At The Middle Of It All

Chapter 3

   Mr. Jacobs returned to his seat while Charles sat opposite him at the desk. "I'm sure that you must have been given the terms and conditions of this company"

"Yes sir. Miss Merida sent them to me yesterday and I accepted them all." Charles replied

"So, Charles, where do your parents work?"

Charles looked at him immensely and thought for a while before replying "They work at the laundry sir. They do laundry works", he lied.

"Oh". Mr. Jacobs said. "You're going to be like the superhero for your family."

"Exactly sir, I have to work hard for them".

"Hmm, good one. I believe you know what to do next. Get in touch with the HOD of your department, learn under him and become one of the greatest  researchers for this company",Mr. Jacobs said.

"Thank you very much sir", Charles replied bitterly.

"You can get to work now."

On hearing that, Charles got up and looked Mr. Jacobs in the eye with contempt. The man who deprived him of his rights to his parents' company. He felt so powerless and intimidated. As he walked out of the office, all he thought of was letting the past slide and providing a better life for his granny.   

As he was about to go down the stairs, a lady bumped into him and brought him out if his thoughts.

"Hey, watch it. I could have fallen down the stairs" she said while adjusting her cloth. 

"I'm so sorry, my mind wasn't here", Charles said sincerely while trying to meet the woman's eyes and know who he bumped in to. When she looked up at him, he realized it was Merida. The woman who had interviewed him yesterday.

Merida also looked at him in recognition and smiled. "Oh, Charles, good to see you again"

"All thanks to you miss", Charles said while grinning like a fool.

"That's nothing. And please, call me Merida. No need to sound formal. You can talk to me anytime you want and if you need assistance, just holla" She said as she smiled at him again.

"Thank you Merida." 

Merida nodded and walked past him into the CEO's office while Charles ran down the stairs like a teenager while thinking of Merida. He got to his department, Research and Development and entered the office .  All members, four in number, including the HOD were at their desks, busy inputing some data into their PCs.

He saw an empty desk by the far end of the wall and assumed it was his slot. He walked briskly to the desk and had his seat. The others were very busy and he didn't know what to say or how to start. He sighed deeply and said"Hello guys."

Everyone stopped briefly and muttered a few greetings to him. The man sitting close to  him turned and said "Welcome to Medical and Health Services Supply company and to the Research and Development department. I am your boss in this office and my name is Perry. Mr. Perry."

"Thank you sir. I'm glad to be in this department."

*********************

Merida was in her office. She was very bored and was feeling sleepy. She yawned and stretched her arms.  She dialed her best friend's number, Jade, but it wasn't go through.

"This company is a whole mess", she thought to herself. The phone on the desk rang and she picked it lazily. "Yes?" 

"Ma'am, someone wants to see you." Sierra said on the other end.

"Who is it?" Merida asked.

"Samuel Parker"

On hearing that name, Merida's heart sank.  It was her ex. What does he want?  she thought

"Ma'am?" 

"Let him in", she answered and cut the call. Out of sub-consciousness, she used her fingers to arrange her hair well. The door opened and Samuel walked in. Their eyes met.

"Have a seat sir" Merida gestured and he sat. damn, he's still as hot as ever.  " Why are you here?"she asked, brushing her thoughts of how gorgeous he looked aside.  

"I want you to be the model for my latest brands", he said calmly.

Merida was excited to hear those words, but she hid the expression of joy. "Can't you get someone else? As you can see, I'm now the personal assistant to the CEO of this company. I've got loads of work to do", she said while rolling her eyes and faking a yawn.

"You're the perfect woman for this job. Can you please make out time?" Sam said

"I'll get back to you in the evening."

"Ok. Thanks for considering this." He stood up and smiled at her"you still look stunning as ever"

Merida couldn't believe her ears and became speechless. Samuel turned around and left her office. She squealed like a child and slammed back into her chair. She couldn't wait to see Jade and tell her everything.

***********

After working tirelessly in his department, Charles rounded up all the reports for the day and grabbed a coffee. The other members except Mr. Perry had gone home. He gave Mr. Perry the report for the day. He collected it and examined it. "Ok, I'll go and give this to the secretary." 

"No, let me go and give her", Charles said and collected the report from his boss. He walked out of the department and headed to the secretary's office. The  hallway was silent as almost all the workers had gone home. He went up the stairs and remembered the encounter he had with Merida in the morning. He decided to say hello to her before submitting the report but when he checked her office, it was locked meaning she had gone.

Even the secretary was no longer around. He sighed and lingered on the wall for a few minutes. He was about to walk away until  he heard noises and arguments coming from the CEO's office. His conscience began to disturb him to eavesdrop. He considered getting caught in the act and tried to walk away, but his conscience wouldn't let him. So, he gave in and went closer to hear better. 

"I won't stop until I bring this company to its knees." The other masculine voice said.

"You can never be successful." Mr. Jacobs retorted. "I cover my tracks well, unlike you."

"All I just need to do is report you to the police for the murder of Mr and Mrs. Andrew, the real and rightful owner of this company."the other voice said.

Charles heart skipped a beat and panic set in. His body shook on hearing those words and he silently prayed for it not to be true until he he heard Mr. Jacobs clear his throat.

" Well, you're right but you're just going to waste your time dear friend, because you have no evidence against me."

On hearing those words, Charles became paralyzed. He couldn't believe his ears as tears rolled down his eyes involuntarily. The remaining words he was hearing from the office made no sense to him anymore as the realization of the truth hit him hard. He ran so fast and fled down the stairs with tears still rolling down his eyes. Mr. Jacobs was responsible for the death of his parents and he was already working for him.

************

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