CHAPTER 2. Something is Very Wrong...**NOVEMBER. VANCOUVER**"Andrea! To my office! Now!"The shout from her boss, a middle manager at SportUnike, made her jump in her seat, anxious because she knew he was in a very bad mood that day."Is this a damn joke?" he growled, throwing a folder of documents at her face. "I clearly told you I needed the budget reports for the water sports division from last month!"Andrea's eyes widened."But... Mr. Trembley... I'm sure you said you wanted this month's reports...""Don't argue with me, you useless idiot!" her boss snapped. At fifty years old, Peter Trembley was as unpleasant as his bulging belly, but Andrea had to endure him because she had barely managed to get a job as his assistant, and she and her daughter depended on it to survive. "Don't you realize what's happening? SportUnike is gone! A Swiss bastard bought it, and now we'll just be a part of his company! Do you know what that means?"Andrea knew. The arrival of a new owner had create

CHAPTER 4: This is War!Trembley's face visibly reddened, and the hardness in his eyes remained."Waiting for Andrea?" he growled. "Are you trying to be funny, or do you not know that interpersonal relationships are prohibited in this company?""Well, I'm a slow learner, but I tend to imitate," Zack replied sarcastically. "Maybe I got confused when I saw you climbing on her like a lizard needing sunlight."The old man clenched his teeth and released Andrea abruptly before walking up to Zack."Don't get in my way, kid. You're just a newcomer, and I can...""What? Fire me?" Zack interrupted with a cold voice. "Well... you can try, but you'll find my job here doesn't depend on you. I belong to the team of the company owner, and only he can fire me. I'm sure he wouldn't look kindly on a manager trying to dismiss me without justified cause."Trembley clenched his fists and glared at Zack with a malevolent, defiant expression."Maybe your job is safe," he spat, "but hers leaves much to be

CHAPTER 6: An UltimatumSaying Andrea had worked hard to prepare and earn a promotion to an apprentice representative was an understatement.Trembley was more than upset to see her spending so much time with Zack, but his first attempt to fire him was also his last."But he's getting too close to one of his colleagues! That's not allowed in this company!" he bellowed at the Human Resources manager."Well, I sent his termination letter to corporate, and they sent it back with a big DENIED stamp," the man replied. "You can't fire him."Trembley stormed out of there, more furious than ever. In four months, Andrea had managed to evade him, but now it seemed she had someone helping her. And that idiot Zack seemed untouchable.Andrea, on her part, kept dodging Trembley as much as she could. Despite Trembley's relentless workload, she took every spare moment to study the materials Zack gave her.She had put everything else aside to study. As soon as Adriana fell asleep next to her, she would

CHAPTER 8. No Way Out"No... I don’t want to be that kind of person," she stammered, unable to hold back her tears."Then I’ll fire you," Trembley declared without a shred of compassion. "Those are your options. Either you sleep with me and be sure you'll have a promising future here, or you refuse and this termination letter becomes effective tomorrow... and the day after tomorrow, prepare to lose your daughter."Andrea was trapped between two fires; she didn't care about the promotion, but if she refused Trembley's offer, she'd lose her job. And as if he needed to give her a final push, Trembley leaned in and began signing the termination letter."Wait..." Andrea murmured, and that was all the old man needed. He took a paper, wrote an address, and handed it to her. "Meet me here tonight. Now get out of my office."With a trembling hand and knowing she had no other way out, Andrea took the paper and left. She tried to cry unnoticed, but unfortunately, the damn company didn’t have the

CHAPTER 10. Can't or Won't!?“That’s a woman! One who doesn’t want to sleep with you! Or did that glass of vomit not tell you anything?” Zack retorted sarcastically, because Andrea had had the most honest reaction in the world.“She wants to move up! Promotions cost, that’s no news. She came here on her own, so she can deal with the consequences of her decision,” Trembley spat with contempt. “That’s how climber sluts are: if she wants to climb up, who am I to refuse?”Zack gritted his teeth in anger.“Do you think I’m stupid?” he hissed in disgust. “Andrea didn’t come here because she wants to move up, she came because you fired her.” Trembley clenched his teeth in disbelief. “That’s right. I went into your office and saw the dismissal letter. You swapped her job, which she depends on, for sleeping with you…”“You’re fired!” Trembley shouted furiously. “You can’t break into a manager’s office! I’m the boss in that company and you’re just another employee! Tomorrow morning, you’re fire