Mr. CEO, I Cannot Be Hidden Anymore

CHAPTER 3

Amaka's POV:

After I was done having my breakfast in the kitchen, I stepped out of the house and made my way outside the compound.

The house was a rented apartment and not owned by Mrs. Ann.

Luckily, as I got outside onto the busy road, I saw a bus and got in. I sat beside a man who wore a black suit, and he smiled at me.

I was too preoccupied to smile back after what Joseph had done to me. I limited smiling at any man. It was very painful that Joseph had broken up with me. He should have told me that he wanted only s*x and not that he wanted to marry me.

I was a very decent girl in my area; that was why I became a laughingstock to my peers, who hadn't expected a good girl like me to become pregnant.

I wiped my sobs away and kept my gaze focused on the road. The man who sat beside me spoke, "Hi, dear. I have paid your fare."

"Huh?" I looked taken aback that a total stranger would help me pay my fare. As I looked at the man's face I gulped. He was very fair like me; he had short brown hair like my son. Although he wasn't Joseph Ericson, he was handsome and masculine.

"Thank you, but you shouldn't have done that. I don't need any favours from you," I said, as the bus continued to drive toward our destination.

"I understand, but I cannot help but appreciate your beauty. Do you live around here, or where are you heading now?" he asked, and I grimaced.

Gross! I hated it whenever a guy poked his nose into my affairs.

"I'm sorry, Mr., but I cannot tell you anything about myself. These days people easily get kidn*pped, and trusting a stranger is a risk," I said, my voice lowered so as not to embarrass him as we had other passengers seated behind us.

"Fine. I will keep that in mind," he said, while I looked away.

"Industrial estate. Anyone getting down?" the driver of the yellow bus asked, and I responded, "Yes, sir."

I got off the bus; the man in the suit came down too, and my brows furrowed, wondering why he didn't have a job at this early hour.

I wanted to pay the bus conductor, but he told me, "Your husband has paid."

"Hmm, he's not my husband," I told the conductor. He gasped. "Oh! Sorry, madam. But you two resemble each other."

"Whatever!" I turned and quickly made my way to the company I was heading to, J.E Globals.

I didn't speak to the man who walked along with me. I believed that by the time I got into the company, he would find his way.

However, as I got to the gate, the man checked in with his ID and the security man let him in. I was surprised that the man was already working there, but I wasn't allowed inside.

"What do you want, madam?" the security man asked, and I replied, "I'm here for my interview." I showed him the email on my phone, and he finally allowed me into the company.

I had to wait for my interview with the boss, as the company was very strict, like Maureen had told me. I hadn't researched this company, believing I would secure the job.

I was told to sit and wait for the boss to arrive, and it was already 9 a.m. before he arrived.

I didn't raise my head to look at the boss when he walked in. I heard whispering from the other new candidates who had come for their interviews. I think there were up to ten candidates for this mouthwatering job interview.

Soon, the lady in charge of ushering us came with her folder to introduce herself, as she had previously told us to sit and wait.

"Hi. Welcome to J.E Global Enterprises. We do not tolerate cheating or breach of contract. We expect our staff to uphold our company name to motivate other brands to partner with us and our goods and services. So we will proceed with a quick introduction. I am Anita Edward, your coach. I will give out this consent form to each and every one of you. Once you sign it, it shows that you have agreed to our company's terms. Then I will assign you to your partner, who will mentor you on how our system operates. But before that, you will have to go in one by one for your interview with our boss. Once he approves you and why you're here to work with us, then you can sign this form. Agreed?" she asked, and I swallowed hard.

I sat in the lobby on the long guest chairs, waiting. I could see their clients coming in and going out of the building. I was nervous, wondering who that man I had seen earlier was.

There was no way the boss of J.E Globals would be entering a bus like I did. Although I had the money to afford a small car, I didn't want to show off.

I was earning more money than Maureen, who taught me how to blog. So if I purchased a car now, it would seem like I was trying to compete with her. I don't know if that's how Maureen would feel, but that's how I thought she might feel, so I limited doing anything to piss her off.

Though she doesn't get pissed off, but I don't want to show off.

"Amaka Richard, it's your time now to go in for your interview," Anita said.

"Oh!" I snapped out of my trance, rose from the guest chair, and adjusted my red top and black skirt properly.

"Ma'am, can I go in there with my handbag?" I asked, not knowing if I could carry it in.

"Of course. Come with me," she said, ushering me to follow her, and she showed me a safe where I could keep my bag; she told me to hold the key until I returned to take it.

"Thank you, ma," I told her, and she smiled.

"Hurry up and don't keep our boss waiting," she said.

"Okay," I gulped and walked to the boss's office.

I took a deep breath and entered the expansive office on the fifth floor, and my eyes landed on the man in the black suit seated behind the desk.

"What?!" I gasped, shocked to see Joseph Ericson as the boss of this new company.

'Why hadn't I researched him? How did I forget to check the new company I was coming to work for?'

I tried to look away from him and to leave his office. He appeared indifferent, as if he didn't know me.

"Are you Amaka Richard?" he asked, pretending not to know me.

Unbelievable! Had I changed that much? How could Joseph not recognise me after four years of our relationship?

My lips trembled as I tried to respond to him. "Jo... Joseph. You own this company?" I asked, tears welling up in my brown eyes.

"Excuse me, have we met before?" he asked me. I shook my head. Since he was pretending not to know me, I decided to pretend that I didn't know him either. We had dated for a year before he ran away. How could he not recognise me?