Mr. Levitz had apparently been waiting for Juan so long that he had to use the bathroom, which provided ample opportunity for Juan to glare at Joanna as she continued her work.
"What is wrong with you?" She demanded.
"I don't know what you mean, Miss Hannola." Joanna said primly. "But I have quite a bit of work to get done. Frankly, this woman you hired doesn't appear to have made a dent in these expense reports..."
"Her name is Isabel and just because you work for Mr. Levitz doesn't mean you get to send her to get you drinks or sit at her desk like it's yours." Juan said. She wanted to step closer to the desk, to insist that Joanna get up and leave at once.
Except...she wasn't sure what the clearly unhinged woman would do if she did.
"Doesn't it?" Joanna asked. "That's the way it's worked in every office I've worked in."
"This is why you have such a spotty career record, isn't it?" Juan demanded. "I expect you stalked the hirers there and verbally assaulted them too, didn't you?"
Joanna looked away, her smug smirk disappearing. "I haven't done anything wrong, Miss Hannola. You didn't think yours was the only opening I applied for when I visited this building, did you?"
Juan stood ram-road straight. "Mr. Levitz has a PA. Her name is Mrs. Baker. She's a lovely woman and unlike you she's qualified for her job."
"I wouldn't know anything about that." Joanna said. "I just interviewed for the job and Mr. Levitz hired me. I didn't expect I'd be harassed by his subordinates when I accepted the position." She glanced up at Juan. "Do you think I should talk to human resources?"
Juan just glared at her.
Then the door behind her opened and Isabel came running in, carrying a tray full of hot drinks. "I'm so sorry Miss Maire! The coffee shop was so busy, it took them nearly an hour to get to my order, I mean, you're order."
She stopped when she saw Juan and flushed. "Jay! I-I have your dark roasted, no sugar, no milk here!" With that, she grabbed one of the four cups on the cardboard drink tray and extended it in Juan's direction.
Juan stared at the drink and then at Isabel.
She was a couple years older than Juan, a fact that was of no doubt some embarrassment to her, considering her current career trajectory. But then Isabel had no one but herself to blame for that. While she'd been traveling around Mexico getting high in the desert, Juan had been working her way up the ranks.
She was pretty too, even if her body wasn't anywhere in as good a shape as Juan's was. She hid it well though, with her black leather jacket and insistence on wearing distractingly juvenile jewelry, even in a formal environment like this one. She must have thought that because she and Juan were friends, Juan would be okay with her dressing however she liked. Well, normally Juan would feel that same way too. But somehow, seeing Joanna in much more professional attire, especially with Mr. Levitz around, made Juan worry that Isabel's insistence on colorful "alternative" fashion reflected poorly on her.
She remembered the questioning look on Levitz's face when he came out of her office. He was disappointed with her for being late. Was he already ticked off at the blatant bias she'd used in the hiring process?
Realizing that Isabel's smile was slowly cracking at the awkward silence passing between them, Juan grabbed the drink. "Isabel, who told you to go get four coffee orders?"
"Oh, it's just three orders. One for you, one for Frank, and one for Miss Maire." Isabel said, her smile disappearing. "Should I have not gotten one for myself?"
Juan's glare deepened. "While you are working in this office you will address Mr. Levitz by his last name."
"Oh. Sorry, Jay." She looked nervous. "Sorry, should I call you Mrs. Hannola when people are around?"
"Isabel, did Joanna tell you to go get coffee?" Juan demanded, ignoring the blatant violation of conduct she'd prescribed when she agreed to take Isabel onboard.
"I-you mean Miss Hannola?" Isabel actually looked at Joanna for guidance here, as if she was her boss, not Juan.
Juan was ready to scream at her to look her in the eyes when talking to her, when the door opened again and Mr. Levitz returned.
"Ah. Miss Diego, good to have you finally join us." He said, wiping his still wet hands on the thigh of his pants and taking the largest of the three cups off the tray without looking.
"It's Diéguez, actually..." Isabel said, quietly.
Mr. Levitz ignored her. "Now, Mrs. Hannola, if we could speak in your office."
"Of course, sir." Juan said, casting a glare at Joanna as she followed him into her office.
Joanna just gave a halfhearted wave, before turning her hungry gaze back on Isabel.
***
"So, I understand you're still behind on finishing these expense reports." Mr. Levitz asked.
"Yes, sir. That won't be a problem though, now that I have Miss Diéguez." Juan reassured him as he sat down at her desk. Just like Joanna at Isabel's desk, she briefly cognized.
"Well, that's good to hear, but I'm a little less than confident given the state I found things in when I arrived here."
She rankled. "Sir, I apologize for not being here when you arrived, but if we'd scheduled a meeting..."
"Relax, Juan. I don't give a shit if you come into work at noon, as long as the work gets done." Mr. Levitz said. "I mean that I sent my new girl down here at 7 AM to find out when we could discuss your next project and she found your friend watching fucking porn at her desk."
Juan's mind refused to comprehend the bluntness of the meaning behind her boss's words, preferring instead to shut down as much higher thought as possible. "I-I don't-I mean-"
"And then she sends your new PA to get coffee so you and I can discuss the matter and Miss Domingo doesn't come back until two hours later." Mr. Levitz continued, utterly uninterested in her babbling half-explanations.
"I don't...I mean, Joanna found Isabel...masturbating?" Juan felt like she might throw up. It was a lie, a filthy lie devised by Joanna's devious mind. It had to be, that was the only thing that made sense.
But why had Isabel been so cowed by Joanna and Mr. Levitz then? Why had she blushed when she found Juan had arrived for work? She was normally so bubbly, so full of enthusiasm for new faces.
Had the whole world gone mad? Or was Joanna really willing to go to any length to ruin Juan's life?
