At eight fifty-five in the morning, the elevator to the top most floor of the BESMA building opened and in walked in a young lady in her early twenties. She was dressed in a fitting all-black knee-length dress and black matching five inch heels. Her hair was held high in a pony-tail and her face had very little make-up. Her brown lipstick blended well with her light-skinned complexion and her elbow-length dress sleeves showed her well-toned skin. She had a cover-file in her left arm as her right hand held her black hand bag. The moment she stepped out of the elevator, she already had everyone's attention in the floor, and since it was an open-office floor, every employee had their attention shifted to her. As she walked to the desk at the end of the floor, the man she was headed to was already smiling, full of pride. He looked at the woman who was almost reaching his desk and ushered to Maggie to join him.
"Maggie, please show our guest to the conference hall number five. We shall be joining her shortly." He directed Maggie as he rose from his desk and headed to the CEO's office before the lady approaching her got to him. She was met by Maggie instead who showed her to the room four as directed. As Maggie headed back to her desk, he met with Brandon followed by Watson headed to the conference room number four. She was curious to ask what was happening but could not do so in front of her boss, so she quietly sat down at her desk, watching the two men get in to the room where the lady was. Suddenly, the floor was with a buzz with other employees asking Maggie what was happening, but she did not know either and so they went back to their desks dumb founded.
Shortly, Maggie's office telephone rang and she picked it up. After a few seconds, she made phone calls to the assistant general manager and the CFO of the company-told them to go to conference room four. The top most floor had the most few employees in the company. Since it was the CEO's floor, only important personnel had access to the floor. It had the CEO's office, his PA's, his secretary, the CFO's and her two main assistants, two secretaries for general works and two conference halls-number three and five- five for small meetings and three for large company meetings, both which needed the CEO's attendance. Otherwise, there were other conference rooms in the floors below.
The elevator opened and the assistant general manager walked in, straight to the conference room three, getting the attention of the other employees once more. The CFO also followed suit from her office, Margret also followed, and they went in to the needed conference room together. As soon as they got in to the room, they were ushered by Watson to seat down in the seat next to Bran, and the four members of BESMA sat facing the new face opposite them. She was a beautiful sight to lay eyes on. Natasha was very tired since she had spent a better part of her night studying up for the interview that her eyes had eye bags, which she gracefully covered up with the spectacles she had put on. She was slightly nervous, as could be seen by Bran who closely had his eyes on her the whole time. Though indifferent on the outside, he admitted to himself that she was the most beautiful lady he had ever laid his eyes on. He did not expect her to be so beautiful.
"Good morning everyone," he started after getting off his trail of thoughts, "please meet Ms. Natasha Claire. Business administration second class upper division, graduate from the University of Business here in BB City." He paused and looked at everyone around the room, then looked at Natasha and continued, "Ms. Claire, please meet Mr. Watson Paul, PA to Mr. Brandon Joseph, the CEO, Ms. Margret Jane, the company's top executive secretary, Mrs. Gladys Isaac, our Chief Financial Officer and Mr. Leonard Theo, the company's assistant GM, who will be your assistant effective immediately, should you accept this job." He said with finality as he looked at her.
Natasha was shocked to the core, more than everyone else in the room, who were already used to such drastic changes and had learnt the skill of hiding their surprised faces. She had come for an interview for a post she never though she would get, since at first she thought it was a joke. She cast a glance at Watson, who seemed rather calm and smiling. He knew something big was going to happen as soon as his boss asked him to investigate the girl. Though he did not expect such a huge change, he expected something close to it. He felt that this would be the beginning of an untold story. Natasha had been up all night reading and researching into the BESMA business as she knew not where the questions for her interview would be drawn from, and now, just like that, she had got the job?
"Well, silence means consent. Welcome to the BESMA Group family Ms. Claire. Mr. Watson will be your guide for the day and Ms. Margret will help you settle in, of course with the help of your assistant GM." Bran said as he closed up his file and stood, leaving the other members behind congratulating the new member of the team. The CFO welcomed her then immediately left to tend to her financial business.
"Who…who was that? Is he allowed to… to just make decisions like that? Is this a joke?" She asked. Though the question was directed to no one, everyone in the room knew whose work it was to answer.
"That, my dear, is Mr. Brandon Joseph. The CEO to BESMA Group from, and your boss, from now henceforth. And yes, he can do that. And no, he is very serious." Watson answered. "Come, let us take your round. Maggie, please proceed to notify the team. Leo, please proceed to check whether the GM's office is ready, and have the IT prepare all the relevant data she needs to settle in." Watson asked the other two members who nodded and went on, leaving him and Natasha in the room.
"How can this happen? He does not even know me?" She asked even more shocked than before.
