CHAPTER FOUR

　　A week after the horrible scenario with her boss, Annie could tell she was going to go insane soon. Working for Damien was more than dreadful!

　　She was at her apartment, lost in thoughts and staring into space when her phone rang, she looked at her screen to know who was calling as she wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. She smiled when she saw the name written on the screen and answered the call.

　　"Annie!!!!!!!" Naomi screamed from the other side of the phone.

　　Naomi was a caramel-browned-skinned lady with really dark eyes. She had medium brown kinky hair. She was about 5, 5, and 5,7 inches tall. She was very beautiful and was a professional artist who had been allowed to show off her artwork at the Noosaville Art Exhibition.

　　Naomi and Annie were best friends. They grew up together. Their mothers were best friends too. Naomi had lost her mother as a child due to cancer and had moved in with Annie’s family.

　　"Stop screaming you fool; I can hear you". Annie said.

　　Naomi knew about her landing a job at Steel Cedar Incorporation and had been very agog when she heard the news but she had been so busy with the exhibition that she barely had time to call.

　　Annie was angry that Naomi hadn't called to ask how she was fairing with her new job. She had tried to reach out to her twice but couldn't get to her.

　　"I'm glad you remember I exist," Annie said sarcastically.

　　"What do you mean? "she sighed and said "Hey, I'm sorry I've not been able to call or text you this week. I have been so occupied with lots of projects" Emma tried to explain herself.

　　"Yea, yea, yea, whatever. I don't want to hear it, Naomi." Annie said angrily.

　　"Are you serious right now? Are you mad at me?'' asked Naomi.

　　And when Naomi wasn't getting a reply, she knew immediately that something was wrong.

　　"Hey, are you okay? Is everything alright?" She asked gently.

　　Then Annie began to cry very hard. She cried because she missed her best friend a lot, she cried because she hated Damien so much, she cried and cursed her fate as she recalled the happenings of the week.

　　Naomi was so worried at the other end as she tried to figure out what would make her friend cry this much. Whatever it was, she knew this was one of the times her friend needed her. She wanted to be there to comfort her. Thankfully, she just arrived from her exhibition, which was the reason why she had called.

　　"Babe, where are you?" Naomi inquired.

　　"I'm home now," Annie replied.

　　"Alright, stay put, I'll be on my way". Naomi said. She grabbed her bag immediately and left her apartment in a rush. She lived a few blocks away so in less than 10 minutes she was at Annie's door post. She yanked the door open and ran towards Annie.

　　"Oh, Annie darling" she cried as she enveloped her in her embrace.

　　Annie began to cry profusely. She couldn't believe she could cry this much.

　　"Naomi, I hate him. Look at what he has done to me; he has turned me into a crying mess. I hate him so much". Annie said amidst tears. She missed her friend. She felt that with Naomi around, she would survive, at least, that was what she thought.

　　"What are you talking about Annie? What do you mean by ‘him’? Who the hell is he!" Naomi asked in a rush. She was really confused and needed answers immediately. When Annie kept mute, she lost it.

　　"Young lady, you better start talking or I'm gonna whoop your ass. Tell me everything I need to know right now"

　　"Whoop my ass?! Girl, you're crazy" Annie couldn't help but laugh. She laughed hard. She did miss her best friend. Then she cried again.

　　"Naomi, I've missed you so much. Don't you ever leave me like this again" she cried the more.

　　"Hey, I'm so sorry, I promise I won't. Come here babydoll" She pulled Annie to the couch and sat beside her.

　　"Now tell me what exactly is going on. I want to hear everything" said Naomi.

　　Annie told Naomi everything that transpired at the office. Naomi was fuming with rage.

　　"Who the bloody hell is he? How can he be so mean to you?" Naomi said angrily

　　"Naomi it's fine, you don't have to worry yourself about this". Annie tried to reassure her friend though she couldn't help her tears.

　　“Oh Annie, you have got to stop crying," she said as she embraced her friend again. "He's not worth your tears. Crying won't solve anything and it definitely won't make your boss change. You are just gonna end up sick if you go on like this".

　　"I don't know what to do, I'm so confused right now," Annie said looking devastated.

　　"Oh, I know what you have to do babydoll. Quit that job. Your sanity is more important than that job" Naomi said trying to convince Annie.

　　"I can't" came the choked response.

　　"What do you mean you can't, you definitely can and you will. Look at you, you have already become a shadow of yourself and it is just five days! Five days, Annie!". Naomi said as she couldn't understand why her friend would not quit.

　　"I really can't Naomi, you know my situation. There's something you need to know, something that happened while you were away.

　　"What happened, love?" Naomi asked curiously

　　"Angie is in the hospital at the moment".

　　"Hospital!! How? When? What happened to her? Is she alright?" Naomi was surprised.

　　"The doctor said she needs a bone marrow transplant. I have to help my parents with the bill. You know how they've been struggling. Trust me, Noma, I have given this much thought. I can't quit. Steel Cedar is the best company in town. The pay is huge and this job is the best job I can get. Besides, you know it was hard for me to get a job".

　　Naomi gave a long sigh. She was really sad for her friend, she knew Annie loved her family, especially her little sister. She loved Angie also, who wouldn't? Her little girl was such a sweet soul. She was really sad about Angie's condition. She knew there was nothing she could say that would make Annie change her mind. Her best friend would do almost anything for her beloved family. Including suffering at the hands of a cold-hearted bastard...

　　“Alright baby girl, cheer up. I know I won't be able to change your mind; you can be very stubborn once you've made up your mind, but, if you are going to continue working there we have to come up with a plan'' she said.

　　Annie quickly dried her eyes as she sat up to listen. She knew she could always count on Naomi.

　　"You have to study your boss. Learn about his likes and dislikes, what time he gets to work, what his schedule is like". She said,

　　"How? How can I possibly achieve all that?" Annie asked

　　"You can and you will. You are going to investigate and ask about him from your colleagues at work. Contact his previous secretaries. I'm sure there's something you will find out and I’m also sure there’s someone that knows him too well. You are going to find out a lot of things about him if you do this, trust me". Naomi instructed.

　　"This is a crazy idea. I don't think it's going to work". She said as she remembered Esme. She wasn’t ready to bother her with too many questions but at this point, she had no choice, she was the only person she could think of.

　　"Oh, I think it's going to work. Trust me on this one" Naomi comforted.

　　Annie's face broke into a smile, she trusted Naomi and she was going to do just what she said.

　　Naomi chuckled when she saw her friend smile. She was glad she could make Annie smile

　　“Now cheer up, let's go grab dinner. You will think about that scumbag no more," she said as she smiled.

　　"I mean, who the hell doesn't like onions in their hamburger and feels the need to yell about it just to prove his point?"

　　"Mr. no manners" Annie replied in mockery as they both burst into laughter. Deep down Annie was worried about her job and wished everything would get better with time, it wasn’t wrong to make wishes, was it?