Novels by Helen Amodu

“Hey, Mr. Nelson from the Finance department said I should give this to you. These are the files for last month's tax audit.”“Ok.” I took the document and placed it where the other documents sent to Mr. Mason were kept and went back to writing reports for the last meetings I attended. Mason has been away on a work trip for two weeks. I got an email from him the day after the dinner stating that he was traveling to Australia for an important meeting and that I would resume work at the office the following week. He has been communicating with me via email and he hasn't said anything about the kiss, only work-related stuff. I sort of feel relieved that he doesn't want to talk about it. I'm not ready to talk about what happened that night and it's good we are on the same page.It was a mistake, nothing more.Resuming work at the office has been so stressful. It's different from when I worked as Mason’s stay at home secretary. Now I have to attend meetings on his behalf, summarise the

The cold hit me as I stepped outside, I forgot to take my coat along with me and the cold night breeze was penetrating my skin. I wanted to stay in the house with Jade, but I have a new job and I have to do this if I want to keep my other job. I followed the direction Jade gave to me, it was a bit confusing but I found my way. I sighted the gate to the garden and quickened my steps. Make sure he's okay and leave. As I stepped into the garden I saw Mason sitting on a bench in the garden, his head was down, so he did not notice me walking towards him. “Sir” he raised his head in my direction “How did you find me?” “Jade said I will find you here” “What do you want?” “You left the room angry, I wanted to check on you before I leave.” He seemed more angry than his usual self, maybe his dad went too far bringing up his marriage. “Do you mind if I join you?” He didn't say anything, his attention was more on the bottle of liquor in his hands. I took his silence as an invitation to

“Do you want a red lipstick or a nude lipstick?”“Nude” “Red it is” Oliva made final touches to my makeup, “Zoe, your phone is ringing”I reached for my phone to check the caller's ID “ It's Thomas, he is outside”. I hurriedly wore my shoes, took my purse and coat, and left the house.Thomas was standing beside the car when I got outside, “You look beautiful Miss Mia.”“Thank you, Thomas.”The drive to the house made me nauseous and I felt uneasy about the dinner. The scenery of my first time at my boss's house kept playing in my head, the thought of it sent chills down my spine, I just hope I do not do something stupid today. We finally arrived at Gerald's house and I must say, they have impeccable taste when it comes to houses.I took in a deep breath as I pressed the doorbell and waited for someone to open the door. It's just dinner Mia, just dinner Breaking my thoughts the door swung open, revealing Jade, “Mia!” She pulled me in for a hug. “You look so beautiful, I knew the

MASON’S POV“Hey Mason”My body stifled as I recognized the voice, why do I have to run into this bitch today. I turned to see the face that had caused me so much pain, “You don't seem happy to see me”“Why would I be happy to see the whore, I mistook for a wife?”“Ouch! that stings” I could see the smirk on her face, she was relishing her moment of glory.“Meet me at the car, Jade” I said as I got up to leave the restaurant but she kept blocking my path, she definitely knew how to get on my nerves, and for the first time in my life, the thought of hitting a woman crossed my mind.“Beatrice get out” I know she wants the attention, but I'm not going to be her source of entertainment. “You know why I’m here Mason”“And you think this will make me give it to you”“It's mine Mason”I couldn't stand her presence any longer, so I pushed her out of the way and left the restaurant.“What does she want?” Jade said as she and Mia got into the car. “I don't know”“Then what does she mean by it

MASON’S POVRing Ring“Arrgh, who is that ?” I reached for my phone to pick the call. “Hello sunshine” a high pitched feminine voice said from the other end.“Why are you calling me so early?”“I want to hear my baby’s voice before I start my day”“Not today, Dave” His laugh is so loud and annoying, and this is not how I want to start my day.“How's your new secretary?” The question brought back memories of the incident, “Why did you send her to the house without informing me?”“She walked in on me naked, well not fully naked, but I was only wearing my underpants”He starts laughing again, at this point I felt like stuffing paper into his mouth.“I guess everything is funny to you” “Sorry” He chuckled“Why would you assign someone like that to me?”“There’s nothing wrong with her. Yes, I know this is her first time as a secretary, but she aced the interview.” “Besides she was not originally meant to work for you, but no one was willing to apply for the post of secretary to the CEO

“I’m sorry sir, please don’t fire me”“I need this job”For the last ten minutes, I’ve been rehearsing my apology, pacing around the study room wondering how I got myself into this mess.Why didn’t I leave when I noticed it was the wrong room, He’s going to fire me. I can’t believe I'm losing my job on the first day, I need this job.A flashback of his reaction to the incident came to my mind. “That's it, I’m leaving.” I picked my bag to leave when he walked in.He looked at me intently as He entered, then limped to his desk with his clutches without uttering a word.I was confused by his actions, should I apologise or just leave?He sat on his desk and looked back at me “What’s your name?” “Mia Austin”“I can see from your resume that this your first time taking the role of a secretary”“Yes sir”“You’re to resume 30 minutes before resumption time”“30 minutes?”“If you have a problem with that you can quit”Quit, Ha! not happening, I can’t believe he’s keeping after the undershort