Fired? No, Not in Your Lifetime.

[Collineus Cardosi]

Collineus Cardosi awaited in his office for some business to arrive. Since the meeting of the Scitorari Leaders, it was very much obvious that he was not in the best of moods. In fact, he hated everything there was about that meeting thanks to one man. But, he would not let it get under his skin. He had much to plan and much to do. Recruiting is somewhat of an issue right now since no one has been suitable enough for him. The people left his office, usually believing that they were simply rejected a job interview. To top that off, he had to be careful with what he said or did or else he too might end up in some deep trouble. Going through the files on his desk, Collineus started to notice that there was something wrong. The work done seemed to be a little sloppy, and he looked at the list of workers that filed this for him. It was Leia Thoreau, his wild affair and the mother of his pure-blood heir. He did want another one, a son, to carry on his name and his business, but that could come at a later time. He was going through something big with his wife right now, so holding off on that was definitely a good thing. He wondered if Leia did this wrong or if she just got sloppy. After all, having a young child was definitely not the ideal life, but worth it in the end.

"Mrs. Negrini, tell Leia Thoreau to report to my office immediately," Collineus sent the message via Patronus. The snake slithered away to reveal the message to the woman before they would summon Leia up to his office. It was not the ideal way, but muggle objects were prohibited in his building. Collineus would see to it that she was doing her work, otherwise, he would have to do something about it. Normally, he would have fired the secretaries for doing something like this, but this time, he did not think that he could do it. Leia had grown on him to some degree, and he was not about to let her leave this company because of something so small in his eyes. He leaned back in his chair to wait for the beautiful, young woman to appear before him. After all, he was not about to fire someone that he actually appreciated in here. Yet, it was obvious by the atmosphere in the office that he was not in the best of moods. The curtains were drawn and the office looked cold and dark.​

 

[Leia Baros]

Leia glanced around from the corner of her dark blue eyes and frowned. "Serena, quit puttering around and make yourself useful." Leia never realized how difficult children could be, especially when they were spawns of Collineus Cardosi. That child had a personality unlike any child that Leia had ever seen before. That child was constantly getting into everything, bossing others around, taking what she wanted and when she wanted it, and sure as hell this girl knew how to get others to do her bidding for her. She was only eight, but Leia felt like she was equally as bad as many adults in this world. Serena commanded that things be done her way. In Leia's mind, she was definitely Collineus' daughter. Leia paused in her work when Mrs. Negrini informed her that Collineus wanted to see her in his office immediately. Leia new why too. Nodding her head she stood up and grabbed a hold of her daughter. Leia had allowed her work to become sloppy on purpose in hopes that Collineus would grow fed up with her and fire her. Leia wanted no more part in his life. She couldn't do it anymore. He had the daughter he wanted, so why was Leia was still around. Leia was willing to leave her daughter behind with Collineus, since she was his as promised. But she needed to get away. There was a part of her that wanted to love him, but the other part told her that she was only going to wind up getting hurt.

The moment Leia had opened the door to Collineus office, Serena began to struggle against her hold. It wasn't until the pair had made it into the office and the door was closed that Serena had finally managed to wiggle her way out of her mother's grasp and then she was off. Leia looked at Collineus and shook her head. "She is definitely your daughter." Leia pointed out as she watched her eight year old begin to scour through one of the bookshelves within is office. "You wanted to see me about something Mr. Cardosi?" Leia decided to be as formal as ever. Cutting ties with him and Serena would be best. He was married he had a family elsewhere and Leia didn't need to be apart of it, even if some part of her wanted to. Leia told herself that she wasn't going to make the same mistake that her mother did and get attached to a man who wasn't the one. A man who didn't care for her as much as she cared for him. ​

 

[Serena Cardosi]

