CHAPTER 4: This is War!

Trembley's face visibly reddened, and the hardness in his eyes remained.

"Waiting for Andrea?" he growled. "Are you trying to be funny, or do you not know that interpersonal relationships are prohibited in this company?"

"Well, I'm a slow learner, but I tend to imitate," Zack replied sarcastically. "Maybe I got confused when I saw you climbing on her like a lizard needing sunlight."

The old man clenched his teeth and released Andrea abruptly before walking up to Zack.

"Don't get in my way, kid. You're just a newcomer, and I can..."

"What? Fire me?" Zack interrupted with a cold voice. "Well... you can try, but you'll find my job here doesn't depend on you. I belong to the team of the company owner, and only he can fire me. I'm sure he wouldn't look kindly on a manager trying to dismiss me without justified cause."

Trembley clenched his fists and glared at Zack with a malevolent, defiant expression.

"Maybe your job is safe," he spat, "but hers leaves much to be desired. Maybe because she's busy whoring around with the newcomers instead of working."

Zack took a step towards him and looked down at him from his height.

"First of all, I kindly recommend you watch how you talk to your staff. That's no way to treat anyone, and secondly, I suggest you listen to me while I'm still being polite," he growled with evident annoyance. "You're right, I'm new here, and since I have a lot to learn, starting today, I'm going to work closely with your assistant to make sure I don't miss anything. Oh! And make sure to put these extra hours on her payroll!"

Trembley looked at him with a mix of disgust and hatred and quickly left the copy room. He had spent months working on Andrea, finding ways to undermine and control her without causing a scandal, and now this idiot newcomer came to her defense. He had to find a way to get rid of him!

Andrea took a deep breath, not sure if she felt relieved or terrified. She knew Zack had tried to protect her, but she had a feeling he had only succeeded in provoking the monster that was Peter Trembley.

"Alright. Now, back to work," Zack said as if nothing had happened, and they both quickly got back to finishing the printing of those reports.

Zack not only helped with the copies but also took the opportunity to dive into the books and examine every transaction. But he couldn't be meticulous and thorough, ensuring that all finances were in order unless he did it calmly.

Half an hour later, they finally managed to print everything by working together, and Zack discovered that the finances were as bad as he had feared.

"I don't get it," Zack murmured. "I thought Unike Sport had better numbers. They don't represent bad athletes... though not the best ones either."

Andrea nodded, showing him a special folder.

"Well... there are several factors at play," she commented. "The athletes are good, but the boss focuses on what they can achieve, not what they can sell."

Zack frowned and looked at the contracts Andrea showed him.

"He gets the athletes into competitions and events. That's not bad," he murmured.

"I know. But this is Canada," Andrea replied. "The Winter Games are once a year; meanwhile, they can only train, and what do they live on? How do they save?"

"I know how the Winter Games work," replied Zack, who had been a champion in a few.

"Then you know they don't make much money from them," Andrea said. "Many of our athletes are young, they have fans, thousands of followers on social media; they could sell ice if they wanted to! But Trembley refuses to get them advertising contracts."

Zack pondered this. Nexa Sport Representation had a deal with KHC Group, the biggest advertising company in the United States, which secured spectacular contracts for their athletes. Zack was very aware that being a winner in a sport wasn't enough to make money.

"It takes a lot more to turn a great athlete into a significant figure," he remembered.

"Exactly," said Andrea. "You need to get them good sponsors, good advertising contracts, good events. But Trembley wants the athletes to work for him, not the other way around, as it should be. He just makes them compete and takes a percentage of their earnings for representing them. That's it. So I predict you're in for a tough time because the entire team of representatives here is very poorly trained."

Zack frowned for a moment.

"How long have you been working here?"

"Four months," she replied.

"Were you a sports representative somewhere else?" he asked.

"Who, me?" Andrea laughed. "Of course not! Nothing so glamorous, I was a teacher."

Zack thought for a moment. The woman didn't have bad ideas and knew the company's finances and reports well. She seemed worth exploiting her potential.

"Well... if you want, I can teach you. You already have the basics; I can train you in the more complex aspects so you can be a sports representative."

Andrea was speechless for a moment and then looked up at Zack.

"Do you think they'd take me seriously?" she asked, a note of sadness in her voice. "I was just a teacher... even if I knew everything, Trembley would laugh in my face just for applying."

"And who cares what Trembley says? There's a new owner coming, right?" Zack muttered angrily.

"Yes, one who will soon realize I'm just a fraud," she murmured, shaking her head. "No... I could never do something like that. People would probably laugh at me and trip me up..."

There seemed to be nothing more to say, and Zack sighed. He understood Andrea well, knowing the system from the inside and knowing that sometimes it was hard to get others to give you a chance. But that was true in any aspect of life. Some decided to fight, and others decided to give up.

"The way I see it," he finally said with a tired voice, "you don't need anyone to trip you up; you do that perfectly well on your own."

Andrea pressed her lips together and lowered her head, and Zack rolled his eyes before standing up. There was less self-esteem in that woman than in a box of cookies, and he didn't understand why that exacerbated him so much.

"We'd better get going," he declared, grabbing his jacket. When they reached the ground floor, Zack stopped her. "It's already dark, I can take you home."

"There's no need, really," she replied. "I don't want to bother you."

She started walking before he could say another word, but Zack knew he wouldn't be at ease letting a woman walk home alone at night, so as soon as he got into his car, he followed the direction he had seen her take earlier and quickly found her.

He followed her at a distance, discreetly, just to make sure she got home safe; but a quarter of an hour later, she was still walking briskly, and finally, forty minutes later, he saw her stop, breathless, in front of the ugliest building Zack had ever seen. Andrea climbed the stairs, and he stayed there, wondering why on earth someone would walk for forty minutes from work to home in that unbearable cold... unless they had no other choice.

"Damn it, Zack! You're just complicating your life!" he growled, turning around and driving away.

He had no idea that in that building, Andrea was kissing and hugging her little girl, then working at Mrs. Wilson's house, doing all the chores until she dropped from exhaustion.

The next day, Zack stopped on the first step of the building's lobby, then turned around and went to the cafeteria. He bought coffee and cupcakes for everyone, which the cafeteria staff delivered immediately, but he made sure to personally put a coffee with milk and a bag of delicious pastries—not the stale ones they had in the office—in front of Andrea.

"I want you to think about what I offered you yesterday," he ordered rather than asked. "This company needs people with brains."

But before she could open her mouth to respond, Trembley's unpleasant figure appeared at the door of his office.

"Andrea! Bring all the reports to my office! Now!"

Zack watched her lower her head and nod as she started to carry those folders filled with uselessly printed reports. His eyes met Trembley's for a second, and he realized that this... this was war! He had already seen the reports, now he wanted to know how much Trembley would be able to change them... and if Andrea was going to help him with that.