Beautiful Position, Beautiful Competition, Beautiful Foundation

It was always sad to see a staff member go, especially when they were hardworking and amiable. Their senior beauty editor had been one of those people, and after twenty years with the company, it was time for her to step down and retire. Even before working with them, she had lived a rich, fulfilling life surrounded by beauty, makeup, and fashion. Her retirement party was simple and sweet, with many people congratulating her for a job well done.

When asked about his thoughts on the matter, Edmund said, "It was because of her and the previous editor-in-chief that I became interested in fashion in the first place. How a person chooses their clothing says a lot about their character. As my only way of understanding people at the time, I couldn't help but pursue the topic further. I appreciate everything she has done for the company, and I'm eager to see how her successor will contribute going forward."

Spoken like a true boss. He did bring up one concerning thing though. If someone was going to be promoted to take her spot, then someone else might be bumped up to take their position. In other words, this was a shift in power. Also a chance at getting a nice raise. Because of this, there were some conniving people who would group together and scope out the competition, seeing who they needed to knock down to climb up the pillar of success.

Nami was safe, of course. As the senior fashion editor, she was basically second to Edmund in the chain of command. Rumi was a model and therefore not relevant to the subject. Alex, on the other hand, was a perfect target. She hadn't even been here for a year yet, but her blooming confidence and positivity made her a delight to some around the office. Now that she was happy and secure in herself, making as few mistakes as possible, she drew more attention than ever. That made her a threat.

And so the whispering began to spread.

"Did you hear about Nami's assistant? Alex, was it?"

"Yeah, I saw them coming out of the women's restroom. Is that even allowed?"

"I don't know. But they do seem close to the boss..."

"Don't tell me they're actually doing it."

"Maybe he got divorced because he's actually gay?"

"No way! He has a kid."

"He is close with that one model though."

"Huh! Had I known that's all it took to get a promotion, I would've put on a strap-on for him."

"That's probably all they're good for. Remember when they almost ruined our one project?"

"Yeah, and Nami defended them! Bet the chief made her go easy on them."

"That's the only reason why they're here. They don't do anything else aside from sitting around looking pretty. What a waste."

Like ghosts haunting the grounds, there was a sense of dread that could not be pinpointed on one specific source. Whenever someone tried to catch the gossipers in the act, they would vanish without a trace. They were sneaky enough to cast doubt and disdain without leaving tracks. It was an attempt at a clean social murder. Alex could have tolerated it if Edmund hadn't gotten dragged into it.

Something had to be done. It was time for an emergency meeting.

The meeting took place in Edmund's office and consisted of Nami, Edmund, Alex, and Rumi. They had all noticed the growing issue in their circles and were ready to report their findings. Unfortunately, none of it was good.

"If this continues, Alex may not be the only target," Edmund said. "This could spread hostility and distrust throughout the entire office. This is unacceptable."

Rumi huffed and crossed his arms. "What do they think this is? High school? They're just twisting the truth to fit their own agenda."

"For now," Nami said. "When they run out of truthful things to say, they'll start mixing in lies in there too. Then no one will know what to believe."

Edmund's frown deepened. "You speak from experience?"

"Absolutely. I left my first job because people chose to believe rumors over my friend at the time. I don't want that to happen again."

"I really do appreciate you guys helping me out with this," Alex said. "But I'm sure it'll blow over once the decision is made. Plus, Edmund doesn't have the final say on who gets the promotion. The president does."

Edmund sighed and adjusted his glasses. "You're correct. Stella Facade will be arriving tomorrow alongside the shareholders to discuss our plans for this year. That includes potential candidates for promotion."

Alex couldn't help but get starry-eyed at the thought of meeting one of her biggest idols. Stella Facade was the classic underdog story of going from randomly being scouted as a model to climbing all the way up and owning her own company. If you wanted to get anywhere close to the glamorous life of fashion, being on her good side was a necessity.

Noticing this, Rumi quipped, "You're oddly cheerful for someone being bullied right now."

Alex laughed a little and waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, I'm not worried about that! I know Stella would never lower herself to following baseless rumors. That's why if I do get to talk with her, I'm going to win her over by being the best me I can be!"

"Wouldn't that be something?" Nami said with a light giggle.

"Even so, we should still be careful," Edmund said. "The meeting would be the ideal time for the culprits to interfere. Everyone should stay on guard, and report to me if you notice anything suspicious. Any evidence of workplace harassment must be dealt with."

Ever optimistic, everyone playfully saluted and shouted, "Yes, sir!"

The battle of the promotions was underway.

---

Stella Facade was as beautiful and graceful as ever. Age simply changed her style, embracing the white hair and wrinkles without any signs of surgery anywhere. Her plump makeup was smooth, her long hair was fine, and her pearl necklace complimented her silver-themed business outfit. Alex prayed she could age like her in the future, but that might require a lot of hard work and attention to skin care.

