My Most Precious Human novel Chapter 26

My office was spacious and kind of luxurious. I hadn't been to many offices before, but I had seen some in movies and TV series. Each time I saw an elegant wooden desk, a comfortable office chair, carefully designed cabinets, or an exquisite coffee table with sofa and armchairs, it was a place that belonged to someone from the higher-ups. It could be the general manager's office or the department director's office. The place where I was standing, a place that was supposed to be my office, looked exactly like the ones I saw on the TV screen.

I felt strange. I walked around delicately stroking the desktop and my new, top-class laptop. I even had my very own coffee machine. It was all so different from how I used to work, although it was hard to compare my current situation with sitting on the bed or floor with a laptop on my knees while drinking the remains of cold coffee that I made myself several hours earlier. I knew that my abilities should have given me a five-digit month's salary, but I couldn't help but think that such extravagant working conditions weren't something I deserved. Of course, I was jumping out of joy inside, but at the same time, I kept waiting for someone to kick me out of that place…

Suddenly, I heard a quick knocking sound, followed by the door opening before I could even react or open my mouth.

"By all means, come in," I muttered sarcastically, watching a tall, brown-haired woman casually enter my new workplace and nearly slam the door behind her.

"I'm Monique Bennati. You can call me Ms. Bennati, like everyone else. You're Lilith D'Apolito, right?" she tossed reluctantly, gazing at some documents she had brought.

I clenched my teeth while forcing myself to smile.

"I'd like to ask you to correct my name in your documentation since I have never used my father's last name in my whole life. I would like you to change it to Lilith Leber. It was the name that I used while being in school and studying," I explained as composedly as possible.

"The name you used while studying? Does it mean you used other names as well?" She chuckled mockingly.

Her way of looking down on me was seriously getting on my nerves. I took a deep breath.

"Yes, I used different names, but I would say that the name Leber is the only one that is genuinely mine. That is why I am asking Ms. Bennati to change it," I stated firmly.

Monique clicked her tongue and ripped a few pages from the documents she carried.

"Geez, I will have to do that damn contract again," she mumbled loudly enough for me to hear.

"I guess we all need to do our jobs well, don't we, Ms. Bennati?" I smiled teasingly at her.

She frowned. Then I saw her angrily scribbling down my mother's name. I couldn't be any clearer about her hostile and unwelcoming attitude towards me. I couldn't help but wonder what the reason for it was. Suddenly, she stepped closer while staring at my neck. I wasn't certain whether she knew about the vampires or not, but now she dispelled my doubts. She couldn't be more obvious. She was looking for bite marks. From the second she barged into my office, her slightest gesture seemed to be shouting, "you don't deserve to be here," and she made sure that I would feel her disdain towards me. At that moment, she was desperate to find proof that I was some kind of slut who got her job merely because she slept with her employer.

"I am not marked, if that is what you are so indiscreetly trying to find out," I said, gazing coldly into her eyes.

Monique nervously cleared her throat. "I was... I was merely trying to get a closer look at you. It is not my concern whether you screw with your employer or not," she rudely claimed.

"Whatever you say, Ms. Bennati…" I squeezed through my teeth while my blood boiled, then asked in a serious tone, "Do you have something for me, Ms. Bennati? I would like to start doing my job as soon as possible."

She grimaced, then pulled out a plastic access card from her pocket and threw it on my desk.

"This is your pass. It will give access to every floor, including the archives. There are only two more people in the company that have access like that, and those are the CEO and the CFO, so I suggest you don't lose it," Monique stated, gritting her teeth.

I had a hard time trying not to burst out laughing. Her envious tone was pathetic. She knew nothing about me, yet she couldn't stand the fact that I was given access to the confidential documents she, most likely, would never be able to see.

"Why, thank you, Ms. Bennati!" I called, grinning.

My reaction made her blood boil. She turned around and walked towards the door, probably hoping to leave as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, her job was far from being over…

"Ms. Bennati!" I stopped her before she could open the door, "Would you be so kind and show me around like you were supposed to?" I asked, wearing a purely professional smile.

"Follow me and take the pass with you," she grumbled as she exited my office.

I sighed heavily, then took the card from the desk and followed her. The only thing that helped me stay calm was the fact that it was unlikely for me to meet her often while working at the company.

"Lilith, I know you want to splash her arrogant face against the nearest wall or at least punch her a few times until she bleeds, but it's considered good manners not to hurt an intellectually limited person, especially on your first day at work," I kept telling myself in my mind.

We entered the elevator. Judging by the glare she kept sending me, there was nothing that could unplease her more than giving me a tour around the company. For the sake of getting to know the place, I chose to ignore her annoying attitude. We got out on the fourth floor. Monique didn't bother to say where we were going, she simply started walking along the corridor without even looking to see whether I was following her or not. I took another deep breath.

"These are the archives," she claimed, stopping in front of the well-secured door. "You can use your pass to open it. You will find all the documents you need… That is, of course, if you really know how to read them," she said, her voice overfilled with mockery.

"Thank you for your concern, Ms. Bennati. I can assure you that I can read them just fine, as well as those employee contracts that you signed yourself," I stated, letting her know that she shouldn't cross the line too far.

Monique frowned. "There is nothing wrong with the work I did over the years!" she burst out.

"Oh, I hope the same, Ms. Bennati," I claimed, smirking.

She glared at me, but no longer dared to direct any vicious remarks at me. We moved through different departments. The higher we went into the building, the more important the department we visited. I had noticed that all of the lower-level employees were humans. They were working mostly in open-space offices. There were mostly low-level accountants. As we moved higher, I observed something strange. There were a lot of managers' offices with fancy glass doors. I could see that almost every one of those offices was empty.

"Where are all those managers now?" I asked curiously, passing another empty office.

Monique snorted, then sent me a sneering gaze. "I cannot believe you don't know even this!" she called loudly, walking along the corridor.

"Aren't you here to answer my questions?" I glared at her.

She sighed, then tossed reluctantly, "Those managers are commoners. They come to work around sundown to minimize their sun exposure. Moreover, they don't get along too well with humans, since their blood-lust is incomparably higher than the one that the nobles have."

"I see…" I muttered.

The structure of this company seemed stranger than I thought. Later, I forced Monique to tell me a little more about the vampires working here. I learned that there were only four nobles, and they were all the members of the board. The higher management belonged to commoners, mainly because most of the companies in New Argent City were owned by vampires. There were only four humans among the project managers, and Monique turned out to be one of twelve humans who had worked at a higher than simple office-worker position. Most of them got promoted after several years of working for the company.

By the time we finished our tour, I finally figured out why I constantly felt the air filled with hostility each time I met other human employees. I was the only human who had ever received such a high position in the Argent Investment Bank, not to mention that I was given my position from the start. I was hated from the moment I entered the company, and the CFO's "friendly" attitude was simply the last straw. I realized that as long as I worked there, I would be surrounded by all kinds of rumors about how I got here, and I would only receive their disdain and hostility. That day, I chose to ignore their attitude. I didn't care about socializing with those people anyway, but I was yet to learn that sometimes a mere arrogance and contempt could turn into an unimaginable level of hatred…