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All Chapters of TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20
203 Chapters
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The CEO was gone, I was told. I was away on a business trip, so therefore, I had the whole of this floor to myself. I imagined what it would be like. Is he coming back to learn of my employment, or did he already know of it?I shook my head as though the action would help dispel the thought from my mind. It did. The office that I had been given was quite bare. It was as though it had not been used before, but I knew better. I could smell the hints of paint that had been used on the walls in an attempt to mask the presence of the office’s previous owner. The book cabinet and file storage are new, along with the desk and seats, which I now occupy. Arranged neatly on the large desk were a stash of sticky notes, a name tag, which carried my full name and position, a folder that I had yet to open, a desktop, a smaller laptop in the corner, and a tablet, which I assumed to be the advanced equivalent of a jotter and planner. I picked up the name tag and pinned it to my chest. It looked goo
Read moreCHAPTER TWELVE
I heard the blast of the speakers from the ground floor, and I could tell what room the sound was coming from. The waiting boy, who had been changed no more than seven times since taking up residence here (yes, I kept counting), gave me a strange expression. I smiled at him. Darby had the children in her arms and was gliding across the room. I believe I can fly because R. Kelly was playing and she sang along. I smiled and walked to a couch. She had not even noticed me come in. “Darby.” I shouted, trying to raise my voice above the blasting speakers and hers too. “Darby!!” I shouted again, but she could hardly hear me. Sighing, I stood up from the chair and approached her. “Darby.” I touched her arm, and she jumped. Quickly, I took the children from her while she picked up the remote and turned off the audio player. “You startled me.” She said this, putting her hand on her chest. “When did you come in?”I shook my head disapprovingly. “I could hear the speakers from four blocks aw
Read moreCHAPTER THIRTEEN
I looked through the evidence Mrs. Sanders had faxed to me, and I was amazed and upset. I was amazed at how much Andre and his family had really fooled me and used me while still treating me like trash, and I was upset that I had endured foolishly and allowed them to use me like that. Although the evidence had a lot of information, I knew it would hold no weight in court, especially with how powerful Andre and his family were and how helpless I would be if I went again now. I needed to gather more evidence and build myself up until I was sure I was ready to face them. I jumped when I heard a knock on my office door and quickly hid the files in the drawer attached to the desk. I arranged myself quickly; this was the first time I would be receiving a guest in my new office. “Please.” I sat down and pretended I was working. “come in.”The door opened slowly, and a small man peeked through. I raised a brow. Then the door opened wider, and I saw that he was with Paula, the HR manager. I
Read moreCHAPTER FOURTEEN
Once, when I was just a little girl, my father brought me to his office. It was not ‘take your child to work day’; it was just something he had decided to do, and that day had moved on to become the best day of my life. My father had packed in the garage below the company’s building, in the executive spot reserved for people like him, and then we had made our way into the company’s building. My father’s company had been huge—not as big as BlackBrick, of course, but in my small eyes, it was the biggest building I had ever seen. People respected my father then—they stopped while he passed, bowed their heads, and stuff. I had thought they respected him just because that was how it was supposed to be, but I came to learn later on, when I was much bigger, that they respected him because of his position, and if he were to lose that position, he would also lose all the respect that came with it. My father sat us down in his office and began to show me things about the company on his compu
Read moreCHAPTER FIFTEEN
Cameron called again. I don’t know what this feeling within me is, but it is similar to what I used to feel for André before everything. It is tingly, and it tickles. Well, since I was smiling through the entirety of the call for no good reason, I must watch myself. It would be wrong for me if I, with my eyes wide open and a past full of experiences, allowed myself to repeat Andre all over again. We would not be able to meet tomorrow anymore. Cameron and I. He had to reschedule his flight because something came up. I did not mind. I was almost late for work myself. I rushed through preparing the kids for Darby and rushed through breakfast.Darby arrived just as I was about to leave. She had a frown on her face. “Good morning, Darby.” I greeted her with a smile on my face and placed a kiss on her face. “I’ve prepared them. Their food is in the warmer, and I packed their clothes and extra nappies. They’re in the bag.”I rushed to the door. Darby was saying something, but I was not l
