Chapter 1 - The Rush

My mind was was a complete state of confusion when the cab I arranged to pick me up disappointed me. The driver called just 30 minutes before the pickup time to inform me that he had to rush his wife to the hospital because she was in labour.

God, I indeed sympathized with him but also was angered with the fact that he could have called earlier. Either way, I just hid my disappointment and told him that it was fine but I cried internally. I stepped out of the shower and dressed at high speed to save time to get a cab on a busy Monday morning. I knew about the traffic situation too so my head was spinning with thoughts of how I could make it to this interview which meant the world to me.

I worked over the years from start-up to multinational companies, yet I never had the chance of being promoted beyond Senior Officer, no matter how hard I worked. I am very ambitious and have worked throughout my college days either as a part-time typist or secretary so I gathered so much experience.

For the first time, I got an interview for an assistant manager role. If I got this job, I would work hard to get promoted to a manager if I complete my Executive Masters in Business Administration course. I was so excited when I received a call from the lady who introduced herself as Ruby, inviting me to attend the interview. I wanted to make a good impression.

I finally managed to dress up as fast as I could, with simple makeup. I tried ordering another cab via Uber but there were no available cabs at the time. I had to try a taxi then. I got to the street and luckily, someone has just dropped out of a taxi so I wave to the driver to stop as I gave him the direction card attached to my invitation for the interview. He glanced at it, wrote his fee on it, and returned the card to me.

My eyes widened with so much surprise when I saw the fee he had written.

"Are you taking advantage of me or what? Why are you charging this much for a journey of less than an hour?" I asked him.

"Ma'am, you know the traffic situation and I can't do anything about it," he said genuinely.

"Okay, let's go," I said, making myself comfortable in the back seat. As we began the journey, I decided to double-check a few details about the company when my eyes caught the cloudy sky ahead of me. 'What now, haven't I had enough already? Is nature also against me?' I thought to myself. There was no doubt with the level of thickness of the cloud that it was going to be a heavy downpour but my mind was so occupied with the interview that, I didn't notice it earlier to even pick an umbrella or a raincoat. I said a quick prayer in my mind asking God to at least hold the rain till I get to the venue but it seemed that even God was against me as the rain started pouring, making the traffic worse due to low visibility.' At least I got a taxi before the rain started so I should thank God right? Maybe it might reduce or probably stop by the time we get there.' I encouraged myself.

During the ride, my mind wandered to when my mum passed away. It was also on a rainy day like this. Dad had gotten into a terrible car accident and mum had preterm labour upon hearing the news. Aunty Joy called an ambulance but there had been some fallen trees due to the heavy rain, which had caused a truck to run over a Mercedes. This made five other vehicles collide in the same spot. There were no survivors. It was one of the most horrible incidents of my life. We could not even have my Dad's body to give a befitting burial because it was burnt beyond recognition.

We couldn't get an ambulance so Aunty Joy drove my mum through some unauthorized route to the hospital since the main roads were closed. This made the journey twice longer and mum passed on ten minutes after reaching the hospital. Since then, my life has moved from a fairy tale princess to what I can't even describe. The two people who loved me so much both died on the same day.

Aunty Joy took me in but it wasn't long before she was diagnosed with cancer. It was already at stage three by then so I lost her in two months. No family member wanted to take me in after that because they saw me as being cursed. They didn't even want my parent's properties so one day when class was over in school and I made no attempt to go home, Sir Maxwell as we usually called him, asked me why I didn't want to go home.

After narrating to him the story of my life, he took me to meet his family. They were foreigners but they gladly accepted me and once again, I found a place to call home. Little did I realize that Sir Maxwell was the breadwinner of the family. He had two sisters and a brother. His mum and dad were both pensioners so he took up a chunk of the responsibilities. I didn't want them to continue with this suffering so, with careful thought, I made my suggestion. I was eight and the realities of life were gradually making me mature as the only child of my parents.

Flashback.

"Sir Max," I called.

"Maya. Is everything alright?" He asked with concern.

"Yes," I smiled. "I am just thinking that, since you are taking care of me now, you should sell off my parent's house and cars to use to take care of all of us," I said.

