As Deep As The Sea Chapter -20- On the 15th of September, Promise stepped into TL Communications company at Lekki. She approached the Front Desk Officers, two ladies and a guy, clad in navy blue suits. She greeted them and asked how to get to the Public Relations office. One of the ladies directed her to the third floor. She located the elevator and joined the group of people waiting to get in. On the third floor, she scanned the hallway and found a brown door labelled ‘Public Relations Office’. She knocked and went in. She found herself in a large room with five cubicles to her left, an enclosed office in the middle and a seating area which was already occupied, to her right. Eight pairs of eyes stared back at her. She approached them, greeted and took the vacant seat. Nobody responded, except the creamy brown skinned guy sitting opposite her. The door of the enclosed office swung open and a light skinned tall and plump woman walked out. “Good morning everybody. I am Miss. Vivian Njemanze, the Public Relations Manager.” They stood up and chorused, “Good morning ma.” Promise swallowed the laughter bubbling within her. The way they greeted the manager, it was similar to the way school pupils welcomed their class teacher. She took a good look at the woman and calculated her age, summing it to around early forties. Why wasn’t her boss married? She introduced herself with the title ‘Miss.’ It could be that she was separated, divorced or worse, widowed. She wouldn’t be surprised if the woman’s career had a whole lot to do with her present marital status. ‘All these career women,’ she thought. “You are my new team members. Your predecessors have been posted to different branches of the company worldwide. If you are as hard working and committed as they were, you will excel in this company. Your daily and weekly assignments are posted on that notice board,” she pointed to her left and their intent gazes followed the direction her finger was pointing at. A large board was nailed to the wall. It was divided into five columns, each person had their names written boldly in black on a column and it was covered with several pinned documents. Promise searched and found her name. It was on the second column. The volume of white sheets pinned to it made her to swallow her spittle. “Please endeavour to check the board daily. You do not have any excuse whatsoever to resume work late. I don’t care where you live. I don’t tolerate truancy, that will earn you a suspension and you can lose your job in the process. “If you work with me in obedience and loyalty, you will rise to an envied height, but if you disobey my rules and instructions, if you neglect your work and play smart, I will make your days in this company a living hell. Welcome to TL Communications company,” she turned around and returned to her office. The ‘click’ sound of her high heeled shoes echoed through the white walls. “Wow!” One of the men in the room exclaimed. He dabbed at the beads of sweat on his dark forehead with his white handkerchief, “Now I know why she is called Margaret Thatcher.” The taller man with creamy brown skin chuckled and shook hands with him, “I am Boma Etuk.” “Oyetunde Badmus.” Promise watched them and smiled. Men would always best ladies when it came to mingling. She noticed that Oyetunde was the shortest of them all. He was about five feet six inches, with a protruding pot belly that gave his grey coloured suit a gawky look. Her curious eyes found the taller man. He was the tallest of them all, about five feet ten inches, with a creamy brown complexion. He was easy on the eyes, but she had always preferred fairer men. He looked her way and caught her staring at him. His dark brown eyes softened and seemed to glitter, drawing her in, like nails to magnet. Oyetunde cleared his throat and approached her. “I am Oyetunde Badmus.” She tore her eyes away from Boma and shook hanks with him. “I am Promise Daodu.” “It is nice meeting you,” he grinned. “Same here,” she forced a smile. Boma walked up to them and shook hands with her. “Boma Etuk.” Their gazes locked again. She looked away. She couldn’t fathom why she was drawn to him. He wasn’t her type and she was yet to recover from her broken relationship with Gbenga. “Can we meet you?” Oyetunde addressed the other two ladies who had already picked out cubicles next to each other. “Adaeze Chukwuemeka,” one of them waved. “Kemisola Tijani,” the other chimed. Promise strode over to the board and checked out the documents attached to her name. Boma and Oyetunde joined her. “Margaret Thatcher is out to kill us,” Oyetunde lamented. She ignored him. She was beginning to see him as someone who complained a lot. Boma remained mum. His eyes were fixed on his column. “Look at our list of assignments. We have less than a week to see them done.” “Then you better get started,” Boma unpinned the documents attached to his column and strode off to the cubicle close to the window. Oyetunde groaned and pulled out his list of assignments from the board. He marched away in anger. Promise shook her head. ‘God, thank you for this dream job of mine. I need you to help me excel in this company’, she said a silent prayer and found out that the only desk left was the one opposite Boma. ******** At about twelve noon, Boma left the office and found his way into the cafeteria on the ground floor of the company. The place was crowded with staff members who were buying and eating their lunch. He bought a set of chicken sandwich and a can of orange juice. While trying to find a place to sit, he saw Oyetunde downing a bowl of pounded yam and melon soup at a