Temptation Island

Chapter 2: Kelendria

"Miss Johnson, I asked for these papers on my desk an hour ago!"

The tyrannosaurus rex shouting at me was none other than my bullheaded boss, Erica Liner. Her icy blue eyes were piercing when I walked into her large corner office. As hard as she was staring at me, I was positive she had X-ray vision and could see my pink Victoria Secrets through my skirt suit. Erica was a middle-aged white woman from the Bronx. She had the pinkest lips I'd ever seen, and they never smiled. That might have been for the best, however. With all of the Botox in her cheeks it would probably be a scary sight. Her hair was shoulder length and completely blond. Although she claimed it was natural, everybody knew it wasn't. At her age there should have at least been one gray on her head, but there wasn't a single strand.

I forced a smile on my face as I set the folder of processed claims down on her desk. As expected, my smile wasn't returned. Her office was as cold as her gaze. There were times where I felt that dropping out of college to pursue my dreams of being an artist wasn't the smartest thing to do. As my mother always reminded me, had I gotten my degree, I would be in Erica's chair and not working out of a cubicle. But I didn't mind working as an insurance specialist at Lakeside.

"I'm sorry. I fell behind due to the workload being doubled last minute," I told her, forcing a chipper tone out of my mouth.

She rolled her eyes and slid the folder in front of her. After taking a moment to sift through it, she put it to the side and focused her attention back on me. "I don't need any slackers working for me, do you understand?"

"Understood," I answered quickly.

"Good. Let me ask you something, Miss Johnson. Are you happy working here?"

"I'm good at my job," I told her.

"That's not what I asked you. I asked, are you happy working here?"

I paused for a moment. It sounded like a trick question. The kind that, if I didn't answer right, could cost me my job. Knowing that Erica's temper was short, I quickly came up with something to say.

"The work environment is pleasant, and I enjoy coming in and seeing my coworkers every day. The job itself is a piece of cake. However, who doesn't want more money? Especially with all of the new clients we're taking on and how heavy our workload has gotten." The last part kind of slipped out.

When I played it back in my head, I wanted to kick myself. No, I wanted to hurry out of the office. I was a bold woman, but at work I tried to stay in my place. Mainly because outside of that job, all I had was my artwork, and that didn't bring a steady check in every month. I cleared my throat and prepared to apologize for my forwardness, but she held a hand up to stop me from speaking.

"We're taking on another health provider, Grey's Hospital. This is a big contract, and I don't need anything to fudge this up," Erica said and then sighed. "I understand with all of the new clients, there's more work to be done, and that work falls on all of you."

"Yes, it does," I said, unsure of where the conversation was going.

"I want the morale on the floor to be where it needs to be to keep this ship afloat," she continued. "And that's why I wanted to know if you were happy. And now I know you're not."

"I never said—"

Erica put another hand up to silence me. "So I've made the decision to give everyone a raise and a bonus. And you, Miss Johnson? I'm looking to give you a promotion and your own office."

"Oh, Erica. I would love that!"

"I'm sure you would. However, it all depends on your performance when the reps from Grey's Hospital come to view our office at the end of the week. They are our newest client, but also our biggest. I need you and everybody else to put your game faces on. Can you do that for me?"