chapter 4: Four years later

In an office containing only three people, Anaya skimmed through the various drawings on the table, she frowned in displeasure as she was unsatisfied with what she was seeing. Turning to the lady she spoke with a straight face.

" None of this is working."

" I...I can redesign them or better still make another."

The young lady who was standing opposite Anaya replied with a drop of sweat tricking down her face. Instead of replying to her, Anaya laughed. The cackling sound was like a death warrant in the ears of the young lady. She internally prayed that the ground would open up so she could dive in. If Anaya disagreed again, this would be the fourth time that she would be sent back for doing a bad job.

" Miss Polly, you want to go back and make a new one?"

The third person in the room blurted. It was Judith, Anaya's assistant. A look of surprise crossed her small face as she watched the little lady before her, She seemed so determined to get the job but to Judith, she was only wasting her time for Judith knew she wasn't going to get the job. She had known Anaya for almost three years and she knew that all the times she sent Polly back, it was in hope that she would not return. Glancing at Anaya her boss, she looked so calm and unperturbed as she reclined in her seat, causing Judith to swallow the lump in her throat. This was just the calm before the storm she thought to herself. Looking back at the young lady before them, Judith gave an internal sigh as she hoped for a better workplace for her because although her designs were poor, she still had a nice trait of determination and as far as life was concerned, determination was all the drive that one needed to become better. She was still in her head when Polly replied to her with even greater confidence.

" Yes ma'am, I would redesign, remake, I would do anything in my ability to get this job."

Judith's face fell when she heard her, if most of their employees had as much drive as she did, Funfits would be a multimillion-dollar fashion company by now. Judith remained quiet beside Anaya listening on for her next reply. When it finally came, Judith couldn't believe her ears.

" Your parents are well-to-do Miss Polly and you can join any other company of your dreams. That alone states that you don't necessarily need this job as much as you portray it, there are better-off companies out there that would be willing to take you in, especially when they know you are the only daughter of CEO Oswald. "

The statement caused Judith to choke on her saliva. She always had a feeling that Polly wasn't from any average family but never had she imagined that she would be the daughter of the famous businessman CEO Oswald. The man was so Rich that a company as small as theirs couldn't compare. Judith wondered why on earth a girl who was from a family that was so well-to-do would go through such stress just so that she could get a job with a little fashion house that was still in its growth era.

" I don't want to get a job as CEO Oswald's daughter, I just want to get a job where I know I would be treated equally and not be overlooked because of who my dad is and I believe that in Funfits, I'll find that"

" If that's the case then fine, you can go back and make a new one then."

Anaya finally agreed. The two individuals watched as she slowly stood up, and gathered her designs before making her way out of the office, and like a Deja Vu, the three people in the room relieved the moment the fourth time in just two weeks. When Polly was finally out of the office, Anaya let out a breath she didn't know she was holding

" Miss Ana, don't you think you should reconsider her? I mean her dad would kill us if she told him about how she was being treated and you know how powerful he is, at this rate, there may come a day when the children's fashion house called 'Funfits' would no longer exist."

" So what are you suggesting I do?"

" I think you should take her in, I understand that her skills are worse than that of our least skillful designer and that it would take a lot to groom her but I think we should reconsider her, it must not necessarily be as a designer but maybe as an apprentice or something."

" And why is that? Don't tell me it's since her dad is rich."

" Haven't you seen that girl Anaya? She has so much drive and In my last three years of working for you, I can boldly say that I've never seen any of your workers so determined. I think you should keep her, she may not be helpful now but when you're done with molding her I believe she'll turn out great."

" I know that your great speech wasn't the only reason why you want me to take her in, it's also because of her dad isn't it?"

Anaya said with a small smile on her face

" But of course, I still want to have a job by tomorrow so I would advise we didn't annoy the big guy."

Judith replied her while laughing lightly.

The day went by quite fast and it was finally closing hour. A brief knock was heard on Anaya's door before it was opened, revealing Judith standing on the other side. She had her hand Bag in one hand while the other hand was still holding onto the door knob. Seeing Anaya Still seated and not in anywhere ready to go home Judith frowned in disagreement. Anaya looked up at the young lady before her, both her perfectly styled blonde hair and her makeup were still in place and if not for the hint of exhaustion on her face, you would hardly believe that she was working almost nonstop the whole day. Anaya smiled at her friend, knowing that she would be in her office talking on and on about the reasons why she had to go off work on time.

" Stop worrying about me I'll get home early "

Anaya reassured Judith before she could even open her mouth to reprimand her.

