning, Cheryl," she said.

"Good morning, Joy," apparently-Cheryl said, giving her a tight little smile in return.

"So, I guess something is going on..." Joy began saying to the room, clearly leading into gloating, as she made her way around the conference table. But then she saw the napkins. And the crumbs. And the coffee cups. Her face hardened and her smile turned into a sneer. "Um, excuse me? I thought it was made clear that you weren't allowed to make any purchases for yourself along with the regular coffee orders. This might as well be insubordination. And theft. Cheryl, are you going to do something about this?"

"Actually," Gemma said. "I bought everything with my own money. Just a Monday morning treat to help us get started."

Joy narrowed her eyes. "Well, where's mine then? Are you excluding me? Because that sounds like bullying and workplace harassment. I am part of the head of the intern team."

"Oh, sorry," Gemma said, putting on an innocent look and tone. "I just got snacks for the crew of us who are here before the start of the day. I figured since you're always in sometime after 10 that you probably have time for a proper breakfast."

"Hm," Cheryl hummed a soft grunt. It was like an auditory 'Cheryl will remember this' from a video game. And it was music to your ears.

"Well, I- I have permission from a partner of the firm to work the hours I do," Joy stuttered, noting the slightly raised eyebrow of Cheryl. Then she steeled herself a little. "But that's neither here nor there. I still find it disrespectful that you would exclude me on purpose."

"Sorry, but you can't force me to buy you things," Gemma said. "Not with my own money. Can she, Cheryl?"

Cheryl pursed her lips for a moment as she regarded the two women at either end of the room. "No, she can't," Cheryl said. "But if this is any sort of ongoing issue we'll need to put in a new policy of not bringing in food other than for your own consumption. And I don't want to have to go through that process."

"I'll keep that in mind, Cheryl," Gemma smiled sweetly. "I wouldn't want to cause you any extra work."

Joy, foiled for the moment, sat down and started to make herself look busy. It was the most you'd ever seen her physically do with her laptop since you'd met her.

The door opened and both Garrison and Bellagamba stepped back inside. Garrison looked annoyed, and a little frustrated. Bellagamba was like ice.

"Mother, I-" Joy started.

"It will need to wait," Garrison said, holding up a finger.

Joy worked her mouth like a fish out of water. Her eyes looked like she was screaming at her mother psychically or something, but Bellagamba just glanced at her daughter and then scanned the rest of us again with that icy glare.

"Alright. Here's the deal, folks," Garrison said. "First, there is no 'senior intern' or 'head intern' or whatever position. You're all interns, all of equal position. Joy, just because you've spent the last four summers doing the same job here, it doesn't give you the right to act as anyone's supervisor. You are not to be giving other interns direction, let alone performance reviews. If someone needs something from you all, literally anyone else from the office will come down here and tell you, or ask for it by email. Next, Joy, from what I understand you've been arriving and leaving with your mother throughout the day. If you are going to keep your internship at this firm, you're not a Partner's daughter. You are to arrive here on time to work, you will take the half-hour lunch break with the others, and you will leave at end of business. And you will participate in the Coffee rotation, just like everyone else."

You thought Joy might actually just die, the way she was slowly turning pink and red. "Mother-" she squeaked.

Bellagamba just turned and walked out.

"Cheryl, please make a note of this verbal warning in Joy's file," Garrison said.

Cheryl nodded.

"John, Gemma and Sabrina, come with me please," Garrison said. He waved Cheryl out and then stepped out of the office.

There was a part of you that wanted to see what Joy would do or say once there weren't any 'adults' in the room. The larger part of you wanted to be outside the blast radius. You stood, and Gemma and Sabrina were quickly doing the same.