Chapter 6
Everyone kept their heads bowed, barely daring to breathe.
Emma didn't even look at them again. She grabbed my hand and headed straight into the building, not hesitating for a second.
The executives parted like we were radioactive, clearing a path for us without a single word.
We walked into the grand, luxurious lobby.
Emma stopped and shot a look back at Mason, who looked like he'd just seen a ghost.
"You have ten minutes," she said. "I want the manager of that Vogue Place branch, and every single person involved, fired.
"I want them out of here, right this second.
"And draft an announcement. Send it to everyone in the group.
"Make it clear that this comes straight from me. Vogue Group has no place for heartless people."
Mason's face turned white as a sheet.
He replied, his voice shaking, "Yes, yes... I'll do it right now."
Emma finally nodded with approval, clearly satisfied.
Emma took my hand and led me straight to the opulent elevator reserved just for the chairman.
The doors glided open with a soft chime.
She ushered me inside.
As the elevator doors slowly slid shut, Emma turned to me and spoke softly, "Alyssa, don't be afraid. Today, I'm here to fight for you.
"From now on, nobody in this company will ever dare to mess with you again."
It was just the two of us in the elevator.
The elevator glided upward, smooth, silent, and swift.
I stared at my tear-stained, bewildered face reflected in the elevator's mirror.
Next to me, Emma looked calm and collected, as if she'd just handled something trivial.
I felt like I was dreaming, an absurd and surreal dream.
In this dream, I went from a nobody scraping by at the bottom to suddenly becoming the queen's trusted confidant, right at her side.
"Um... I..." I stammered, finally finding my voice but unsure what to call Emma.
"You can just call me Emma," Emma said, her smile warm and gentle.
For a moment, she seemed just like that quiet, humble, aged lady I used to see sitting silently in the corner of the mall.
"Emma," I managed to say. "Emma, what's going on? I... I don't understand."
The elevator reached the top floor with a soft ding.
The doors slid open.
We stepped into an office that was not just spacious, but dripping with luxury.
Floor-to-ceiling windows stretched across the wall, giving us a breathtaking view of the city below.
Emma gently walked me over to the huge floor-to-ceiling window.
She pointed outside at the bustling forest of steel and glass.
"Alyssa, look," she said softly. "This city is big, but it's a cold place.
"Too many people here end up losing things more precious than money, just to get by.
"Like their conscience, the very thing that makes us human."
I just sat there, quietly taking it all in.
"I'm aged now," Emma said, her voice tinged with weariness. "My kids and grandkids are all overseas. None of them cares much about this little business here.
"I've been searching for the right person to take over this big family business.
"Someone with both ability and a good heart."
My heart skipped a beat.
I looked at her, totally in disbelief.
"You... you mean..." I stammered.
"Exactly," Emma replied.
She turned around, her piercing eyes fixed on me, making me feel like she could see right through me.
"These past three years, I wasn't just hanging around for a bit of cool air," Emma said. "I was sizing people up.
"I disguised myself as a broke, lonely woman, just to see if, in this cutthroat society, there was still someone I could truly entrust everything to.
"I observed everyone in that mall.
"Cameron's constant currying favor, Kaylee's biting sarcasm, and the others were just numb and apathetic...
"You were the only one."
Her eyes grew impossibly gentle, filled with warmth.
"Just you, Alyssa. Three years. One thousand and ninety-five days," Emma said. "Every single day, you poured me a glass of water.
"No matter what others said, no matter how much the manager scolded you, you never once faltered.
"What you gave me wasn't just a glass of water.
"It was the last shred of genuine kindness in this cold world, untainted, pure, and real."
I was left speechless, completely overwhelmed by her words.
It had never crossed my mind.
A tiny, instinctive gesture of kindness from me, yet to someone else, it carried so much weight.
"But... but I don't know anything," I blurted out, frantically waving my hands, panic written all over my face. "I'm just an ordinary store clerk. I never even graduated from college...
"How am I supposed to run a huge company like this?"