The plan goes in motion

"Now remember, little guy," Vanessa said to the skunk in the box as they rid the elevator to the top floor, "you spray Lauren and only Lauren. The second she opens the box, you let her have it and then get out of here, got it?"

The skunk merely nodded as Vanessa closed the box again, smiling wickedly as the elevator chimed and opened the door. Vanessa walked into Lauren's office, taking note about it's colossal size. No doubt to inflate Lauren's ego. Oddly enough, the only thing in the office that wasn't large was the desk of her thirty-year-old secretary, her desk filled with little knick-knacks and pictures.

"Name?" The secretary asked as she looked up from her book.

"Vanessa Adkins." Vanessa responded calmly.

The secretary raised an eyebrow before she recognized the other woman's voice, giving a brief nod. "Oh, right, the Wicked Witch's sister who I spoke with the other day. You still want that job?"

"Actually," Vanessa began as she remembered the lie she had told in order to get her the information that she needed, "after hearing about the horror stories from other workers, I decided that I should try looking for work elsewhere."

"Good choice." The secretary said with a sly smile. She then spotted the box in Vanessa's arm. "What's in the box?"

"Well," Vanessa lied, "she may be a despicable witch, but she's still my sister. So, I thought I'd drop off an early birthday gift for her."

"Are you sure that you two are related?" The secretary asked with a chuckle, "You're far too sweet to be Lauren's sister."

"Yeah, I get that a lot." Vanessa responded with a chuckle of her own. "By the way, can you make sure that Lauren doesn't know that it's from me? And make sure you're nowhere in the room when she opens it. You probably know how possessive she gets."

The secretary nodded as she took the box from Vanessa, the latter bidding her a farewell as she carried the box into Lauren's main office. The woman in question was currently going over a series of papers as she muttered to herself. Alexa cleared her throat.

"Ms. Adkins?" The secretary asked.

"Not now, Alexa!" Lauren snapped as she read through the papers again. "In case you've forgotten, Janet Matthews is coming by today for an inspection. You know, Janet, remember? Our CEO?!"

Alexa humphed in annoyance. "Yes, Ms. Adkins, I know. But I thought you should know that that someone dropped by to deliver an early birthday present for you."

"A present? For me?" Lauren asked as she looked up to see the brightly colored box in Alexa's hands. With her ego stroked, Lauren smiled as she walked up to her secretary, snatching the box right out of Alexa's hands. "Well, I guess I can except it. Who's it from?"

"She wished to remain anonymous." Alexa stated as Lauren pushed her out the door before closing it on her face. The secretary growled a bit before returning to her desk. She then put on a pair of headphones and began to listen to some music as she returned to her book.

Back in her office, Lauren sat the box on her desk. She was about to open it when she noticed the time on her computer. Janet was going to be here in less than an hour, and she still needed to work on her presentation for when she dropped by. At the same time, she was tempted to see what this gift for her was.

She folded her arms as she debated on whether she should open it now or wait until Janet did her inspection. A crow sat at the window looking into her office, a spy that Vanessa bribed to alert her when Lauren got skunked so she could put the next part of the plan into action.

Little did Lauren know that, no matter which option she picked, she would be in for quite the surprise...