Chapter 3: A Bad Day At Work
1539 Words
It was still the same day, but Victor’s mind was becoming more distracted by the minute.
He sat at his desk, staring at the work in front of him. He had plenty to do, yet he couldn’t give any of it his full attention.
His thoughts kept returning to the woman he had met that morning.
Mercy.
He wondered where she worked. He wondered if he would see her again. He even found himself staring at the incomplete number she had given him.
0802 40…
That was all he had.
Victor sighed and rubbed his face, trying to force himself to concentrate.
A few desks away, David and Samuel were having their own conversation. Samuel glanced toward Victor before lowering his voice.
“I don’t understand that guy sometimes.”
David looked at him. “What did he do?”
“Nothing now. I’m just talking generally.”
“Then talk.”
Samuel looked toward Victor again. “Someone who is not even financially stable wants to be in a relationship. How will he feed himself and his family?”
David laughed quietly. “Don’t say that. He’s our friend.”
Samuel shook his head. “He’s not my friend. He’s just my colleague. Moreover, I dislike him with passion.”
David raised his eyebrows. “That much?”
“Yes. Why would you suffer that lady? Very stingy guy.”
“Stingy?”
“Very stingy. He is stingy to himself, let alone someone else.”
David shook his head. “Maybe you’re being too harsh.”
“I’m not.”
Before David could respond, a client walked into the office. The man looked around before approaching Victor’s desk.
“Good morning.”
Victor looked up from his laptop. “Good morning.”
“I was told to meet Victor.”
“I’m Victor.”
The client pulled out a chair and sat down. “Okay. I came concerning the issue we discussed.”
Victor nodded. “Go ahead.”
The client began explaining the reason for his visit. At first, Victor listened. He nodded a few times.
But after a few minutes, his attention began to drift. He looked at his laptop, then toward the office entrance.
His mind went back to Mercy. He wondered whether she had already reached her workplace. Whether she would pass that same street again tomorrow.
The client continued talking. After a while, he stopped and looked at Victor.
“Are you listening to me?”
Victor looked up. “Yes.”
The client frowned. “Then what did I just say?”
Victor paused. He couldn’t remember a single word the man had said.
The client shook his head. “I’ve been explaining this for several minutes now.”
Victor became irritated. “Please, just go straight to the point.”
The man’s expression changed. “I am going straight to the point. That’s why I’m explaining everything.”
“Then make it quick.”
“Quick?”
“Yes.”
“I came here to get help with an issue, not to disturb you.”
Victor looked at him. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
“That doesn’t mean you’re paying attention.”
Victor’s patience was running thin. “Look, if you have something to say, just say it.”
The client slowly stood up. “You’re so rude.”
Victor said nothing.
The client picked up his things. “I don’t know what is wrong with you today, but the way you’re talking to me is unnecessary. I came here expecting to be attended to properly. Instead, you’re making me feel like I’m wasting your time.”
The man shook his head and walked away angrily. The door slammed behind him.
The office became quiet. A few people looked over.
David got up from his desk and walked toward Victor. He pulled a chair beside him.
“Victor.”
Victor looked at him.
“The way you acted just now was wrong.”
Victor looked away.
“You were rude to that man for no reason.”
Victor hissed. “It’s not that serious.”
David sighed. “Don’t tell me you’re thinking about this lady.”
Victor didn’t answer.
“Before her, customers have already been reporting you for being rude. This isn’t the first time, Victor.”
Victor looked away again.
“You need to stop it. You need to work on your character. I’m telling you this as your friend because I don’t want you to ruin your work over something you don’t even know where it’s going.”
Victor still said nothing. David eventually stood up and returned to his desk.
A few minutes passed. The quiet in the office was heavy.
Then Favor walked toward Victor. She stopped beside his desk.
“Vee.”
Victor looked up. “What?”
Favor stared at him for a few seconds, her lips pressed together.
“You know you broke my heart.”
Victor didn’t respond.
“And I will never forgive you for that.”
Victor sighed. “Favor…”
“I hate you.”
Victor looked at her. “I didn’t promise you a relationship or marriage.”
Favor’s face tightened. “You told me what you wanted in a woman. You made me believe that I could be that woman.”
“I never said that.”
“You don’t understand.”
Victor looked at his laptop. “Favor, I don’t want to pretend about something I’m not ready for.”
“You just want to act as if I don’t exist.”
“That’s not what I’m saying.”
“Then what are you saying?”
Victor sighed. “I don’t have money to waste on a woman.”
Favor stared at him, hurt. “It’s not even about money. You hurt me.”
Her voice began to shake.
“Is it on the days I would cook and bring food for you? On the days I would help you wash your clothes and do things for you? I did those things because I cared about you.”
Victor said nothing.
“And now you’re saying you met a lady today and you fell in love with her?”
“I didn’t say I fell in love with her.”
“Your friends are already supporting you. You haven’t once given me money, and I never asked you for it. I never used that against you. So this is how you want to pay me back?”
She pointed at him, her hand shaking.
“Vee, you’re an ingrate. You’re ungrateful.”
Victor looked uncomfortable.
Tears gathered in her eyes. Favor quickly wiped her face.
“I hate you.”
She turned and walked angrily into her office. Sandra noticed her immediately.
“Favor!”
Favor didn’t stop. Sandra followed her into the office.
“Favy, wait.”
Favor sat down and covered her face. Sandra closed the door behind her.
“Favy, we are very close and you didn’t tell me all this all this while?”
Favor looked up, eyes red. “I’m very sorry.”
“Sorry for what?”
“He asked me not to tell anyone.”
Sandra’s expression changed. “He asked you not to tell anyone? And you kept all this to yourself?”
“I didn’t know what else to do.”
Sandra sat beside her and held her hand. “I’m sorry, my friend. It’s fine. Clean your face. We’ll talk on the phone when we get home.”
Favor nodded quietly, wiping her eyes.
Outside, David, John and Samuel were still trying to understand what had happened.
John looked at David. “All this is going on and you didn’t tell me?”
David looked surprised. “I’m not aware of that part. Victor never told me anything about Favor.”
John looked toward Favor’s office. “So they actually had something going on?”
“Apparently.”
“What about the lady he met today?”
“Yeah, he told me about her. Her name is Mercy.”
“You knew? Then why didn’t you tell me?”
“You weren’t around when he told me. I knew we’d still talk about it.”
Samuel remained quiet, watching everything.
The conversation ended there.
For the rest of the afternoon, the office was unusually quiet. Everyone returned to work, but the atmosphere was no longer the same.
Victor sat at his desk, trying to concentrate.
The client’s angry words were still in his mind. Favor’s tears were also difficult to forget.
And then there was Mercy. A woman he had met only once. A woman whose full phone number he didn’t even have.
Victor looked at his laptop and forced himself to continue working. For once, even he knew that he needed to get his mind together.
The rest of the day passed slowly. No one brought up the argument again. No one asked Victor any more questions. And by the time closing hour arrived, everyone was ready to leave.
But the events of that day had already changed something in the office.
Victor didn’t know it yet, but the choices he was making now would eventually affect more than just his workplace.
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