Chapter 4

**Amaka's POV**

"Sorry, sir. I was mistaken. I thought you were someone I knew before," I said, as his blue eyes held mine.

"It's fine. Come ahead for your interview. Why do you want to work here with us?" he asked, clicking on his computer as if he were going through my credentials.

I was affected by seeing him, but the fact that he acted like he didn't know me or recognize who I was made me tremble.

"Hello?" He raised an eyebrow and looked at me.

"Right. I am a digital marketing student, and I graduated with distinction. I believe I can help your company market its products and services online," I said, my gaze lowered as I tried not to look at his face.

He had changed; he looked more masculine and handsome. My son resembled him, only that Jason was fair like me.

"I see," he replied, clicking his mouse.

"We only employ staff members who are committed to their jobs and do not breach our company agreement. If you dare to breach our company agreement, you will have to pay a fine for it."

"Okay. I am an honest person, sir. You don’t have to worry about that," I said, lowering my gaze and avoiding his eyes.

"Hmm," he agreed. "You can meet with Ms. Anita to sign up with her."

"Thank you, sir," I replied, standing up from the guest chair as I looked at Joseph Ericson one last time. He had returned his gaze to his laptop, and I could hardly believe that he didn't recognize me.

Did I change that much? My eyes welled up with tears, and he looked at me.

"What's the problem, Madam?" he asked, meeting my gaze. I searched his dark, handsome face to see if he was affected by me, but there was nothing.

"Nothing, sir," I quickly replied, blinking my tears away as I moved out of the guest chair. I could feel his eyes on me, but I didn’t look back as I left his office.

I wanted to resign from working here, but this was the very first job I would be getting after graduating. How can my child's father be the owner of this establishment? Was that really Joseph Ericson?

I looked back at the office door, which was closed with an inscription: CEO—JOSEPH ERICSON OFFICE.

I looked away and met Ms. Anita Edwards, who asked me, "How did it go?"

"Oh!" I could see the other newcomers looking at me.

"It went well, ma'am. I was just a bit emotional. Can I see the document?" I asked, and she replied, "Sure." She handed me the documents, and I quickly read the terms and conditions for working with them.

It was an exclusive agreement, meaning I wouldn't be able to work for another company or tarnish their group name.

I sighed and signed it, even though a part of me didn’t want to.

I wanted to know if Joseph had lost his memory for failing to recognize me.

It had only been four years, and he was acting like he had never known who I was. Why was I so affected by seeing him?

I took my copy of the agreement and put it in my bag while Ms. Anita informed me.

"You will have to wait to meet your new coach."

"Okay, ma'am," I went to sit and wait. After a while, she came and said, "Come with me. You will be working under Simon Braxton. He's our marketing manager, so you can assist him with his job."

"Okay," I replied and followed her into Simon's office. The company was a four-story building, and I was surprised to see that Simon was the same man who had paid my transport fare earlier in the morning. Unlike Joseph, Simon smiled and greeted me, "Have a seat, pretty."

"Simon! You should know that such compliments aren't allowed here, unless you want to lose your job," Ms. Anita warned him, but he laughed it off.

"Don't be jealous, Anita. I know her from before, so back off. It's nice to meet you again, pretty. What's your name?" he asked me, ignoring Ms. Anita's warning. She grimaced, "Do not say that I didn't warn you."

She pulled Simon's office door open and left us, leaving me alone with him.

I prepared myself to take a seat.

"Is everything alright, Miss?" Simon asked, looking concerned. I was sure my face had turned crimson.

"Yes, sir. I'm fine," I replied, taking out my white handkerchief from my skirt pocket to wipe my face.

"Oh, please do away with the 'sir.' Just call me Simon, okay? I am not that old, and the boss is older than me if you ask," he flashed me a nice set of white teeth, and I was forced to smile at his words.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. So, let’s get to work today. How fate works," he smiled, and I smiled back.

"I will have the security staff set up your office here. You should know that we will be getting along so that I can teach you before you move to your own space," he said, leaning against his chair while I looked around his office.

Just like Joseph's office, Simon's office was painted in a similar color, and he had a large desk with his computer in front of him.

"Alright. So my work starts today," I said to him, and he replied, "Yes. Or do you want to go home?"

"No. I'm fine," I replied, and he smiled back.

"Let me call the security staff to come and set up your office; I think that will make our work easier." He picked up his phone and placed a call, and a security guard came in.

The security guard wore a white top, black trousers, and black boots.

"You sent for me, Simon?" he asked, and Simon replied, "Yes. Get a new office desk and a new laptop for my assistant," he told the security guard, who looked at me and replied, "On it."

"Oh! I forgot my handbag. Let me get it," I told Simon, and he smiled.

"Feel free."

Once I stood up from Simon's guest chair, I stepped out and exited his office. His office was on the fifth floor, just like the boss's office.

Some staff worked on the first and second floors, while the middle floor housed their meeting hall.

Ms. Anita had already lectured me about their company when I accepted and signed the contract with her.

I went back to the locker to take my bag and returned the key.

As I turned to head back to Simon's office, Ms. Anita came out of the boss's office and smiled at me.

"How is your work with Simon going? You shouldn't pay any heed to him, and remember that the boss's office is just next to his. Most of the offices have glass walls to keep an eye on whatever is going on, and there is also CCTV footage."

"Oh!" My cheeks burned redder.

"You don't have to worry about all that. Simon and I just coincidentally met today on the bus, and I don’t really know much about him," I told her, and she gasped, "Oh! That's fine. You're free to reach out to me if you need further assistance. Take care, Miss Amaka."

"Thank you," I replied. Ms. Anita walked away to her office, and I sighed as I went back to join Simon.

I was consciously aware that the boss was watching us from his office. They had cameras and glass walls demarcating the offices from one another.

"Are you alright?" Simon asked, looking concerned as I stepped into his office to join him as the company's new digital marketer.

"Yeah," I smiled, and he smiled back.

"Here's your new chair and your small desk. It will keep you comfortable," he said, gesturing to the new table and desk set up in his spacious office.

"Oh! Thank you," I smiled at him as he rose from his chair and walked over to the new desk and chair to meet me.

"You shouldn't thank me, Amaka. We are partners now, so my duty is to make your work easier," he leaned beside me as I sat in the new chair.

"Alright," I said, and he turned on the laptop to test it. I shifted my focus to the computer loading and watched him set it up.

"You will have to fill in your name and password and register. If you need any further assistance, reach out to me," he said as he rose from my desk once he was done setting up the laptop, and I smiled at him.

"Thank you." I watched Simon move back to his chair, and I focused back on the computer. I looked around at the glass wall, wondering what Joseph was up to. The glass was dark, and I couldn't see into the next office. However, I felt nervous knowing that I was under surveillance.