"Did, did I ask you to sit down?" Henry said before Zoe's butt could land on the chair. Henry was churning like a boiling kettle, and Zoe could almost see the steam coming out from his ears and nose.She stood upright and said, "Fine, I'll stand here. As I said earlier, I have a deal for you. What if I told you I would help you catch the hacker and, in turn, you'll let me work for you unobstructed by your desire to be your mistress? Will you take the deal?"Henry smacked his lips and gulped, "And how do you know you can catch the hacker?"Henry had called the hacker the night after their steep victory in the lab. He was surprised that the line was still able to connect. When Henry had asked the hacker what would become of the data that was stolen, the hacker had replied that nothing would be done, but yet Henry was doubtful. He and Jack had agreed that it was risky not to go after the hacker."Well, for starters, I've already made contact with him, and I made a deal also, so it's just
"Hey, sweets," Emily's voice could be heard from the phone. But Zoe ignored it. Her mind was still clouded with a thousand questions that needed answers.Henry fired Andre and Mrs. Randolph. What was that supposed to mean? She really could not find answers to her questions."Should I go to his office?" she thought. That was out of it. She could not just go into his office to accuse him of sacking his staff; that was none of her business. Her head throbbed at the thought."Zoe! What's going on?" Emily said, her voice sounding worried.Zoe placed the phone on her ear and said, "Hey, Em, I'm sorry I left you on the phone. Something unexpected happened right now, and I'm yet to get over it.""What happened? Did someone die?" Emily asked, sounding alarmed.Zoe looked at the faces of the staff around her, and they all looked shocked. They still could not believe what had just happened—Mrs. Randolph and Mr. Andre, of all people.Zoe noticed that Kearney was looking at her."I can't talk righ
Emily picked Zoe up from work as usual. Leo was already in the vehicle in the back seat, and the journey home was the normal routine of rush hour traffic and girls talking.Zoe took her time to fill Emily in on the latest development at work. She told her about the deal she put forward at Henry and the ultimatum she gave him.It was a hearty laugh for Emily when Zoe told her how Henry had behaved after he was told about the deal."He almost pissed in his pants," Zoe had said as Emily burst into laughter.They got home, and Emily parked the car in the garage. Leo, as usual, said nothing to the both of them. He just got down from the car, closed the door, swung his backpack over his shoulder, and went inside.Zoe and Emily exchanged glances. Emily was about to call after him when Zoe stopped her. "Let him be," she mouthed at her.Emily rolled her eyes and gave her the whatever look.Zoe grabbed her handbag and was about to shut the door close when her phone rang. She picked it up and
Henry smiled satisfactorily after ending the call. He slowly lifted the cup of vodka from his table and sipped from it. Zoe thought she could get him, but she didn't know what was coming. By the time he was done with her, she would realize he was not the type to joke around with. She would have no choice but to come back to him, crawling if she may.He smiled at this thought as he gulped down the entire content of his cup, dropped the empty glass, and danced to The Migos's Straightening, doing the steering wheel and gear dance steps.He could smell victory in the air. He was going to come out victorious in two ways, while Zoe would lose in two ways. Soon she would know who the real boss was, and she wouldn't fuck with him.He smiled at the thought, poured himself another glass, and gulped down the content before dropping it on a nearby stool.***Zoe woke up early the next day with mixed feelings. She really did not know if she was to be happy that she was finally free from Henry's
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
It was agreed upon that Zoe would meet with the hacker later in the day during her lunch break. Zoe placed a call to the hacker in the conference room with Henry standing by her side, ready to eavesdrop."Hello, it's me again," Zoe said."Did the plan work?""Yes, it did; I'm no longer signing the stupid contract!" Zoe said, smiling.Henry scoffed inwardly, reminding himself that it was only a matter of time before Zoe would come to him willingly with the signed contract."Okay, I'm glad I could help.""Yes, well, I thought we should hang out for lunch later just to thank you," Zoe said. There was a pause on the line."Black diamond, it's fine; I've accepted your thanks; we don't have to have lunch together," said Sparrow."Oh, come on, I insist, let's have lunch, and let's play a chess game over the board. I know you've been dying to have a rematch.""Okay fine, see you at noon.""Yes!" Zoe said. "Game on.""Well done," Henry said. "Are you sure he will show up?""He will come alrigh
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 left work with the thoughts of everything that had gone down that day. Many things had been going on, and she didn't understand any of it. Each new development seemed to leave her clueless.What worried her most was that she did not know who had tipped off the hacker. That person had ruined her chance of gaining freedom, and she didn't think she could forgive such a person when she discovered who it was.She had seen it with her eyes. Sparrow had been standing right there. He had almost entered the restaurant before receiving a phone call, and then, like a dog let loose to fetch a ball, he had bolted, only unlike a dog, Sparrow never returned. Zoe tightened her grip on her handbag as she waited in front of Maga Tech for Emily to come to pick her up.It wasn't long before Emily pulled up in front of the company. Zoe got in, greeted Emily and Leo, smoothened her hair, and exhaled deeply. It had been a long day.Emily noticed Zoe's long face as she wheeled the car to the highway."Yo