“So you mean to tell me that he denied you the job just because of your outfit?!” Lana asked in disbelief for the tenth time. I groaned. “I’m sorry I asked again but I know Ace very well, he wouldn’t do that.”
“Well, he did Lana. Can we move on to the next topic?” I lied to Lana not wanting to tell her about the reason why Ace didn’t give me the job. I didn’t“You look and sound terrible. We’re not going to move on to the next topic because there isn’t any next topic. What we’re going to do is to call Ace and give him a piece of our mind.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m sure you already did that but we’re going to do it again.” She paced in front of me while I fixed my eyes on the TV.“Don’t make things worse for me. Who knows what he’s capable off? What if he calls other companies to tell them that I’m incompetent? And that I didn’t kiss him.” I mumbled the last part, making sure Lana didn’t hear me.“He won’t do that because you have me.”“Let’s just let this go. I’ll think of something else while I look for a new job.”“But you don’t deserve to be treated like that.”“I’m not going to waste my energy on him. Let’s just let this go. Okay Lana?” She didn’t respond. “Don’t call him or anything else. Let’s put this all behind us. He was your good friend back then and he is treating your best friend shitty and you want to protect her. Thank you very much Lana. But you know I always take care of things myself.”“Oh. Reading between the lines, I’m seeing a lot of hints about payback.” She sat down beside me and winked.“Whatever you want to think. I’m just going to watch TV.”“I’m going to head out. Call me if you want to go out and have a drink.”“I will not.” I laughed lightly when she pouted. “Bye Lana.”“Bye Birdie.” She said and quickly ran out the door when I threw a pillow at her. I hated being called that and she knew it.Feeling so bogged down, I went back and forth to my fridge to grab drinks, while sobbing.I’m the emotional type though I don’t let it show. I can also be very dramatic. So I make sure that I don’t let my feelings get in the way. But after Ace called me incompetent, those walls holding back my emotions collapsed. That word is one of the reasons why I moved away from London. I allow anyone to call me anything but incompetent, because it brings along bad memories and a lot of negative emotions. I hate that it always did.I moved from the living room to the gallery and went to stare at my paintings, hoping they would calm me down. I sat there for an hour and went to bed very early because I was drunk asf. This became my routine for the rest of the week. I wake up, get something to eat, stare at my paintings, get drunk, make sure to feed myself and go back to bed. I spent the rest of the week moping around. I lost my confidence after Ace called me incompetent. I hate him so much.My sister and Lana called to check up on me but I told them I was okay. I used that free time I had to finish up one of my paintings that the landlord requested for. At least, it’s paying the rent. I stayed indoors until one Monday afternoon after I cleaned up my flat because it looked like it rained garbage in here, I heard a knock on my door. And then the person kept ringing the doorbell. I let down my hair after washing my hands and put on a clean shirt before going to answer the door.“Will you be patient?! I already said that I’m coming.” I angrily called out. Without looking through the pinhole, I answered the door to find Ace Black at my doorstep. On instinct, I shut the door in his face. At least, I thought I did until I heard him cry in pain. I found his foot, between the door and the frame, blocking the door from closing. Smirking, an idea came to mind. I stepped on his foot before opening the door and scowled at him.‘What do you want?”“That is not a nice way to welcome me, Love.” He pushed past me with his hard body, his scent dancing its way up my nostrils. He smelt good, honestly and it was toying with my senses. But I won’t tell him that. I kept my distance when he made himself at home on my couch.“I’m not your Love. And you should get the heck out of my building before I report you to the police, Ace.”“There are two things you should know. One, I own this building.” I gasped.“But you don’t own my flat.” I retorted.“I think I will, in the next few weeks to come.” I groaned and walked towards him, stopping right in front of him and placed my hands on my hips. “It’s good you came closer to pay attention to me because the second thing you should know is very important, Love.” He smirked and I rolled my eyes.