CHAPTER 2
1884 Words
Tara woke up to the sound of her alarm beside her bed.
“Uggghhh,” she grumbled, reluctantly getting up from her bed. “Another day of endless job search,” she mumbled to herself as she got into the shower.
Immediately she got dressed in her one out of five corporate clothes she had, tied up her hair neatly, put her stuff together in her bag, and left for her mother's room.
“Good morning, Mom,” she greeted while jumping on the bed where her mom lay.
“Good morning, my princess. Did you sleep well?” her mother responded, patting her daughter's head as she smiled.
“Well, I tried to. But the noise coming from the renovation of the neighbor's house wouldn't let me,” Tara grumbled.
“I know, right? Me too. Ugh, it was really loud. I wonder who does renovation throughout the night.”
“I guess we've met them. Haven't we?” They both laughed out loud.
“I can see you're all dressed. Heading out already?”
“Yes, Mum. You know the disadvantage I had yesterday was because I went out as late as 12 pm. I wouldn't want the same mistake happening again,” she said while making an effort to get out of her mum’s bed.
“Yea, sure, but have you had breakfast yet?” her mum asked.
“No, Mum. Don't worry about me. I'll just stop at the mall to buy something while I'm on my way. I wouldn't want to get delayed at all,” she made her way to start leaving.
“You could quickly just have cereal though,” her mum suggested.
“The cereal has finished, but don't worry, I'll get another one on my way home, okay? Meanwhile, there's leftover pizza and chicken in the fridge. You could microwave it. I'll buy dinner when I'm coming back.”
“Alright, my dear. Please take care of yourself, okay? Don't stress too much.”
“Yes, Mum. Also, don't forget to take your medications.”
“I won't.”
Tara walked over to her mum, pecked her on her cheeks before walking out through the door.
“Love you, Mum,” she said while leaving the house.
“Love you too, my baby.”
Tara walked into her first choice for a job hunt. It was a prestigious auditing firm. She applied for the position of personal assistant to the CEO of the firm. She loved auditing and wanted to learn from scratch before becoming a certified auditor.
“Hello, good morning,” she greeted the receptionist.
“Good morning. How may I help you, ma’am?” the receptionist replied.
“I have an appointment for an interview at 9:00 am.”
“What position are you applying for?”
“Personal assistant to the CEO.”
“Alright. Walk down the hall and take the elevator on the left to the 4th floor.”
“Alright, thank you,” she said as she walked out.
She reached the 4th floor and met a queue waiting for the same interview. Soon enough, her turn arrived, and she was interviewed by the HR department. Even though the interview did not go as she wanted, she was still hopeful.
After that, she went for the second interview, and then the third, and then the fourth, and it was already 5 pm. She hurriedly left for 504 Café where she ran the night shift.
“Hi, Christine, hi, Joe!” she greeted her colleagues as she hurriedly went to the back to get changed into her green uniform t-shirt on top of the trousers she already had on.
“You're late,” Christine pointed out.
“Oh, really? I wouldn't have noticed if you hadn't mention,” Tara responded sarcastically while walking towards her stand.
“Girl, your sarcasm game is low,” Christine said while giggling.
“Yeah, whatever,” Tara replied.
“OMG! Who's that?” Joe said with his eyes fixed on the entrance door of the café.
“Where?” both Christine and Tara responded at the same time, turning to Joe.
They noticed where his attention was and immediately turned towards the door. A young tall man in his early 30s walked in, neatly dressed in a navy blue suit and Louis Vuitton shoes, with his hair styled all back. He exuded confidence as he walked, with a cool and effortless stride.
“OMG, he's coming, he's coming, he's coming my way, guys, how do I look?” Christine spoke through clenched teeth, hurriedly and in a hushed tone, hoping to avoid detection by him. She immediately smoothed her dress and hair.
He approached her and immediately walked past her, heading to Tara’s stand.
“Hi,” he said with a small smile. “Can I get a cup of coffee?” His voice flowed like velvet, weaving a spellbinding melody with each word he uttered.
Tara gazed at him in awe, her jaw dropping and words failing her, captivated by his gorgeousness.
“Hello, ma’am, did you hear me?” he repeated.
“Uhhhhhhh… ” Tara said, trying to find the words.
“Coffee?”
“Oh, yeah, sure. Right away, sir,” she responded, turning her back to the coffee machine.
“You didn't ask me how I would want it.”