He can smell potential from a mile away. It is one of his great gifts. He talks less and his actions do the rest. That is why this company is very successful. As for you, the moments you got in to the company on time, he knew he had found his GM. Now, let us take you round." Watson replied with answer.
By the time they were reaching Maggie's desk, the circular had already been released and everyone knew that they had a new GM. "Leave those there." Watson directed Natasha to leave her file and handbag at Maggie's desk. Which she did obediently. The tour around the company took two hours and not more than should be as Watson did not want to overfeed his new GM with unnecessary information. 'She will learn the rest slowly, on her own, with time.' He thought to himself. He then led her to the GM's office. At the door, read the sign, "General Manager" and as she got in, she met with Leo, who was working on something at the desk with another man. By the time she was looking back, Watson had already left.
"Ms. Claire, this is Mr. Francis Allan, out ICT head of department. We were just setting up your computer and pass information." Said Leo.
"Please call me Natasha. Nice to meet you Mr. Allan." She replied with a smile. Natasha observed Leo and noticed that he could not maintain eye contact with her. He did not seem happy. 'It must be because he hoped to become the GM and I just came in from nowhere and took his dream." She thought. Allan ushered her to provide her finger print and log in to her computer and after a few minutes, everything had been set up for her-emails, faxes, telephone number, employee number and passes to almost all unauthorized areas. Allan then walked out of the office and left the two members quiet. The tension was so thick that you could cut it with a knife. A few minutes passed and the she could not bear the silence anymore.
"Leo, how long have you worked here?" She asked the man standing at the window looking outside to the city. 'Such a lovely view.' He thought as he deliberated on whether to answer the question. Before he could, Allan walked in with a key card and a piece of wood, he placed the wood on the table and handed the key card to Natasha.
"This key card is very important. You will need to log in and out every morning and evening you enter and leave the building. And any other time you leave and come back. If lost, immediately report it to me for you will be held liable on anything that happens with that key card. Remember, yours is higher clearance and is therefore one of the most important ones in the building. Just think of how much damage it can cause. If you need my help, please call number thirty-four on the office dial. Feel welcome, Natasha." He said as he left again, shutting the door behind him.
"So, the door can only be opened by the key card or your finger print only and it can only be opened freely from the inside. Always carry your key card with you, as asked by Allan. I shall be coming in the afternoon to show you some few things here and there." Said Leo as he stood up from the couch in the office and was headed out. "And by the by, I am thirty years of age, so you can calculate how many years I have worked here for." He added as he shut the door behind him. Natasha stood up and surveyed the room she was in. It was quite spacious. It had dark-blue walls and brown ceramic floor tiles just like the rest of the building. Since it was located on the thirty-second floor, she could just as well see the beautiful city below her. Her desk stood in the middle of the room, with her back against the glass wall overseeing the city. Her desk was glass desk with well fitted mahogany drawers on both sides. Next to the door were large fake plants that made the room livelier and before you got to her desk, on the left was a couch and a brown hardwood rectangular low table. Behind the door, there were three large file cabinets with files in them organized in alphabetical order.
On the opposite side of the couch, she noticed a door. She went on to open it and was surprised to see a spacious toilet, fitted with a shower. 'I have my own toilet and shower!' She exclaimed. The lavatory had its own sink and mirror and some drawers for putting some personal things. 'I could live here!' She exclaimed again. The whole room was tiled all around, pure white, except the floor which was the same as everywhere else. As she got out of the room, she noticed a coat hanger right outside, next to the toilet. She smiled. As she headed back to her desk, something caught her attention, it was the piece of wood Allan had brought to the room earlier on. She got closer and noticed that it read, "Ms. Natasha Claire, GM BESMA Group of Companies."
She suddenly felt it, the pang of happiness she had never felt before, in her life. Was this it? Was this where she always wanted to be? Had she made it? As questions filled her mind. She noticed her pocket file on the table and on it her handbag. 'Were they there before?' She asked herself. She pinched herself as she sat down in her very comfortable seat. Just then, her computer lit up as an email popped up on her screen.
"Dear Ms. Claire,
We take this chance to welcome you to the BESMA Group of companies. As you settle down, please find attached your terms of employment to our great organization for your perusal, understanding and approval. Once agreed to the terms, please sign it and have it sent back to us. In addition, should you agree, please find your pay-slip for half of your salary to enable you get items you may personally need to settle down.
Thanking you.
Yours Sincerely,
Mrs. Samantha Jane
Human resource Manager, BESMA
CC: CEO, CFO.
Enclosed (5 documents)"
She downloaded the documents and the more she read, the more her eyes widened in surprise. 'This is my half salary? It is five times what I made in Blue View Hotel!' She exclaimed.