“I don’t care what you have to say. I want you get out so that I can enjoy my day in peace.” I pointed to the door. Ace stood up staring into my eyes with his big blue eyes. I think I hate blue now.Ace was so taller than me that I felt little. I almost cowered and that made me want to punch him. “That is no way to speak to your boss, Love.” Ace smiled, blinding me with his sparkling white teeth.“You’re not my boss. You didn’t give me the job.” Ace moved his lips closer to my ear, sending chills down my spine. I froze when he whispered.“I’m giving you the job now.” Ace placed a soft kiss on my cheek, letting it linger before he pulled back. I still felt his soft lips on my cheek, even after he pulled away. I watched him as he walked to my fridge and took out a bottle of water then he walked to the door.“I’ll see you at my office at exactly 7am. Do not be late.” Then he winked at me and disappeared. He walked gracefully out of my flat and left me speechless. My emotions were all over the place. I wanted to smile, scream, laugh, cry. I carefully touched my cheek. Ace kissed me on the cheek.“What I hate very much is a man who makes my feelings go haywire.” I mumbled to myself. This made me hate Ace even more. My body responded to him and I hated it. Like hell I’m going to step into that office again and let him be the boss of me. Never.“I hate you, Lana.” I grumbled. “I love you too. Now be good and obedient. Don’t murder him even if you feel like it.” “You’re making me sound like that’s what I do.” “Alright, step out. I also have to get to work early so good bye and good luck.” Lana pushed me out that I almost tripped and fell then she shut the door and the driver took off. Now, I know I said that I won’t step foot here, but I’m here because Lana forced me out of my flat and because I decided to work and not stay idle until I found another job. Lana also managed to convince me, telling me that Ace didn’t find anyone ‘competent’ enough and suitable for the job and that’s why he came back to me to offer me the job. I kept it at the back of my head to prove to Ace that I’m competent enough for the job. Today I wore brown pleat pants and a matching blazer with a black blouse. I don’t care what he is going to say about it. I recited Mama’s words to boost my confidence and then I entered the building, heading straigh
“Mama.” “Yaa, I heard you got a new job.” Yaa is my Ghanaian name. Mama likes to call us by our Ghanaian names because she doesn’t want us to forget our roots, even though we’ve only been to Ghana less than six times. Yaa is the name given to a girl born on Thursday. Ray’s Ghanaian name is Abena. She was born on a Tuesday. Names given to children based on the day they were born are called soul names or kradin in Twi -Mama’s native language- and they are very important in the Ghanaian culture. “I did, Mama.” I replied, trying not to sound exhausted. I returned home after 10:30pm today. If today was just my first day, I wonder how the rest of the days are going to be like. Luckily, Lana sent her driver to pick me up after Ace left me alone in the empty office building. “What job is it?” “Have you heard of Black Global Group of Companies, Mama?” “I haven’t.” “Well, it’s a very big company with branches all over the world and they deal with a lot of things. It’s a group of companies
“Ray, you will not believe what happened to me today.” I said into the phone while I sat behind one table near the window in the cafeteria. I waved over a waiter. “Aren’t you supposed to be at work right now? I’m making dinner before Justin brings the kids home.” The waiter came and I gave him my order before I left. “It’s really important. You’ve got to listen to this.” I heard her noisily putting down a utensil. “What is it? You’ve got my full attention. But make it quick. I myself am starving.” “Ace and I had a really intense moment in the elevator this morning.” “I thought you hated him.” “I do. But this morning I took the elevator with him because as his assistant, I’m supposed to. When we got to our floor, he did this thing where everything happened so fast and I was pinned between him and the elevator wall.” “And what did you do about that?” “I couldn’t do anything. I froze.” Ray burst into laughter. “Finally, someone who can tame you.” She said in between laughs. “Thi
