Chapter 1

"Hey, girl," Elena said into the phone. Her voice was shrill with excitement. "I'm about to — shut up, shut up, Rosa! — I'm about to meet my Dad for the first time, yes, first time in months, and to accept with two hands the position he'll place me in his prestigious company."

Her friend, Rosa, couldn't hold in her excitement, too. "I can't wait to call you a company owner," she said, and then in a damp tone. "Jeez. I hope this ends well."

"Just shut up," Elena laughed. "It's going to end well. What are you afraid for?"

"Girl, your father, Mr Cooper, is the most unpredictable person I've come across. He might flop."

"Nah, nah. That's impossible."

But the possibility of it was beginning to set in like a weight upon her shoulders. Her father might flop.

She said quietly, "I'm close to his door now. I might end the call..."

"Wait."

"I'm here."

"I want you to take a deep breath. Smile, girl, this is going to turn out well. I'm sorry I brought shit up. Your father's gonna be proud of you. An MBA degree ain't child's play and you've not lived recklessly. So... Go."

"Call still on?"

"Yes, leave it on; I want to hear everything."

"That's crazy, though." Elena was trying not to sound too pessimistic. "What if he notices?"

"Not if I stay perfectly quiet."

"Promise?"

"No."

"Argh. Fine. Be quiet. No reactions. No gasps and shit. I'm going in now."

"Haa." This came out as an airy whisper, similar to the hiss of an angry cat.

Elena smiled and reached for the doorknob of office. Then she stopped herself and pressed the doorbell. A soft tune played from inside. She was quiet, waiting and intermittently glancing at her phone and at Rosa's W******p picture, a tanned plump girl with a fluffy dog.

When she got no response, she looked in through the keyhole and saw that her father was pacing in his large office, a stout man with a British-looking moustache. He was on an intense call and his expression wasn't approachable. So she waited outside on a bench.

She picked at her fingernails, feeling her excitement going down the drain. Her thoughts were abruptly stopped when she overheard snatches of her father's conversation. The few words she heard made her heart skip. She pressed her ear close to the door and listened more carefully. Then brought the phone close too.

Her father's voice was imploring and breaking, as though he was begging the caller. Elena couldn't remember the last time his father begged someone.

"Mr. Enoch, please hear me out, sir," he said. "My company and I have tried all we could to make this business work... but that doesn't mean... sir... sir... Please, listen to me. That doesn't mean that we are not competent enough to handle it. We just need more time and a little more resources. The pressure is too high, to be honest. We... we have strained ourselves, both financially and otherwise. We're very close to going bankrupt."

Elena felt the saliva in her mouth dry up. Was this what his father had been going through all this while? Her fears doubled.

She listened for more but all she could hear was silence. Then she began to hear her father mumble incoherently. With her heart in her mouth, she stood and opened the door.

"Hey, Dad," she said, trying to sound cheerful and oblivious of the phone call.

But Mr Cooper didn't pretend all was well, or he failed to. He greeted her with a mild smile and told her to sit.

"How have you been, Elena?" he asked, and didn't wait for her response. "I didn't know you were gonna return today. Would have thrown you a feast."

Even as Elena looked at her father, she knew that whatever difficulty he was going through wouldn't let him think of a party. He looked leaner that she remembered.

"Are you alright, Dad?" she asked, pinching her fingers hard; having intimate talks as this with his father was heinous.

"Yes, yes, I am."

"You don't look it."

"You're done with your schooling, right?"

"For now, yes. Though I might be needing to frequent to my school to get some things done and brushed up."

"You're ready to get a job then?"

Now he was talking. Elena sat up, ready to pour her heart out. "Yes, Dad, I'm ready to take up a job, under your company."

"No."

Time suspended before Elena. She glanced down at the phone; it was still on. Her palms began to sweat.

"No, you say?"

"No, I say."

"Why?"

"I've got you a better offer."

Elena didn't see any better offer than working in an environment she was already familiar with. But she listened.

"Elena, I'm going to tell you this because you're a grown up now. How old are you now? 22?"

"23. September 3rd, last month."

"Good." He leaned forward and removed his glasses. "You see, I'm not going to beat about the bush. Your schooling took away everything I have."

He paused, staring at somewhere between her eyes. Elena waited, struggling to keep her breathing even.

"So, right now as we speak," he continued, "my company is going downhill. It's been five months. At a speed I've never experienced. I have tried all I can to save it, but all I get is a low income turnover, loss of prominent customers and heavy indebtedness. What do you want me to do with that?"

Luciana was visibly shaking now. How was this related to her schooling? For all she knew, she funded half of her school bills herself. Where was this coming from?

"Now, listen up, Elena, you're going to work as secretary for the CEO of EliteCorp."

"I've not heard of the company."

"Of course, you haven't. You've been focused on getting as much money from me as possible."

"Dad!"

He slammed his fists on his table. "You don't shout at me, young lady! I do the shouting and you do the listening. Am I clear?"

Elena's rage didn't let her answer. She managed to give him a nod and nothing more.

"I'll have my secretary compose an application letter to the company."

"How do we know he needs a secretary? These big companies don't run public advertisement about things like this."

"Right. But it's from an inner source,a trusted man. There's a vacancy there, smoking hot, just waiting for you, my dear daughter. Appear in your best dress tomorrow."

Her voice was barely above a whisper. "Yes, sir." 

¶

Elena didn't realize the gravity of what she'd been put into until she called Rosa that evening.

"Christ!" Rosa exclaimed when Elena told her.

"What is it?"

"Liam Hemsworth of EliteCorp? Oh my God, you're in for it."

"In for what? Is there anything spectacular about the company?"

"It isn't about the company. It's the CEO, Liam. Girl, who doesn't know Liam?"

"Well, I don't and I don't get why you're trembling from just saying his name. He's human and that's all."

"See, I'll send you a picture — no, pictures — of him on your W******p, and you'll have an inkling of the god you're going to work for. If you return each day with your mental and emotional health intact, then you're really a tough one."

"Gosh, you're pathetic." Already a fog of fear was washing over her face, and her insides churned.

But Rosa didn't send the pictures that night. When Elena called her, her line was off. Elena had no idea what was wrong. So, she had to wait for the next day.

It came faster than she expected. At dawn, her phone rang. Her father.

"Don't tell me you're still in bed, Elena," he barked. "This is 7 am. Is that the first impression you choose to make?"

Elena held the phone away from her ear for he was shouting. 

"Do you have the slightest idea of the great personality you're opportune to work with? Are you going to blow all of this?"

"Dad, I have a slight headache."

"Come downstairs this minute and get ready for your interview."

Elena didn't know when the application letter was sent out, talk more of she getting approved and her invited for an interview. With her father, events always ran on godspeed.

A few minutes later, Elena was sitting beside his father in his white Land Rover as he sped towards EliteCorp.

"Remember all I've told you," he said, when they arrived in front of the high gates of the company. "Do not blow this for us."

"Yes, Father."

"I can't go in with you; duty calls in the office. I'll return when you give me a call, and I'll take you to any eatery of your choice." He smiled and reached out to brush out a strand of hair from her shoulder. He got into the car, a stout man with a thick-set expression.

"Bye, Dad."

Elena watched him drive away, while she stood there, blue purse in hand, dressed in a tight blue gown (her father's choice), shivering in the cold wind.

It wasn't long before a young man walked towards her, one hand held behind him.

"Are you Elena Cooper?"

"Yes, sir."

"Please follow me. Mr. Liam is waiting upstairs."

"Thank you," she whispered and followed, like a lamb headed for the abattoir.