VILE

Chapter 30: The Present

It was Thursday morning and Tomike was unable to focus on anything she was doing. She was about to have a nervous breakdown and she knew it.

"Hey, Tomike. Mr Wright would like to see you in his office" the short blonde lady who was having her seat on a desk right next to Tomikes' said.

"Oh! Ok. Thank you Paige."

"Goodluck, you'll need it" Paige whispered to her, with a smug smile on her face.

Tomike robbed her sweaty hands on her blue boyfriend jeans trousers as she stood up.

She headed down the hall of finely assembled desk in the cozy and well designed workspace, partitioned with black glass.

She adjusted her long braids in an effort to ensure her ID card was well seated on her neck. As she turned left into a narrow hallway, she was greeted with a beautiful floral carpet laid on the floors and the smell of sandalwood. She approached the wide mahogany door, with the name Mr Collins Wright hanging on it, the title 'Creative Director' written underneath.

Tomike took a deep breath as she reached for the doornub. She never liked Mr Wright and the feeling was clearly mutual. The man always tried to make things hard for Tomike because in his words "...everyone in here has to prove they are worthy of the job especially those who have privileges" as if Tomike had not paid her dues enough. She believed the man was racist and especially towards immigrants like herself, so she never bothered with him.

But now she had finally given him a good reason to scold her after avoiding his wrath for the nineteen months she worked at the company.

"Have a seat Miss Adebayo" he said to Tomike as she walked in, totally injuring the pronunciation of her surname.

As Tomike drew a seat and was about to sit down, he said "You know what, never mind. This won't take long"

Tomike rolled her eyes not hiding her disbelief of his pettiness, and he of course totally ignored it.

"What happen with the LCC project you were handling?"

Tomike cleared her throat. "Well sir while coding the final drafts I made a little mistake and.... "

"A little mistake? Is that what they call incompetence now, a little mistake? Miss Adebayo you almost cost us a client. You weren't even smart enough to realise your mistake before forwarding the work to the client, and you call that a little mistake? I've noticed that ever since you returned from that trip of yours your head has been everywhere else but here. You better get back to your senses and sit up. I will not condone such irresponsibility from you or anyone else in your team, do you understand me?

"Yes sir, I do"

"Good. Here's the report for your next assignment" the middle aged man handed her a blue file. "I'm giving this to you personally so you understand the importance. Its work for a client we hold dear. Speak to Paige and Martin, they will give you a rundown of all you need to know. I know you are the best one in your team, don't dissapoint me. You may leave"

Tomike was taken aback by the compliment. Truly, hardwork was undeniable even to the people who disliked you the most. She was sure her boss didn't mean it to be much but it encouraged her to get back to her old self.

He was right, ever since she came back from Nigeria her mind was off the grid. She needed to get back to being focused with her work. But  how was that even possible. The days were passing by quickly, the day Dayo would arrive was only in a week.

Thinking about it gave Tomike a panic attack. She had tried all she could to move it back as much as possible, but Bose must have sensed it because she got someone to take care of the travel plans herself, and with that the whole process was much quicker.

She thought of how she was going to break the news to Todd, she thought about how she was going to share her two bedroom apartment with her son.  She was sleeping in one room and had converted the second to a closet. She thought about her son moving in with her, it was just going to be the two of them. She thought about a lot of things and it weighed her down, spirit, soul and body.

As she walked back to her desk she felt her legs shake. She quickened her pace so she could get to her seat on time so as not to fall to the ground and create a scene.

"That was quick, how'd it go?" Paige said leaning into Tomike's side of the demacated desk.

"He just scolded me a little and handed me this" Tomike replied holding up the file in her hand.

Paige seemed dissapointed. "Oh! Seems someone's favorite girl got off easy this time"

Tomike completely ignored the comment and continued with her work. She really had no time for Paige's jealousy or sneer comments. She had so much more on her plate.

                   **********

Tomike took her shoes off the moment she stepped into her apartment. She opened her blinds to let in the golden brown rays of the setting sun into her living room.

As she walked up to the kitchen which was just a few feet from her living area, she opened her fridge and scanned the the contents inside. She reached for a red apple, washed it and took a bite. She went back to scan the freezer compartment and realized she had no food in it.

"I guess I'll have to order some food. Chinese maybe? Or Indian?" She said to herself. She later opted for Tandoori chicken from one of her favorite Indian restaurants. 

As she sat devouring the spicy barbecue chicken dish with a crate of canned beer by her side, she began planning out her life for the next one week before Dayo's arrival. As she took her mind through the horror that was clearing up her house and fixing her life to accommodate her son, a call came through on her phone. It was Todd.

The IPhone X plus danced on the table as a random ringtone escaped from the speakers.

"Hey there partner!" Todd's voice was as vibrant as usual.

"Hey Todd, what's up?"

"Just wanted to let you know I'm back. Wanna hangout sometime? Tomorrow maybe? I know you've got nowhere else to go so don't you dare say no"

"Okay, where? When?"

"Can we meet up for lunch at the restaurant?"

"Sure. I wanted to ask a favour though"

"Okay, shoot"

"I'll need you to go with me somewhere next week Wednesday, you think you can clear your schedule for me that day?"

"Anything for you. But you're scaring me a little, you okay?"

"Yeah, I just need to do some stuff and I want you to come with me, I have no one else to call anyways"

"You sound serious, but sure, I'll go with you. So see you tomorrow?"

"Definitely"

"Bye bye partner"

"Bye Todd"

As Tomike looked outside her window to the sky, she wished she could stop time and capture it. She'd put it in a place where it wouldn't move and make it stay there forever. She watched the sun go down as she sat on her bed, the light piercing through the thin lining of cloth that was her curtain. It now left a shadow on her face that seperated one side from the other. She adjusted herself into a sleeping position and closed her eyes as she drifted into sleep.

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Hey people!
I'm sorry it took this long to update, but life happens right? Plus I've been a lot distracted by the end sars protests going on, so please pardon me. But still expect an update on Friday, perhaps even two chapter? We shall see. Stay safe guys.
Xoxo 💕💕
Val❤