Coworkers Mock Poor-Looking Intern, Learn She’s Not So Simple When Boss Walks In – Story of the Day

Holly’s new job at a major company turns nightmarish when her coworkers mock her for wearing shabby clothes. Just as the situation turns threatening, the boss walks in and shares a revelation about Holly that shocks her bullies into stunned silence.

Holly stiffened at her desk and glanced at the short cubicle wall to her left. She could've sworn she'd just heard somebody whisper her name. Sylvia, her colleague who worked in the next cubicle, was having a hushed conversation with someone. Holly edged closer to eavesdrop.

"...those shoes! Omg, the 70s called and they want their platforms back," Sylvia whispered.

Sylvia's cohorts erupted in giggles. Holly glanced down at her black, patent leather shoes. She'd bought the heels at a thrift store, just like the rest of her outfit. Maybe they weren't fashionable, but they weren't in bad condition...just a little shabby at the edges.

"She clearly has no taste. I bet I could sew a better blazer from my Grandma's drapes!"

"Don't joke, Denise, I think that's exactly what she did!"

While her colleagues cackled, Holly felt her cheeks warm as blood rushed to her face. She hunched over her keyboard and angrily tapped at the keys as she resumed her work. If she were loud enough, those jerks might realize she was here and take their nasty gossip elsewhere.

"I think she can hear us..." Denise whispered.

"Good," Sylvia replied at normal volume. "Hey, Holly, am I right? Did you make that blazer using an old tablecloth or something?"

Holly bit her lip and continued working. Her plan to get her colleagues to quit yapping had backfired, and she didn't know what to do next. She was already struggling to fit in at this new job, and she didn't see any way an open confrontation could improve matters.

"I'm talking to you, Holly!" Sylvia's head appeared over the short, dividing wall between their cubicles. "Are you deaf as well as blind?"

Holly squeezed her eyes shut and took a breath to compose herself. She was here to work, not set trends. In fact, she'd hoped she could come to work and do her job as quietly and efficiently as possible. Sylvia was making that impossible. There was no way Holly could let that remark slide.

"What are you talking about?" Holly spun in her seat to face Sylvia.

"Well, I assumed there must be something wrong with your vision to think that is a good outfit." Sylvia waved her perfectly manicured finger at Holly's attire.

Holly couldn't believe Sylvie had the audacity to say that to her face. And worse, she couldn't think of a snappy response!

Denise and Melissa poked their heads over the cubicle wall then, and Holly couldn't fight the feeling that she was outnumbered and surrounded.

"I...uh...is there some kind of dress code that I'm breaking, Sylvia?" Holly asked timidly.

"Yes, the dress code of good taste!" Denise replied with a snicker.

"You could've at least gone for clothing with a brand name when you were digging that outfit out of the dumpster you obviously found it in!" Melissa pulled a sad face.

"Well, if I'm not doing anything wrong then please leave me alone so I can carry on working." Holly turned back to her work, ensuring the other three wouldn't see the hurt on her face.

"But this is important, Holly. We can't have you bringing our image down by walking in here each morning looking like a hobo."

Holly jumped as something small hit her neck and fell onto her desk. It was a pen lid. She held back tears as she lifted it.

"Did you throw this at me?" Her voice shook as she confronted Sylvia.

"Yeah! You turned away while I'm still talking to you...that's so freaking rude," Sylvia replied.

"Excuse me?" Holly rose to look Sylvia in the eye. "I was politely ignoring your catty comments about my clothes. You three are the ones being rude! I..."

Holly trailed off as she hung her head. She needed to diffuse this situation, not escalate it! She needed this job and couldn't afford to be seen as a troublemaker.

"...I'm sorry," Holly continued, "I don't want to fight—"

"Too late." Sylvia came around to stand at the entrance to Holly's cubicle.

"You know, I've been here for ages and I'm on very good terms with management. I'm going to make sure the right people hear about your bad attitude."

A shiver of fear ran down Holly's spine. As she hastily tried to think of a way to calm Sylvia down, Mrs. Andersen, the department head, came marching down the corridor toward them.

"I can hear you arguing all the way from my office!" Ms. Andersen glared at the little group as she drew nearer. She pointed at Denise, Sylvia, and Melissa. "You three are way out of line! You wouldn't talk to Holly like that if you knew who she was."

"What are you talking about, Patricia?" Sylvia looked curiously at Ms. Andersen. "She's just Holly, the new girl with no taste and zero respect for those of us who have worked here longer. We were just trying to advise her—"

"Zip it, Sylvia!" Ms. Andersen scowled. "I heard what you were saying. Also, I'll have you know that Holly is my brother, the CEO's daughter! She went missing years ago but now we've finally found her!"

