11-Ray of hope

I took the lift straight up to the last floor. It took me a long while to get to the 40th floor because the lift stopped at almost all the floors. The workers kept coming in and out. I didn’t care one bit that I was not returning their fake smiles. Even the long drive back to the office wasn’t long enough to calm me down. I was so disappointed that it made me upset.

When I got to the 40th floor I was the only one left in the lift. The whole 40th floor was my dad’s and his alone: his huge office, waiting area, secretary’s desk closest to his office and his two bodyguards. One of the bodyguards was standing by the lift and the other standing outside his office door. I don’t even know why he brings his bodyguards in here, there is a security guard on each floor. I remember having to beg my father to not have two big guys follow me around. After weeks of begging him, he finally allowed me to only have one bodyguard and he be my driver too. He chose Finn for me. Finn was not allowed to follow me inside the office. He was to stay in the car until I came out of work and then drive me home. And when we do get home to my apartment, there were more bodyguards in my lawn and back yard but none of them were allowed into my apartment.

In the waiting area there was a huge plasma TV which was always on a news channel. The volume was never too high, it was just at the perfect volume for you to hear no matter on which corner of the room you stood.

Trisha’s eyes were already towards the lift when I stepped out. She greeted me with a bright smile even though I messed up yesterday.

“Hey, Genesis.”

“Hey.”

“How’s your Saturday going so far?” She asked me.

“It’s like 9 in the morning Trisha, nothing is good about the day so far.” I told her almost rolling my eyes.

“It’ll get better.” She tried to look supportive. “Plus, you don’t work tomorrow. Maybe you can have a nice warm bubble bath and just relax a little.”

That actually sounded good, but how selfish would I be? Yoké probably has to take a shower in some disgusting little place, with the walls being too close to each other.

“Sounds good, Trisha.” I said with no enthusiasm. “Is my dad in?”

“Yeah, he is expecting you around 9.30. But you’re early.” She said looking at her computer. “You can take a seat so long- “

“I’m not some client. I’m his daughter.” I said walking past her and opening my dad’s office door.

He was sitting by his desk and a woman was sitting opposite him on the other side of his desk. They both turned to me when I walked in.

“I’m sorry.” I said grimacing. “I thought you were alone since it’s still early.”

The woman at the table kept her eyes on me. She was a brunette. Hair tied up into a ponytail on the top of her head and then braided down into a fishtail.

“It’s okay.” Raphael told me getting up. “I’m actually done here.”

The woman cleared her voice and then got up. She was in heels and held her head high. She looked so beautiful. There was something about the way she kept her hands by her side and her head held high. Ego. Pride. Confidence. Something along those lines. She wore one of those.

I tried smiling at her, but she didn’t smile back. She just walked past me. I smelled her perfume as she walked past me and left the office. Estee Lauder, definitely.

“Who was that?” I found myself asking.

He frowned. “A client.”

“I like her…”

He looked at me for a while surprised and then he shook his head at me. “You don’t even know her.”

I smiled and shrugged.

“Anyway, you need to stop barging into my office like that.” He scolded. “I can’t believe at your age I’m still teaching you to knock before you open. Any door, opened or closed, you knock.”

“I’m sorry.”

He took out his phone and then showed it to me. It was the same article Penny showed me yesterday.

I rolled my eyes and then went to sit on his couch.

“Don’t roll your eyes.” He told me. “By now you should know that everything you do affects our company. If it affects our company, it affects our family.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong.” I told him.

“What were you doing at the courthouse?” He asked me.

“So, if I go to the library, they’ll take a picture and post it too?”

“I don’t think you understand young lady.” Raphael came to stand before me. “When they see you somewhere like a courthouse, the first thing that comes to their mind is what is she doing there? And if they can’t find an answer, they start making up their own assumptions-”

“Exactly dad. No matter what we do, they’ll keep making their own assumptions out of it. So instead of living our lives like we are walking on eggshells, why don’t we just be free? They’ll talk anyway.”

“No Genesis. That’s not how you run a business. We avoid giving them a reason to assume, no matter what. Remember that these companies are the only thing we have. We can’t risk losing it.”

I kept quiet.

“When they assume, they put it on the media. When our clients see that, they start to doubt us and become insecure.” He sat on the edge of his desk. “Remember that our clients invest millions in this company because they believe in us. If they start getting reasons to doubt us, we are automatically in danger of losing everything. Do you understand that?”

I nodded, just because I wanted to get out of this conversation soon enough.

He sighed and then smiled. “I know you do.”

I didn’t return his smile.

“You got your daddy’s brains.”

I looked at him for a while and then smiled. I found it impressive that he was always matching me to him.

