Lunch hours were the only time I could relax. The pile of files I go through everyday was almost making me lose my sight. And that jerk of a boss was not making things any easier. He doesn’t like seeing me seated without doing something ‘productive'. He always emphasizes the fact that time is money.
Things weren't this hectic when Old Mr Hardin was here. Asher Hardin wanted to do something entirely different from his father. The meetings we had were very stressful too since he always argued with his father's old employees who believed in upholding his father's legacy. He had shouted at them once that if they do not like his methods they are very free to leave but without any severance payment from ‘HIS' company. Emphasis on the ‘his'. That had shut them up for awhile.As I sat in my favorite place; the kitchen couch during lunch, I couldn't help but think of my sister Elle.She was always a bright child. Our parents had her late hence our age difference.She was seven years old when this illness started. So she had been battling with it for years.We had gone out on a family outing. Elle insisted on playing on the swing. Mother was however against it. But I couldn’t say no to Elle's pretty puppy eyes.“Just once. Okay?"“Okay” her joy was everything to me at that moment. Having lost our father in a car crash the previous year Elle had shut everyone out. He was her best friend and she looked up to him. She hadn't smiled since then. So seeing her on that swing smiling and laughing I was teary-eyed.It happened so fast that none of us saw it coming. The swing had taken her up and then she fell off hitting her head in the process. Fear gripped me when I saw Elle's unconscious face.When we got to the hospital we were told that Elle was in a vegetative state. She was asleep for a very long time. When she had woken up the test revealed that a tumor had formed in her head but surgery was needed to find out if it was cancerous or not. It later turned out to be cancer.Ever since then Elle had been a very familiar face in the hospital.Thanks to Garrett her hospital bills were taken care of.My phone suddenly rang bringing me from my train of thoughts.It was my mum.‘Hey mum' I breathed immediately I accepted the call. But she didn't reply.‘mum what's wrong?’ I asked with fear gripping every core of me.Then I heard the sniffing from her end of the call.‘mum..?’‘Darling it's Elle..’ I didn't wait to hear the rest when I dashed out of the kitchen. I ran back to the office picked my bag and ran out.‘Don't hang up mum’. I breathed ‘I'm on my way there'.‘o.. okay'Getting a taxi was taking too long so I started running. I hadn't run for long before I spotted a yellow cab coming towards me. I immediately flagged it down and blindly got in.*~*‘oh you are here Lorie, I'm sorry I made you come. It's just that there's no one to call and ..’ my mum said immediately she saw me. She was seated beside Elle's bed. I stared at my sister. She didn't deserve this pain.‘what happened?’ I asked hugging my mum's weeping figure‘sh.. she threw up blood all of a sudden an.. and started jer.. jerking. Ah, didn't know why. Ah screamed for the doc.. doctors before..’ her tears made her I sound like ‘Ah'I kept on staring at my sister.She was unconscious with tubes sticking from her mouth and needles pierced into her skin. She was very pale.Tears welled in my eyes and I couldn't help but cry.I cried for my sister. I wished I could take her place.I wished to be the one lying there instead of her.I turned to look at my mum she was a mess. She looked ten years older than her age. And her collar bones were shooting out. She held Elle's hand and kept on smoothing it.I decided to be strong. Not for myself but for my family. For mum.‘Have you had lunch?’ I asked her.‘I will, soon’. She replied, giving me a dry smile.‘I will get you something' I said getting up.The hallway was extremely long but I appreciated it because it gave me time to think.At the hospital canteen I got my mum her favourite snack sandwich and coke.‘Hey Lorie'I turned towards the voice it was Henry. Henry and I got acquitted through my constant visit to the hospital. Henry was a nurse there and he was a very nice guy.‘you look like shit' he said chuckling‘Haha tell me what I don't know’ I snorted‘came straight from work?’‘yeah’.‘Don't worry she will be fine. Soon she will be dancing and rocking at some Jakes party' he said laughing.I imagined Elle drunk dancing in a club with stockings wearing a very short sexy gown. I even imagined us going shopping together, going for a swim and having lunch on the shore of the beach.‘I hope so.’