CHAPTER 14

"I got it! Anna, I got the job!" Laura couldn't believe the mail she saw: Dear Laura, we're happy to celebrate with you having been accepted for the job role, of Assistant Secretary. The resumption date is on Monday, the 29th of July, at 8:00 AM. We suggest you wear corporate wear with appropriate lengths. Kindly, Landers Tech HR.

Anna, who was seated on the couch watching TV, jolted after hearing Laura scream her name. It was a Saturday, Anna closed from the bakery early, and she and Chance were seated in the living room, feasting their eyes on cartoons.

"You got what?" Anna sprung up from the couch. "You got the job?" Anna couldn't also believe what she heard.

When Anna returned home from work, yesterday, the whole apartment was dim; the lights were off, and Laura wasn't in the kitchen cooking up something like she would often do. Calling out her name, Laura didn't respond, so Anna decided to go check up on her in her room.

Opening the door, Laura's room was also dim, the bed lamp being the only source of lighting, was perfectly cast upon Chance's sleeping body, on the bed. Anna saw the silhouette of Laura's body lying on the bed beside Chance, out of the light. "Laura?" Anna whispered but there was again no response.

Anna entered the room, leaving the door slightly ajar, and walked up to Laura's bed. Now faintly seeing Laura, she tapped her. "Laura," she called again.

"Anna, I want to be alone please." Laura finally responded.

"Why? What happened to you?" Anna was confused. "Did the interview not go well?" Anna asked.

"How could it have gone well?" Laura rose from her lying position to sit. "I wore such an inappropriate outfit, there's no way it'd have gone well."

"The sexy outfit was inappropriate?" Anna was in disbelief. "Or they're just jealous." Anna stood akimbo. "They have no sense of style, it's their loss." Anna walked to Laura's bed.

"Anna, sexy outfits are not for the workplace, it's not a club. The interviewer called me out, today!" Laura folded her hands on her chest, pouting her lips. "I knew better, what was I thinking wearing that for an interview?" She was annoyed.

"Well, if you knew better, why did you listen to me?" Anna questioned in defence.

"I know right, why did I ever listen to you," Laura said and lay back down on her bed. "Just go, please." Anna, a little bit hurt by Laura's words, turned around, leaving Laura's room, and shutting the door after.

Laura knew that she was solely responsible for what she wore for the interview, regardless of who influenced her, so she was inherently angry at herself and didn't want to bear all that anger by herself.

The two friends naturally didn't speak to each other like they normally would, the next morning. Laura was in her room when Anna left for work. Even when Anna returned, Laura didn't come out of her room, not until she received the mail.

"Woah!" Anna screamed, which was very typical of her. Chance's attention was naturally drawn to her. Standing up, she jumped on Laura. "That's great news, girl!"

****

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Laura's alarm went off. Her eyes opened automatically, a smile appearing on her lips; It was her first day at work. Jumping from her bed, she got herself ready and did the same for Chance. Having gotten prepared, she bid Anna goodbye and dropped Chance off with the neighbour, Grace.

She stepped into Landers Tech with high hopes. Even she couldn't still come to terms with the fact that she was now an employee, not just any employee, but an assistant secretary to the CEO of one of the leading companies in the world. Was she dreaming?

This time, she was super early, she didn't give room for any phenomena to ruin her morning; the morning of her resumption. Laura was filled with mixed emotions; she did it. All her efforts finally paid off. As per the following mail after her acceptance, she was told to come up to the 90th floor.

"The 90th floor!" Laura excitedly said aloud as she punched the 90th button in the elevator.

Unknowingly to her, Ralph was also in the elevator.

****

"I-I am so sorry sir; t-the elevator is s-still undergoing repairs." The maintenance officer said with a shaky voice. His head was bowed and his hands held each other nervously.

"Wasn't this supposed to be fixed as of yesterday?" Malthus questioned. Beside him was an impatient Ralph.

"T-The contracted workers…they could not finish the work y-yesterday." He replied, this time, his voice shook even more.

"The contract was for the elevator to be repaired in a day, wasn't it?" Malthus tried to make sense of the situation.

"We have no time for this, Malthus." Ralph's baritone voice interrupted, causing the already tight air to become even tighter for the maintenance officer. "Since the contract was breached, you know what to do," Ralph concluded as he found his way to the general elevator.

Everyone in Landers Tech knew of Ralph's standards, and how he had a 'no nonsense' policy. The maintenance officer understood what he meant by those words. It meant that both the contractor and those who were responsible for managing them had lost any relationship with the company; the maintenance officer just lost his job. Realising this, he slowly fell on the floor in shock, as Ralph walked away.

Ralph was the only one in the elevator, it was 6:00 AM. He had a strict work attitude, which involved coming very early to work not less than 2 hours before the normal working hours. This was why he was astonished when the elevator doors were stopped from closing. Who would come to work at this hour? He was pleased.

He saw as the blonde lady entered and punched the button he had already pressed; the 90th floor. Ralph thought he was mistaken. That floor was out of bounds to employees. People were invited, no one could just punch that button. He was about to dismiss what he saw until the lady voiced out, "The 90th floor!"