𝐎𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐞

Chapter Thirty-Three

   

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Imani found the office not only friendly but cozy. The people were nice to her when Isaac introduced her.

She had rubbed her eyes to appear a little red and puffy so she could have an explanation as to why her appearance had changed. While she hated lying, the truth would be detrimental to her stay, and she was determined not to mess up her reputation; plus, she wanted to get along with other employees, and sleeping with the boss wouldn't endear her to any of them, in fact, they probably would detest her.

"Did something happen?" Isaac's concern brought a slight smile to her face. He reminded her of lauryn, the only friend she'd made so far. Though she doubted he could be a friend out of the office, Imani appreciated having him worry about her. It was the first sign that she just might like working here.

"Not really. Me Ocean asked about my connection to father Josè, and I had to talk about my mom's death; it's a difficult topic for me." She slightly sniffed, wiping her nose with a white handkerchief that almost looked snowy white.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Isaac told her in an empathetic voice, looking as if he was about to cry too. "I know the feeling of losing a mom." He continued, and Imani berated herself for lying about something as painful as death. Still, she couldn't think of anything else that could take the attention from her outlook faster than that particular lie.

I'm going to hell. She thought as she watched Isaac swipe a tear from the corner of his eyes.

"I'm so sorry for your loss, Isaac. I shouldn't have said anything."

"No, no. It's okay; it has been ten years now," he said, smiling through the tears.

"Mine has been gone for seven." Imani said, comfortingly touching his arm. He turned to look at her hand, and she quickly withdrew it, offering a whispered apology.

"Don't apologize for that. Come, let me introduce you to some of the people you will be sitting with." She noticed he said sitting and not working. But she understood what he meant. Some spent days working on game designing, software, and apps. She had found it fascinating when Matt talked about what he does.

"Everyone," Isaac's voice swept through the hall of the office. They all turned, "This is Imani, " he said, pointing his hands to her. "She will be stationed here. Let her know what you need, and she'll get it for you. And no, she is not your coffee girl." he laughed as if he'd made a joke, but they seemed to understand it because most of them chuckled.

Imani felt as if she was where she was meant to be at that time. The thing about life that she had learned was that life had more than a few stops. The strip club had been a stop so that she could end up here; she was convinced that wherever life took her next would be better. She was thrilled by that concept. Pulling a chair for her at a corner near the water dispenser, Isaac moved aside a little to allow her to sit down. She sat wondering what to do other than sit still, ignoring the fact that most people's eyes were on her.

When Isaac returned after a few minutes, he placed a new laptop in front of her, she stared at it first as if she had never seen one before, but Imani had dreamed of buying a new one since she bought her first second-hand laptop. If she weren't so shocked, she would have squealed with joy.

"This is for work, though you can still carry it home," Isaac stated, pressing the power button to power it up. Imani nodded, her eyes remaining on the laptop. She couldn't carry it home, she wouldn't dare, but a part of her wanted to. It was thin enough to fit into her handbag, so she decided to go home with it.