CHAPTER 6

Mrs. Tonia didn't say anything after Flora exited the room. She sighed and walked up to sit beside Anita on the bed while Favour and Esther also exited the room. 

"You shouldn't be harsh with your sister. Fighting with Flora wasn't necessary," Mrs. Tonia said to Anita as she sat beside her on the bed.

"I know, Mom, but they keep disrespecting me too much, and it's getting out of hand," Anita replied.

"It’s okay. I can understand, but don’t change yourself because of them. Keep being my sweet and calm daughter," Mrs. Tonia advised.

"Okay, Mom." Anita sighed as she stared at her mother while Glory walked up to sit on the bed too.

"I've got to go now and join your father. Glory, go now, pack your bags, and come join Anita here," Mrs. Tonia said.

"Okay, Mom," Glory replied. She stood up from the bed and walked out of the room to the one she shares with Lisa. Flora was already in the room, arranging her clothes in the wardrobe, but she didn't say a word to Glory, who stepped in and carried her own box of clothes out.

Lisa sighed as she returned from the kitchen and found Flora in the room she previously shared with Glory. She didn’t ask any questions, as she also didn’t like Anita and Glory either.

Glory exited the room and walked back to join Anita, while Anita was busy texting Temisa. Instead, Temisa gave her a call.

"Hello, girlfriend! How's home?" Temisa asked.

"All fine, and yours?" Anita replied.

"All good," Temisa responded sadly.

"What's up now? You don't sound too happy," Anita said.

"I know, it’s a long story. Remember, my father didn't show up at the ceremony, and now he's asking for my results and telling me to submit them to the Benson Group? Like you know, I don’t have any interest in working with them," Temisa said.

"What!? That's good news! You should be happy. You just graduated, and now you already have a job at your feet, unlike us, who have to start wandering about the streets and companies submitting applications," Anita said.

"Hmmm, you can say that, but that's not what I want, at least not for now. Besides, with my results, I doubt I will get the job," Temisa complained.

"Hmph, it's well, girlfriend, be happy at least; you have your father's support, unlike mine," Anita ranted, and the phone call went silent for a while.

"It's okay, but the truth is I’m not having too many high hopes of working with the Benson Group. I know they're the most sought-after group of companies, but I'm not interested," Temisa deadpanned.

"Hmph, I know, but you can still apply. I will be submitting mine there too, but I didn't want to bother you about it earlier nor ask you to help me talk to your father about it. If I submit mine now and they approve my application, then we can work there together and you won't be bored with office work again," Anita said.

"Really? Do you have plans to submit your CV to them too?" Temisa asked.

"Yes, but I didn't know your father also had plans for you to work there; I didn't want to bother you with it," Anita replied.

"Oh! There's no problem then. I will just submit my application and give you updates on when they approve me. Although you know this is through my father, so there won’t be too much stress," Temisa beamed.

"Yeah, lucky girl!" Anita hyped up her friend.

"Thank you, but I'm only submitting because you said you would; if I don't get to see you there, then I will quit," Temisa informed Anita.

"Okay, I will, but let's hope they accept me too. Good night, girlfriend," Anita said as the call finally ended. Temisa replied, "Yeah, good night too."

Anita put her phone down and found Glory in the room, arranging her box to fit into the wardrobe she previously shared with Flora. Anita sighed as all her siblings were dark-skinned, except for Lisa, Glory, and herself. Lisa was fair brown but not white like Anita herself, while Glory had brown skin like the rest.

"Did Flora ask you anything when you went there to get your box?" Anita asked.

"No," Glory responded, walking over to sit beside her on the bed after she arranged her box in the wardrobe.

"I'm sorry for what happened earlier," Glory apologized faintly, and Anita smiled at her.

"It’s okay, Glory. None of that was your fault. Let's just hope Flora, Favour, and Esther stop annoying me in this house," Anita said as she smiled at Glory, placing her right palm on Glory's hand.

