Cynthia Rivera cast a cold, disdainful glance down at Tristan Davis, let out a dismissive snort, and strutted out of the office, high heels clicking sharply on the polished floor.
As Cynthia’s muttering faded behind her, Hilaria Vargas couldn’t help but light a candle for herself in her mind—a small gesture of sympathy for the trouble she knew was coming.
After taking Cynthia through the onboarding process, Hilaria led her to the administrative assistants’ office and introduced her to the other two secretaries.
Finally, Hilaria pointed to the empty desk at the far end of the room. “That’s your desk. No one’s used it for a while, so you’ll want to clean it up.”
Cynthia, visibly uncomfortable, walked over with a frown. She wiped a finger along the surface of the desk, which came away covered in dust.
She wrinkled her nose in disgust. “This is filthy.”
Hilaria just smiled. “There are cleaning cloths in the restroom. You can use one to wipe it down. I’ve got work to get back to, so I’ll leave you to it.”
Cynthia pouted, still dissatisfied. “And why is there so much paperwork piled up here?”
The other two assistants glanced over, exchanging puzzled looks.
“That’s just what the previous employee left behind,” Hilaria explained patiently. “You can sort through it and toss what you don’t need.”
“Why do I have to clean up everything myself?” Cynthia muttered, lips pursed.
Hilaria lowered her gaze, patience wearing thin, and returned to her own desk to tackle her growing workload.
Left alone, Cynthia stood in front of her new desk, jaw clenched. “I can do this. I just have to hang in there,” she muttered under her breath.
Across the room, the other assistants shot questioning looks at Hilaria, who could only give a helpless shrug.
A little later, Hilaria headed back to Tristan Davis’s office, wanting to clarify Cynthia’s position.
“Mr. Davis, I wanted to ask about Ms. Rivera. What kind of work should I assign her? I’d appreciate some specific instructions.”

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