Zoe was surprised to see Kearney sitting amongst the host of departmental directors."When did he become one of them?" she wondered, but she remembered Mr. Andre saying something like Kearney would make a good director."So Kearney is indeed the next in line. Well, it isn't such a bad thing, although I will miss Mr. Andre. I preferred him as my departmental boss, but I will have to work with Kearney since Mr. Andre had so much faith in him." All this and more thoughts rolled into her mind like mighty waves from an ocean crashing onto the ocean bank.All eyes were on Zoe when she plodded into the room. She immediately felt uneasy. She remembered her days in high school when she had to give a presentation before a large audience. She would usually look over the audience's heads and not directly at their faces to avoid seeing the lion faces that took form in place of theirs. She was doing it right now, keeping her eye level just above the director's head. If she were looking at their fac

Zoe had thought about the way Henry sounded cold at first when they told him that they lost the chance to apprehend the hacker. She had never seen him sound so angry, even though it didn't last for long.She walked down the hallway with the thoughts of freedom gone on her mind as she turned different corridors that led to the software department with her heels making clicking sounds on the ceramic tiled floor.On getting back to her desk, she had barely settled down when she noticed Kearney coming from the opposite direction. He had this sheepish smile on his face and Zoe could see something hidden behind the smile. She just doesn't know what it is."Hey Zoe," he said immediately as he got to her desk."Hey!" she replied without looking at him. She concentrated fully on her laptop.She opened the file she was working on before Jack came to get her moments ago for the meeting at the conference room and then raised her head up to look at the tall figure that stood next to her desk."Con

Zoe found Leo lying on his bed, gaming and listening to music on his phone simultaneously. She could tell he was listening to the song on the highest volume since she could still pick out the lyrics of the familiar song despite her brother listening to it with an earpiece."Leo," she called, but he didn't seem to hear her.She had wanted to reach for his earpiece, but he had blocked her hand before getting to it. "You are inaudible to me, but I can see you," Leo said. "What do you want?""I want to talk to you," she said, and he read the words on her lips, sighing. Reluctantly he paused the game and took out the earpiece plugged in his ear."I'm listening," he said, looking straight into her eyes.She knew he was not happy he hadn't paid for his science project in school. Also, he had other fees to pay, and he seemed to be the only one in his class yet to pay."Uhmm... Leo," she started, drawing close to him. "I know you're not happy with me right now. I know that, and it's fine," s

Zoe signed the documents while Henry watched with keen interest. At last, Zoe belonged to him alone. Victory at last.Zoe signed the last paper and returned the pen to Henry, who collected it with a mischievous smile. She marveled at how much money he would have spent on the pen."You can have it if you want," he returned it to her. "It's just five hundred thousand dollars. I have more than one.""Who cares?!" she said inwardly."Thank you, sir; I don't need it," she replied, even though she knew she would love to have it, knowing what it would fetch her if she sold it."I insist you have it, and that's an order," he said. "Remember you already signed the deal," he added, pointing at the documents on the table.Was that it? Was that the type of life she would live from now on? She was pissed at herself. Life had been unfair to her, and it kept fucking her face.She looked at the pen in Henry's outstretched hand. It was a fortune. She hadn't noticed there were diamonds until now when s

Zoe woke up feeling light-hearted. She couldn't recall when last she woke up feeling this much freedom of mind. She wasn't wondering what she would tell the loan companies if they called. She wasn't scared that they might take legal action against her. She could look Leo in the eyes confidently and feel like a capable older sister, which she had always wanted to be. Today, she was going to spoil Leo and Emilly silly. They had endured much together, and today, she decided they would enjoy a great deal together.Zoe reached for her phone and opened her account to confirm if the money she had received last night was still there or whether it had been a dream. She blushed as she saw the additional two hundred thousand dollars sitting on top of her measly five hundred dollars which she only had left as a last resort. She overcame the urge to scream, but she did practically dive into the bathroom.She sang in the shower, taking her time to wash as if she was cleansing not just her body but