‘Cheer up Lorie’. He smiled putting his hand around my shoulders.I gave him the brightest smile I could muster. Before we parted ways.The nurses at the counter kept on throwing me pity looks. I wanted to hate them but I couldn't.When I got to Elle's hospital bed mum was asleep. I covered her with a blanket, kept her food on the table and sat on a chair resting my head on the edge of the bed.The sun was setting when I woke upI didn't realise I had fallen asleep.I reached out for my phone to check the time then I saw 12 missed calls. 7 from Jasmine and 5 from an unknown number.It was then it hit me. I hadn't called my boss nor Jasmine to inform them about the situation on ground.Definitely I was going to get fired.Asher wouldn't open his blocked ears to listen to my reason for leaving the office without any reason or permission.I wouldn't call him.I don't have the balls to.Literally and otherwise if you know what I mean.He wasn't one to mix business with pleasure. Oh so I guess.I called Jasmine back.‘Lorie! What the hell happened?’ she screamed, I had to take the phone off my ear. I wasn't ready to go deaf.‘my mum called from the hospital.’ I repliedShe went quiet for sometime before asking‘how's Elle?’‘she's asleep now’‘okay, I will come over after work.’ She said then ended the call after telling me to be strong.*~*When she came by the hospital, she brought some fruits along with her.‘Hey Mrs Amaris, how are you?’ she asked hugging my mother.‘I'm good Jas. How's work?’ my mother asked, smiling slightly at Jasmine.‘work is how it ought to be'. Jasmine said dismissively.‘Thanks for the fruits Jasmine'. I said to her, placing them on a tray that was on the table.‘oh it's nothing'.She stared at Elle for a while before sitting down beside me.We chatted about work for awhile. She told me how Asher went livid when I didn't come back from lunch break and how manager Lee Yang got an earful from Asher.I felt bad for the manager.And I felt bad for myself thinking of the query that awaits me.Then my phone rang. It was the unknown number from before.‘Hello who's this?’ I asked‘Its Asher.’‘It's Asher'My eyes went wide and my hand instinctively went to the red button and I hung up.I wasn't ready to get fired. Not when I have bills to pay. Seeing the shock and panic in my face, Jasmine tried looking at my phone to know what went wrong.‘Who was it? She asked when her curiosity was not satisfied since the contact was not saved.‘My boss' I replied suddenly feeling hot. I walked towards the window and opened them.‘oh your hot boss.’ She said, smirking.‘I think cold is a more appropriate term Jas, I really don't want to get fired’ ‘then call him and explain how things are to him. I'm sure he would understand’. I was nervous. I didn't know how to tell him about my sister's illness. Working with his father was much easier. Suddenly my phone vibrated in my hand making me jump. It was him again. This time I accepted the call.‘Hel.. hello sir' Why do I have to stammer? Arrgg!‘Miss Amaris I don't appreciate people hanging up on me when I am still speaking’ his voice
We got to the cafe and ordered breakfast. I couldn't take my eyes off Asher. In his anger at the meeting he had ruffled his hair with his hand and that had given him a very dangerous look. I would love to admit that my boss was hot. His ruffled hair was giving me other ideas.My mind voluntarily went back to our first night in the car. How I had grabbed his hair and pulled. Thinking of that night made me shiver. ‘Do you feel sick?’ Asher's voice woke me up from my engrossed thoughts .It was then I realized that Goosebumps had coated my sleeveless arm.‘I feel fine sir. Just a little bit cold.’ I replied, taking my coat which I had taken off earlier from the chair and draped it around me. ‘Regarding my earlier question, Miss Amaris, what is your reply?’ He was done eating and was waiting for me to finish.My mind awry with different kinds of thoughts.He couldn't get enough of me and he wants it again?Was my boss attracted to me?I know I shouldn't be having thoughts like thi
Working on paperwork with back aches and your hair almost pulled out does not happen everyday but since I knew Garrett,I have gotten used to the pain. I buried myself in my work that I didn't realise it was closing hours.‘Hey babe,’ looking up I saw Jasmine strolling towards me. ‘Hi, you're leaving?’ I asked reaching for my watch. ‘yeah.’ Seeing that I wasn't getting up ready to leave she asked.‘you're staying overnight?’ ‘no I just want to finish these papers before leaving.’ I mumbled.‘It's Friday night and I have a blind date today. So I have to leave now.’ She was blushing.That made me ignore my work a bit to concentrate on her.‘a blind date? Who arranged it? Your mom?’ I was eager to hear the spicy juice.Jasmine unlike me comes from a well to do family. They are not entirely rich but they are not suffering.‘no an Aunt’ she paused ‘he is a lawyer.’ Oh my.‘aww that's so nice. You going on a date made me remember Tommy.’ I said showing her my thirty-two teeth.‘Ohhh don
