True life story

THE AGONY OF LOVE-Episode 24 and 25

August 21, 2016

5836

Ojo Oluwasegun .A

Amara entered the conference room,
walking steadily towards the head of
the table. She was already ten
minutes late and, as expected; four
ladies were already seated at the
table. As she approached, they
became quiet and alert, Amara noted
this with quiet satisfaction. Tega, a
smart young lady, walked hastily
behind Amara, files in hand.
Immediately Amara got to the head of
the long table, she wordlessly pulled
back her chair and sank into it. Tega
quickly but neatly arranged some files
on the table and passed a tab to
Amara.
“Thank you” Amara said with a straight
face, collecting the tab and placing it
on the table before her. She anchored
her elbows on the flat surface of the
table and linked her fingers as Tega
went about giving the four ladies some
printouts. When Tega was finally
seated, Amara took a deep breath and
placed a small formal smile on her
face. “Hello ladies” she called like she
was just seeing them.
“Hello Ara” they responded in unison,
with more enthusiasm.
“Sorry I was late, I had to attend to a
few things” she began. “But since I am
here now, let’s get down to business; I
am going to make this meeting as
short as possible because I have an
appointment to catch, so please, be as
attentive as possible.”
The ladies nodded and murmured their
acknowledgements, adjusting their
seating positions and placing pleasant
smiles on their faces, all desperately
trying to impress her. She noted this
and mentally scored the way they
carried themselves for future
evaluation. She smiled. “Well, you all
know why this meeting is being held.
You have been under training for the
past two weeks, taking lectures and
going through the most practical
aspects of events’ planning. We have
taken you through decorations, styles,
designs, colour combinations, decorum,
manner of approach, courtesy and a
host of other necessities; however,
this is when you need everything you
have learnt to speak for you” Amara
said, stood up and paced softly at the
head of the table, keeping eye contact
with the four ladies as she continued.
“Here at ‘Ara P’, we boast of
impeccable and unbeatable events’
planning services. Right from the
reception of clients to the end of their
various events, we strive to deliver
excellent services. We have been
known for our professional approach to
everything, both here and on the field.
Our clients are treated with dignity and
respect, we are not only focused on
the money but we always do our best
to deliver excellent services to make
the event spectacular for our clients,
put smiles on their faces and keep
them coming back. Our clients are our
marketers because no form of
advertisement can beat the words of
mouth and testimonies of satisfied
clients.” She paused for emphasis and
to be sure the ladies were following.
She noted that one of the ladies –
Lara – was jotting down important
points and she mentally added points
in her favour. Little did the ladies know
that their test had begun.
Satisfied, she continued. “The position
you all are vying to fill is the position I
consider the most crucial department
here at ‘Ara P’ because you would be
out there on the field. Whatever the
event might be, you would be part of
those making things happen there. We
have so many people in this
department already and only two of
the four of you would be selected to
join that team. We would be testing
you for the next one week. Everything
you have learnt must be put to full
use. You have to show your creativity
skills now and ability to grab
information quickly. We would be
testing your team spirit and ability to
work effective alone and with others.
Tega here, along with some other
ladies would take you through the test
and give you everything you need. I
would also be checking in every now
and then. I wish you best of luck” she
said and exhaled.
“Thank you ma” they simultaneously
responded.
“Do you have any questions?” she
asked softly, but after they responded
negatively, she smiled. “Good. Have a
lovely day ladies” she said and walked
out of the conference room. With her
tab firmly in her hands, she walked
into her office, greeting her staff as
she went.
She closed the door to her office
firmly behind her and walked towards
her table. Six years ago, who would
have thought of her being an events’
planner? She hadn’t thought of it
either, but it had all happened so fast,
she was surprised how far she had
come. Her dreams of being a medical
doctor had easily been trampled upon.
After hitting rock bottom and all she
wanted was to get back up, she had
quickly realized that her dreams had
been destroyed, and the way to move
forward is not to continually mourn
dead dreams but to build new ones.
And she did build! Her experiences had
changed her, had turned a naïve girl
into a strong Independent woman
After leaving Kelvin’s house six years
ago, she had loitered around Abuja for
weeks until she met with a traveler
who was headed for Lagos. The kind
middle-aged driver had offered to help
her get to Lagos since he was
traveling alone anyways. The man had
been extremely kind to her, even fed
her when they were halfway through
the journey. Coming to Lagos had
been the best decision because there
was always something she could do to
sustain herself in the ever-busy Lagos.
Her ladder to success hadn’t been an
easy one but she had made it. She
was not where she wanted yet but she
was definitely not stopping.
Amara took her system out of the
stand-by mode and opened the
company’s mail box, checking for new
mail but she found none. She just
checked minutes ago and was not
really expecting to see new mails, but
checking the mail had become an
habit. Even though Tega was always
glued to her system, checking for
mails and reporting immediately she
found anything interesting, Amara still
made sure she checked again. She
always wanted speedy response to
customers who chose to send mails
instead of calling or coming personally,
who knows, they might impatiently
seek another planner if they wasted
time in responding.
Finding no mail, she opened the
spreadsheet she had been studying
and continued her study. They had
three events on their hands right now
and all the arrangements were already
in place. All the three events were
wedding ceremonies. It seemed like
everyone wanted to sentence
themselves to the prison that is called
‘marriage’, she thought drily. Everyone
wanted that ‘happily-ever-after’ dream
that only fairy tales talk about, if only
they knew that what they would get
here in the real world is ‘sadly-ever-