Serena really didn't fancy the idea of spending the day at the office with her mother, whom was probably one of the most annoying and controlling individuals she had ever met. People often told her that her father was bad, but that wasn't the case for Serena. Her dad gave her whatever she wanted. Her mother on the other hand only seemed to come up with rules or some type of advice to give her. Sure she gave her things, but it was a rare occasion for her to do such a thing. Lately, the advice she had been giving her was more along the lines of; 'you are nothing in the eyes of the world unless you can do great things', or that 'a lady makes her own path'. Whatever those meant, Serena wasn't sure. Serena was determined to be her own person though, and push whoever got in her way aside. Even if it meant getting her mother out of the picture. Serena nearly gasped when her mother grabbed a hold of her arm sternly and began to leader her towards the main office, which was where her dad usually was. "Mama let go!" Serena continued to struggle until they were finally at Collineus' office, where Serena was finally able to break free from her mother's grasp. Immediately she went towards her father.

"Daddy!" For the most part, he never seemed to be able to resist her puppy dog eyes routine whenever she wanted something. He could be stern when she was misbehaving, and that was always fairly frightening for her, but it was a rare occasion because Serena tried her best to behave and stay out of trouble whenever her dad was around. Serena had no idea why her mother needed to be up here, she just hoped that she could stay up and watch the action that was possibly about to unfold before her. ​

 

[Collineus Cardosi]

The office doors opened and Collineus looked up to see Leia grace the room, as if her being was enough to light up the dark atmosphere the room had. In burst his daughter too, one that he had practically sold off to the Zhefarovich family. She would receive a family, and now he required someone to receive the business once he was no longer able to take care of the high demands. He required to have a son, and he intended on Leia being the mother. After all the years of being around her, he knew when something was not quite right. She did not know his plans, but he had filed the paperwork, and so far, his wife was not even living in his house anymore. That was a relief and a half since he never appreciated her son from another marriage. His eyes did not drift over to Serena, as he remained on Leia. He instead pushed a folder out for her to take, and it was all of the things she managed to mess up. He went through and corrected it himself. Normally, someone would get fired for doing that, but her? No, he was not going to do that to her. "She is definitely our genes combined," mused Collineus as he looked to Serena as she looked through the bookshelves. That was no surprise that she would be acting like that.

"There's really no need to address me as Mr. Cardosi. I am sure that we are on a personal basis now." They have been for a long time now. He gestured to the folder and got right to work, "I noticed some pretty noticeable mistakes in your work. I went through and corrected it, but I know that you know how to do this. Why the sudden change? I'm sure you still want to work here, close to me, don't you?" Collineus paused for a moment, before he continued, "I normally would have fired employees for such reckless behavior, but I don't want to see you go so soon. You are perhaps my favorite person here. Well, excluding Serena of course." Collineus wondered what the story was, and from the look of his green eyes, he was expecting a good reason why she was doing the work as bad as she was doing now. It recently started, so she couldn't be pregnant again. If she was, he would be delighted, since he knew that he would be the dad. Well, he hoped anyway, that she didn't have another man in her life. He had such plans for her.​

 

[Leia Baros]

Leia resisted the urge to cut Collineus off when he told her that there was no need to address him by his last name. Did he not see the looks others gave Leia when she called him Collineus? It looked really unprofessional on her part. Back when Leia first started to work here she didn't care how professional she looked or what the others thought of her, but now she was older and she wanted to appear more mature. Plus she needed to get away from this company before she was stuck here forever as his secretary. "You're my boss, Sir. It's unprofessional to call you by anything else." Leia tossed it once he was finished speaking. Leia noticed the weird look she was getting from her daughter but did her best to ignore the looks. Serena was likely very confused by the situation because she still didn't seem to understand why her parents weren't married. The child had grown up seeing her parents act professional with one another so it's likely that she thought this was how everyone behaved. Collineus went on to point out that there were some really risky and big flaws in her work and that normally people were fired for such mistakes. Leia figured she was done for by this point, but apparently not.