Denise, Sylvia, and Melissa exchanged wide-eyed glances as they fell into stunned silence. Holly felt like someone had just dumped icy water over her head. She pressed her hands against her thighs as she felt her palms start sweating.

"What..." Holly shook her head. "That can't be right. I...ah, I don't know why you think that, Ms. Andersen, but you've made a mistake."

"There's no mistake. I'm sure this comes as a big shock to you, but I will explain everything in the privacy of my office." Ms. Andersen smiled kindly as she beckoned for Holly to follow her.

Holly's heart pounded in her chest. She didn't see any way she could refuse.

"As for you three..." Ms. Andersen glared at the other ladies. "...if you don't have enough work to keep you busy, I can always arrange for more."

Sylvia, Melissa, and Denise assured Ms. Andersen they had enough work and scattered. Holly was almost sorry to see them go as she followed Ms. Andersen to her corner office.

Ms. Andersen sat across from Holly with a big smile while Holly battled to contain her nerves. She set her hands in her lap so the other woman wouldn't see how they were shaking.

"I know this must come as a shock, Holly, but everything I said out there is true. You are my long-lost niece! My brother, David, and I have been searching for you for years. I thought you might be little Ashley the first time I saw your right hand."

Ms. Andersen gestured to Holly.

Holly looked down at her hands. She didn't remember it happening, but she'd badly burned her right hand sometime in early childhood. The skin was scarred, and her pinky finger had to be amputated.

"Ashley had a terrible accident when she was only a year old, and her hand looked exactly the same when it healed. But before we get into that, I have to tell you what happened when that scoundrel kidnapped you so many years ago."

Holly leaned forward. She was overwhelmed and so confused by this situation, but beneath it all, she was desperately curious about what Ms. Andersen had to say.

Twenty-five years ago...

Patricia and David sat in the armchairs in the corner of his home office. They were discussing the finer details of a contract they wanted to offer to the owners of a startup company David wanted to acquire when David's phone rang.

He looked down at the screen with a frown. "Sorry, Patty, but that's Ashley's nanny calling...I have to take it."

"Mr. Andersen! I'm so sorry...I only turned away for a second...they were so fast."

Ashley's nanny was sobbing and speaking so loudly that Patricia heard every word. A chill ran down her spine as she realized the nanny's distress could only mean something terrible had happened to her niece.

"Who was fast, Andrea?" David asked. "What's happened?"

"Ashley is gone! We were feeding the ducks at the park and I got up to throw away the empty bag of seed. When I looked back, she was gone! She'd been kidnapped, Mr. Andersen! They left a note."

Patricia saw her own fear mirrored in her brother's eyes as they locked gazes. He was a rich and powerful businessman with a fairly high profile. Patricia had discussed his security with him several times, but neither of them had ever imagined someone might target Ashley.

"Read me the note, please, Andrea," David said, his voice shaking.

"To the wealthy Mr. Andersen," Andrea read, "we have taken your daughter, Ashley, and this is just the beginning! If you ever want to see her again, you'll follow our instructions strictly.

Bring $2 million in cash to the park tonight at 6 p.m. Come alone, and make sure you're not followed. Put the money in a black bag, and don't try anything foolish, or Ashley will suffer the consequences. This is only the first part of the deal. More instructions will follow.

Remember, no police involvement. If you dare to involve the cops, you'll regret it. The clock is ticking."

David put a hand over his face and squeezed his eyes shut. "Thank you, Andrea. Come straight back to the house, please."

David ended the call and immediately started dialing a number on his phone.

"Who are you calling?" Patricia asked.

David gave her a steely glance. "The police."

The next few hours were chaos. A detective arrived at David's mansion within minutes of Andrea. He insisted on interviewing the nanny immediately, followed by interviews with Patricia and David. He also called technicians to monitor all the calls to David's phone and sent the kidnapper's note off to be analyzed for evidence.

Meanwhile, David contacted his bank and picked up the 2 million dollar ransom. It sat on his desk in an unassuming black bag. Patricia held her brother's hand as Detective Evans placed a tracking device in the bag.

"Once the kidnappers retrieve the ransom, this tracking device will lead us right to them," Detective Evans explained.

David nodded. "Detective, there's something you should know, something I failed to mention in our interview earlier," David said. "I've been thinking...I suspect my business partner, Marco, might be behind Ashley's kidnapping."

"Your business partner?" Detective Evans frowned and removed a notebook from his pocket. "Can you explain your reasons for suspecting him?"