corner. “Mr. Man, don’t you think you are swallowing the wrongest meal at this time of the day,” he sat beside him. “I need all the energy I can get. That sandwich you are eating won’t get you anywhere today.” He sipped at his drink, “Your heavy lunch will only make you sleep.” “I hear you,” he concentrated on his meal, “That reminds me.” Boma met his excited gaze. “We are lucky to have three beautiful ladies working with us.” “Really?” “Yes. Promise for instance is the prettiest of them all. She is tall, slim and curved in the right places. She might not be as physically endowed as Kemisola and Adaeze, but, that girl is fine. Her smooth dark chocolate skin is… ” “Oyetunde!” He started to laugh. “Are you sure you are not falling for her already?” He shrugged, “It won’t matter. A girl that looks like that is either engaged or in a serious relationship.” “Hmmm… ” He thought about what his colleague said. “Kemisola is also pretty and well packaged in all areas, but, I don’t like the way she is exposing all her goods outside.” “I agree with you,” a picture of Kemisola’s exposed cleavage assaulted his mind’s eye. “Adaeze is a beautiful Ibo girl, but she too is exposing herself. I don’t know what is wrong with these girls.” “They lack knowledge.” “A man who wants to play games goes after girls that appear loose and dress indecently. But, a man who wants to get married will go after someone like Promise.” Boma nodded in agreement. “I hope they learn from her,” he downed his drink and got up, “I have to go. See you later in the office,” he headed out. Boma finished his sandwich and sipped at his drink. He was grateful to God for his new employment. He had been looking for a new job for over five months. His former place of work went bankrupt early that year and laid off all their staff. His fiancée cancelled their wedding in the process and left the country with a man she barely knew. He had been devastated, but, God stood beside him, healed his broken heart and provided him with a new job. His salary and allowance was twice what he used to earn. It would enable him to change his Honda car and rent a new apartment. He had been using the car since he graduated from the university, it was long overdue for a change. He glanced at his wrist-watch. His one hour break was almost over. He finished his drink, got up and headed out, lost to the longing stares from some of the female staff in the cafeteria. ******** It was the third time she had tried to take a nap, but, the giggles and loud gossip comments filtering into her ears had made it impossible. She wondered how Adaeze and Kemisola seemed so close despite the fact that they were just meeting for the first time that morning. They summed up the popular saying, ‘Birds of a feather flock together’. “I overheard one of the secretaries in the office opposite us talking about Boma Etuk.” “Really?” Adaeze leaned forward. Her ears anticipated the gossip. “She said as far as TL Communications was concerned, he is one of the most handsome men in the company.” “Wow!” “His name is on the lips of every girl who wants to drag a man to the altar this year.” Adaeze bursted out laughing. “Assuming he was taller, let’s say, about six feet tall, he would have been compared to a sun god,” her dreamy eyes beamed. She nodded in agreement. “His five feet ten inches height isn’t bad anyway. At least, he is taller than me,” she winked. “His creamy brown skin is so smooth, I wonder what cream he uses.” “I won’t mind caressing it.” Adaeze smiled and nodded. “I wonder what it would be like to lie with him in bed and feel his total body against… ” “Kemisola!” “What!” “You are crazy.” “Shut up!” She eyed her, “As if you haven’t thought of sleeping with him too.” Adaeze started to laugh again. Promise got up and walked out. She couldn’t stand their loud laughter again. Kemisola and Adaeze hissed. “That one thinks she is fine.” “Fine indeed. She is flat in all the right places. Yuck!” “I doubt if she eats at all.” “She cannot compete with the likes of us.” “No, no, she can’t. We run things here.” They gave each other a high five. “Oyetunde isn’t bad either.” “That short rat!” Kemisola pointed at him. “Keep your voice down,” she hit her on the knee. “Why?” “You are wicked.” “So are you. Look at his pot belly. Pregnant man.” Oyetunde glanced at them and they looked away immediately. Their conversation stopped, but, their giggles grew louder. ******* Promise saw Boma the moment she stepped out of the office. “Is madam back?” She shook her head. Their boss had been out most of the day. “Are you coming from the cafeteria?” He halted a few feet away from her. “Yes.” “Do they have any snacks?” He nodded, ” They have different types of snacks.” “Okay. Good. Thanks.” “You are welcome. Is Oyetunde in the office?” “Yes,” she met his dark brown stare. His eyes seemed to swallow her own. She blinked and backed away. ‘Am I attracted to this guy?’ She erased the thought from her mind. “Okay. I am off to the cafeteria.” His eyes followed her. He wondered if what Oyetunde had said was true. Was she really engaged or in a serious relationship? He was attracted to her. He could bet his whole salary that she was attracted to him too. He would try to get to know her better. Working with her in the same office made it easier to an extent. He had learnt a long time ago that a beautiful fulfilling relationship sometimes began with a bubbling friendship. ------------------------- Keep Checking For The Chapter Twenty One... Like, Drop Your Comments and Share!!!
Posted on: Sat, 31 Aug 2013 13:24:37 +0000
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