Chapter 4 Her True Colors
Athena raised her gaze and locked eyes with Ruby, noticing something she hadn’t before—Ruby resembled Freya, more than even she did. The resemblance was uncanny, almost unsettling. It was hard not to notice the bitterness in Ruby’s eyes as she looked at Athena, and a feeling of tension built between them.
“I will,” Athena nodded, her voice calm and collected, trying not to show the unease bubbling within her.
Ruby smiled sweetly, her voice dripping with false warmth, “Thank you, Athena. I’ll do my best to learn quickly!”
Athena simply replied with a polite smile, not letting the underlying venom in Ruby’s tone affect her. Byron, who was standing nearby, observed the exchange silently. He could sense the undercurrent of hostility between the two women, but he chose to ignore it, assuming it was just the usual office dynamics. Little did he know, Athena had far more control over the situation than he realized.
In his mind, a voice echoed, “She doesn’t care because she’s not jealous…” It irritated him to no end. Why did Athena always remain so indifferent, so unbothered?
“I need coffee,” Byron muttered under his breath, storming into his office, clearly irritated by the growing tension.
Later, in the break room, Athena and Ruby were left alone. The air between them thickened with the unspoken challenge.
“Miss Holland,” Athena began, her tone measured, “Mr. Crawford is quite particular about his coffee’s taste, so if you’re going to make it, you need to be precise.”
Ruby, however, wasn’t interested in discussing coffee. With her arms crossed and a smug look on her face, she interrupted, “Athena, I suggest you avoid being around Byron in the future. Whenever he sees you, it puts him in a bad mood. He is my man now, and I don’t want him to be unhappy.”
Athena’s gaze hardened, and she took a step closer to Ruby. “Miss Holland, if you want me to leave quickly, you might want to stop talking and focus on learning,” Athena said coolly as she continued grinding the coffee beans.
Ruby’s face twisted with frustration. Her words had been intended to provoke Athena, to elicit some reaction from her. But Athena didn’t bite. Instead, she remained calm and collected, much to Ruby’s growing annoyance.
Ruby’s frustration boiled over. “You’re just a loser who got dumped by Byron. What are you so proud of?” she sneered.
Athena met her words with an icy stare. “Today is our first meeting, isn’t it? Why do you hate me so much already?”
Caught off guard, Ruby stammered, “I—I don’t hate you!”
Athena tilted her head, observing her closely. “Is it because you haven’t slept with Byron yet?”
Ruby’s face reddened with embarrassment and rage. “D-Don’t be ridiculous!” she snapped.
“I’m just asking,” Athena continued calmly, “but there are two sets of notes on the desk in the secretary’s room. One is Byron’s secretary handbook, and the other is his lover’s handbook. It contains all his preferences.”
Ruby’s eyes widened in confusion. “What do you mean?” she asked, her suspicion growing. She couldn’t believe Athena was being so… helpful.
Athena shrugged casually, continuing to brew the coffee. “I’m just handing over my work. What do you think I mean?” She smiled softly. “Miss Holland, I don’t care about Byron as much as you think. It’s just a job. I’ve always been professional when it comes to work, and I’ll teach you everything I know. But how much you learn and whether you can please Byron… that’s up to you.”
Ruby furrowed her brows, skeptical of Athena’s intentions. She couldn’t quite figure her out, but one thing was certain—Athena was playing her own game.
“Well, you better do as you say,” Ruby muttered, still unsure whether to trust Athena.
Athena didn’t react to her words. Instead, she pushed the freshly brewed coffee towards Ruby and gave her a gentle smile. “Since you’ve been talking so much, I’ll give you a heads-up too. I’ll let it go this time. But remember, just go on and do whatever pleases Byron, and steer clear of me. Don’t mess with me, or I can’t promise what might happen next.”
Ruby felt a chill run down her spine. She had never expected Athena to fire back like this. Everyone always said Athena was forgiving and non-confrontational, but right now, she seemed completely different. Athena was no longer the meek, submissive woman Ruby had thought her to be. In fact, Athena looked positively formidable.
Before Ruby could respond, a knock sounded at the door.
“Athena, the head of the sales team 1 is looking for you!” a voice called from the other side.
“Coming!” Athena tapped the table lightly and turned to Ruby. “Why are you still standing there? Take the coffee to Mr. Crawford.”
With that, Athena left the break room, leaving Ruby standing there, fuming with both frustration and confusion.
As soon as Athena left, the director of the sales department, Eric Lane, stormed in. His face was red with anger, his voice sharp. “No wonder you screwed up so badly. Looks like you’re on the verge of quitting! If we hadn’t scheduled a meeting to go over the plan ahead of time, you would’ve bailed ages ago! I bet you took some cash from our rivals and deliberately sabotaged our agreement so we would lose this partnership!”
Eric’s accusations were harsh and pointed, and Athena could feel her heart race with the pressure. She had always been meticulous with her work, so the idea that she had messed up this badly was unfathomable.
“Mr. Lane, can you please calm down? What’s going on?” Athena asked, trying to maintain control of the situation.
“The contract data and the list from Maxwell Electronics were provided by you, right?” Eric demanded, his tone accusatory.
“Yes,” Athena confirmed, “I carefully checked all the data and handed it over to your sales department after making sure there were no issues.”
Eric scoffed. “Nonsense!” he shouted. “This order is crucial. Losing it means losing out on huge commissions, and the company’s resources for the next quarter will be redirected to other teams!”
He slammed a stack of documents onto the table in front of her. Athena picked them up and began going through them. As her eyes scanned the pages, she immediately noticed the problem. There were six errors, all of which were difficult to spot at first glance. Two of them involved numbers—details that seemed so minor yet were critical to the deal.
“This isn’t the one I gave you,” Athena said firmly, setting the documents down and meeting Eric’s gaze.
Eric’s face turned even redder. “So what, you’re saying our sales department made this up to set you up? At the cost of giving up our big commission?” He slammed his hand on the desk in frustration.
At that moment, Byron walked out of his office, sensing the tension in the air.
“What’s all the commotion about?” Byron asked.
“Mr. Crawford!” Eric rushed over, eager to explain the situation to him.
Beside Byron, Ruby was quick to insert herself into the conversation. “Mr. Lane, it seems like Athena’s got some family stuff going on lately. Maybe that’s why she’s not herself and messed up. You should go easy on her. You’ll get another order. It’s not worth getting yourself worked up!”
Athena glared at Ruby. It was clear that Ruby wasn’t taking her warning seriously.
“Miss Holland, I didn’t mess anything up. Are you accusing me without any proof?” Athena asked sternly, her patience wearing thin.
Ruby feigned innocence, her voice dripping with sweetness. “Athena, you’ve got me all wrong! I’m just trying to clear things up for you! You’re being so rude!” she said, turning to Byron with a pleading look.
Byron narrowed his eyes as he looked between the two women, the atmosphere in the room thick with unspoken tension. In his mind, the truth about Athena was starting to reveal itself, and it wasn’t quite what he had expected.