“I know it’s not that easy for you,” His voice was gentle. “But you need to know that everything you do, and I mean everything, will affect our business in some way.”

I looked at him and thought about Alice. She’s free and allowed to do whatever she wants despite what my dad thinks of it. She’s free. But the rest of us, we have to pretend.

“Your sister is another story…” He said as if reading my mind. “Somehow I thank God that nobody recognizes her at those night clubs she goes to.”

“I understand, Dad. Best behaviour at all times.” I said getting up.

He watched me for a while as I fixed myself.

“What?” I smiled shyly.

“What’s wrong?” He asked me, serious.

“Nothing.” I said frowning.

“Don’t forget you’re my own blood. I can see right through you.” He told me. “Talk to me. I have half an hour to spare before my next meeting.”

Yes dad, something is wrong. In fact, everything is wrong. Yoké. He is stuck in some hole hell. I got him in there. Now I don’t know how to get him out of there. I wanted to see him today, to assure him that I’m over here trying but I couldn’t. I wonder what he is going through in there. He won’t know how to defend himself against those thugs. He is not safe at all.

My phone began ringing. Probably Nathan, I ignored it.

“29 minutes left.” My dad said looking at the gold watch on his wrist.

“Really, Dad?” I asked him.

We looked at each other for a while and then we both laughed. I was laughing because I felt like I was on the edge. Like I’d go crazy because of how stuck I felt.

“You are the worst.” I told him.

“Get your phone.” He told me going to sit by his desk. “That ring tone is very annoying. I don’t see why you people like this type of music.”

I dug for my phone in my handbag. It was not Nathan. It was Steven! Maybe he was done with his meeting and is now prepared to go speak to Yoké.

He hung up when I was about to press accept. I called him back quickly. His phone began ringing but he was not picking up. Come on!

“Dad I’ll leave now.” I said with the phone still by my ear.

“Maybe I’ll come pay you a visit tomorrow at that little apartment of yours then we can have a talk. Also to see if it needs some renovations.” He said going over some document.

I smiled and shook my head at him and then left his office.

“Genesis, you’ll get me in trouble with Mr. Raphael if you keep barging in like that.” Trisha told me trying her best to keep her voice under control.

“I’m sorry.” I told her biting my lip and walking past her quickly.

Steven finally picked up.

“Steven!” I exclaimed out of relieve. “I’m sorry I missed your call.”

“I just wanted to let you know that I managed to set an appeal date with the prosecutor.”

“Thank you so much!” I couldn’t keep my voice down, out of excitement.

“Yeah, the prosecutor managed to squeeze me into her tight schedule.”

“When did she set it?” I asked him, beaming with joy.

“Tomorrow. Sunday. At 9 in the morning.”

“Oh!” I couldn’t believe my ears. I was beyond overjoyed. “I’ll be there.”

“There’s no need though.” He told me. “Danlie Forbes, himself won’t even be there.”

“It’s okay. I just want to be there.” I said.

“I don’t mean to make you lose hope but, I’ve told you before, getting an appeal may not necessarily mean there’ll be good news. Maybe just give him less-”

“I know.” I interrupted. I didn’t want him to say that. I couldn’t stand hearing something like that again. “I’ll be there.”

“I suggest you don’t come, so that you don’t feel as bad as you would witnessing me lose the case.”

I entered the lift and shut my eyes.

“I’ll wait for your call then.” I said.

“Okay.”

“Steven, thank you again.” I told him. I felt like crying.

“It’s my job.” He said and then hung up.

I pressed the down arrow, leaned against the mirror, and glided down to sit on the lift floor. What if they just lessen his time? How can he stay locked up for years? How can he?

The elevator stopped and someone came in. I looked up and the lady looked back at me not sure whether to ask me whether or not I was okay. She stood close to the door, leaving so much space between us.

“Are you okay, ma’am?” She finally asked me after several minutes.

I nodded up at her. I noticed that the silver necklace on her chest glimmered in the presence of all the mirrors in the lift. What glimmered more was the pendant resting on the neck of her blue dress. The cross.

I knew exactly what I needed to do.

I didn’t get off at the 32nd floor. I went right down to ground floor. I found Finn smoking outside the car. When he saw me, he dropped his cigarette and stomped on it. I got into the back seat and waited for him to get into the car.

“Where to ma’am?” He asked me as he settled into the driver’s seat filling the car up with the smell of Marlboro.

“Take me to church.” I told him.

“Which one?” He asked me.

The last time we went to church was as a family. We went for Francis’ baptism. He got baptized at 20. I was seventeen at the time and Alice was fifteen. That day Leticia was so happy. After the baptism she threw a party and invited the whole neighbourhood. Francis got drunk at that party! And that’s when the party had to end.