ENCHANTED LOVE, VOLUME 2 - Season 9 Episode 48

“I…” Sheryl mindlessly looked at the tender face that was before her. The woman wore make up, but she could never mistake the sincerity painted on the fair lady’s face for someone else; Leila had been the same as she was three years ago.

Leila had been an innocent girl from the beginning, but she had changed a lot afterwards.

“May I ask who you want to see, please? Have you scheduled an appointment?” the receptionist had to ask Sheryl again, who was drifting off in her own thought. “I’m sorry, miss,” the receptionist said before Sheryl could respond, “but if you don’t have an appointment then it’s best you leave right now.”

“I’m not here to see anyone,” Sheryl said, forgetting to gather her words more wisely. She looked at the receptionist and was about to explain, “I am here to…”

The receptionist could not help but interrupt, “Not here to see anyone?”

The receptionist could not help but to cast a judgmental glance at Sheryl. After looking at her from top to toe, she subtly rolled her eyes and said, “I think it’s best if you leave now. This is not where you should be.”

Sheryl frowned faintly, not missing the underlying tone of irritation in the words of the one before her. ‘In a company, the receptionist is a very important position. How the receptionist treat the people will reflect the name of the company.

No matter who comes to visit the company, they must be treated with equal respect by the receptionist because the receptionist is the first employee that every person interested in the company will come in contact with.

Therefore, if a company has a great receptionist, every customer will be left with a satisfying and good impression of the company. However, if they are treated in such a rude manner, no matter how well the program goes, the customers’ first impression of the company will always be recollected from a bad experience, creating a bad reputation,’ thought Sheryl.

Sheryl was still not given the proper time to make herself understood since the rude receptionist once again ordered her to leave the premises, “Are you going away or not?” With an unamused face, the receptionist was determined to drive her away and rudely told her, “This is not the place where you can just come whenever you like. Get lost!”

At this point, Sheryl’s brows were tightly knitted together. She was just about to take her phone out to call Isla when an old employee who just happened to be passing by seemed to have recognized Sheryl. They stared at each other for a longer time than a person would stare at a stranger until Sheryl realized who she was and said, “Suse, do you remember me? It’s been three years since we last saw each other.”

The employee was still trying to recognize Sheryl, “Autumn?” Suse thought she was only looking at someone who resembled Autumn but was surprised to realize that it was really who she thought it was since rumor had it that Autumn died three years ago. If the person standing before her was really Autumn and if she really is alive, it would be hard for her to believe.

Only a few people who were close to Charles knew about the truth about Sheryl’s return, so it was normal that most employees had no idea that they were never really in close contact with the real story.

“Yes, it’s me. Although I do go by Sheryl now. Call me Sher if you like.” Sheryl smiled warmly, relieved to see a familiar face.

Back when she was still working in the Cloud Advertising Corp., Suse was a competent assistant to her. Three years had already gone by, but she was still working for the company with her unwavering loyalty.

Compared to what had she looked like three years ago, she looked more mature and sophisticated; she had grown.

“Is it really you? I can’t believe it!” Suse quickly walked towards Sheryl and excitedly took her hand, overwhelmed by the fact that someone she thought was dead was actually alive. She could not contain her joy and stammered, “Sheryl? What happened to you?”

Sheryl dipped her head to the side and shrugged. “It’s a long story.” She grinned being just as excited as her old co-worker was. However, Sheryl was still so clearly bitter about the things that happened just now. “Today, I went down here to see you, but I did not expect…”

Sheryl motioned her eyes towards the receptionist and said, “I did not expect to be questioned and rejected by the receptionist. I wasn’t even given the chance to say anything. I was just given orders to leave. Is it because I don’t look like a customer?”

“What’s the matter?” Suse glanced at the girl in the reception. She suddenly took on a serious tone and asked the receptionist with a stern look, “Why didn’t you let her in?”

“Manager, it’s not that…” The receptionist did not immediately understand what Sheryl was trying to imply. She had been just busy chatting with her boyfriend over the phone when Sheryl interrupted her. She was afraid that Sheryl would be witness to her slacking off and lousiness during her duty so she thought that the only way she could get rid of the evidence was to dispose of the visitor. Little did she know that the visitor she was rude to would know the manager, Suse.

Sheryl examined Suse, thinking how she had grown to a manager; more experienced and more matured wearing the right dress and the right make up to look like she was in charge.

“Explain it,” said Suse, staring down the lazy receptionist.

Suse also heard from the rumors that the receptionist was dating a customer, violating the office policy, so she did not like that she was working for the company, but she never got the chance to fire her;

not until Sheryl arrived and provided that opportunity. It was one thing to violate small policies, and another to disrespect and offend customers.

Nobody could have known that the receptionist would commit the worst mistake today.

Suse sneered and spoke to the receptionist, “Tell me about what just happened.”

The receptionist angrily glared at Sheryl, thinking she was a snitch. “This woman tried to break into our company without an appointment or an invitation at least. At first, I politely asked her who she wanted to see and what she wanted to do here, but she simply ignored me and gave me no answer. I had to ask her to leave right away.”

Suse, still unconvinced by the narrative of the receptionist, said, “Is that so?” She once again sneered.

“Yes, of course,” answered the receptionist who was already panicking. She was hurrying to keep her job because it would be difficult for her to find another easy job in the city with the same amount of salary paid to her by Isla. The job was perfect for her since she was satisfied that she could work under the aid of her boyfriend. The last thing she wanted to do was to lose this job because of such a woman.

She walked to Suse’s side for redemption and flattered her boss, trying to overcompensate for what she had done. “Suse, you know I’ve been working for the company for more than two months now. You’ve seen how responsible and hardworking I am. Besides, Isla told me to be strict with the people I let in, so I really am just doing my job to stick to company rules.”

She paused, creased into a faint smile and added, “Of course, I had no way of knowing that you knew her. If I had known the friendship between the both of you, I would have been more polite to her.”

The receptionist turned to Sheryl complaining, “Hey you, you should have told me earlier. If you did, there wouldn’t be a problem right now.”

Sheryl sneered at her, “Told you earlier? It was impossible to get you to give me the time to say.”

Awkwardness overcame the room. The receptionist turned pale but she pretended to be calm, held her head up and told Suse, “Suse, see? It was a complete misunderstanding. Can we agree not to let Isla know about this, please?”

The receptionist had always been aware that Isla did not like her and would dispatch of her in a heartbeat. That was why she tried to explain the matter to Suse and begged for her understanding.
Suse smiled and said, “Well, if you have offended another person, it would be no big deal, but you’ve offended Autumn — I mean, Sheryl, and she is the company boss. How am I supposed to help you?”

“What? What do you mean? How can she be…” The receptionist’s eyes grew wider in realization of what she did.

“Sheryl, since you’re the boss of the company, please do whatever it is in your will. You can fire her or you can keep her, and once you make the decision, I will immediately inform the personnel manager so they can make your choice effective immediately,” Suse told Sheryl.

However, Sheryl was hesitant for a moment — she was embarrassed even. “Suse, I think… It’s been so long that I’ve left the company, so I would rather leave the decision to Isla. After all, she has been managing the company now for such a long time. I’m sure she knows how to properly deal with the situation; she’s more experienced than I am after all.”

“What’s going to leave to me?” Suddenly, a female voice came from behind. It was at this moment that Isla came in, hearing everything that Sheryl said.