“Right.” She turned back to face him. “How do you want your coffee?”
He smiled at her before responding, “Cappuccino is fine.”
“Cappuccino it is.” She turned back again to get the order ready.
“Here you go, sir,” she turned back, placing his order on the table.
“You're really attractive, though,” she said out loud before realizing what she said and immediately held her mouth closed.
He smiled before leaning in and saying, “It's nothing to be embarrassed about. I get that a lot. You're beautiful too.” He threw a wink at her before leaving the café, leaving Tara dumbfounded.
“Girl, you just embarrassed your entire generation,” Christine said while letting out a loud laugh.
“I know,” Tara replied, letting out a fake cry.
“Christine, you know you'd have done worse,” Joe stated.
“Boy, shut up. What do you know?” she replied.
Mrs. Williams immediately opened the door that led into the boardroom, all eyes turning to her as she walked into the room with Mr. Frank and Mr. Gary. She found her way to her husband's seat, which was the seat of the CEO.
“It's been two days since my husband's death, and you are all already conspiring on how to steal his legacy from his family? How shameless can you all be?” she sat down while her two acquaintances took the seats beside her.
They all exchanged glances, surprised at her language as well as the fact that she was present in the meeting.
“What?” she questioned, “you didn't think I'd miss the first board meeting right after my husband's demise. Did you?”
“Well, Mrs. Williams, we sympathize with you for the loss of your husband. It's a great loss for us too and for the entire company. Your husband was a great leader, and he will be greatly missed,” Mr. Reynolds, one of the members of the board, said.
“Thank you,” she replied.
“However, Mrs. Williams, the company should not suffer due to our loss. The best we could do for Mr. Williams is to have the company led by capable hands so that your family, the company, and we do not run into debt.”
“And you didn't think it was important to inform me about any of these because?”
“We believe you are still in grief. Plus, your husband has never allowed you to concern yourself with the affairs of the company.”
“And how is that a valid reason?”
“Madam,” another board member said, “You have zero knowledge about anything in this company. You have never set foot in this building before, so why should we include you now in the affairs of the company?”
Mrs. Williams closed her eyes, her face flushed, showing she was seething with anger, but managed to keep a composed exterior.
“Well, Mr—”
“Jordan,” he replied.
“Mr. Jordan, if you were wise enough, you'd see that I own most of the shares after that of my late husband, of course. So no decision here can be made without my vote.
“That's true, but we are still entitled to an election as a board,” Mr. Jordan replied.
“Fair enough,” Mrs. Williams replied, still irritated. “Until then, I am the acting CEO of EK group. Every and any decision made must get my approval first; otherwise, it will be considered irrelevant. Also, by the next board meeting tomorrow, the company lawyer should be present, so we can know my late husband's thoughts on all this. Whatever his decision was in the will concerning the company shall be the final decision. Are we clear on that?”
There were echoes of “yes” among the board members, and after that, the meeting was dismissed.
Two days later, the board assembled for the next meeting with the company lawyer, who also happened to be the family lawyer. Everyone was seated when Mrs. Williams walked into the room.
“My apologies for the lateness. Family issues,” she simply said while walking to her seat.
Most of the board members gave a disapproving look, while others simply shrugged it off.
“Hello, Mr. Ben,” Mrs. Williams greeted the lawyer. “It's been a while.”
He simply replied with a nod.
“I believe you have a message for us concerning my late husband’s decision for the newly appointed CEO. God rest his soul.”
“Yes, I do, Madam.”
He opened the sealed document in the presence of everyone and read it out.
“Concerning my company and family treasure and legacy, I hereby hand over EK group to my first and only son, Brian Williams. I have appointed him to be my successor and—-”
“Excuse me!” Mrs. Williams stood up, cutting Mr. Ben off, already fed up with what she was hearing. “What are you talking about? What Son? Jayden and I have no children, so what are you talking about?”
Everyone looked confused, trying to comprehend what the lawyer was saying.
“Well, Madam, he wrote here that he has a son who has been living in France with his grandmother. He had a son before your marriage.”
“What?” she shouted. “That's not possible. Jayden never mentioned anything about any child. I am the successor to this company.”
“I’m sorry, Madam, but that's what is written here.”
Mrs. Williams was shaking with anger, the veins on her forehead became very prominent as her face flushed with anger before she said with a shaky voice,
“I’d rather die than watch a complete stranger take over what belongs to me!”
- Writer
