A Dark Feeling of Anger

The second day of work arrived for the Martens. Thanks to Olivia's threats, they were a little more punctual that morning. However, Emma wanted to faint when she saw herself dressed in the uniform of the cafeteria women. She felt humiliated. She couldn’t tolerate what her ex-daughter-in-law was doing to her.

"Emma, here's the list of how each of the company's top executives likes their coffee," Gretta, her coworker, handed her a piece of paper with instructions. Emma hadn't even been working for two hours, and her feet were already hurting. Beads of sweat were glistening on her forehead, and she was out of control.

"What? Is there a special preparation for everyone? This must be a joke."

"No, Emma, it’s not a joke. I’m hurrying from you. At 10:30 a.m., very punctual, you need to bring the coffee to Mrs. CEO. Remember the instructions, please."

Emma turned pale when she realized she had to bring Olivia's coffee, and it reminded her of when the situation had been the opposite. She regretted not having thanked Olivia then. She hadn’t imagined that life would take so many turns.

"Shit!" Emma exclaimed, feeling the boiling coffee pot burn one of her fingers. She rushed to the water faucet, trying to comfort the wound. She didn’t notice how time passed quickly. It was already 10:32.

Greta was carrying coffee on other floors, and when she came in, she saw Emma doing nothing.

"What are you doing, Emma? I told you at 10:30, you need to bring the coffee to Mrs. Olivia. She’s going to get cranky."

"Take it to her, please, I burned my finger, and it hurts too much," Emma pleaded.

"Me? Are you crazy? She explicitly ordered you to be the one to bring her the coffee. Move!"

"Don't yell at me, devil! Don’t you know who I am?"

Greta glared at her furiously. "You're just an employee like me, so move, or I assure you, you’ll be out of a job."

Emma, against her will, adjusted her apron and, on a tray, carried what she needed to serve coffee for Olivia.

While she was in her office, Olivia had a slight hangover, but nothing that couldn’t be cured with a good coffee, which she drank at a specific time. That timing, however, was just an invention to humiliate her ex-mother-in-law. She glanced at her watch and shook her head; it was already 10:40.

He picked up the receiver to dial the cafeteria, but at that moment, the door to his office rang.

“Come in,” Olivia ordered. With difficulty, Emma entered, carrying a tray in her hands, which trembled due to her lack of experience.

“Good morning, Olivia. I brought your coffee.”

Olivia stood up angrily and looked at her out of the corner of her eye.

“At what time did I ask for the coffee to be brought to me?”

“Oh Olivia, please, a few minutes or so—it’s not a big deal. I brought it here as you requested.”

“How are you speaking to me, Emma?”

Emma blushed and smiled awkwardly.

“Excuse me, Olivia, but I was your mother-in-law. You have no right to treat me like this. Yes, we’re going through a tough situation, but that doesn’t give you the right to treat me like the worst.”

Olivia shook her head and reached up to rub between her eyebrows.

“Unbelievable. I don’t owe you any special treatment, Emma. You’re just another employee of my company. And I’m grateful for that. If you don’t want me to keep messing with you, get out of here. I’m annoyed by a person like you. Just bring me the coffee!”

Emma snorted and made a displeased gesture. Still with trembling hands, she went to Olivia’s desk, placed the small tray on it, poured the coffee, and offered it to her.

Olivia took the cup and took a sip, but she nearly spit it in Emma’s face.

“What is this crap?! Who made this coffee? I’m going to fire them right now.”

“What?” Emma asked. “I made it myself, using the instructions Greta gave me, Olivia, please.”

“Rightfully so! You’ve never stopped hating me, Emma. Of course! You want to get back at me for the times I messed up your breakfast, or for the times I didn’t clean your vases perfectly.”

Emma turned pale, barely able to swallow the hard lump that burned her throat.

“Me! Olivia… I—”

“What about you?!” Olivia yelled irrationally, so loudly that Emma blushed, and a couple of tears welled up in her eyes.

“Olivia, you’re hurting me,” Emma said in a choked voice. Olivia grabbed her hair and tossed it behind her shoulder, sighed barely, and looked at her more calmly.

“Look, Emma, here’s what I’m telling you. Now, get out. You have fifteen minutes to bring me a new coffee. It has to be perfect, or I swear I’ll throw you out on the street today. Got it?”

Emma barely stomped her feet like a little girl and walked out of her boss’s office, shuffling her feet and dragging her dignity on the floor. Olivia snorted in anger and returned to her computer.

At that moment, she checked her email inbox and saw a new message. It was from a businessman who was accepting her proposal to work with his company at the commercial advisory firm. The name "Harrison Martens" appeared, and although that would usually have upset her, because her intention had been to humiliate him for his mismanagement, she felt a sense of joy when she saw that she hadn’t been wrong about where she had placed him. If he proposed this, the commissions would give her a very good salary, which would help improve their lives. More than just getting revenge, she wanted to teach him a lesson. In her heart, it was very difficult to harbor so much malice.