Everyone started off on their best behavior, people clamoring to open doors for her and offer her anything from drinks to snacks to a foot massage. She passed by these people without a second thought, keeping it to a short 'yes', 'no', or 'thank you'. Being one step ahead, Alex knew this wasn't the time to talk to her yet, so she merely watched. While she was waiting for her chance, she noticed one of her coworkers trying her best to hide behind the cubicles. Alex recognized her as the shy girl who was checking for typos way back when she was digging for information on Edmund. The proofreader.

Concerned, Alex slowly approached her and asked, "Are you okay?"

Despite trying not to surprise her, the proofreader squeaked and ducked her head further. "I-I'm fine! Nothing's wrong!"

"Are you sure?" Alex knelt down to her level. "Do you wanna talk about it? I won't say anything."

Sensing Alex's good intent, the proofreader relaxed her shoulders and fidgeted with her hands. "Well... I'm nervous, that's all. I'm not the prettiest girl in the office, so I don't want that to be counted against me, you know?"

"You mean you're worried someone's going to say something to Stella to make you look bad?"

The proofreader nodded, which caused Alex to puff her cheeks up in frustration.

"So what? It's your attention to detail that we haven't had any reports of misprints since you got hired," Alex said. "If anyone says anything, I'll be the first to attest to that."

The proofreader smiled a bit. "Thanks... you're right. I'm overthinking it, aren't I?"

"Yes, but I've been there. You start off thinking about the many, minor problems, and then it gets worse and worse until you wonder about the worst-case scenarios. That sounds about right?"

"Kinda, yeah!" The proofreader let out a deep sigh. "I don't know why Bob and Aerith keep saying bad things about you. You're really nice."

Alex's eyebrows shot up at this surprising discovery. "Who's Bob and Aerith?"

"Oh, this couple that likes to gossip a lot. Bob's in the publishing department and Aerith is the beauty assistant. You never met them?"

Alex shook her head. "No, I don't think so. We do have different roles after all."

"Huh. Weird..."

"Weird, indeed." Alex rose up and offered a hand to the proofreader. "Thanks for the tip."

Despite being somewhat confused, the proofreader accepted the hand regardless and rose up with her. "Um... you're welcome."

Now that Alex knew who the culprits were, the next goal was getting evidence. One person's testimony wasn't going to be enough. Alex had an idea of who she needed to speak with. If she had to guess, the reason why Bob and Aerith were caught by the proofreader was due to her quiet yet attentive demeanor making her practically an invisible spy. So what about someone on the opposite end? Someone so outrageous and oblivious that no one would normally take them seriously?

Thus, she returned to one of the other people she had originally spoken to about Edmund. The one male designer who wore the outlandish clothing that was blinding to look at. Possibly due to Stella's appearance today, his outfit was slightly less neon this time around, so Alex could actually look at him during a conversation.

"Hey there," Alex said. "Can we talk for a bit?"

"Oh, Alex! Darling!" the designer exclaimed, oddly happy to see her as he patted the seat beside him. "Yes, please! Come, come! I've been meaning to have a chat with you."

Baffled, Alex didn't know what else to do other than sit down as instructed. "You were?"

"Yes, of course! I wanted to know if the rumors were true." He leaned in closer. "Are you and Eddie... an item?"

Alex forced a smile, realizing the rumors had spread worse than she thought. "Yep... you got me. We've been dating for a few months now."

The designer let out the most flamboyant gasp Alex had ever heard. "I knew it! I mean... I had my suspicions, but I wasn't so sure. And then those little gossipers started chatting so I was dying to know more!"

"What made you suspicious?"

"His change in attitude, of course! Remember? I said he could be a sweetheart if he listened more, and I was right! The only explanation I could think of for the sudden change was the power of love!"

"Well I did ask him to consider it," Alex humbly replied with a small blush, then snapped back to being serious. "But about the gossipers. Someone told me Bob and Aerith were the ones responsible. Does that sound right to you?"

The designer nodded and placed a hand on his cheek. "That's them! Such a pity really. They are quite the power couple, but instead they use that to push other people down. I wouldn't surprised though if Aerith gets promoted to editor. She is good, stellar even, and all that was holding her back was hiding in her senior's shadow. Now that she's gone... well. At least it'll make her boyfriend's life easier." His watch then started beeping, causing him to jump up from his seat. "Oh, I need to go! Sorry I can't be any more help."

"No worries," Alex said. "You helped me plenty. Thanks."

She waved to the designer as he dashed off to wherever he needed to be. This should be enough, right? At least for Edmund to reprimand them. If their jobs were on the line, the warning should make them stop and the office can finally be at peace again. That was something she would need to bring up after the meeting though. At this time, she had to move on to her next duty, which was getting water for everyone at the meeting table.

As she headed towards the break room, she saw two other people were there. In fact, these two people were familiar, and Alex's eyes widened as it dawned on her where she had seen them before. The blue-haired man had been in the elevator with her on her first day, while the green-haired girl had shouted at Nami the day Alex accidentally spilled liquids all over an important project. The two turned their heads at Alex, and behind their friendly grins was a sense of malice that sent a shiver down her spine.

Alex had a bad feeling about this.