Chapter three
1042 Words
By ten-thirty, the office had already forgotten about the morning’s meeting.
Not because the meeting had been unimportant.
Quite the opposite.
The new acquisition was the biggest development the company had seen in months.
But employees rarely discussed important things for long when there was something more entertaining to talk about.
And that morning, there was.
“Did you hear?”
“About what?”
“The new development.”
Three women leaned closer over the reception desk.
“Which new development?”
“The hotel project.”
“Oh.”
“No. Not that one.”
The woman lowered her voice.
“James.”
The others immediately understood.
A knowing silence passed between them.
“Again?”
“I heard he was seen at that restaurant in Ikoyi yesterday.”
“With who?”
“That’s the interesting part.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know her name.”
“Then how do you know it was him?”
“Because I know James.”
Everyone laughed.
Almost everyone.
At the other end of the office, Beatrice continued typing.
She had heard the conversation.
She simply had no interest in it.
Unfortunately, the women had noticed her silence.
“Beatrice.”
She didn’t look up.
“Yes?”
“What do you think?”
“About what?”
They stared at her.
“James.”
Beatrice’s fingers continued moving across the keyboard.
“I think he is my employer.”
Someone laughed.
“That’s all?”
“That’s all.”
“You work with him every day.”
“Yes.”
“So you must know things.”
“I know that he has a meeting at eleven.”
“Beatrice!”
She finally looked up.
“What?”
“You’re so boring.”
“Thank you.”
“That wasn’t a compliment.”
“I know.”
The women laughed again.
Beatrice returned to her work.
She genuinely didn’t understand why people were so fascinated by James’s personal life.
He was attractive.
He was wealthy.
He was unmarried.
He was also thirty-three and perfectly capable of making his own decisions.
What women he dated was none of her business.
Besides, she had enough problems of her own.
There were invoices waiting for approval.
A presentation that needed editing.
Three emails from the board.
A lunch meeting she had to reschedule.
And a son whose school had already sent her a reminder about his science project.
She sighed.
Her life had no room for office gossip.
“Apparently he’s getting engaged.”
Beatrice’s hands stopped for half a second.
Then continued.
“Who said that?”
“I heard it from someone in the executive wing.”
“To who?”
“Jessica.”
The name floated through the office.
Beatrice looked up.
Jessica.
She knew the name.
Everyone did.
Jessica was beautiful, wealthy, elegant, and from a family almost as influential as the Williams family.
The perfect woman for James.
At least on paper.
“Are they serious?” someone asked.
“Very serious.”
“I heard she already has a ring.”
“No!”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“Probably enough to buy this entire building.”
They burst into laughter.
Beatrice shook her head.
There was something strangely predictable about it.
James would eventually marry someone like Jessica.
Someone who understood his world.
Someone who attended charity dinners and business galas.
Someone who didn’t have to rush from an office to a school gate before closing time.
Someone whose biggest concern wasn’t whether her son’s school fees had been paid.
She pushed the thought away.
None of it mattered.
A shadow fell across her desk.
“Am I missing something?”
The office went silent.
Every head turned.
James stood there.
One hand in his pocket.
The other holding his phone.
His expression was calm.
Almost amused.
Nobody answered.
He looked around.
“Interesting.”
A few employees suddenly became extremely interested in their computers.
James looked at Beatrice.
“You know something I don’t?”
Beatrice didn’t even blink.
“No.”
“That’s disappointing.”
He glanced toward the group.
“Carry on.”
Nobody moved.
James smiled.
“I said carry on.”
Still nothing.
He shook his head and walked toward his office.
Then stopped.
“Beatrice.”
She looked up.
“Yes?”
“Come to my office.”
“For what?”
“I need something.”
“What?”
“My coffee.”
She stared at him.
“You have a coffee machine in your office.”
“I know.”
“And two hands.”
James smiled.
“So you admit you’re aware of my facilities.”
“I work here.”
“Come.”
Beatrice stood.
“You’re impossible.”
“And you’re nosy.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“I wasn’t talking about you.”
“Neither was I.”
James walked away.
Beatrice followed him.
Behind them, the moment the office door closed, everyone exploded into whispers.
“Did you see that?”
“See what?”
“The way he looked at her.”
“Stop it.”
“I’m telling you.”
“They’re not even friends.”
“Exactly.”
Beatrice’s voice suddenly came from inside the office.
“I can hear you.”
Silence.
James laughed.
“Your staff is terrified of you.”
“They should be.”
He leaned against his desk.
“So.”
“So what?”
“You really weren’t interested in the gossip?”
“No.”
“Not even the part about me getting engaged?”
Beatrice picked up the file she had come to deliver.
“Should I be?”
James studied her face.
There was nothing there.
No curiosity.
No jealousy.
No excitement.
Nothing.
He couldn’t decide whether that annoyed him or fascinated him.
“No,” he said finally.
“Good.”
She placed the file on his desk.
“Your eleven o’clock meeting is in twenty minutes.”
Then she walked out.
James watched the door close behind her.
For some reason, the office suddenly felt much quieter.
And for the first time that morning, the gossip didn’t seem quite as ridiculous as it had before.
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