A Promotion?

I sat still and did my best to avoid his gaze as he spoke. There were four other division heads seated on the opposite side of his desk and I was number five, seated in the middle. Everyone had avoided the middle seat for obvious  reasons. It seemed like everyone already knew who he was except me, and he did not bother introducing himself to us.

I had never been so tense in a meeting as I was at that moment. I was so sure he was going to either demote or relieve me of my position. Why wouldn’t he? I had been nothing but mean to him. I realized why my mother had always implored me to be nice to everyone I met, but I guess what I saw in that hotel room coupled with several shots of liquor had gotten the better of me. How could the chairman of the organisation I work in catch me half-drunk the night before his official takeover of my company?

He spoke calmly, addressing several aspects of the organization’s affairs without glancing much at my direction except when he commented on my division. I just couldn’t wait for the meeting to end, and soon it did. He dismissed everyone, but as I made for the door, I heard his voice again.

“Please wait behind, Mrs Cloveland.”

Fuck! I knew it.

I turned and sat back on the chair I had been sitting.

He remained silent as he fetched for something in his drawer. He took out a cigar and placed it in his mouth. He fumbled several times with it before finally lighting it. I knew this was very unprofessional. No one did this kind of thing, but who could question him now? The company was his.

He stood up and walked to the window. This man seemed to fill the entire office with his frame.

“I need a bigger office than this,” he turned to me and said gesturing to the office.

Could he read my mind?

“I think so,” I answered without thinking.

“Really? Why do you think so?”

I swallowed hard. I shouldn’t have let those words roll easily out of my tongue.

“I… I mean. Well, I don’t know,” I stuttered.

I hated the effect this man was having on me. Something about the way he stood beside the window smoking his cigar turned me on. The rich and strong smell of the cigar only made matters worse. I was sure he was having the time of his life punishing me. I knew I deserved it, but I was done playing games.

What does he want?

If he was going to fire me at that moment, then I wanted to hear it and get the fuck out of his office.

“You asked me to wait behind, sir,” I said.

He didn’t reply immediately, but took a long draw of his cigar and let out the blue smoke before turning to me.

“Yes, I did. We are waiting for someone,” he said.

Someone? Who? Were they my replacement?

There was a soft knock on the door shortly afterwards, and the door creaked open after he invited the man in. A tall lanky man in blue shirt and black trouser walked in with a file bag. I quickly recognized him as the driver who I saw in the SUV the previous night.

“You can drop it on the table,” he said and the man did as he was told before dashing out of the office.

Thoughts raced through my mind, trying to figure out the contents of the file.  I was sure it contained my sack letter.

 “Effective from now, you are relieved from your current position,” he suddenly said.

My heart stopped beating for a moment as I glanced at him. I knew it. I couldn’t say a word. I just sat and stared at him in dismay.

A grin cracked the sides of his mouth.

“Don’t worry. I am not sacking you from this company” he said as he sat back on his chair. He patted his cigar several times on a silver ash tray on the table, putting it out. “This is actually a promotion. You will be working more closely with me from now, but first you have to undergo a two-month training programme,” he said and handed me the file.

“A training programme?” I asked.

“Yes, indeed. David had nothing but high praises for you, and recommended you as the best fit for this role.”

“I don’t think I am…”

“You are what?” He interrupted. “You don’t think you are the best fit for this? I went through your portfolio and your achievements are outstanding. I have eye for potential and I see much of it in you.”

“Thank you for the praise, sir, but…”

“Enough with the buts. It’s been concluded. You have two weeks to complete your handover process and prepare for the trip.”

“A trip?”

“Yes. The training would be in Switzerland. I have new directions I want this organization to take and I need competent hands for it. Everything you would need for the training would be taken care of. All you need to do is go and equip yourself with the necessary skills for this new role of yours. Every other information you need is contained in the file.” He leaned back on his chair and crossed his fingers. “Do you have any more questions?”

“None for now,” I answered.

“Good. I would be expecting your report later in the week.”

“Alright. Would that be all for now, sir?”

“Please, enough with the ‘sir’. Just call me David, and yes, that’s all for now.”

“Thank  you,” I said, getting up from the chair before turning to the door. I got to the door when he spoke again.

“I hope you got home safely last night.”

I spent the rest of the day poring through documents and finalizing my reports. It wasn’t until 4pm I realized I hadn’t eaten anything that day. I shut my laptop and carried my bag before heading out. My favourite restaurant was a five minutes’ drive from my company.

I got to the restaurant and after placing my order, I sat to wait. I remembered Beryl and took out my phone to call my mother. I tried calling again when I got no response, but she still wasn’t answering. It's not like my mother not to answer her phone.

I thought of calling Nathan but quickly shook the thought off my head. We had exchanged numbers after our conversation yesterday, but I didn’t want to rekindle old feelings.

Ten minutes later, my order was ready and after paying I hurried back to my car which I had parked beside the curb. I had just gotten into my car when my phone began ringing – It was my mother.

“Hello, mom, I have been…”

“Sophia!”

I knew it couldn’t be good news whenever my mom called out my name like this.

“Yes, mom. What’s the matter?” I asked.

“He has taken Beryl.”

“He? Who’s he?” I asked.

“John. Your husband, John has taken her.”