Episode 5

AMAKA

I continued with the rest of the day, working while frequently feeling Simon’s gaze on me.

'Why was he always looking at me?' I pondered, but I didn’t ask him.

My phone rang. I unlocked it and saw that Maureen was calling me. She obviously would have taken Jason to school, but I didn’t want to talk to her about my son here.

Simon’s scrutinizing gaze and the fact that Joseph was in his office monitoring me made me uncomfortable.

“Hello, dear. I will call you back later,” I told Maureen.

“Okay,” she replied.

I looked at Simon. He frowned and looked away. I didn’t understand the reason for his frown, but then I heard the buzzer sound.

“It’s break time,” Simon informed me.

“Okay,” I replied.

I turned off my laptop and stood up from my chair. “I think we’re going to the cafeteria, right?” I asked Simon as he rose from his chair.

“Yes. Or you can request your meal here.” He said.

“It's fine. I’m still new, so I’ll go to the cafeteria.”

I exited Simon’s office, sucking in a deep breath of fresh air now that I wasn’t under surveillance.

My day had been ruined by meeting my baby’s father.

'How could I tell him that we had a child? How could Joseph claim not to know me? Was four years too long to forget someone?'

I tried not to sob as I walked toward the elevator to go down to the second floor.

When I arrived at the elevator, I entered and looked back, seeing Joseph step out of his office.

My heart skipped a beat, and I looked away from him. I wanted to shut the door and leave, but the security man told me to wait.

I narrowed my eyes at the security man as Joseph entered the elevator and joined me on the ride down to the second floor. We didn’t speak to each other. Luckily, a female staff member was in the elevator with us, and she also seemed nervous to be in the same elevator as the boss.

Joseph had grown taller since the last time I saw him. As much as I tried to look away from him, my eyes still traveled over him and lingered. But he spared me no glance at all. How ruthless of him.

Joseph walked out of the elevator with perfectly measured strides, maintaining his stance as he entered the second-floor hallway. The two security men greeted him, and he stopped to speak with them. I marched away, feeling upset that he was ignoring me.

I thought about the year I had spent pregnant, going through the entire journey alone. I thought about the fact that my parents had sent me away.

I wanted to confront Joseph about this. He couldn’t pretend that he didn’t know me.

I moved over to the counter and requested my meal. They served free lunch, so I requested a plate of jollof rice and fried chicken lap. It was one of my favorites.

As I turned to take a seat in the cafeteria, I saw Joseph looking at me. But he quickly glanced away when our eyes met.

I swear I saw a look of longing in Joseph's eyes. He was lost for a moment, as if he were admiring me. But then he looked away, moved from the security men he had been speaking with, and went to take his seat.

I sat two chairs away from Joseph's seat, but his eyes were on me. Each time I looked at him, he gazed away.

A waitress came over to serve Joseph's lunch, but I didn’t know they had waitresses. Most of the staff didn’t wait to be served; they went to request their meals.

As I sat alone, lost in thought, I decided to speak to Maureen about this before confronting Joseph again. He might have moved on. I guessed he had, as he had been so obsessed with sex.

Joseph wanted to sleep with me until I gave in, but he changed after that night.

“Hi, may I join you for lunch?” Simon asked, snapping me out of my trance.

I could feel Joseph’s gaze on us, as well as the gazes of some other men in the cafeteria.

Many staff members were coming in and going out. The space was vast.

“Sure,” I told Simon, and he sat across from me.

“Did you enjoy the meal?” he asked.

I smiled. “It’s nice,” I said, feeling Joseph’s gaze on us.

“Okay. I’m glad that you like it. So, can I get your phone number to call you after closing time?” Simon asked.

I looked at his face. “Why? I don’t need any calls,” I replied.

He grinned. “It’s just a harmless call to check up on my colleague. Nothing else.”

“All right. I’ll think about it. Maybe when we get back to the office, I’ll give you my phone so you can put your number in it,” I told him.

Simon smiled. “All right.” He waved to the waitress to bring him lunch and ordered the same food as mine. We sat there eating. I finished my meal and rose to return to the office.

I could still feel Joseph’s gaze on me, but I tried not to look at him. I exited the cafeteria and went back to Simon’s office to sit in my chair. My mind filled with numerous thoughts.

I resumed my office work and helped the company advertise its new products online. I finished working with all the new products available and signed out. I picked up my phone and signed in to my son’s account.

I looked at Jason's photos and videos and recalled Joseph denying that he knew me.

I hadn’t applied too much makeup to my face, so why couldn’t Joseph remember me?

Simon came into the office, and I quickly signed out of my son’s profile. I put my phone away and waited until 5:00 p.m., when the company closed.

It wasn’t a new company after all. I had thought they were just starting, but it was a branch of their main head office on the island.

I thought about Maureen putting my son in a school and going back to her husband’s house.

They had traditionally gotten married, since Chris had paid her dowry, with only a church wedding remaining.

Maureen wasn’t obsessed with having a church wedding, so she wanted to live with her husband since he had invited her over.

She would be packing her bags the next day, and I didn’t know whether I should tell her about my trouble.

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It was closing time. Simon rose from his desk and came over to me.

“Hi, I haven’t forgotten to ask for your number,” he said.

I agreed and took his phone. I gave him my number, and he told me he would call that night.

I nodded, picked up my black handbag, and left the office.

When I got out, thankfully, Joseph wasn’t in sight. I made my way into the elevator and rode to the last floor. As soon as it stopped, I left the building.

I looked around the parking lot and saw only three cars there. I sighed, looked ahead, and exited the premises. I hailed a cab, climbed into the rear seat and went back home.