He wasn't going to fire her?! Leia immediately thought of an excuse and attempted to seal her fate right then and there. "It was more or less just a careless mistake. I wasn't paying attention like I should have. I guess I've just gotten lazy." Why was he cutting her a break? This mistake could have cost the company a lot of money in damages if Collineus hadn't caught it in time. Now Leia knew better than to actually ruin the company, because she didn't want to. She just wanted Collineus to think that her work was careless enough to possibly let that happen so he would fire her. "Maybe you should fire me. Obviously I'm a liability for this company now. You've sent people packing for less, so I don't understand why you won't let me go." Leia wondered why he would sometimes fire people for just having his coffee wrong, while Leia had made a big error and he still insisted on keeping her as an employee. Obviously this man wasn't going to let Leia have her way. Right now she also felt like a prisoner being interrogated. ​

 

[Serena Cardosi]

Serena was lost. Now her parents had never acted like those couples she often saw on the cover of family magazines and whatnot, but this was unusual even for them. Her mother kept using her father's last name, and on top of that she wouldn't look anyone in the eyes. "You're not going to leave us are you?" Serena's mother often drove her nuts, but she was still her mother. Serena was ultimately worried that she was going to be abandoned. It felt like she was trying to go away. Serena went over to her father's desk and stood beside him. Now she was often pretty good at talking him into things, maybe he could make sure that Leia didn't go anywhere if Serena begged him too. Though, he had yet to get rid of that awful step-mother of Serena's, so maybe this was what he wanted. "Dad, don't let me go!" Serena could see by the look from her mother that she was unhappy with Serena's pleading, but the nine year old cared little for what her mother felt. Serena refused to be abandoned by the little family she had. She had heard stories about this sort of thing happening from the other kids who parents worked at the company, and that was the last thing she wanted to happen. ​

 

[Collineus Cardosi]

Collineus raised his eyebrow when Leia mentioned how he was her boss, and it was unprofessional to call him by anything else. They had relations that spread beyond work. She saved his ass by bearing him a daughter that he needed desperately. Surely, something must have happened for this change to occur. She would not have changed unless something else was going on. This caused him some concern, seeing as she should be appreciating his special treatment toward her, not rejecting it. He needed to know exactly what was going on, and required it immediately. Collineus sighed and he reminded her with a clear, almost stern voice, “Leia, Leia, you know as well as I do that I am more than your boss. I thought what we currently have was special. Watching you dismiss that is not pleasing, but concerning me quite a bit.” Collineus really had an attachment toward Leia, and he was not about to give it up at any point. He was not about to let her go so easily, and he thought that she might be trying to get away. It was impossible to escape. She was most certainly not leaving the company. He would not let her and that was evident in his eyes. That gleam that made everyone do as he wanted, and as he said.

Leia protested against not being fired, and was practically begging to be fired. She mentioned how she was a liability for the company, and he had sent people packing for less before. But not her. Before he could tell her that she was not leaving, Serena piped up and said not to let her go. He stood up and motioned for Serena to come over to him. He reassured his daughter, “Do not worry, darling. You are not leaving, and neither is Leia. Someone is, but I’m forbidding the three of us from separating.” He looked toward Leia, almost daring her to challenge him. He stared at Leia and mentioned, “You know, if you want a higher position, I can allow it. I assume you want more power, and I know only one way for that to occur. For it to occur, you do need to do one last thing as a secretary. But you won’t be fired. In fact, I can guarantee that you won’t receive a job anywhere else. You are aware of how far my influence stretches.” The last part was a bit of a threat, but it was to ensure that she would not leave. She was stuck. That’s what happened when one got entangled in Collineus’ work and personal life.​

 

[Leia Baros]

Leia didn't think it was going to be this hard to be fired by Collineus. She had seen this man send countless employee's packing for the stupidest things, yet here he was trying all that he could to convince her to rethink her desire to leave his company. Why? Leia knew she wasn't that great of an employee. "It's nothing personal. I just don't want to let myself get to attached. Collineus all of this has become much too much for me. I've been doing my best to be a good mother to Serena, only to practically give her away like some prized pig or something. I thought the agreement was that I give you the daughter that you needed and then you give me whatever I wanted?" Leia had raised Serena as best as she could, but she had never given her daughter the amount of love she deserved. Mostly because Leia had never felt like her daughter was actually hers, or Collineus. From day one that baby had been determined to have a different fate. One where she would be given away and no longer would have the life she had been fooled into thinking she could have. Leia felt cruel for doing that now, even if this family could mean good things for her daughter. She wanted Collineus to understand that she felt guilty.

