CH001

The phone buzzed again with the famous “One of your girls tonight" by Jennie of Black pink playing as the ringtone.

Ophelia was about to grab the phone out of her bag on its sixth ring but hesitated as her gaze fell upon the scene unfolding by the roadside.

A man on a wheel chair seemed to be targeted by roadside thieves who were attempting to snatch the grocery bags beside him.

Ophelia's mind racied as she weighed her options. She was already running late for her job interview but a part of her refused to ignore the disabled man's plight. Though she wasn't a skilled fighter, she was confident in her ability to drive the thieves away using the safety gadgets in her bag.Which she unzipped and heaved a sigh when she realized she hadn't forgotten them.

She alighted from the bus she was in at its next bus stop and began sprinting towards the direction she had seen the man in before.

The sun was hot and scorching but she didn't mind. Running with her heels was painful but being free and not in the jam-packed bus was a welcome relief.

She had almost suffocated from the mix of people's sweat and the pungent odours that had filled the air back in the bus. This stranger had just created an avenue for her to dismiss herself from there without feeling uneasy for it.

Luckily the man was still there and she had sprinted fast enough when she saw the thieves trying to run away with the grocery bags which the man tried snatching back from them.

Ophelia landed a punch on one of the thieves face, sending him crashing to the floor..

“How useless can you get in life that you won't consider finding a job instead of stealing from the people needing the most help in the society?” Ophelia’s voice was harsh but she didn't mind as she hoped it made the man realize the gravity of what he had wanted to do.

Momentarily stunned by the words and the punch that had sent their member crashing to the floor, the other three thieves taken aback by her sudden intervention hesitated for a split second.

“What is this fucking shit now? A woman challenging us?" One of the men said from the group that had been about to run away.

“You guys wait for me. I'll deal with this meddler and then we'd be out of this place" The second thief, a burly man with a menacing scowl said.

He charged towards Ophelia. She swiftly sidestepped his clumsy attack and delivered a swift kick to his stomach. He doubled over, gasping for breath as she continued to hit him till he was powerless to fight back.

The third man attempted to grab Ophelia's arm but instead of her arm, she had positioned her taser stun gun perfectly waiting for him to launch and when he had done so, he was immediately incapacitated by the electric shock.

The fourth thief who appeared as the apparent leader on the gang snarled and lunged at Ophelia with a rusty knife.

She swiftly rummaged through her bag and produced a can of pepper spray which she aimed directly at the thief's face. He yelped in pain as the pepper spray took effect, momentarily blinding him and taking advantage of the situation, Ophelia struck him countlessly with punches she threw at his face.

“Thank you" the man managed to mutter, still captivated by the sight of her and the idea that a woman had saved him from the hands of four thieves.

Ophelia walked towards where his grocery bags was and returned them to him.

“What are you doing out here alone? Do you not know that the streets are not safe anymore?” Came Ophelia's words as she was more concerned about his safety to a response to his gratitude which she was supposed to give.

“I was waiting for my driver when they wheeled me out” he explained while pointing at a convenience store metres away from where they were.

Ophelia stared at her wrist watch.The convenience store was a bit too far from where they were at and she had a few minutes left before the end of her interview.

“It's alright. I can wheel myself back. Thank you for saving me once again" the man said as he noticed her staring at her wrist watch.

Ophelia was at a crossroad. If she were to leave him to wheel himself back to the convenience store like he said, it would be a hard task for him to, considering the bumps on the path and the fear of him being attacked again.

And even if she were to ignore him and run back to the bus stop in an attempt to go for her interview, she was still not going to make it there on time. Her eyes narrowed as she weighed the options.

“It's alright sir. I'll help wheel you back to the convenience store” Ophelia said after making a decision.” It's the least I can do after what just happened”

The man's face lit with gratitude.

“Thank you so much miss. I really appreciate it"

As Ophelia began to wheel the man towards the convenience store, she couldn't help but think about the interview she was about to miss. Would she be able to reschedule? And what would the CEO think of her tardiness? Worry etched on her mind but she masked it with a smile each time the man turned to stare at her.

Soon they arrived in front and she dropped the grocery bags she carried beside him.

Her phone began to buzz again and she couldn't ignore it this time anymore.

“Please excuse me sir" she said whe bowing before the man, showing her phone and the call she was to answer.

“Thank you once again miss….” He muttered as he watched her leave.

“Ophelia Sage" he muttered again after haven seen the identity tag in her suit when she had bent to drop the grocery bags beside him.

He waited for her to return but she didn't, till his driver had pulled up in front of him a few moments later.

“I'm so sorry young Master. Traffic was bad sir" he apologized as he sprinted towards him.

“Ophelia Sage" he answered without caring for his apologies.”Find out everything you can about that name”.

********************************

Ophelia rushed into the office building with her heels clicking hardly on the marble floor. She had finally arrived, albeit late, and was determined to make a good impression.

"Hi, I'm Ophelia Sage. I'm here for the assistant creative manager interview," Ophelia said, trying to catch her breath as she approached the receptionist desk.

The receptionist's expression turned apologetic. "I'm so sorry, Miss Sage. The interview ended about 30 minutes ago. The CEO had to leave for another meeting."

"Please, can I speak to someone? I was held up by an emergency, and I really need this job," Ophelia pleaded as her eyes locked on the receptionist. Refusing to give up now that she was already at the company.

The receptionist nodded sympathetically. "Let me check if anyone is available to see you."

After a brief phone call, the receptionist escorted Ophelia to a conference room. A stern-looking woman was seated in one of the chairs, arranging some papers into a big file.

"Miss Sage, I'm Mrs. Johnson, the CEO's assistant. I understand you're late for the interview, so what can I do to help you?” Mrs. Johnson said with her tone firm.

Ophelia took a deep breath and launched into an explanation of her situation. But before she could finish, Mrs. Johnson cut her off.

"Excuses, Miss Sage, that's all I'm hearing. You're late, and now you're wasting my time," Mrs. Johnson snapped immediately and her eyes flashed with annoyance.

Ophelia felt a surge of sadness, but she tried to keep her cool. "I understand ma'am, but please, just give me a chance—" She was already tired as it stood and the woman wasn't helping matters.

"No, Miss Sage!" Mrs. Johnson slammed her hand on the table. "You had your chance and you blew it. Others who knew what it meant to them showed up,whereas you didn't. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have better things to do than indulge your persistence."

Ophelia's face burned with humiliation as she turned on her heel to leave.

If she hadn't helped the disabled man she had seen on the way while coming, could she have been able to meet up? Or was it best to blame her lateness on the event that had happened with her fiancee in the wee hours of the morning?

*********************************

Ophelia pushed open the entrance door to the living room of her home. Exhaustion was written all over her face. She had never felt so drained, both physically and emotionally.

The events of the day kept replaying in her head, not allowing her to catch her breath still.

She looked up from her devastation and saw her father standing in front of her.

The next thing she felt was a thunderous slap he landed her on her right cheek.

"Why are you so useless to this family Ophelia? How much more embarrassment are you going to cause me?"