Do You Like Me?

Kathleen raised a brow when the intercom on her desk started ringing. She had felt the intercom was just there for fancy since they hardly ever received any calls via the telephone.

She had once heard a rumor in the office that the telephone only rang when one was about to be fired or promoted. She looked up and noticed that all her colleagues were looking at her with open curiosity, and she couldn't help feeling nervous as she picked up the receiver.

"Is this Kathleen Okorie?" Clara asked.

"Yes?" Kathleen asked nervously.

"The Chairman wants to see you in his office right now."

"Me? Why?" Kathleen asked, but the only response she got was a disconnected tone, which told her Clara had dropped the call.

She looked at the telephone with a frown and pulled it away from her ear.

"What is wrong? Who was that?" Dave asked the question on the mind of everyone.

"I guess it's the Chairman's secretary. She says the Chairman wants to see me," Kathleen said, her heart beating very rapidly with fear.

What could he want? Or perhaps he wanted a refund of the money he had given her for the sandals? She wondered, her frown deepening.

"The new one or the old one?" One of the ladies asked enviously.

"Why? Did you do something wrong?" Another one asked.

"You should just go and see," Dave suggested when he saw the way she was wringing her hands nervously.

"Let me just go," Kathleen said with a sigh. She picked up her purse and stood up, just in case he wanted his money back.

She walked slowly to his office, wondering what the meeting was about. The moment she stepped into the office, the secretary directed her straight to the chairman's office without bothering to give her any clue.

She pushed the door open very slowly and stepped in to see him standing by the window, just like the other day.

What was it with him and windows anyway? Kathy mused.

He turned to look at her, and the moment he saw her face, he remembered why the name had sounded so familiar.

He smiled when he remembered his daughter had said she liked her the other day. She seemed like a pretty decent person, and if she liked being around children, this was going to be a perfect arrangement for every one of them.

Why was he smiling? Kathleen mused and decided to speak up since the air was becoming awkward for her. "Thank you for the other day at the mall," Kathleen started.

"That isn't why I called you over. Why don't you make yourself comfortable?" Pete said, pointing to one of the chairs as he walked over to his seat.

Comfortable ke? There was definitely no way she was going to be comfortable with him around, but Kathleen knew there was no way she could tell him that, so she thanked him and took the seat opposite him.

"Do you like children?" Pete asked, startling Kathleen, who looked at him with wide eyes.

Where was that question coming from? Was he thinking of marrying her, or did he want her to be his baby mama?

How could he even ask her such a preposterous question without first asking if she liked him? What was he thinking? That he was a hot catch, and she would just agree to be in such a relationship with him?

Pete frowned as he watched the different expressions on her face. Was the question so difficult that she had to think so deeply about answering it?

"Is there a problem?" Pete asked when she failed to answer his question, but she still had a frown on her face.

"With all due respect, sir, I don't know how things are done where you come from, but don't you think you should at least find out if I even like you first before asking me such a question?" Kathleen asked, unable to keep her anger in check.

"I should first ask if you like me? What has that got to do with you liking children?" Pete asked with a confused frown that quickly cleared the moment he understood what she was driving at.

Was she possibly thinking he was asking her to have a child for him? That was a very funny way to interpret his question, but then again, he wished people could learn how to answer questions at the surface level instead of jumping to conclusions or searching for deeper meanings.

"Yes. Why would you ask if I like children?" Kathleen asked again, missing the flicker of amusement in Pete's eyes.

"Okay, do you like me?" Pete asked, deciding to humor her. He almost let out a chuckle when he saw the flicker of surprise in her eyes.