"I don't want a higher position-what?" Although Leia had been dead set on leaving, the very fact that Collineus was offering her something higher had grabbed her attention. Was she really that hopeless when it came to denying him things? Sighing she shook her head. "Trust me, I know. I don't like it when you threaten me Collineus. No matter how subtle." If he wanted to play dirty she could too. Well not quite while Serena was in the room, but she knew his weaknesses and if she had to she'd play those cards faster than a kid could spot a bowl of candy. Serena seemed confused and Leia knew that she didn't want to be the one to tell her that she had been planned on purpose, to marry off to another family practically as payment for helping Collineus get this company on it's feet. Now that she thought about it, they were kind of sick parents. Hopefully Serena could come to forgive the both of them one day when she was older. ​

 

[Serena Cardosi]

Serena was lost. Very lost. From what she gathered her parents were upset and her dad was doing all that he could to convince Leia not to quit her job, or something along those lines. Why did she want to quit so bad? From Serena's perspective she had it pretty good here, especially since father favored her more than his other employee's. Then Serena was brought into it when Leia mentioned that it was hard to be a good mother when she had to give Serena away like some prized pig. Serena raised an eyebrow and looked up at her father. "What on earth is she talking about?" Was Serena going to go somewhere? Serena didn't hate her mom, but she did have to agree that there were times where she felt like her mother didn't love her very much. Serena wanted answers and if she had to pull the whiny child card she would get them, she hated feeling like she was being left in the dark. If something was about to happen to her they might as well tell her. Serena felt she was old enough to handle whatever it was. Or so she thought. Serena also hoped that he could convince her mother to stay. It'd be nice to have a family for once. ​

 

[Collineus Cardosi]

Collineus was not convinced when she said that it was nothing personal. Sure it was. She wanted to leave him. That was definitely personal. He couldn't allow that, not without her knowing his other intentions. She reminded him of the agreement, and normally, Collineus kept his word. But not with this. "Prized pig? That is an insult to our child. Besides, it isn't giving her away. She will still be ours, but her future will be better than either of us can provide. I would give you whatever you wanted, but it kind of needs to coincide with what I want, and I don't want you to leave." His tone was getting more and more sturdy and firm, which meant that he was getting a little irritated. He was not going to be convinced in any other direction. He was going to have her here, whether she wanted to or not. She was not even allowed to quit. He heard Serena ask a question, and he looked at her before he raised a finger to his lips to tell her to stop talking. He was in the middle of a conversation with her mother, and it didn't need any interruptions. He could lie and tell her that Serena was going to marry Prince Charming, but she wasn't. She was going to be a princess, so to speak.

She didn't appreciate being threatened. He smirked and he said, "Well, a man has to try. I know how you feel, with Serena's situation and now this. You don't want to get attached, which I think already happened since you have the strongest desire to leave. However, I do want you to go on vacation. Two weeks, and give it some thought. What are you going to be thinking about? Well..." He reached into his filing cabinet and pulled out a folder. He set it down, with the word 'Divorce' written in broad daylight. He looked at Leia and said, "I need you to take this to the courthouse so that it is finalized. I suppose that you can figure out why I pushed this divorce, who was the cause of it, who blessed me with an excuse to leave." Collineus wanted a divorce since before he met Leia, but he only married that woman because of titles. Now, it didn't matter. "Take you vacation, and I'll take Serena to meet her future family-in-law. Hopefully, when you come back, we can go ring shopping."​