Chapter4: Two years

A normal person would have said no but Leila stopped considering herself normal the moment she signed the contract with Kelvin McKenna. They only went on two dates for God’s sake. Her best friend didn’t even know because he convinced her to do it before telling Freya. And she agreed.

She said yes.

Did she make a mistake?

Leila was still thinking about this as she entered her work building, she pulled the door to her office open and paused.

Everyone was here.

She stole a peek at her wristwatch, she wasn’t late. It was only five minutes past eight. She walked briskly to her table and set her bag and files down.

Her head raised when someone sat on her desk. Lily. They were not best of friends but she preferred her to that witch staring at her from across the room. Samantha’s mission in this office was to make her life miserable but Leila was bent on avoiding her as best as she could. Already, it was working. Last month, she received the best staff of the month award for the third time in a row.

“Did you hear?” Lily asked.

Leila chewed on her lips. If this was another round of office gossip, she wasn’t interested. “Hear what?”

“About the merger.” Leila sighed. Lily was talking in riddles but she wasn’t too interested in the conversation to want to find out more about this merger they weren’t notified about. “We have a new boss.”

Her eyes jerked to Lily’s face and the woman curled her fingers in her long strawberry blonde hair. Aside from her long hair, she envied Lily’s flawless face and her composure. Unlike her, Lily didn’t have that annoying tiny birthmark on her jaw that called attention to it. People wanted to look at Lily because she was pretty not because she had a weird birthmark.

“Sarah has been fired?” Leila asked.

Each department in Tech valley had its own leader. Sarah, sometimes, got unbearable under pressure but she was one of the few heads of departments Leila liked. Lily shook her head with a small smile.

“No.” She bent over Leila’s laptop, turning the screen to Leila so she could input her password. “The boss’s boss. Sarah has a new boss.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. You should have received an email.” Her eyes swept over the room before finally coming to rest on Leila. “I got mine today.”

Leila was quiet as Lily typed away on her laptop. Almost immediately, she snatched the device from her colleague when Lily opened her email without notice. An apology tumbled out of Leila’s lips at Lily’s frown. Her marriage certificate was there. Kelvin emailed her a soft copy alongside a copy of the contract that held the future of their marriage.

Two years.

If she wasn’t satisfied with the state of things between her and Kelvin, she could walk away with their house, a car of her choice and a million dollars in her account. A part of her hoped she never had a need for the contract. Today was the second day of the marriage but she was willing to make it work or at least try.

“Do you know who this new boss is?”

Lily shook her head. “Sarah didn’t say much but we have to welcome him today. That’s why that one…” Her voice held a hint of annoyance as she threw a look at Samantha’s table. They both disliked her. Samantha was in the news department, so they never got to engage often. So it was a bit of a surprise to see her in the production department. “...is here. She’s interviewing him today.”

Her eyes met Samantha’s and Sam hissed. If Leila was as callous as the pretty lady on bangs, she would have switched Sam’s script long ago so she could be fired. But she was far too kind for that. Sam might be a terrible person but she was a great reporter, one of the best in Tech Valley.

The door to their office opened. Sarah stood in the doorway, her sharp eyes going over everyone. “Lily Boom, you are not paid to sit on other people’s desks.” Leila heard the sound of muffled laughter, she looked up right in time to see Sam giggling. “Get up or get out of here.”

“I’m sorry,” Lily offered as she scrambled to her seat.

“Save your useless apology for the dead,” she thundered.

Lily’s lips twitched but she didn’t say a word as she settled down. Leila offered her friend a small smile and she winked. This was Sarah for them.

The office grew quiet as Sarah barked out orders. “Samantha.” Sam stood. “Do you have your script?”

“Yes, Ma.”

“Good. Sit. You’re just to introduce him to the world and that’s all. Ask him questions people want to hear. Do your job.” Sam nodded again. She was a bit nervous and it showed. “Fifteen minutes. Twenty minutes tops. Anything more than that and you will spend the rest of your life looking for a new job. Got it?”

Lily and Leila shared a look and a smile broke out on their lips as Sam’s face grew red. Already used to Sarah’s attitude, they didn’t think twice of her threat but this was Sam’s first time in their department. Good for her.

The phone in Sarah’s hand rang, she shoved the notepad under her armpit and took a breath. “He’s here.” Her eyes lingered on everyone. “Sam and the rest of the news crew will conduct the interview but he will be here to inspect the team behind the wonderful scripts.” Shoving her hands into the pockets of her suit jacket, she said, “If you are not cut out for this job, now is the best time for you to quit.”

Some of them snickered and Sarah softened. “Good luck, everyone. Our future depends on this.”

The department was as quiet as a temple after Sarah and Sam left. Lily wiggled her brows but didn’t dare to leave her seat. Leila stretched her arms and yawned. She didn’t sleep well last night. It would take a while to get used to sleeping on a new bed or being a married woman.

She resumed typing on her laptop at the same time a gasp echoed in the office. Susie, the loudest staff among them, raised her phone and screamed, “He’s hot. He’s so fucking hot.” To buttress her point, Susie licked her screen. Leila cringed. No one was disturbed by her act, this was typical Susie behaviour. “I want to marry him.”

Leila paused. If she asked who, she would be drawn to the gossip Susie was ever willing to dish out. But she was curious to know, it might be her boss. She might be off the market but she was allowed to admire handsome men. Though she didn’t think she would be doing that often, her husband was hot enough for her. Leila stared at the script on her screen. She had to vet it.

Tech Valley was a media outlet that combined tech and entertainment. Most times, they had to find a way to incorporate tech in fun ways to keep most of their younger viewers glued to the TV. All the scripts from the scriptwriter had to pass through them before it was sent to the news department. In her line of work, there were no mistakes, so she couldn’t afford to make one.

Lily beat her to the question. “Who?”

“The boss. Check your WattsApp. Mark sent a picture.”

Mark was one of the videographers. Everyone could count on him to supply the right information. She reached for her phone and tapped on the group chat of Tech Valley staff. They had two groups, one for serious messages and the other for gossip, chats and hook-ups.

The picture took a few minutes to load and when it did, her world crumbled. Her phone slipped from her grasp and crashed to the floor. Her heart beat against her chest as she picked it. She set it on the table and forced a smile to her lips when Lily threw a worried glance at her.

This could not be happening.

Leila momentarily forgot about the cracks on her new Samsung phone and swiped right. The picture was the same. She placed the phone face down and grabbed her head in her hands.

Why did he have to be her new boss?