“So I decided to arrive unannounced today because the production rates were dropping when I last checked. I wondered what was going on here. To my expectations, all that I saw as I walked to the office proved it. Can anyone care to explain to me why this is so?” When we arrived at the brewery, Ace immediately went CEO mode. He grew calm but looked broody and he walked with power and authority. When the employees sensed our arrival, they all scurried back to work. They looked frightened when they saw us walk in. I thought Ace smiles to his employees like he does to me but I thought wrong. He shows no emotion when he’s in front of his employees. I wanted to question him but I knew that wasn’t the right time. Ace asked me to take notes of the things I notice as we walked and I did so obediently. We headed straight to the manager’s office to find the manager smooching with some lady - an employee - on his desk. They were startled to see us. The lady ran out and the manager immediately ga
At 3am, I heard my phone ringing. I didn’t want to answer it but the person just kept calling so I picked up. I didn’t even look at the name or number. Then I heard his voice. That voice that sounds so sweet in my dreams but is now annoying me. “Miss Snow, you finally picked up.” “Why are you calling me at 3am in the morning? Didn’t you think that I would be asleep?” “Miss Snow, I think it would be convenient if you came to my house every morning before we went to work. You’re my personal assistant and I need assistance at home.” I sat up properly. “Can you repeat that? I don’t think I heard you clearly.” “You heard what I said. I’ll be expecting you here in an hour.” “An hour?” I screamed into the phone. He hung up. I cannot believe this guy. I’m going to call Lana later and tell her how crappy my job is and I will find a way to get myself fired. I can’t take this anymore. But wait Raven, if you give up now, he’ll be triumphant. maybe he’s testing me to see if I’ll cave. Well ch
“Are you out of your goddamn mind, Raven?!” “There’s no need for you to be yelling at me like that. I know I did the right thing.” “What, so you want to be lonely for the rest of your life? Why? Tell me everything. Tell me why you didn’t kiss him then and tell me why you kissed him yesterday and said no to him afterwards.” Ray spoke. I stared at her through the screen and sighed. “You already know why. I don’t have to explain everything to you again.” “Get over the past. You need a new man in your life. Do you have any idea how hard Mama prays for you that you get a good husband soon? She’s concerned and she’s starting to believe that you might be-” “Why would she think that? I’m sure she wants me to get married soon because her relatives have raised eyebrows. But I don’t care. Mama will do anything to look good in front of her relatives. Look Ray, I have priorities now. Me, myself and I are my priorities.” “What? You’re a feminist now? No. I don’t get it, tell me why. Aren’t you
RULES ON HOW TO BE A BETTER ASSISTANT TO MR. BLACK1. Your outfit shouldn’t look too ordinary. The way you look when you’re with Mr. Black emphasises his standards, and the power and authority he has. 2. Be at Mr. Black’s penthouse every morning to help him choose the perfect suit – shirts, ties, watches, belts etc. Thus, you’ll need knowledge in business suits. 6am is the preferred time to be there.3. Mr. Black is always pleased if you make him his preferred coffee from home. 4. You will always ride with Mr. Black to work and other places when he requests. There will be instances where he’ll ask him to drive him to his desired destinations.5. Anytime Mr. Black is before his employees, make his presence before them known. Employees will pause their duties and stand up to greet him with the needed respect. He responds and gives them the permission to return to their duties. That also includes you, Miss Snow. Every time Mr. Black passes by your desk, you do as it has been stated abov
I carefully observed and took in every detail of Ace’s house as I drove inside. Correction: it’s a villa. Because of what happened last time, I didn’t think to take note of my surroundings. Ace’s villa had tall walls surrounding it with two gates that led into the compound of the villa. An outer gate which had ‘Black Villa’ engraved on it and an inner gate. I told the security at both checkpoints who I was and they let me in. The villa had a lot of trees in its compound. Staring at the building itself, I noticed that it looked simple and yet it had a unique design. Moreover, it looked like a home for a family. But I’m not sure if Ace has a family. I’ll look that up later. Immediately I stepped out of my car, a housekeeper walked up to me. I wasn’t expecting anyone to be up at 6am in the morning. But then again, she is a housekeeper so I shouldn’t be too surprised. The young lady bowed and I quickly grabbed her by the shoulders to stop her. “Please don’t bow to me. I’m just an ordinary