|NEXT MORNING|

BRIANNA

The annoying sound of my alarm clock pierced my sleep, jolting me back to reality just as I was getting the best of my rest since I spent last night plotting devious ways to use the powder on Mr. Adrian.

With a groan, I sat up and stretched, letting out a loud yawn. The first ray of sunlight made its way past the curtain, illuminating the room.

I climbed out of bed, slammed the alarm off, and blocked out the thought of crawling back onto my bed to enjoy more sleep, knowing full well that Mr. Adrian has a thing for punctuality, and I can’t afford to be in his bad graces this morning—especially when I have something daring to do. Besides, I can’t afford to lose my job.

After taking a cold shower, I picked one of the dresses Cherry bought for me—a knee-length black and white polka dot dress. I wore wedge pumps to go with it, applied a little makeup, packed my hair in a bun, and then headed out, grabbing my bag along the way.

When I got downstairs, the delicious aroma of pasta welcomed me. Mom must be performing her magic in the kitchen. I dropped my bag on the couch and went to the kitchen. I found Mom putting food on plates.

“Good morning, Mom,” I greeted, pecking her on the cheek.

“Morning, sweetie. I was just about to tell Mariana to come and get you for breakfast. How was your night?” she asked.

“It was good. Where did you get the money to cook? I thought we ran out of groceries?” I questioned curiously.

“Oh! It’s the money Mariana saved up from her earnings. She used it to buy groceries yesterday,” she explained.

“Wow! That’s good of you, Marie,” I said to Mariana, who had started eating her breakfast.

“Thanks,” Mariana replied, her voice muffled because of the food in her mouth.

I also collected my food from Mom and started eating. After finishing, I drank a cup of water and stood up.

“I’ll get going now, Mom. Don’t forget to take your pills at the appropriate time and rest well, okay?” I said.

“Okay, darling. Bye!” she replied.

Mariana also bade me goodbye, and I walked out of the kitchen. I went to the sitting room, picked up my bag, and left the house. I walked to the bus stop, which is a ten-minute walk from my house. I had to wait for a few minutes before the bus arrived.

I boarded the bus and sat at the back. Twenty minutes later, the bus came to a stop at the bus stop closest to the company. I alighted and walked the remaining distance to the company.

Upon entering the building, some of the staff who were already present were walking about, and I saw Kristen already behind the counter.

“Hey, Kristen! Good morning,” I greeted enthusiastically.

“Brianna! Good morning. You came early today. You didn’t sleep in?” she teased with a bright smile on her face.

“Yeah, I didn’t sleep in. Is the boss here yet?” I asked.

“No, he isn’t, and I don’t think he’ll be here anytime soon. Is there a secret as to why you came early and smiling like this?” she asked.

“Yeah, but never mind. You might hear about it later,” I said, smirking.

“Okay then. Wanna have lunch with me and my friends during lunch break?” she asked.

“I’d love to. Expect me at the cafeteria during lunch,” I replied.

I left her station and went to the elevator. I pressed the button and waited for it to arrive before entering. When I got to the floor where my office was located, I walked out of the elevator and made my way to the office. I dropped my bag on the desk and quickly pulled out the powder from my bag. I had a perfect way to carry out my plan without Mr. Adrian knowing it was me.

I walked out of my office and went to the entrance of Mr. Adrian’s office. I twisted the doorknob and discovered it was unlocked. I stepped inside and closed the door.

I walked further into the office and looked around. To carry out my plan, I needed something to stand on. My eyes caught the long stool chair beside the bookshelf. I quickly moved it to the center of the room and climbed on it.

I stood on the stool, getting very close to the ceiling fan—exactly how I wanted it. Then I opened the small plastic bag and sprinkled the powder on the fan. I made sure to pour everything on it. I was about to get off the stool when I heard footsteps approaching the office. Don’t tell me that’s Mr. Adrian, I thought. Kristen said he wouldn’t be here anytime soon.

I quickly got down from the stool and placed it back where it was so he wouldn’t suspect anything. I ran out of the office immediately when I heard the footsteps getting closer. To my utmost surprise, it was a female employee holding a briefcase, someone I had seen when I was outside the office, not Mr. Adrian.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, looking at me strangely.

“Nothing. What are you doing here?” I replied with a question.

“As you can see, I brought Mr. Adrian’s briefcase to his office,” she replied.

“Oh!” I exclaimed and scrambled out of her sight. I looked behind me and saw that she was still staring at me strangely. She must be wondering what I was doing in the boss’s office when he isn’t in yet. I got back to my office and settled down in my chair, placing my hand on my chest. Thank God it wasn’t Mr. Adrian who caught me, or that wouldn’t have been funny. I switched on the computer on my desk and started working immediately.

ADRIAN

I got to my office and thanked the female employee for bringing my briefcase. She left. I turned on the fan to the highest setting, and that’s when I felt something raining down on me. I looked around and saw that the particles were all over the place—and all over my body, from head to toe.

I raised my head and looked at the ceiling to check if it was sand. I walked to my desk and swiped my forefinger across it. I studied the particles and noticed that they didn’t look or feel like sand. I was about to call the cleaner when I felt this crazy itching. It started mildly, but within seconds, I was scratching every exposed part of my body madly.

“Why the heck is my body itching like this? Is this a reaction to the new body soap I’m using?” I thought inwardly, still scratching frantically. But this couldn’t be a reaction to something. It had to be the stuff all over my body.

It got to a point where, if I scratched one place, it would start itching somewhere else. I screamed loudly when the itching got worse. I didn’t realize I had started rolling on the floor in an attempt to stop the itching. I guess my scream was so loud that I heard people running toward my office. The door to my office burst open, and the first person I saw was Brianna.

“Good morning, boss. We heard your scream. Why are you rolling on the floor and scratching your body like this?” Brianna asked in a concerned manner, but I could tell she was faking it, trying hard not to laugh at my humiliation in front of my employees.

“Who the heck did this? I got to my office this morning and was greeted with something poured all over me and my office! What the hell is this stuff?” I yelled, crazed.

“How are we supposed to know who did this? It’s not as if we’ve entered your office today,” Brianna replied rudely. One of the employees who came into the office moved closer to me and used his hand to take a small amount of the substance from my hair and study it.

“This is itching powder!” he exclaimed, and everyone around me gasped, including me.

“Who has the nerve to use itching powder on me?!” I shouted furiously, still scratching my itchy body. They all started murmuring among themselves.

“I’m so going to deal with all of you when I find out who did this,” I threatened, and they all started saying they didn’t know anything about it.

“Does anyone know how I can stop this itching?” I asked.

“Well, you can stop it by taking a long hot bath, sir,” the guy from earlier said.

“I’m coming back for all of you. When I’m done with you, you’ll tell me who did this,” I growled, sitting up from my position on the floor before running straight to the bathroom.

I heard them giggling at the way I ran, but they won’t be giggling for long. I quickly stripped off my clothes and got under the shower. I sighed in relief the moment the water touched my skin, washing away the powder. I made sure to spend a good amount of time under the shower to ensure all the powder was gone. I dried my body and tied a towel around my waist. I was about to walk out of the bathroom when I realized I hadn’t brought clothes with me, and people were in my office.

“Everyone in my office should get out now and stay outside until I’m ready. When I’m done, I’ll call you all,” I shouted. I heard their footsteps indicating they were walking out. Once I was sure no one was left in the office, I walked out and went to the adjoining room. I quickly got dressed in a shirt and pants before returning to my office.

I settled down in my swivel chair, my body still tingling from the lingering effects of the itching powder. I leaned back, a wicked grin spreading on my face as I thought of how to catch the culprit. They will regret what they did.