004

FOUR

(MONDAY- IMANI TECH COMPANY)

Imani strode into the office, her heels clicking on the polished floor like a metronome.

“Damn! She's here! The lion is here,” Her staff scattered, their eyes darting away as she passed.

Everyone feared her. She's a walking fire that nobody dared.

She was a force to be friendly with, and everyone knew it.

As she approached her office with her head so high, her assistant, stepped forward, her voice barely above a whisper. "Ms. Shawn, Mr. Morgan is waiting for you. He said he had some business ideas to discuss."

Imani's gaze narrowed, her expression said it all. "Thank you, Emily. Hold my calls."

She pushed open the door to her office, her eyes scanning the room until they landed on Killan. He was standing by the window, his back to her, gazing out at the city skyline. He turned as she entered, a smile on his face.

"Good morning, Imani," he said, his tone casual.

Imani closed the door behind her, her movements economical as drops her bag on the desk, “What is it, Killan?"

Killan's smile faltered, his eyes searching hers. "I wanted to thank you about last night-"

Imani cut him off, her voice cold. "This is business, Killan. Not a social club. What do you have for me?"

Killan's expression turned serious, his eyes flashing with a hint of annoyance. "Right. Business. I had some ideas for the new project, and I wanted to run them by you."

Imani gestured for him to continue, her expression unreadable.

Killan launched into a pitch, his words flowing smoothly as he outlined his ideas for the project. Imani listened, her eyes never leaving his face, her expression giving nothing away.

As he spoke, she moved behind her desk, her movements fluid and deliberate. She sat down, her eyes still on Killan, her fingers steeply together.

"Interesting," she said, her voice cool. "But it's not what I wanted."

Killan's eyes narrowed, a hint of frustration creeping into his voice. "What do you mean? This could be a game-changer for the company. You saw what I did on the plane, trust me…"

Imani's smile was cold, her eyes burning with something better, "I'm not interested in game-changers, Killan. I'm interested in winners. And your idea isn't a winner."

Killan's face fell, his eyes flashing with anger. "You're not even going to consider it?"

Imani leaned back in her chair, her eyes glancing at him. "No, Killan. I don't think I will."

The air was thick with tension as they stared at each other, the only sound the soft hum of the air conditioning.

Finally, Killan nodded, his expression tight. "Fine. I'll see what else I can come up with."

Imani's gaze didn't waver. "See that you do."

Killan turned and left, the door closing behind him with a soft click.

Imani's eyes remained on the door, her expression unreadable. “Was I too hard on him?” she thought to herself as she slums into her chair, her fingers playing around her forehead.

Just as she thought she had seen it all for the day, someone burst into her office.

“When did you start to barge in without a knock, Emily?” Imani was still saying thinking it was Emily that walked in.

She lifted her head, the person she saw made her narrowed her eyes. “What are you doing here?”

——-

Luke adjusted his tie as he stared at himself in the mirror, “You can pull this off Luke,” He encouraged himself and headed back to his desk.

He sat at his desk, sipping from his coffee and he barely settled in his new space in the office when a mail came into his laptop. “Huh? HR?” He asked then clicked on the email.

Luke,

Please report to the HR department immediately. We need to discuss your employment status.

Best,

HR Team.

Luke's eyes narrowed, a sense of unease creeping over him. What was going on? He'd just started working at Imani Tech, and everything seemed fine. Had he done something wrong?

He stood up, his coffee forgotten, and made his way to the HR department. As he walked, his mind was racing. What is this about?

When he arrived at HR, he was greeted by a stern-looking woman who introduced herself as Ms. Thompson. She's the next strict person in the office after Imani.

"Luke, please take a seat," she said, her voice firm. "I'm afraid we have some difficult news to share with you."

Luke's heart sank, his mind racing with worst-case scenarios.

"As of today, your employment with Imani Tech is being terminated," Ms. Thompson said, her words like a punch to the gut. "Please return all company property and clear out your belongings by the end of the day."

Luke's eyes widened, his mind numb. This was it. He was done. Fired. And he had no idea why.

"This...is not appropriate. You can't fire me with no concrete reason? I need to know why?” he stammered, feeling a sense of desperation creeping in.

Ms. Thompson's expression was unreadable. "I'm afraid that's not something I can discuss, Luke. Please, just take care of the necessary arrangements. It was strictly instructed by the higher ups. Please evacuate your space by the end of the day " Ms Thompson said to him and she left.

Luke felt like he'd been slapped. This was Imani's doing, no doubt and he was sure of it. “She is really going low! So low to destroy me!”

She was behind this, using her power and influence to destroy him. His face changed at only the thought of that.

Luke went back to his desk, “What the-” He hasn't said a word when a message dropped on his phone.

He picked it, it was from the loan company. “Argh! Not now…” He lamented thinking they were about to ask for their money.

He clicked on the message, his heart sinking as he read the contents.

Dear Luke,

We regret to inform you that your debt has been transferred to a new creditor, Imani Shawn. Please direct all future payments to her office.

Sincerely,

Loan Company

Luke's eyes widened as he read the message again, his mind reeling. Imani? Again?! What's her game?!

Luke folded his fist in pure anger. He was boiling, his eyes went to the path that led to Imani's office. He sprang up, his feet marching towards her office.