Through Ash and Dust (ROTB)

Chapter 2

After she returned to her office after she had her lunch, Saphira took the time to relax. The morning had been very stressful, and she and her team were just happy that they didn't have to be too busy. They were still working on their project, but Saphira had told them to take it easy. There were only a few hours left of the workday, so there really was no rush in making any kind of completion for the day. Besides, Saphira had decided to maybe give Arthur's friend a ring. But she was not sure on the idea of owning a Porsche.

It's just a statement car, they aren't necessarily useful aside from a nice appearance and speed. That's not really what I want from a car.

But if Arthur was not lying, she would not have to spend a heap of money on a new car. The car in question did have some trunk space, so she could technically go shopping with it. But given what she felt, she was not sure. She really needed to think on it before making the decision to even call the man about it. She also wanted to give Arthur time to inform his friend that someone could be interested in the car. So for the rest of the day she simply relaxed.

When her day came to an end, Saphira was happy she did not need to stay behind, nor did anyone else. She had always made sure that no one stayed overtime here under her watch. Claudia often had her team stay back, which Saphira always thought was wrong. Anthony sometimes had his team stay back, but he would stay with them, so she really didn't have the same kind of view towards him as she would do the same thing if they needed to stay behind. But as Saphira made sure that her team understood that getting work done quickly and working with her was the best way to ensure no one gets overtime. And it has worked, and her team like it.

Saphira finished tidying up her office when the door opened again. She looked up from where she was wiping and saw Claudia glaring at her. "What do you want now, Claudia? And you really need to knock. It is very rude to just barge in all the time."

The woman walked towards her and placed her hand on her hip. "You know why I am here. You embarrassed me!"

"Wait, what?" Saphira frowned in confusion at the woman. "You are joking, right? I never embarrassed you." The woman breathed in deeply as she glared at Saphira. "I am not sure what exactly you were trying to pull by claiming the work that my team and I did as stolen."

Claudia rolled her eyes at Saphira. "You know you were supposed to agree with me! That's why it was your fault!"

"You wanted me to...lie?" She was not following Claudia's logic and rubbed her forehead. "Look, Claudia, I have had a long day. Can't you just focus on your project for NASA? It's a way better project than what my team are working on anyway, so you really should be happy with that."

"Oh, I am. Believe me." She stepped closer to Saphira as she tried to intimidate her. "Don't think I don't know, Saphira." She frowned at Claudia with confusion. "You and Arthur seemed to be pretty friendly."

Saphira was even more confused. "You do realize Arthur isn't into women, right?" Claudia stopped in her tracks. "I've seen him with his boyfriend more than once. You have been here longer than me, and you haven't noticed?"

Claudia was shocked at the information she was just given. "Wait...he's...gay?" Saphira nodded affirmatively before the woman began to laugh. "Now you're just making me angry. He's not gay! I have never seen another guy kiss him."

"Okay, well, have you seen a woman kiss him?" Saphira argued before shaking her head before Claudia could even answer. "You know what? This is ridiculous! I don't know why you are at me for something that was not my fault. You were the one who barged into Arthur's office, you were the one who tried to say I stole your work and you are the one who has decided to not keep up with your work like you used to. None of this is my fault."