David sighed. "We had a legal dispute a few months back...long story short; I uncovered some shady business dealings on his part and he was convicted of fraud. He was furious about being caught, and I'm sure this is his way of getting revenge on me for exposing his crimes."

"I see." The detective made a note. "Rest assured that the police force will investigate all potential suspects, but for right now, our focus is on safely recovering Ashley."

"Of course...I just thought you should know." David lifted the bag of money from the desk. "I guess it's time to make the drop-off."

David's breath misted in the air as he waited by the duck pond in the park. It seemed unbelievable that Ashley had been here a few hours earlier, happy and safe until his enemies snatched her. As he looked out over the dark water, his thoughts replayed that moment when Marco was convicted of fraud a few months back.

"I'll get you for this, David," Marco had snarled as the officers in the courthouse led him away. "You'll pay for what you've done to me."

Remembering how Marco had glared at him sent shivers down David's spine. He'd assumed Marco's threats would be toothless once he was behind bars. If only he'd been more careful. If he'd taken extra precautions, Ashley would be tucked up in bed with her stuffed giraffe now, not out there somewhere at the mercy of these crooks.

"Excuse me, sir."

David turned and found a homeless man wearing a tattered blanket shuffling toward him.

"Get lost," David snapped, holding the money bag closer. "I don't have time for the likes of you right now."

"Wait, sir. I have something for you. You're Mr. Andersen, right?"

David looked down at the folded piece of paper the homeless man was holding out to him.

"They told me to give this to you, sir," the homeless man continued.

David snatched the paper from the man's hand. He unfolded it with trembling fingers, and his heart sank as he scanned the message.

"The deal's off." David's voice shook as he read the message aloud. Detective Evans had pinned a listening device to his jacket before he left so the police could monitor him speaking now. A sob wracked his body as he continued: "You called the cops. Now Ashley will suffer the consequences."

David pushed past the homeless man as several plainclothes officers emerged from the bushes and beneath the nearby bridge. While they converged on the homeless man, David scanned the surroundings for anyone suspicious lurking nearby.

"The culprits have to be watching from somewhere nearby," he called out as he jogged down the path circling the pond. "We have to find them!"

A cold sweat beaded on David's forehead. He felt numb and oddly separate from himself as he shoved into the bushes growing alongside the path. Branches snapped and poked through his gloves as he searched, but he barely felt them. It was like this was happening to someone else, or he was having a nightmare.

"I don't know anything!" The homeless man shouted.

"I swear to God! Some dude in a hoodie offered me $20 to deliver that note, and that's all!"

"Where was he?" David turned back to the homeless man. "Where did he go after you spoke to him?"

"I don't know, man!" The homeless man looked back down the path with wide, frightened eyes. "I was sleeping in those bushes by the birch tree and the guy woke me...I didn't see his face and I didn't look back after he gave me the note and the money."

David started toward the bushes where the homeless man had been sleeping, but one of the plainclothes officers stepped in front of him and blocked his path.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I can't let you go any further," the officer said.

"How dare you!" David snarled. "My daughter's life is at stake here, and I'll do everything I can to find her."

"I know you want to help, sir, but please leave the investigation to the police." The officer raised his hands in a placating gesture. "There might be valuable clues there that could lead us to the kidnapper...I know you don't want to risk destroying any evidence that might help us find your daughter."

David's shoulders slumped. The cop was right, but God, there had to be something he could do! Anything...

The police took the homeless man in for questioning and insisted that David go home.

"The kidnappers will probably try to contact you again since the ransom exchange went badly," Detective Evans said. "The most important thing you can do now is try to stay calm and wait for that call. We'll plan our next move from there."

So David went home and spent the night by his phone, waiting for a call that never came.

Detective Evans arrived at the mansion early the next morning with an update. Patricia let him in and escorted him to David's office, where her brother was nursing his umpteenth cup of black coffee.

"We thoroughly questioned the homeless man who delivered the note and ran a background check on him, but it seems he was telling the truth," Detective Evans told David and Patricia. "He was paid to deliver the note but there's no evidence to suggest he was directly involved in the kidnapping."

"What about Marco?" David stared at the detective with red eyes.

"I just know he's responsible for this! You have to investigate him."

"A detective went out to question him at the penitentiary but he denied any involvement," Detective Evans said.

"Of course he did, but that doesn't mean he isn't guilty!" David slammed his coffee cup down on the table.

"I understand your distress, Mr. Andersen, but please try to stay calm. We're still investigating all leads but so far, we haven't uncovered any evidence to tie him to the kidnapping."

