006
1440 Words
NADINE
We arrived at the company and I took deep breaths to calm myself down. I was finally doing this, there was no going back.
“Don't let them intimidate you, act confident and they'll respect you,” Hendrix said calmly, his eyes raking my face, obviously noting my discomfort.
After what seemed like hours but was only a few minutes, I had calmed down.
“I'm ready,” I said with a new found confidence.
He nodded and we descended from the car and walked towards the building.
As we walked side by side, we were or I would say I was greeted with curious gazes and people whispered among themselves.
“Don't let them intimidate you.” Hendrix's voice echoed in my head and I held my head up high with my chin tilted up in a confident smile.
The heels were a bonus as they clacked against the floor drawing attention to myself.
Soon we arrived at the conference room and the board members were speaking in hushed tones but when they noticed Hendrix's presence in the room they kept silent. Their curious and disgusted gazes rested on me. I could imagine what was going through their minds.
“Who is this w***e?”
“How did she manage to hook Mr. Radcliffe.”
Hendrix watched them. He scanned each person silently daring them to speak up but nobody dared utter a word of complaint.
This man was truly the example of a god. Seeing that the silence was maintained, Hendrix walked to his main seat at the end of the table.
The board members kept eying me curiously, but I gave them a light smirk and walked over to an empty seat adjacent to Hendrix.
Once I sat down, I spotted Dean, just opposite me. My lips pulled up at the shock his face held.
Dean's eyes widened. Emotions like surprise and anger flashed through his face at the same time but I still kept my smirk on. I couldn't care less!
Hendrix studied the room and he frowned at the empty seat beside me. “Why is that seat empty? I know I asked for an extra seat to be added, but there shouldn't be an empty seat.”
“Secretary Dean?” he asked as he turned to Dean expecting an explanation.
“Erm, it's Mr Avery, he couldn't make it for the meeting,” he stated with a flustered look.
Hendrix nodded his head.
“Well, that's not a problem, just send him his sack letter via email, and have someone replace him before the end of the day,” he declared.
It seemed to be a normal occurrence, I noted. Seeing how the other people in the room didn't seem shocked or fazed.
Even I myself couldn't believe my ears. This Hendrix was quite different from the one at the boutique. More reason why I was to be careful around him. “This man was ruthless!”
“I would not tolerate any form of disrespect no matter the reason,” he stated with so much authority that made my womanly part clench.
“f*****g control yourself, Nadine!” I inwardly berated myself.
“Now, shall we begin the meeting?”he asked casually and everyone nodded fearfully.
“Yes sir,” they chorused and he nodded.
“Good, now the reason why I have called this emergency conference meeting is to announce that the position of the Chief Operations Officer that has been vacant for a while has finally been taken.”
“Meet your new COO, Nadine West,” he announced with a light smile and motioned for me to stand up, which I did.
“Nice meeting you all, I hope we have a happy cooperation,” I said confidently. I was quite surprised my voice didn't shake even though my insides were quivering.
There was no reply but I could taste the disapproval in the air. I took my seat awkwardly and before I could settle in they began to voice out their objections.
“S-sir, this doesn't seem right, she didn't go through the evaluation process,” one of the board members stated and the others grunted in approval.
“Just anybody can't be the COO. It is a position of great importance,” another stated, a disapproving look on his face.
“Are you questioning my authority?” Hendrix growled and they kept silent.
“If you are talking about evaluation, Nadine here is more competent than most of you here.”
“So if anyone has any objections or dares to question my authority, the door is right over there," he pointed as he glared at all of them. “Am I clear?”
“Yes, sir,” they grumbled.
Some of them even sent a disapproving glare at me. Dean glared at me hatefully and I smirked, tilting my chin up proudly.
His opinion didn't matter. I knew this wouldn't be easy but I was willing to prove myself.
“Good, the meeting is over.”Hendrix announced.
“Clara,” he mentioned to a lady at the far corner who hadn't said a word.
“Show Nadine her office,” he ordered and she nodded.
“Sure, please follow me,” she gestured and we walked out leaving the angry board members behind.
We arrived at a door, she opened it and walked in. I followed her.
“This is your office as the COO,” she stated.
“If you need anything please contact me.”
I nodded and she walked out leaving me to myself.
I walked slowly to the chair and slumped on it. The rush of adrenaline I felt earlier vanished leaving only the after effects, my leg shook and I held it together to control the light tremors.
All that show had drained my energy and I took a few minutes to myself to get my composure.
It was only when I had calmed down that I was able to soak in the interior of the room. I had only two words, ‘lavish and classy.’
White walls, plush carpet at the center and two cushions at my left. The black leather chair I was sitting on was firm and sturdy, just perfect for a work chair.
I ran my hands on the surface of the glass table as I took in the new position, I was going to excel no matter what those board members thought.
I was still reminiscing when I heard a knock on my door. I immediately rushed to the door to open it as I thought it would be Hendrix but bile rose in my throat at the person that greeted me.
I was about to close the door in his face when he pushed the door aside and walked in.
“My, my, my what a nice office you have here,” Dean sneered, with malice lacing every word.
“What do you want?”I spat harshly.
“Oh come on, can't I visit my little wife?” He mocked and he turned to address me.
“How do you feel now that you've become a shameless w***e?” He taunted.
“Huh? Selling yourself to get a position others yearn and work hard for.”
“Stop getting ahead of yourself Dean, or I…” I was saying but he cut me off.
“You'll what,” he cut my words off.
“When did you start making the calls here woman? He yelled, closing the distance between us.
“Listen to me woman, if you don't return back home and resume your position as my house wife and finish the chores you left at home, I'll destroy you. You know me and know what I can do. Let go of all this and go back home as he docile housewife you are,” He warned and I scoffed.
“You wouldn't dare” I crossed my arms in confidence.
“In fact I have a surprise for you. A better idea,” I revealed and his eyebrows knitted in confusion.
I took that as my cue and walked to my bag and retrieved the phone Hendrix had gotten me. I turned to face him. He still stared with a puzzled expression.
I dialed a number and slowly brought the phone to my ears. I wanted him to remember this exact moment. I gazed directly into his eyes and gave him a smirk.
The line connected. “Hello, Mr Conner, I would like to file for a divorce,” I casually requested.
“What?” Dean's eyes widened in shock.
- Writer