"What?, No way," he refused with an angry look.

"I insist because my parents wanted me to have a good education and a good life. If you do so, you can take better care of us. I don't mean to sound ungrateful. I know that you are trying your best but that can help too. After all, what is a house and car to an eight-year-old? I can't live alone or drive those cars anyway."

Upon further deliberations, he agreed. A month later, he handed me some documents and told me to keep them a secret and since then, we moved to a bigger house. Not as big and luxurious as my parent's house but we were comfortable and happy. Then life was great, almost perfect until one day, Sir Maxwell and his family had to move back to their country. They wanted me to come along but I didn't want to go far from where I will have memories of my parents so I couldn't accept the offer.

To my surprise, he understood and didn't force me. Instead, he entrusted me with his best friend Jude. He gave him a lot of money which surprised me because the money he got from the sale of the house and car should have finished by now.

It has been five years since then. Yes. Five whole years. Jude, his mum, brother, and I went to the Airport to see Maxwell and his family off. It was one of the saddest moments of my life. As I hugged him and kissed his cheek goodbye, he whispered in my ears. "DO NOT MENTION ANYTHING ABOUT THOSE DOCUMENTS TO ANYONE". Then he handed me a card. "Call me anytime", were his last words.

We got home from the airport before the realization hit me, that Jude's family was not like Sir Maxwell's. They were so arrogant, selfish, and inconsiderate. Perhaps that was why Sir Max wanted me to keep those documents a secret. I was twelve years old by then but I was smarter than a fifteen-year-old. Maybe it was due to Sir Maxwell's training. He gave me extra tuition at home and always made me take tests in the advanced class so I was already in my senior year in high school when he left.

Jude was always busy in the office so I offered to help him whenever I came on vacation because he was the only one who cared for me. I was never comfortable alone with his family because his brother Alex was making illicit advances at me, which made me uncomfortable. His mum was always engrossed in one fashion photo or the other. Bags, shoes, make-up, jewellery, whatever you can think of. His dad was always with the newspaper. House helps did all the chores so I had nothing much to do other than study my books.

Jude had a big office and made HR hire me as an intern to be his assistant so he taught me a lot about office practice, letters, mergers, and all. It made me sad when I had to go back to school but I knew that I needed my education as well. As the years went by, Jude got Married and his wife didn't like me so I decided to rent a one-room apartment. I was fifteen but very mature. He got me a decent and well secure apartment even though he had wanted me to continue living with his family till I completed college but I knew I wouldn't be able to live with them, so I insisted and he didn't have a choice to agree. Sir Max called from time to time and I explained to him as well so it was fine.

Life was extremely lonely so I used the time to do a lot of research which helped me well in college. Only then did I remember the documents Sir Max gave me. For the first time, I gently opened the envelope and my eyes could not believe what was inside.

Inside that envelope were documents for the complete insurance of my education to the master's level. There was another kiddy account that had an investment made for me. So my whole education was being funded by the insurance he did. Then the cash investment could only be assessed when I was eighteen. So I got a part-time job to support myself when I got to college. By the time I completed my undergraduate, I could assess my investment account but I was so used to working that, I never touched my investment account till now. The only change is, I am working full time now, doing my EMBA part-time.

End of flashback.

I currently worked as a senior administration/procurement officer. When it was time for me to be promoted to the role of Administrative Manager, I was transferred to another branch. Not only was it far from my home, but it was also extremely difficult to get to school from there so I started applying for a new job. That is why this interview means so much to me.

"Ma'am," I was startled when someone tapped me on the shoulder. It was the driver so I gave him my full attention. "We have arrived".

"Ohhh, thank you," I said to him, as I got out of his taxi.

"Payment Ma'am," he said harshly.

"Sorry," I murmured, shoving my right hand into my bag, removing my purse, and bringing out money to pay him.

"Keep the change," I said while walking away. I didn't miss the broad smile on his face.

"You can take my number Ma'am, anytime you need a taxi, call me". He yelled behind me. I could feel him grinning.

"Sure." I turned around and took just in case of any emergency. I headed to the tall building in front of me. It was drizzling so I needed to hurry. Just as I got to the security I froze at what had just happened...