Living With My Lady Boss

"There's always a chance for things to turn around," Wilbur said before he placed the letter into the suggestion box.

He then turned to face Madam Judy. "Since you considered selling the bronze cauldrons to me before, I'm sure I'll be able to win you over with my actions again, so you change your mind."

Madam Judy's expression darkened. "You can very well continue if you find meaning in doing that, but I can tell you now that I'm not changing my mind. Nothing you do will change that."

"But Madam Judy, you said..." Ellen piped up with tears in her eyes, trying to speak up for Wilbur. Yet just then, Madam Judy pointed at Ellen angrily. "This is an official notice, Ellen. You're fired. Please leave immediately."

Ellen froze in the spot, dumbstruck. Her legs wobbled and she fell to her knees, kneeling in front of Madam Judy. "Please, Madam Judy, please don't fire me. This job is extremely important to me, please give me another chance."

Madam Judy sighed. "It's not that I don't want to give you another chance, Ellen. Look at all the gashes on your neck, arms, and calves. I know the state of your family might not be the best, but this is a museum, and we need a guide who can represent our image. I feel deeply sorry for your loss, but there's nothing I can do for you. Please take care of yourself."

Madam Judy turned to leave, and Ellen sat on the floor sobbing. She had only gotten the job by begging Madam Judy for it, promising her that she would do an excellent job. Alas, Ellen could not escape her own family.

Ellen's sobs made Wilbur's chest ache. He walked over to her and passed her a tissue. "Please don't cry. Come on, wipe your tears."

"Thank you."

"You'll probably be fine. It's just losing a job. I'm sure you can go and look for another one. You don't need to be so upset."

Ellen shook her head. "No one will hire me anymore."

Wilbur frowned in confusion, but Ellen shook her head wordlessly. She wiped her tears away and turned to leave the museum.

Wilbur felt like Ellen might do something she would regret in the state she was in and followed her out of the museum seeing as he had nothing to do.

Ellen wandered around the streets, looking like a sorry sight. Wilbur was certain that she was on the verge of a meltdown, as those people usually looked the calmest.

Wilbur had planned to just make sure that Ellen was fine, and that he would return to his hotel. Yet upon seeing the state she was in, he promptly canceled his plans to go back and continued following Ellen.

Ellen wove through a few more streets, coming up to the train tracks. The blare of the train horns rang from afar, and Ellen smiled bitterly as she stepped onto the train tracks and turned to look at the incoming train.

"What are you doing?"

Wilbur grabbed Ellen by the arm just as the train was about to crash into her, yanking her off the tracks. The train went whooshing past, making Ellen's hair fly up as she smiled painfully.

"I've lost everything but my smile. Thank you, but you can't change my life."noveldrama

Ellen sounded devoid of hope. She was going to step onto the tracks once more, but Wilbur yanked her back in one strong move. Ellen's hair flew up once more, and it was only then that Wilbur noticed the red marks on the side of her neck.