CHAPTER 5
"Hello". Her body was too weak to move from her present position.
"Where the hell are you?" The receiver barked at her through the phone.
On hearing her boss's voice, she fell to the ground out of shock. "I'm sorry sir. I'll be there soon sir".
She hung up without waiting for his next statement. The files.
She got up immediately to look through them hoping she had done them already.
She could barely remember how she had slept last night. Sighting the towel on her chest she remembered how tired she had been before sleeping off.
Expecting the worst from her boss, Myra gathered the whole files that were scattered on her couch and went straight for a shower.
Wishing things could just get better, she knew it was impossible with her boss's sleeve up to her neck, she couldn't even enjoy her shower as the pictures of her angry boss kept taunting her.
***
She felt so good entering the office on flat shoes, she had learned her lessons from yesterday.
"Good morning Myra".
"Good morning Rose".
Rose worked as one of the junior staff but had a keen interest in poking her nose into personal matters which always irritated Myra.
It was no wonder that she was still single, Myra thought to herself.
No matter how hot Rose tried to look daily, Myra still felt she was ugly and the guy that would ask her out must be stupid.
"How was your night?" Rose asked as she tried catching up with her.
"It was fine, thanks for your concern". Myra responded rolling her eyes. Telling Rose to buzz off might sound too rude, her best option was to walk too fast for Rose to catch up.
"Myra, I_"
"Sorry Rose but I've got to catch up with our boss and you won't want him hearing our idle talks," she said, cutting her off.
" not really".
"I thought as much," Myra rolled her eyes as she walked away. She wondered when her friendship with Rose started. When she barely talked to her since she started working in the company.
"Why didn't you pick up my call yesterday Riya?" Kevin asked without waiting for her to fully enter his office.
"I wasn't in the office sir". She looks at the ground unable to stare at him, aware he would catch her lying.
"Then where were you? Did you leave even after I asked you to stay?"
"No sir". Riya responded sharply.
"So where are my files?" Kevin looked around her for his files, seeing nothing he moved closer to her, waiting if she would flinch.
Myra couldn't hold it on her side, she found herself shaking like a toddler who just messed up her diapers.
He would never let her go easily if he finds out she couldn't finish up with the files. She didn't know what to say either, she wished the ground could just swallow her up right away.
"It's on my desk, sir". She responded trying to control her shaky voice. Feeling his burning stares at her, she wished she had stayed back home and pretended to be sick, she sighed deeply at the thought of it.
"Should I beg you to bring it to my office then?"
Myra understood his last statement, reluctantly she left his office and picked up the files she had completed last night, leaving the rest on her desk.
Resigning herself to whatever punishment he would give her, she headed back to his office.
"You're lucky". He chuckled softly as she dropped the files on his desk.
An expression of shock and excitement was all she felt, he had barely noticed the remaining missing files.
Jumping for joy would have been her next if not for his shout that brought her back to reality.
"Myra, I'm talking to you".
"I'm sorry I didn't hear you". She wasn't scared of looking at him anymore not after regaining her confidence.
Her boss who always appeared smart and neat wore a navy blue long sleeve on black trouser which would have been cuter if it was the short sleeve.
"Where's my coffee?" He asked raising his eyebrows.
She heard him this time around. "Excuse me, sir".
She immediately left without waiting for his permission. Today wasn't going to be at all difficult compared to yesterday which was filled with stress. He seemed calm today, maybe he had a good dream, unlike all the rest of the days.
Her flat shoe made her fast in bringing in his coffee on time.
"Here's the coffee sir". She announced with her confidence still up. She had made up her mind to mind her steps so as not to cross his boundary.
Though she felt he was maltreating her intentionally, the rest staff were treated differently.
"You can go now". Her boss ordered, glancing through a magazine without looking up to see her leave.
She had barely sat on her desk when her office phone rang, it was her boss calling.
"Hello, sir?" She picked up the phone.
"Myra, see me in my office". He hung up immediately.
She prayed silently, he hadn't noticed the remaining half of the file, she had settled on her desk to continue from where she had stopped the last night before his call came in.
"Sir, you called me?"
"What's this you gave me?" He asked directly looking at her, his anger obvious in his voice, he didn't know if to fling the cup of coffee to the wall or to simply throw the coffee on her.
"Sir it's coffee". She replied looking confused wondering where she had offended her boss.
"And did you ask what I would like before fixing me this?" He grimaced.
Seriously? He could have told her if he had a specialty. She got him a normal coffee. It was what everyone always liked.
"I'm sorry sir. I thought- I mean-". She found herself out of words on this.
"You mean what? That you can't do a simple job without me querying you?"
Myra wondered if he meant it or probably he was only making a mockery of her.
"I'm trying my best sir". Myra responded impatiently, she felt herself losing control of herself again.
"Your best isn't enough, now get this trash away from me".
"Yes sir". She took the cup and headed for the door, then remembered she hadn't asked him for the type of coffee he wanted.
She walked back, "Sir, what type will you like to have?" She asked trying to control her emotions from getting worst.
"I don't need sugar in my coffee, and I need the coffee in the next 2minutes else you'll be the one to drink it". He sternly warned her.
Myra couldn't mistake the mockery in his tone as she immediately dashed off wondering the kind of boss she had who acted inhumanly. Increasing her pace this time around she headed for the coffee shop.
"Sir, here is your coffee". She announced as she gently placed it on his desk. She had timed herself and felt so sure she had gotten back on time.
Looking at him sitting with a leg crossed on another, she could imagine his inability to hurt a fly when unfortunately the reverse was the case, he lacked human sympathy.
"Drink it". He ordered her in a low tone.
"Sir?" She felt like she didn't hear him correctly.
He looked up at her this time, gently dropping the magazine on his desk. "Are you deaf now? Drink the coffee".
"But sir I came back on time". She felt herself getting pissed off. Holding her gown, she tried her best from trying to overreact. Drinking coffee had been one of Myra's nightmares, she not only hated its taste but also its smell.
"You either drink up this coffee or walk away". He responded not minding her excuses.
She understood the meaning of his last statement. Gulping the saliva that lingered in her throat, she picked up the cup of coffee.
Bringing the cup close to her, the smell of the coffee gave her a sickening feeling which made her belly turn.
Disregarding the feeling its smell gave her, she seized her breath and she drank it till the last.
She felt excited she had finished every single drop of it. She dropped the cup on the table and headed back to her office.
She felt nausea all of a sudden. She stopped walking and tried to gulp back in.
The feeling rose from her stomach as she felt the same sickening feeling.
She bends over as all the undigested food from last including the coffee came out in full force messing up the ground.
Myra looked over to her boss to see his reaction.
He sat still looking through his magazine as if nothing had happened.
She ignored him as she headed to the toilet to wash off her face. When she came back with a mop stick, she saw that her boss was already up from his seat.
"Make sure this place is impeccably clean and I don't want to come back perceiving this offensive odor". He announced and walked out on her with a bang on the door so loud that it went through her eardrum.
She wondered how long it would take her to endure all these.