"Hmph, I hope they don't," Glory sighed.

"It's okay. So what did you want to discuss with me before Flora interrupted us?" Anita asked.

"I just wanted to ask about your university. Is it too difficult to study business administration?" Glory inquired.

"No, not too stressful. You just have to keep your focus high and not get distracted by guys and girls in your department that might be asking you out," Anita replied, turning off her laptop as she was already tired.

"So you don't have a boyfriend in school or any guy that likes you?" Glory asked, surprising Anita.

"Glory! What do you know about boyfriends?" Anita questioned with wide eyes and a smile that only Glory knew.

"Okay, I don't have a boyfriend because I don't want to lose focus, and you shouldn't either," Anita advised her little sister while Glory continued to smile.

"It's okay. You will show me your results for this term since I'll be around. I can be your extra coaching teacher," Anita said to her sister, and Glory jumped up happily from the bed and hugged Anita tightly.

"Thank you, big sis," Glory said.

"You're welcome. Can I breathe now?" Anita asked, as Glory was almost suffocating her with her tight hugs and chubby body.

"Okay, let me go and ease myself before sleeping," Glory said as she let go of Anita and walked to the restroom while Anita sighed and decided to play with her Android phone as it was already late.

Anita decided to browse information about the Benson Group to know what the company was like. She typed the search button for the Benson Group of Companies and saw recent news updates about the company on her phone screen. Anita read through some of the recent news and saw that Master Liam Jackson was now handling the company ownership, and she sighed.

Anita stared at the photos from the company's conference hall and down to the photos of the new CEO.

Lost in her thoughts and research, she didn't even notice when Glory stepped out, climbed onto the bed, and drifted to sleep.

Anita sighed as she heard Glory snoring and sleeping peacefully behind her on the bed while she scrolled through the timeline posts of the new CEO, checking his profile page. His profile didn't have many updates about him, and she sighed again. Finally, she clicked on his profile picture, wanting to see the new boss she would be working with in the future if her CV gets accepted. However, as she stared at his display picture on his profile and looked at the date it was posted, she noticed it was six years ago, and he looked younger in the photo, making her sigh again as she left his profile page to browse on how to submit her application instead.

Anita finally found an available application form and checked the available positions left. After copying the company's email address, she decided to write a letter of application to them, as that was the only way to submit an application to work with the company.

Feeling tired, Anita decided to type a fresh letter of application to the Benson Group the following day. After copying the company email address, she kept her phone on her shelf and drifted to sleep on her bed.

The following morning, as Anita woke up, she heard her father scream out, "No!" She immediately jumped down from her bed and rushed out of her room with Glory to find out what had happened.

"What happened?" They all gathered in the living room while their father sat on the couch, placing his palms on his head as he fought back the urge to cry.

"Mom, what's the problem?!" they asked their mother, and she shook her head, not responding but rather pacing up and down in the living room.

"Father, what's the problem?" Flora asked as she sat beside their father, but he shook his head in regret and wiped away the tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

"Mom?" Anita walked up to their mother and held her folded arms.

"What's the matter, Mom?" Anita asked, and Mrs. Tonia finally responded, "I don't really know, Anita. Your father got a call this morning, and the next moment I heard him scream while discussing with the caller. I don’t know what the problem is." Mrs. Tonia stared back at her husband, seeing him trying hard to prevent his tears from dropping. He finally stood up from the living room couch, already dressed in his deep blue suit, ready to leave for work as if it were a fresh Friday morning. However, he sighed and walked back to his room, shaking his head regretfully.

"Father!" Anita, Flora, and Favour rushed up to their father, but their mother quickly stopped them.

"You girls should let your father be; I will talk to him and find out what the problem really is," Mrs. Tonia said to them.

"Are you sure, Mom?" they asked in confusion, wanting to see their father.

"Yes. Just give him some time; I am sure he will finally let us know what the problem is."