after’, they probably would not accept
the life sentence so happily. Shaking
her head, she focused fully on her
system.
She heard a knock and felt the door
creak open without lifting her eyes
from the system. Tega was the only
one who could do that. She was the
only one who did not see her as the
‘high and might’ unapproachable Ara.
Even though she respected Amara
beyond words, she was still that
underlying tone to her respect which
made them seem more like friends
rather than boss and staff. When they
were alone, she could say anything
that came to her mouth without
hesitating. Even though Tega was her
secretary, she was more like a
personal assistant to her in every
sense of the way and Tega prided
herself by calling herself her P.A
anytime she felt like. Even though
Amara hated the fact that she was
always overstepping her bounds, she
still could not fire her. Maybe because
she truly was not as stone-hearted as
she wanted everyone to believe.
Besides, Tega is indeed an excellent
secretary.
“Hey boss, the girls are coping quite
well with the first test” she said, sitting
down, again without Amara’s
permission.
“That is good to hear” Amara said
without lifting her eyes from the
system.
“A mail came in now, a company is
celebrating their third anniversary and
would be inviting shareholder and
stakeholders. It is a grand event”
Amara raised her eyes from the
system to stare at her secretary. She
wondered why she always checked her
mail when Tega would always be the
one to find new mails first. “That is
good news.” She said, glad that they
would have to work on something else
asides weddings.
Tega smiled. “It is really a good news,
wait till you hear the company’s name”
she cooed with excitement touching
her voice. “Bracket”
Amara raised her brow. This news
pleased her beyond words. Not
because of the particular company
involved but because of the status of
the company. Disregarding the weird
name of the company, Bracket had
surfaced out of nowhere and seemed
to eclipse all the advertising agencies
it met on ground. It grew steadily and
speedily and the name of the company
seemed to be stamped in the minds of
all. Since Amara hadn’t had the reason
or the time to seek more knowledge
about the company, she knew next to
nothing about it. Thinking about the
name of the company now, she
realized that the name was an
excellent choice, probably chosen by a
group of experts. The name had a
powerful and imposing effect, making
it sound solid and unshakable. It was
no wonder that the company gained
popularity within a short space of three
years. And now, they were contacting
‘Ara P’ to organize their event? This
could only be good news. ‘Ara P’ is
gaining popularity by the day, Amara
mused happily. “This really is good
news Tega” she said, placing a
pleased smile on her face. “Well, there
is no time to waste, you know what to
do. Send a reply asking for details” she
glanced at her watch, gave the
spreadsheet another glance and closed
it. She briefly opened the mail and saw
the one from Bracket, read it and
closed it, keeping her excitement
carefully hidden under her official
smile.
“Do you know the Founder of Bracket?”
she asked with a slight tint in her
voice, giving Amara a glimpse of what
was coming.
“No. what about him?” she asked,
shutting down the system.
“OMG. You should really see the man,
he is H.O.T, HOT” she blew out. “I
have not seen any man born of a
woman as smoking hot as that.
Oooohhhh” she fanned herself with her
hand. Amara raised disgusted eyes at
Tega, glaring down at her but the girl;
the blasted girl never had the good
sense to behave herself around her
employer. “I checked him out on
Google. You should see his eyes… and
Gosh, those lips, they make you-”
“Tega” Amara barked and Tega
jumped slightly in her seat, jerking out
of her dreamy state. “Need I remind
you Tega that this is a working
environment? You were employed to
perform certain specific duties and if I
were you, I would focus on them.
There is a long list of unemployed
people out there Tega, don’t join them.
Also, the office computers are for
official uses and not for sampling
every male specie that catches your
fancy, have I made myself clear?”
Amara ranted in anger.
“Yes boss” she said, not seeming the
least scared or repentant. Of course,
that was not the hundredth time
Amara would threaten to fire Tega.
“Now, make yourself useful by sending
that mail to Bracket. I have an
appointment to catch” she said,
stuffing her bag and standing.
“I hope it is with a man” Tega said
under her breath but loud enough to
be heard by Amara. Amara gritted her
teeth, wondering angrily why she could
not just sack Tega and be done with
it. She walked towards the door and
Tega quickly followed in her wake.
“Meet the team. I need an updated
report of the ongoing projects on my
table by the time I get back. If
anything urgent comes up, call me”
she said.
“Don’t worry boss, you P.A would take
care of everything” Tega said. Amara
sighed silently in resignation as she
walked out.
*****
*****
Max checked himself out in the mirror
again as he ran his hands through his
jerry curls. His hair was permed,
making him look like one of those
American movie stars with his light
complexioned skin. He loved the hair
now; it made him feel even more
handsome even though he knew he
had always been so handsome. He
grinned at himself at the mirror,
delighting in his sparkling white,
perfectly set teeth. He left the room
and walked to the sitting room, he saw
his driver waiting for him. “How do I
look?” he asked the driver, standing
and awaiting the remark of his driver.
The driver put a dry smile on his lips.
“Very handsome sir, any woman would
kill to have you” he ranted what he
always ranted every time his employer
asked him that ludicrous question. But
it was not a lie at all. Max was quite
frankly one of the most handsome
men that Bolaji had ever seen, but still,
he wondered why his boss was so
keen about his appearance and good
looks. Some ladies were not even as
keen as Max in terms of appearance,
Bolaji thought in utter disgust.
The response of Bolaji seemed to
please Max, who picked up his phones.
“Yes, any woman would definitely kill
to have me, but I would kill to have
one woman” he said. The mental
picture of the woman he had his eyes
set on, came to him instantly and for a
minute, he pictured them together. A
perfect pair! He thought. He knew
undoubtedly that she would accept him
immediately she set her eyes on him.
He hadn’t seen a soul able to resist
his charms. ‘It is just a matter of days,
and then you would be mine honey,
just mine.’