The three of us- Abeedah, Peter and I, made our way to our departments office. There, Mrs Shalom was waiting for us.
Two things on my mind.
One, if Mrs Shalom heard the rumour and plans to fire me.
Or two, our department had a new task to accomplish.
Lucky for me, it was the latter.
When we came in she was addressing Sola.
"Good afternoon, Mrs Shalom." We chorused.
She turned to us with a working smile. That is, smile gentle enough to be kind, but formal enough to be serious.
Sola gave us a slight bow as a sign of acknowledgement. Again, he did not talk much. I wish he did though, I would like to get to know him.
"Afternoon. Peter, I expected that you all would have come earlier?" She said.
"Yes, sorry madam. There were some...interruptions." He replied nervously.
Abeedah and I glanced at each other, knowing it was our fault.
Although we kept a poker face, we were still laughing inside.
"I apologise Mrs Shalom. It will not happen again." Abeedah said.
"Yes madam." I added.
Mrs Shalom gave us a nod before speaking "There I have called you all here is to brief you on a new task we have been assigned."
I sighed a breath of relief upon hearing that.
'Looks like she doesn't know.' I thought.
Mrs Shalom took noticed of my reaction and said I should meet her after the briefing.
'...and looks like I was wrong. Crap.'
I almost wanted to swallow the breath of relief back. The fact that she was calling me aside was very scary and most daunting, but I acted normal and said I would.
In essence, the task was for us to convince an influential businesswoman who had ended her partnership with the firm years back. The woman in question was young and had become a very successful person after years of hardwork.
Her name was Bella Watkins. She was a foreigner and only popped into Nigeria when necessary. She had apparently come to Nigeria for an unknown reason but it became our department's opportunity to secure her investment.
Of course, for the firm to call on our department and not some low executive for the meeting, it must mean that she is very important, and probably very feisty.
After briefing us, Mrs Shalom said "I leave it your capable hands." and turned to me
"Davina." She called.
"Yes ma'am?"
"Walk with me."
She started walking outside the office and I hurriedly followed suit.
Abeedah whispered an encouraging "Goodluck!"
I turned to give her a smile and a nod. By the time I looked back for Mrs Shalom she was already ten steps ahead of me. She walks very fast, much like how she works.
I had to jog in my heels to catch up to her.
"You know..." She began "I'm well aware of how competent you are, and what you are capable of. You impressed me, really."
"Thank you ma-"
"But to do this within you first month of working is unprecedented."
I pressed my mouth shut, thinking of what to say, and mostly importantly, how to say it.
After all, one of my duties, was to keep important information confidential.
"Ma'am, I assume you are referring to the rumours insinuating that the executive director and executive assistant are gunning after me?" I asked, although I already knew the answer.
She kept silent, which in this case, meant yes. Who would want to confirm such an assumption involving their staff?
"Mrs Shalom, you have been made aware of my duties with the Executive director, although not much has been disclosed. However, I can assure that nothing more than our arrangement is going on between him and I. As for the Executive Assistant...Douglas and I were previously acquainted before I came to this firm. Which is why we seem close, but the only reason I may frequent is office is to give reports which are then given to the chairman."
I looked at her and read her expression. She looked like a student, whose teacher had finally explained a topic. Which means she understood. But, I needed to lay a solid foundation to help me in my work with her and the team in the future.
"Mrs Shalom, I am not the type to attempt to seduce or get closer to a man, simply because of his standing. I promise you, I do no such thing. I will not bring our department to shame...If I ever ask the Executive director out, fire me on the spot." I said, firmly.
She raised her eyebrows, obviously surprised by my statement.
"Okay then, Davina. I choose to trust your words."
I gave her a smile. In my mind, I wondered how I changed so much opened joining this firm. Would the past Davina have done otherwise? Went for a rich man at the risk of her own job? Her only saving grace?
I cringed at the thought and made a mental note to never do such a thing.
"And..." Mrs Shalom said "As for this client, Ms Watkins, you and the rest should make me proud."
I almost stood at attention as a soldier would and gave her a nod with a determined look before saying,
"Yes ma'am!"
Bella Watkins. This should be fun.