CHAPTER TWO
1230 Words
Lucia woke on Friday morning with the same questions that had followed her to bed the night before.
Was she doing enough?
Was she moving quickly enough?
What came next?
She lay still for a few minutes, staring at the ceiling, before forcing herself out of bed.
After brushing her teeth, she returned to the bedroom to get dressed. Her phone rang.
Jackson.
She stared at his name, sighed, and returned to the bathroom.
He called twice more.
She let every call ring out.
By the time she arrived at INK Investments, her stomach was unusually tight. She had presented ideas to senior management before, but this was different. She had made a promise she couldn’t comfortably afford to keep, and now her future depended, at least in part, on a decision she couldn’t control.
For a moment, she considered turning around.
Then she straightened her shoulders and walked inside.
The office was as it always was. Keyboards clicked. Phones rang. Someone complained about a delayed report.
Lucia sat at her cubicle and opened her laptop.
“Lucia.”
She turned so quickly that her cup nearly toppled over.
The CFO’s secretary stood beside her desk.
“Mr. Fredrick would like to see you.”
Lucia’s stomach dropped.
What have I gotten myself into?
She stood, smoothed her blazer, and followed the secretary down the corridor.
“Good morning, sir.”
Mr. Fredrick was arranging papers on his desk.
“Good morning, Lucia. How was your night?”
“Fine, sir. And yours?”
“Quite good. Sit down.”
She sat.
He closed the folder in front of him and rested his hands on the desk.
“I thought about your proposal after our conversation yesterday.”
Lucia kept her face still.
“I’ve decided that we should proceed with a pilot, subject to the necessary approvals. We’ll start small, measure the results, and decide whether expansion makes sense.”
For a moment, she couldn’t speak.
“Sir, are you serious?”
He smiled.
“Very serious.”
A smile spread across her face before she could stop it.
“Thank you, sir.”
“Don’t thank me yet. You’ll be expected to work closely with the team responsible for implementation. You’ll need to document your assumptions, justify your projections, and be prepared to defend your decisions.”
“I understand.”
“And Lucia?”
“Yes, sir?”
“Don’t ever make another promise like the one you made yesterday. Your responsibility is to prepare a sound business case, not to offer your salary as collateral.”
Her cheeks warmed.
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. I admire your determination. Just remember that confidence and recklessness are not the same thing.”
She nodded, taking the warning seriously.
As she rose to leave, Mr. Fredrick asked, almost casually, “Are you married?”
She paused.
“No, sir.”
“Engaged?”
“No.”
He nodded.
“Well, then. My wife and I are meeting some friends tomorrow afternoon. I’d like you to join us. We can discuss the project in a more relaxed setting, and you’ll have an opportunity to meet some people who may be useful to the implementation team.”
Lucia hesitated.
“Tomorrow, sir?”
“Three o’clock. Clez Hotel and Suites.”
She hadn’t expected that.
Mr. Fredrick seemed to notice her uncertainty.
“My wife will be there, along with a few friends. It’s a social gathering, not another board meeting.”
That made her feel slightly better.
“All right, sir. Thank you for the invitation.”
“Good. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Lucia returned to her desk with her heart racing.
She opened a spreadsheet and stared at the same row for nearly five minutes without processing a single number.
She had done it.
Her proposal had been approved.
She wanted to tell someone, but she couldn’t decide whom. Her mother would be pleased, although she would probably remind Lucia that professional success wasn’t everything. Her colleagues would congratulate her, but some of them would spend the rest of the day wondering why she had received the opportunity instead of them.
So she kept the news to herself and went to get coffee.
In the kitchen, she reached for her favourite mug on the top shelf. Her fingers brushed the handle, but she couldn’t quite reach it.
“Let me help.”
She turned.
A man stood behind her, holding out his hand towards the shelf.
He was a stranger, tall and neatly dressed, with a calm expression that suggested he had nowhere urgent to be.
He retrieved the mug and handed it to her.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’m Uche.”
She accepted his offered hand.
“Lucia.”
“Do you work here?”
“Every day.”
He laughed.
“I meant, are you based in this office?”
“No. I’m here for a meeting.”
“That explains why I haven’t seen you before.”
She filled her mug with coffee.
Uche watched her for a moment.
“You look beautiful today.”
Lucia gave him a polite smile.
“Thank you.”
He seemed encouraged.
“Could I have your number?”
She looked at him.
“I’ve barely finished saying hello.”
He laughed, but she could tell he wasn’t ready to give up.
“Fair enough. I’ll take that as a challenge.”
“Please don’t.”
She left the kitchen before he could respond.
Later that afternoon, she saw him leaving a meeting. He spotted her at her desk and waved.
She returned the gesture politely and turned back to her screen.
It wasn’t that she hated men. She simply didn’t understand why so many of them seemed to believe that a woman’s appearance was an invitation to negotiate for her attention.
She had work to do.
And for once, she had something worth smiling about.
That evening, she squeezed into a keke for the journey home.
Her phone rang.
Jackson.
She answered before she could change her mind.
“Hello?”
“Lucia?” He sounded surprised. “Sorry. I didn’t think you’d pick up.”
“Then why did you call?”
There was a brief silence.
“Fair point.”
She almost laughed.
“I’m sorry I didn’t answer this morning. I wasn’t in the mood, and I had a lot going on.”
“Is everything all right?”
“Yes. Nothing you need to worry about.”
He paused.
“So, did you think about my proposal?”
“The date?”
“Yes.”
Lucia watched the traffic crawl past the keke. She was in an unusually good mood. Perhaps she could spare one evening to meet someone without treating it like an interruption to her life.
“Let’s meet on Sunday.”
On the other end of the call, Jackson struggled to keep the excitement out of his voice.
“Sunday works.”
“Good. We’ll talk later. I’m nearly home, and I want to rest.”
“All right. Have a good evening.”
“You too.”
She ended the call and leaned back.
For once, she didn’t feel irritated by the thought of Sunday.
She didn’t feel excited about it, either.
It was simply a date.
And she had decided to give it a chance.
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