A TIME TO HEAL

CHAPTER THIRTY

WHEN I got to the office that morning, I found a letter by my desk. I immediately became nervous; I wasn't sure I could take any worse news without totally losing it. I dropped the letter at the bottom of my drawer and left it there, then picked it up during lunch but dropped it right back without opening it. I couldn't guess what message my boss wanted to pass across to me, but if it was in a letter, it wasn't something good.

When a staff meeting was called an hour before closing, I almost died from nerves. I knew I could still read the letter, but I'd rather hear the words out loud than read them, I didn't want them imprinted in my brain forever. I walked steadily to the conference room and joined the rest of the staff.

The conference room which was rarely used, was for serious occasion and I tried to stop my heart from racing. I was going to read the letter immediately I left the meeting, I just hoped the meeting had nothing to do with it. I sat on one of the chairs on the long glass table, and I saw Seye sitting beside Kelvin. I ignored her when our eyes met, I wasn't ready to forgive her yet and she wasn't making it easy to because she didn't have the decency to feel contrite.

I fixed my gaze instead on Kelvin but he wouldn't look at me. When his female coworker whispered something in his ear which made him laugh, I looked away in irritation. My boss entered and I remembered I had a letter at the bottom of my drawer.

"I'm going to make this quick because I've somewhere else to be," he began. "Fatimah, can you come up here?"

I was in trouble. I stood from my seat and nervously stood beside my boss, even Kelvin was looking at me now. I wanted to run back to my seat as everyone looked at me.

"Fatimah has been an absolute star since she got to this firm and we are honoring her with a promotion."

I opened my mouth as I registered his words. It was unbelievable, I smiled wildly. My dream was coming true.

"You'll have a new office, and you have the chance to pick a secretary. You're going to need it because your work load just increased."

Everyone around laughed, I laughed also.

"You've earned it. I was confident in leaving you behind last year when I went to Abuja, because you were the only one I could trust to continue doing your work diligently despite my absence. Keep up the good work." He patted me lightly on my back.

I remembered how I had almost starved myself to death because I'd thought I was left behind because I was obese. I wanted to go to a corner and shed tears of joy.

"Everyone should relax and enjoy the refreshments provided. You won't be getting another chance so soon," my boss said on his way out.

I was glad something was at least going in a good direction in my life, and I couldn't wipe the smile off my face as coworkers gathered around me to congratulate me. I went to the refreshments table at the back of the room when I saw Kelvin there, excusing myself from well-wishers.

Kelvin looked at me when I neared him. "Congratulations, I'm proud of you."

"Thanks." I beamed.

"Have you called your boyfriend to tell him the good news?" he said, tartly.

The smile left my face as Kelvin left my side.

"He'll come around," Seye said from behind me.

"I don't want to talk to you," I said. I walked away from the table with an empty plate.

"I'm sorry." Finally, she apologized. "I admit, we pushed too hard, but we only wanted to help." Seye walked beside me, clearly not taking the hint that I didn't want her company.

"I warned you before not to interfere. Now look what you've done." I stopped moving and faced her.

"We didn't know he was going to react that way."

"Who wouldn't? You have to tell him the truth because he won't talk to me."

"He's just being childish. Wasn't he in a relationship with his ex when you were mooning over him. Why is he so mad?"

"Because I told him I wasn't in a relationship after we had sex. You not only implied I was in one with Akin, you made it seem like we had sex."

"Okay. I get it, we went overboard. We just wanted to teach him what happened when you don't guide your territory well."

"What? You think this is the animal kingdom? This isn't some NatGeo Wild episode."

"Might as well be. You obviously don't see where we were coming from, we only wanted to give him a push."

"You pushed too hard, we were working things out. What were you thinking?"

"We weren't thinking. I'm really sorry. What can I do to make it up?"

"Tell Kelvin the truth, please."

"I will if it's going to change things."

"Without Danielle, she's only going to make things worse. I love her, but she can be very harsh."

"She's his sister."

"If you really want to help, don't involve her."

Seye rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine. I'll do it alone."

Seye left my side as someone started to make a toast. I got a glass of wine pushed into my hand and I drank after clinking glasses. I watched Kelvin as he moved around the room, smiling at everyone but me. I went home when the celebration came to an end.

When I got to the office the following morning, I reached below my drawer and picked the letter. I tore up the envelope to read what was inside, and it was a promotion letter stating my new salary and bonuses. I had an opportunity to rent one of the firm's condos if I wished, and I got to have more days off in a year for vacationing.

An interior decorator came by my desk during lunch to ask how I wanted my new office to look. I was finally leaving the tight cubicle, and it was a step closer to my corner office dream.

"Just comfortable. I really don't know much about decorating, so I'm sure your ideas will be superb. I'm giving you a free rein to make it how you like," I said.

"You won't be disappointed." she replied before leaving.

She looked stern and professional, and I was sure she would come up with something grand.