ESTHER

Chapter twelve

The day I resumed work, I was twitchy. Scared mostly, but twitchy all the same.  I woke up earlier than my normal time so that I won't see Duke on my way to my office.
    
     The company was empty when I arrived. Just a few people had resumed and they were busy setting up their desks. I took the elevator up to my floor and went straight to my office. Surprisingly, Jack Rhodes was already seated. He looked up at me and the surprise was evident on his face.

     "Well, this is a surprise." He said, pausing whatever he was doing.

     "Good day sir," I said, walking over to my desk.

     "Hope you enjoyed the leave I gave you. You have a lot of  paperwork to complete." I gave him a fake smile and sat down, ready to get started on my work.

     Time flew by so fast, and I never noticed it. There was a knock on our door, which was a first because hardly ever did anyone come to our office. Whoever was knocking waited for about a second before coming in. Different feelings washed over me when I saw who came inside our office. I was scared, shocked and surprised all the same.

     "Hi, Esther," Kingsley said, looking at me. Then he faced my boss.

     "Good day Jack." My boss merely replied with a nod of his head.  Kingsley walked over to me.

     "Honey, you've been holed up in your office since. Duke said he didn't even meet you at the entrance today. Is everything okay?" I was surprised by the concern in his voice. He didn't seem as if he was faking it.

     "I'm fine," I said, forcing a smile. "I just have a lot of work to do and I have barely managed to finish them all. I may not be able to come for lunch." Kingsley noticed the files piling on my desk and nodded his head in understanding.

     "It's okay then. Why don't I make it out for you?"

     "Sorry?" I asked him, not getting what he was saying.

     "More like we want to make it out for you. Let us take you out." He said, playing with the edges of some paper on my desk.

     "Who wants to take me out?" I asked, faking obliviousness. I seriously didn't want to go anywhere with them. He rolled my eyes at my supposed reaction.

     "Duke and I want to take you out. Are you willing?" He placed both hands on my desk and bent down towards me. I leaned back a bit and faced my boss, trying to see if he would help me out if this. Unfortunately for me, he was huddled deep into his work, he could barely notice what Kingsley was doing.

     "I don't know, I have a lot of work to do and might end up going home late today," I said, shifting in my seat.

     "It's okay, we can go out tomorrow. Are you willing?" He said I was quiet for a while thinking of how to answer him. He leaned in closer, forcing me to lean backwards again.

     "Besides, we have something we want to tell you." He said, suddenly serious. "It's very important and we will like your view of it. So please, can you just make it tomorrow? I'll send you the details." He stood up straight suddenly and I was finally free to sit forward again.

     "Can't wait to see you tomorrow." He waved then made his way out of the office. Jack Rhodes looked at me, seemingly curious about something but whatever that was, he kept quiet about it.

I finished very late that day and made my way back home thoroughly stress out. I was welcomed by the sweet smell of whatever food my uncle was cooking.

     "Wow, you outdid your self today," I said, going over to kiss him.
    
     "How was your day?" He asked, turning over to welcome me with a kiss of his own. I walked over to the kitchen counter and slouched down on the stool next to it placing my bag on the counter.

     "Stressful. I just missed a day of work, and I had files meant for a week to go through. I'm very stressed out right now." 

     "Lucky for you, I cooked a feast. Why  don't you go freshen up, then we can talk over dinner." I nodded my head, then made my way slowly out of the counter, to my bedroom.

     When I was done freshening up, I made my way to the dining table and sat down. Uncle was already seated, waiting for me and so he began by saying the prayers. Once he finished, we dug in.

     "So what's up?" He began, after eating mouthfuls of his food. I sighed and dropped my fork on my plate.

     "Kingsley asked me out." My uncle paused.

     "Why?"

     "I do not know uncle. I was scared and tried to disagree, but he told me he had something important to tell me and I couldn't refuse him. I didn't want him to know that I'm on to him." I replied, exasperated. My uncle took another mouthful of his food before dropping down his cutlery.

     "This might be a good thing." He spoke up. I looked at him, confused.

     " How?"

     "You can use this to get information from them. Find out why they want to destroy your boss in the first place."

     "And then give the proof to Jack Rhodes?"

     "Exactly that." He said, nodding his head. I sighed.

     "You know, I liked them both. Even till now." I sighed, suddenly tired.

     "I just don't know what to feel; it seems like the reason they wanted to befriend me was for personal reasons but I felt that they were being real," I said, playing with the edge of my plate.

     "And why is that?"

     "We never for once talked about Jack Rhodes or work-related issues in our discussions," I said, sitting forward and facing my uncle.

     "For these few days that I have met them, I have come to like them. But to think that they are planning something like this, I would like to know the reason why. Did they like me? Or just wanted to use me?"

Wishing You all a very Merry Christmas. Happy holidays!