"So, what are you saying?" Patricia stepped forward. "Are we back to square one?"

"If they do anything to hurt Ashley..." David put his head in his hands. "It will be all my fault."

"We're not going to give up so easily," the detective assured David and his sister. "Our investigations unit has prioritized this case. We're following every lead and exploring all possibilities. We'll do everything we can to bring your daughter home safe."

"But what are we supposed to do in the meantime?" Patricia asked. "Are we supposed to just sit around here waiting for the kidnappers to contact David again?"

"Yes." Detective Evans met Patricia's gaze. "I know it's difficult, but that's all you can do right now. The kidnappers want the money so they will get in touch with you...it's a waiting game now."

"A waiting game..." Patricia looked across at David, who'd buried his face in his hands. "Detective, I don't think we can wait any longer."

Present day

"The kidnappers never contacted us again and the police never found you," Patricia concluded. "We hired several private investigators over the years to search for you, but none of them found any leads to your whereabouts or who took you."

"It was like you vanished off the face of the earth," Patricia continued with a sad smile, "until the day you showed up here for your first day on the job."

Holly leaned back in her chair and put a hand over her mouth. The story Patricia just told her was unbelievable. As she met Patricia's gaze, Holly realized it was time to set the record straight.

"So...the people who kidnapped me never called again? Never got in touch with David to arrange a new ransom exchange?" Holly straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin as she dropped her act of being a meek little wallflower. "You are such a liar."

"What?" Patricia's smile transformed to shock. "It's true, Holly. We did everything we could to find you—"

"Stop!" Holly slapped her palm down on the desk as she stared at Patricia. "I've heard enough of your lies. You can't fool me, Patricia...I know the truth about what happened all those years ago."

Patricia's jaw dropped, and she shook her head. "No, you don't understand, Holly. Things were complicated back then...maybe David made some mistakes, but—"

"Mistakes?" Holly exploded from her seat. "He's a selfish, crooked scoundrel who cares more for a dime than his own daughter! See, David was right. Marco was behind the kidnapping...he went to see him in jail to confront him about it."

"Marco offered David a deal," Holly continued. "I would be returned to him, safe and sound if David confessed that he'd framed Marco for fraud in order to steal his shares in the business." Holly arched her eyebrow at Patricia. "Want to guess what he replied?"

"You're wrong." Patricia shook her head. "You've been lied to, Holly."

Holly laughed bitterly. "Did my dear, loving Dad never tell you that he refused the deal? He chose to save his own skin instead. His solution was to pay some of the other convicts to 'interrogate' Marco, which they did so eagerly that he had a heart attack and died."

"What are you talking about?" Patricia frowned. "This...I've never heard...Marco offered David a deal?"

Holly rolled her eyes. "Don't act like you're so innocent, Patricia. You knew at least some of what David was up to. I have proof, Aunty dear. While you and my loving father were in London recently, I took the liberty of hacking your computer."

"That's impossible." Patricia's face turned bright red as she rose to confront Holly. "Our security is—"

"A cakewalk for somebody with my skills." Holly smiled.

"I had no problem locating the files I needed to corroborate Marco's evidence. Now, the real fraudsters will go to jail, and justice will finally be served."

"No, you can't do that, Holly." Patricia reached out to her with fear in her eyes. "Put aside the past and think about the future...your future. You might forfeit your opportunity to inherit this company if you turn David in."

"Your concern is touching," Holly replied sarcastically, "but completely unfounded. I've checked the company documentation. Marco's parents will get control of the company when David is arrested, and they will pass it down to me."

"What! So that's where you got all this twisted information...those kidnappers brainwashed you!"

"No, Patricia, Marco's parents raised me in a loving home when my own father decided he'd rather give up his daughter and let an innocent man sit in jail than confess to his crimes. And you know what?" Holly leaned toward Patricia. "I'm darn grateful to them. They showed me that family is more about the love you share than your genetics."

Holly turned and headed for the door. "And don't even think of trying to run from the police or hide the evidence of your and David's crimes, dear Aunty. I alerted my adopted parents to what was going on while you were recounting your fairy tale version of the past. The police are already on their way."

Patricia let out a cry of rage, which was cut off when Holly slammed the door on her. She noted Melissa, Sylvia, and Denise were spying on her from their cubicles.

"Ladies! This is your lucky day. You three will have the chance to show your wit at another company. My company no longer requires your services."

"What!" Sylvia gaped at her. "You can't do that!"

"Yes, I can." Holly strode toward her desk. "I hope your severance pay is enough to buy some of the latest fashions."

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