CHAPTER SEVEN; GOOD ROSE

“Kindness is universal. Sometimes being kind allows others to see the goodness in humanity through you. Always be kinder than necessary” – Germany Kent.

    The weekend came as fast as it ended, as aurora had only but memories of their interaction. She was beginning to have a different picture of Neville, which scared her but it seemed exciting also, she wondered the possibility of them being together. ‘That’s way too soon, I barely know anything about him’, she thought. Aurora having agreed with Neville, was in charge of implementing the new policies, she needed to meet with the appropriate management body. She had been thinking about the possible things that could go wrong with the meeting, she hadn’t worked in this sort of space, where she was acquainted with the chief executive prior to the business plan execution. She thought of the right outfit to put on, she wanted to get Neville’s attention as well as respect the decorum of the business space. She decided to leverage on her curves this time, limiting any form of exposure but to flatter her curves. She went through the documents she had created for the meeting ensuring that everything was in place, sorted it according to her presentation. She selected her outfit and ensured it was properly ironed; she got her shoes and bag out. She went as far as ensuring her accessories were selected and kept aside, she wanted to show her proficiency and didn’t want anything to go wrong as she knew Neville would be there. After getting all appropriate stuffs ready for the next day, she decided to turn in early, so as to be able to get up early for her new project. As she lay on her bed, all she could think of was Neville and what he could be doing at the moment. She had a strong urge to text him, but she didn’t want to seem like she was mixing business with pleasure, she was still holding him up to his date offer. Slowly, she drifted off to lala land. 

The sun had barely risen when aurora got up; she was so anxious throughout the night, even though she had handled big deal like this, she still got anxiety. With the room feeling stuffy, she walked over to her window and balcony to open it up, making it less stuffy. It was an eerie morning; the whisper of the breeze seems like an intimidating move. Though it was still dawn, the subtle ripple and wave of water was heard, the sound of the ocean filled her room. She paced up and down her room, being a very big space like that of an office, with her bed being at the centered of it; her bed was like that of a king, huge with lots of pillows stuck around it, it was as soft a pack of feathers but for just this night it didn’t give her as much comfort as it usually does. The decorations she had were brought in from Bellona universe to aid her feel less home sick, she got lots of pictures from her favorite spot in Bellona and among it was the picture of aurora biase up in her room and she stared at it, as that was the only thing that could give her peace at the moment. When she was relaxed, she got up and prepared to leave for the office, she knew if she went late, she was certain to throw herself under the bus, but obviously she didn’t want to a poor first experience with the staff. At this moment she missed Hephzibah, she knew her bestie could hype her into her boss mood, but she had no friends here, she wished she did though.

The office was buzzing like a bee hive with activities filling up and down, it was communicated to all employees that the new business partner was going to send in a representative to implement some new policies. They weren’t given the detail, but were told to prepare all documentation available for the representative, as well as their cooperation to ensure they have no barriers in their journey. Everyone was on the toes to ensure that everything goes smoothly for the representative. Neville had three chains of business, but he chooses to use his upper floor of his cafe shop as his managerial office to all his several business. Aurora walked into the café shop, wearing a navy blue fitted midi-dress, heart cut neckline with a little sleeve. The dress spoke class, as she paired it with a black court shoes as well as a black bag. The dress hugged her figure greatly, making her look so smart as well as appealing. Has she walked into the cafe, she could remember the scenario that took place, it felt like dejavu. She was reliving the whole experience, who would have known that she would be the one to guarantee his employees job security, especially with the fact that they both got off from the wrong foot. Aurora perceived the strong aroma of the caffeine, then she realized why she had loved coming here, she turned towards the reception and noticed a familiar face. She didn’t want to believe but it was. She noticed behind the counter was the waitress, who was begging for her job the last time she dropped by, was still working there. She couldn’t imagine that Neville revoked his decision after their confrontation; ‘Neville doesn’t seem like the compassionate guy’, she thought. She felt at that moment he was someone she would love to study, ‘he contradicts himself, I barely know which narrative to use on him’, she said out loudly. She didn’t want to seem rude so she went over to the waitress to exchange pleasantries. The moment the waitress recognized her, she popped up. A beam of smile was plastered on her, as such as that of a sun ray. She was really elated and didn’t know how to keep it hidden, and Aurora could sense the genuineness of it. ‘You are the angel in a young lady form that saved my job the other day’, she said. ‘I can’t thank you enough for sticking out for me’ she continued. ‘Your little show of concern caused me to keep my job and I am sure that’s why the rate of dismissal has dropped drastically’, she said with so much joy. Aurora couldn’t believe this though, did Neville actually consider her suggestion, and did she already have an influence on him before now? Neville seemed more like a mystery to Aurora at this point, he seemed like a book that’s beyond her comprehension, as she tries to read him through. One moment he acts like he knows it all and the other moment he actually listens to peoples’ opinion. While she was in her thoughts, the manager came in on their conversation beaming; he seemed to have overhead the conversation and came over. Hello, welcome to our café once again’, he greeted. ‘We have been really expecting you since the incident day’, he added. ‘Whatever it is, you choose to have, it’s on the house’, he continued. Aurora was grateful for how she made them feel. It was such feeling that got her to be an advocate for the weak; she was so happy she was here and wished she had come in earlier. ‘You don’t have to put too much thought on this, it’s our way of showing appreciation’, the manager said bringing her out of her thoughts. ‘Oh! I am sorry, I’ve got a meeting to attend, I don’t think I’ll have the time for it before leaving’, aurora said. ‘But maybe after the meeting we could sit and have a drink’, she continued. ‘Are you the representative that we are expecting?’ the manager asked. Aurora didn’t understand what he meant, seeing her confusion he rephrased, ‘sorry, I meant to ask if you are the new business partner that was said to implement some business policies’, he rephrased. Obviously, he was the manager of the café, he was expected to be told, she thought. ‘Yeah, I am. It seems the whole office is expecting me’, she responded. The manager laughed and said; ‘Not really, we were just brief on the situation to ensure a smooth run down’. Aurora checked her time and realized she had 10minutes left and she had to conclude the chit-chat here. ‘It was really nice meeting you guys again, I hope after the meeting we can talk properly’, she said. ‘We will be expecting you’, they both said as she left. Walking towards the stairs, Aurora had this inner joy that gave her the confident that she needed. It seemed like she was powered up, all she could think of was Neville’s actions of not relieving the waitress of her job. Why did he act like it wasn’t something he could do when she confronted him? ‘What a freak’, she said out loud as she walked up the stairs.