The Sphere

Chapter 2: Zara Murad

Zara was known as the toughest boss in the Klang Valley, according to all those popular gossip blogs on the internet. People often asked me why I didn't write about Shazlin instead. Well, the answer was pretty simple. If I started writing about Shazlin, I'd have to write about Zara too. There was just no way around it. Zara was a constant presence in La Nona, and not a day went by without her making her mark.

Now, let's talk about this whole "bad boss" thing. In my opinion, Zara wasn't as terrible as everyone made her out to be. Personally, I thought she was actually a pretty great leader. She had an incredible work ethic, and her knowledge was off the charts. Many people recognised her intelligence and efficiency. The only issue with Zara was her unpredictable behaviour. Something had changed in her about five years ago, and she became this wild card.

Despite what everyone said about Zara, I tried my best to resist it all. Deep down, I was actually really proud to work for her. Whenever I talked about my boss, I couldn't help but feel a surge of pride. I mean, come on, I worked for Zara Murad! Sometimes, I even felt like a crazy egoist, willingly putting myself through the wringer just to boost my own ego.

So, yes, Zara may have had her quirks, but she was still a force to be reckoned with. And I was damn proud to be a part of her team.

However, that wasn't the only reason why I chose to work at La Nona. I had a bigger plan in mind - I wanted to change my career direction, and I believed that having Zara and La Nona on my resume would be a great addition to my portfolio.

Just like everyone else, I was chasing my dreams. It was this drive that pushed me out of bed every morning and into La Nona, even though I had to deal with Zara. Every day, I reminded myself not to give up easily. I stayed focused and tried my best not to take anything personally. After all, Zara was just a regular person who relied on people like me to keep the company running.

In my opinion, Zara's unpredictable behaviour stemmed from her personal life, which was a complete mess. Her children were causing her problems, and I could sense that it affected her mindset.

She knew that she had lost control over something she believed was rightfully hers. It was hard for her to accept this fact. However, Zara still wanted to feel like she had control over something, and that something turned out to be her employees. She expected us to never say no to her. But things got complicated because her desire for control shifted from "I can still control them" to "I can still control them, and they want to be controlled."

The person who got hit the hardest by Zara's change in behaviour was Shazlin. If Zara was mean to her other employees, she was super mean to Shazlin. But you know what? Shazlin had the patience of a saint. She tried her best not to let it bother her and saw it as a challenge. Now, here's the thing - I was pretty close to both of them, and I couldn't help but feel that Zara's attitude towards Shazlin stemmed from the fact that Shazlin had a tight bond with her grandfather, Mr Haris, the big boss of La Nona. Basically, Zara was green with envy. We were all at a loss, so the only thing we could do was ask Shazlin to hang in there and be patient.