Read moreCHAPTER SIXTEEN
“Look, as I said. I’m only here to work. I have no idea what you are talking about and I'd like to return to work now.” I was trying to be calm, to rein myself in. But Paula was stubborn. She held my hand and stopped me. She started it, I told myself. One thing working in the bar had taught me was the best way to deal with jealous, arrogant, sorry ass bitches like herself but first of all I respected this company and secondly, I respected her position. I wanted this job but not as much as I wanted her out of my sight right now. She did not get the gist. “I could make life miserable for you here, Lana. Do you know that?” she whispered. I smirked. “And I could make life worse, Paula. I do hope you realize that and let go of my hand before I do something we both regret.”It registered. The seriousness of my threat and I saw her contemplate it. I did not have time for this. I yanked my hand from hers and walked out.Andre was nowhere to be seen when I returned and I almost jumped with
Read moreCHAPTER SEVENTEEN
There were a lot of reasons why I felt the need to write my resignation and send it to BlackBrick. For starters, Paula might decide to pick up where we left off yesterday. What if she still held them against me? I dreaded seeing her just as much as I dreaded running into Andre again, but Darby would not have it my way. She sat on my bed and watched me like a hawk while I dressed. She had been the one to pull me from bed this morning, drag me into the bathroom, and talk me into preparing for work. More like threaten, I thought. I had reminded her of the saying, You can take a horse to a river, but you can never force it to drink, and she almost bit my head off. Apparently, she could force this horse to do anything. I rolled my eyes and tucked my shirt into the trousers. Darby stood from the bed and looked me over and smiled. “Good.” She commended. She grabbed my bag from the bed and plastered it on my chest. “There you go. Don’t get so easily fazed.” Her eyes strayed to the twins w
Read moreCHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The files were ready.I checked the watch again, and it was exactly twelve o'clock. I had to go to Paula’s office now; no matter how much I avoided her, I still had to report to her. I picked up some of the files and made my way out of the office, towards Paula’s floor. My heart was almost beating out of my chest by the time I got to her floor, and I tried various breathing techniques to calm myself down. No one worked. I saw Paula first. My heart jumped. She was directing one of the staff in her department furiously, and I could almost see the man shaking in his pants. I felt for him. Then her eyes turned to me. I smiled. “Lana.” She called and began walking towards me. I tried to still my racing heart. It did not work. I put on a straight face, so at least she could not tell I was nervous. “My office.” She stated it flatly and began walking back towards it. I could tell that almost all eyes were on me. Perhaps they tried to feel sorry for the situation I was in now. I gripped t
Read moreCHAPTER NINETEEN
I woke up with hints of a headache and a frown. My eyes immediately strayed to the clock on my nightstand, and I squinted so I could better see the time. Six o'clock. My mind reminded me immediately that it was the weekend and not a workday. I almost immediately fell back in bed, but then I remembered the children. I was awake too late for them already. I peeled myself off the bed and staggered into their room. I was still groggy from sleep, so I rubbed my eyes and stretched my bones. They made no difference; my mouth tasted sour and my hard bangs There was a constant ringing noise in my ear, and my body felt like I had been dragged through hell all night. I winced as I felt a bone crack, and then I pulled my hands through my long bangs. It had a lot of knots in it. If I could find the time between today and tomorrow, I needed to visit the saloon. But as soon as I started thinking about it, I was not so sure anymore. I peeled at the children’s cot and smiled when I still found the
Read moreCHAPTER TWENTY
Saturdays used to be the busiest days for me, but it was different today. I guess this was an advantage of not running more than one job. I could never find the time to do the things I needed—for me and for the kids. It was different now; everything was different. I felt better and relaxed, and most of all, I was not hurrying. I brought the twins to the park; this was the one day I got to spend plenty of time with them, and I did not want it to go to waste. From here, I decided to browse apartments on my laptop. Perhaps I could get a place by the end of tomorrow, and while I’m working, Darby can start moving in with the kids.The kids and I attracted a lot of passersby. Each stopped to comment on how beautiful we looked. I was impressed with myself for a moment. Just a moment. I still had calls to make—I could not forget that—first to Mrs. Sanders and then to Cameron. I called Mrs. Sanders first, but it seemed that she was not home. The phone kept ringing, and no one answered. Then
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