CHAPTER 2. Something is Very Wrong...

**NOVEMBER. VANCOUVER**

"Andrea! To my office! Now!"

The shout from her boss, a middle manager at SportUnike, made her jump in her seat, anxious because she knew he was in a very bad mood that day.

"Is this a damn joke?" he growled, throwing a folder of documents at her face. "I clearly told you I needed the budget reports for the water sports division from last month!"

Andrea's eyes widened.

"But... Mr. Trembley... I'm sure you said you wanted this month's reports..."

"Don't argue with me, you useless idiot!" her boss snapped. At fifty years old, Peter Trembley was as unpleasant as his bulging belly, but Andrea had to endure him because she had barely managed to get a job as his assistant, and she and her daughter depended on it to survive. "Don't you realize what's happening? SportUnike is gone! A Swiss bastard bought it, and now we'll just be a part of his company! Do you know what that means?"

Andrea knew. The arrival of a new owner had created an atmosphere of uncertainty and concern. News of imminent layoffs had spread like wildfire, creating a climate of anxiety and tension among the employees.

"I'll print last month's reports right away, Mr. Trembley," she murmured, lowering her head.

"You'd better get a grip, Andrea! The new owner is coming with a full team of sports representatives, and heads are going to roll in this company. You better make a special effort to ensure yours isn't one of them!"

Andrea nodded with her head down and went to print the reports. She always tried her best to complete her tasks quickly and skillfully, but Mr. Trembley had never been kind to her. Or rather, he was, in the most unpleasant way possible, and often threatened to fire her. But now he seemed more agitated than ever.

She handed over the reports, and he looked at her with that vulture-like stare. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a fifty-dollar bill, which he tossed onto the desk.

"Take this. Go get some good coffees for the morning meeting, because the machine coffee here is terrible," he ordered with superiority, knowing that the coffee he considered terrible was the only breakfast the woman in front of him could afford. "Go on, get moving, what are you waiting for?!"

"Yes, sir."

Andrea took the money and hurried out. The meeting was in fifteen minutes, and all the sports representatives always attended—twenty coffees to prepare.

She rushed out and crossed the street to the coffee shop across the way, hopping from foot to foot anxiously while they made the coffees. When they handed her that five-story tower of coffee containers, Andrea prayed none of them would spill.

She moved as slowly as she could, looking around carefully, even pushing the stairwell door open with her hip to enter the building... but her mind was lost in Mr. Trembley's harassment and the terror of being fired. And it seemed luck wasn't on her side, because just as she was about to climb the first step, a man coming out of one of the side doors collided with her head-on, and those eight liters of hot liquid wobbled between them before crashing to the floor.

Andrea stifled a scream and covered her mouth with her hands.

"He's going to kill me! Now he's really going to fire me!" she babbled as her eyes filled with tears.

She didn't have fifty dollars to replace those coffees! Trembley would kick her out as soon as she returned, dirty and empty-handed.

But that word made her choke on a sob. "Dirty." She looked at the man in front of her, a giant of about six foot three, with clear eyes, sexy, handsome... but all Andrea could think about was how impeccably dressed he was, and she had just made him dirty.

"Oh my God! Sir, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to...!" she exclaimed desperately, trying to reach him. "I didn't mean to, I'm sorry...!"

She tried to clean him with a napkin, but before she could touch him, a large, firm hand closed around her wrist.

"First of all, calm down," he said in a deep, husky voice. "Nothing happened to me; coffee doesn't kill. Are you okay?"

Andrea's lips trembled, and her eyes filled with tears. She couldn't remember the last time someone asked if she was okay, but she finally nodded, wiping her face.

"Yes... yes, of course. I'm sorry..."

And Zack didn't believe that lie for a second. He observed her closely; she was small, with poorly maintained blonde hair, clothes that must have been three sizes too big, and too much anxiety. An incident like this warranted shock, annoyance, even yelling, but not tears... until he remembered her words.

"Who’s going to fire you?" he asked, and she wrung her fingers.

"My... my boss. He sent me for the coffees and I... it's just..." She didn't want to say it, too embarrassed to admit she didn't have money to pay for twenty more coffees, but he seemed to understand.

"You know what? This was my fault," he stated seriously. "I should have looked before opening that door. How about we go and buy more coffee?"

Andrea immediately shook her head. 

"Of course not, I can't accept that..." 

"Would you rather lose your job?" he asked, leaving her speechless. 