HENRY KINGSTON.The name that could send every old employee of importance working in the Hardins group fuming with anger, hatred and disgust. In fact, mentioning the name Kingston was banned in our company.I don't know much about the “beef” neither do I know how or when it started. But ever since I started working in the company, Henry has done a lot of harm that even made me dislike him even when I haven't met him.And I heard that Asher and Henry were enemies for a long time.I took the company's card and shopped online for a dress suitable for the party. I wasn't going to spend my own money on stuff like that when I have Elle's surgery to think of.I chose a black body con gown laced with gold and I got a bag to fit. While waiting for the delivery, I decided to continue working on the files.I was halfway done when I noticed Asher standing by the door with his hands folded. ‘do you need something sir?’ I got up from my seat prepared to get him what he needed.‘the file I was lo
Mr. Smile was Henry Kingston, who was my boss’ enemy.The one who was our company's number one rival. The very one my boss clearly warned me to stay away from. I didn't just talk to him, I danced with him.I was dumbfounded.The tall man turned out to be Mr Henry’s secretary and right hand man. He turned towards Asher as if he wanted to hit him.Let the kid be Carter, Let him whine. Seems he hadn’t let go of what had happened.’ Henry smiled coldly.This man was entirely different from the Mr. Smile from earlier.Like seriously! I heard Henry was an arsehole but seeing it for myself made me extremely mad. I get why Asher hated him. Asher’s cold eyes were filled with rage and it was obvious he wanted to reach out to Henry and beat the living hell out of him.They both silently threw arrows at each other with their eyes.I could feel the tension between the two. You can cut it with a knife.Thankfully the guests seem to not have noticed the exchange between the two. I tried pulling Ash
ASHER'S POV.As I drove into my garage, I got an international call from the city of Dubai. It was Omar, my soon to be partner.‘Hey man.’ He has been a friend since our university days. We were both heirs to our family business groups.‘Hey dude. How are you doing?’ He asked. ‘Good man. So what's up?’ ‘When do you board your flight?’‘tomorrow. So we can make it on time for the meeting on Monday morning.’‘oh I forgot you have always been scrupulous with time. I was thinking perhaps you might fly in on Monday morning.’ I nodded. Trust Omar to make sure everything is intact.‘You know you should have just asked your secretary to call me.’ ‘Nah. I don't let him handle critical matters like this. And moreover I have missed you a lot, Asher baby.’ His voice became corny as he drew the baby.‘hey!’He laughed.‘See you tomorrow man.’ He said then hung up.I walked to the door only to find the locks changed and the door was unlocked. Carefully I walked in. Who dares to come to my ho
LORIE'S POV I sat facing the mirror still wondering why Garret would ask me out for dinner. We were in a relationship, yes but our relationship was practically dead. He cheats and I cheated also. There's no love between us. Our relationship is more like a provider and receiver. He pays for Elle's bill and in return I obey his every demand. Whatever he hopes to achieve with this must not be good.I did my makeup and proceeded to apply my body spray. I was dressed in a knee length gown my mother had gifted me for my birthday last year.‘aren't you done yet?’ Garrett’s head popped into my room. He was obviously getting impatient. ‘I am done. Let’s go.’ I picked up my bag and hurried after him.We drove to a French hotel with silence in the air. He had reserved our seats earlier. While we sat, a waitress looking like a Barbie girl came to take our orders.‘Good day sir and ma'am, what would you like to order?" She asked‘I will take one of your expensive wines. Could you make a recom
I got home from the hospital very late and exhausted. I was too tired to do anything. Thankfully I had arranged my things earlier today.Garrett wasn't home. I remembered the money I had spent at the bar earlier, it made my eyes teary.I went to the fridge and took out a beer and a bag of chips to drown my anger while I waited for him, all the walking had made me hungry. I walked to the living room, turning on the television. Losing my appetite for the chips I concentrated only on the drink. I got another bottle.Lorie, remember that it was this drinking that resulted in you having a one-night stand with your boss of all people. I shouldn't drink, I'm going on a business trip tomorrow. But I feel too depressed and angry to sleep.I had to wait for Garrett to come home so I could confront him and I could not do that while I was sober. Soon I was on my third bottle and Garrett wasn't home.The time was 11 pm and my flight was scheduled for 8 am. I needed to sleep yet I had to talk to