" I need to know your definition of early because it's already past seven and work ends by five."Judith reprimanded her. She was the closest Anaya had come to having a friend and was always supportive of her and encouraging. Irrespective of the four-year age gap between them Judith never acted it and Anaya loved the little thing they shared.

" Says the girl who stayed in the office until seven and of all days, a Friday. Judy, don't you have a date to attend today?"

" I was going to make sure you got back home on time but here you are, it's already ten minutes past seven and you're still in your office working like it's the top of the morning."

" Stop worrying about me Judy, we have this conversation almost every week and we both know it changes nothing. I'll just stick to my usual routine."

" which is finishing up with what you're doing then heading to a random bar for a few drinks and a man that'll spend the night with you isn't it?"

" You know me so well."

Anaya commented as she placed both hands over her chest while acting like she felt touched. Judith sighed as she stared at the young woman before her. She dreaded the person she was becoming and desperately hoped for someone who would thaw her frozen heart.

" Take care of yourself, Anaya."

" I Will Judith, stop worrying already," she said as she got up and playfully tried to push Judith out of the office

" Alright, Alright, I'll go. Good night "

" Good night."

Anaya replied with a smile as she watched her leave. When she was sure that Judith was gone, she closed the door and the smile slowly fell from her face. walking over to the floor-to-glass window, she Folded her arms, she stared at the scenario of the city below her. Just as Judith had said, it was late and the sky outside was dark but the city was still bustling with people. There were lights in nearly all the buildings that one would think the day wasn't over yet. Sighing, she continued gazing at the view before her but at this point, her thoughts were far from it. A tear slowly fell from her beautiful face and she smiled bitterly in an attempt to mask it but who was she trying to deceive? She had become so used to always hiding her feelings and never letting anyone in that even when it was just her in a room, she would react the same way as a reflex action. She had been that way for more than two years now, always seeing everyone as a potential trait and never letting anyone into the walls she had erected over her heart. Anaya had never felt guilty about her behavior especially since she was living on her own but recently, any time she thought of going back to country X, her heart felt full like it wanted to explode. It had been four years and some months since she had left country X and she dreaded that she had to go back there so when her aunt had insisted last year that she spend Thanksgiving with her she dreaded the idea. she had the same feeling that was Currently feeling, that of fear and guilt. She had decided to decline the offer last year, blaming her failure to attend on her business that was just starting up but presently, it was doing okay and was even going to be awarded as the fastest growing newbie company of the year so she no longer had an excuse that could prevent her from attending the little family get together. Her heart squeezed for the umpteenth time and she closed her eyes to abate the pain. After some minutes of standing by the window, she decided to get out and clear her head.

Her office was on the last floor of the building which was the twelfth floor so she punched in the last floor when she got on the elevator. Several people had wondered how a business that had just started had enough money to get a building of such capacity. Even Anaya had wondered the same because in as much as she had started her fashion house after she left Country X four years ago, she was only working on a small scale. This was because she had her mom to care for while also attending fashion school. The workload in fashion school was always so much that she would barely have enough time for herself and if her Aunt Kathy, Gianni's mum hadn't employed the nurse, the stress would have been even more. The elevator ride finally made it to the ground floor and Anaya got out, she greeted the security she met on her way down before finally walking out. She got into her car and sat for a while thinking about the bar she would be visiting today. After thinking for a while she decided to go to Maya. Maya was a five-star Hotel with a bar area on its ground floor, it was one of the newly built hotels in country Y and according to the reviews that Anaya had gotten from some of her rich fashion designing colleagues, it was a very grand and private place. Privacy was all that Anaya needed, her company was currently accelerating in growth and as such, her PR team had frowned against her associating herself in any situation that would lead to a public scandal.

It was because of this that she displayed her promiscuous lifestyle only at night, In a very private bar and with a heavily paid gigolo that wouldn't rat her out. Sleeping out with just any man wasn't something Anaya ever wanted to do she despised the idea so much that she made sure she didn't spend more than one night with a particular man but, it was the only thing that made her feel confident and superior to men. Although she wouldn't want to admit it, the incident of four years ago had broken her, she was depressed for several months and would often wonder if she wasn't worthy of love. What made it worse was staying with her mom, the woman was almost always negative and it began to wear her down. She didn't have friends in country Y so there wasn't anyone to talk to, it was only when Dorian or Gianni would call once in a while that she would have someone to share her plight with but over time, she got tired of always complaining so she decided to pretend like it was all okay. Gianni must have realized that she had suddenly locked up because she insisted her mom was moved back to country X to stay with her and Aunt Kathy. It was the hardest and best decision she had ever made because after her mother had left, the weight felt lighter. Turning on the ignition of the car, she zoomed into the distance for her night had only just begun.