How could someone be kind and hurtful at the same time? She didn’t know, but this man was. So she ended up mumbling a "Thank you," and the two of them headed to the coffee shop.

Back at the building, Zack considered going to change his clothes, but it was better to escort the young woman to her destination before she suffered another unfortunate accident. 

"Um, where are you going in the building? I don't want to bother you," she murmured. 

"To the Nexa Sport Representation branch. I understand it's on the fourth floor," Zack replied. 

"Oh! That's where I work!" Andrea said. "The owner and more representatives will be arriving soon. Are you here to work as well?" 

"I just bought it," Zack thought, but instead, he simply said, "Yes, to work." 

It was actually his first day at the new Vancouver branch, and Zack wanted to meet the staff, introduce himself, and sort out some matters. However, as soon as he accompanied the young woman to the conference room, the first thing that greeted them was a shout. 

"Andrea!" Trembley barked as he approached her. "Do you see what I mean?! You're useless! I sent you for coffee, not to build a damn rocket!" 

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Trembley, it's just that they took a while at the coffee shop and..." Andrea tried to explain. 

Zack could have sworn by those clenched fists that she was holding back from punching him. He knew that if it had been him, he would have already done so. 

"I don't care!" Trembley growled, furious. "We need to prepare for the arrival of the Big Boss, and he'll probably want us all to bow down to him, so start practicing those knees, sweetheart. Now get out and print what I asked for, so I can make sure the new owner can make sense of these damn numbers." 

Andrea stepped back, holding back a look of disgust, but as soon as she crossed the door, Trembley noticed the man standing in the doorway. 

"Who the hell are you, and what are you doing here?" he spat with disdain, and Zack clenched his teeth, forcing a smile. He had a dog in front of him, but as much as he would have liked to show him who was boss, he decided that wasn't the right strategy. 

"I'm Zack, sir," he said, extending his hand. "I'm part of the new team of sports representatives. Nice to meet you." 

Trembley looked him up and down as if he were a cockroach. 

"Well, we'll see how long you last here!" he said without shaking his hand. "Go to Human Resources for your badge and then come back for the meeting." 

Zack buttoned his jacket and left. He went down to his car for a moment and changed his dirty shirt, about to head back up when his phone began to ring. 

"Has the king arrived in his new domain?" asked Ben, his best friend, with that cheerful accent he was known for. 

"The king is going to play the commoner for a while, because the domain is aimless, and I suspect the current manager is trying to pull a fast one on me," Zack replied. "So I presented myself as one of the representation team members, not as the owner." 

He heard a long whistle from Ben and imagined him smiling. 

"You know what you're doing, but I'll be there in ten days. If you're still not the owner, I'll claim I am," he threatened. 

"Noted."

Zack went straight to Human Resources and provided the necessary information to get his company ID. He planned to spend a few days undercover there and knew he had made the right decision when he saw the terrible management of the athletes. 

For starters, Trembley was not just a dog, but a worm. Acting like a despot was the least of Zack's concerns, after all, he had bought that small company in Canada to expand his own sports company. What he needed to be correct were the numbers, the finances... he couldn't allow any errors there. 

However, he couldn't help but notice that it was a terrible place to work. The girl from the morning... Andrea? Was that her name? He had passed her desk twice, and each time he had heard Trembley insulting her over the intercom. 

Finally, he saw her enter the boss's office near the end of the day and hesitated before approaching the door. 

"Oh, Andrea! What am I going to do with you?" Trembley hissed, and the girl tried to back away. "You don't deserve the position! Really, you don't! Life would be so much easier for you if you just paid attention to..." he paused for a moment, and Andrea followed his gaze directly to his crotch, "...everything I say! Don’t you realize you could lose your job tomorrow?" 

Andrea wanted to kill him! But she had no choice but to stay quiet. 

"Mr. Trembley... please..." 

"I’ve let you get away with many mistakes, Andrea. Don't you think it's time to pay me back?" 

"Boss!" The door flew open, and the fat Trembley jumped when he saw the newcomer. 

"What the hell do you want? Didn't anyone teach you to knock?" the old man growled. 

"I need a moment with you... alone!" Zack stated, and saw the boss give a silent signal for Andrea to leave. 

Zack talked nonsense with him for the ten minutes left until five o'clock, then left, watching the coffee girl hurry away, running towards the stairs as if the devil were on her heels. 

"Something is very wrong in this place...!" he thought. "Very wrong!"