Mr. Mark walked into Karen's office and met ken there
'Have she arrived?' Mr. Mark asked with his ever hoarse voice
Ken has worked for him for the past two years and he knew better not to mess around with him.
'She hasn't arrived yet but she called earlier that the traffic on the road is a bit much and that's the reason why she hasn't arrived yet.' ken answered
'Why did you ask for her office key?' Mr. Mark asked
'I came here to wait for her so we can start working on the project immediately she gets here' he responded
His boss stared at him and said 'When she gets here, ask her to come to my office immediately. it's urgent.' after saying this, he left the office with a sigh.
**
Karen felt so tensed as the traffic became much intense. She had a quick glance at the time on her phone, it was past 9am. 'Damn, Mr. Mark will be so mad at me! this is a Monday morning Karen!' she said to herself feeling so frustrated.
She slept late last night and woke up late with a slight headache. As a result of the time she got up this morning, she couldn't make it to the gym .
'What was I even doing last night? i didn't even work on the deal neither did I wash the dishes.' she questioned herself.
Karen spent last night on the wine bottle, drinking her self to stupor and see what she got herself into .
One thing about her boss is that he didn't tolerate lateness and reluctant attitudes from his workers but lately she has been doing a whole lot. She hit her hands on the wheel and stepped harshly on the pedal . 'I don't want to lose my job! it will be so bad cos I am already loosing my mind' she kept on ranting to herself wishing for the traffic to get better.
Seems like God heard her wish because the traffic got better and before 10:30am, she got to the office and fastened her walking pace to her office. As her heels clicked on the tiled office floor, many eyes were turned to her, it felt a bit embarrassing.
Karen was about entering her office when she bashed into ken at her front door.
She stared at him suspiciously 'Mr. Ken what are you doing here and how did you get into my office? I thought I locked it.' Ken licked his lips as he stared at her .
'A good morning would have been a more appropriate way to start the day. Don't you think so?' he replied still looking at her
'Jeez, I hate this guy so much' Karen muttered to herself and didn't alter a word to him.
'Well, good morning Miss. Karen. You look yummy today'
'Ewww' Karen couldn't hold her disgust any more
'huh? did you say something?' ken asked, pretending like he didn't hear a thing. There was no response from her.
'Concerning your question, have you forgotten Mr.Mark holds the spare key? I got it from him' he said to her
At the mention of her boss's name, her heart skipped, she had to place her left hand on her chest to check if she was still breathing.
'Calm Karen' she said to herself.
Ken's lips curved into a smile, he loves seeing the look of fear and frustration on her face. 'That's not all, he needs you in his office right now.' he added as he walked past her before stopping again 'it could be a sack letter, you know. Bad for you , good for me' he smirked at her and kept on walking.
At that moment, Karen just wanted to rip his heart out of his chest. 'I can't stand him, urghhh' Karen said to herself as she hit her hands on her office's desk trying to transfer the aggression on it but then, it was her hands that hurts more.
Remembering Mr. Mark sent for her, she walked out of her office. On her way out, she peeped into Janet's office and there was no sight of her friend.
'Jonah, please excuse me' Karen called out to Janet's colleague as she saw him pass. Jonah and her friend shared the same office space and they were in the same team. He was Janet's complete spec and each time she remembers Janet once turned him down when he approached her, she keeps wondering why.
'Hey Queen' Jonah replied with a smile as he took a good look at her with admiration in his eyes. Yes, he called her Queen, Karen was used to it, he was the only one that called her that. He moved a step closer to her 'What does my Queen need? you know I am always at your service, my majesty.' he teased her.
Karen was already having a bad day but she managed to return his smile
'Where is Janet? I didn't see her in the office.' She asked still maintaining the smile
'Don't tell me your not aware that she is sick. She called in sick earlier this morning. I will try to see her after work today.' he replied looking at her suspiciously
'Oh, sick. That's true, I will call her later' Karen replied trying to cover up for her friend knowing fully well she wasn't sick
'Thanks' she quickly added
'Anytime' he responded and left her standing there
'I should have just called in sick too like Janet ' she muttered to herself .
'Janet was all good yesterday evening and she would have called me if she was really sick, I know she is not sick' Those were the words flying through her mind as she headed to her boss's office.
**
Mr. mark heard a soft knock on his door
'Come in' he said
Karen let out a heavy sigh before pushing the door open
'Good morning sir' she greeted him.
He looked at her from the rim of his glasses
'What time did you get to work?' he asked
'i got here before 10:30, I don't know the exact time sir' she paused to swallow her spit that was about choking her
'I am sorry sir' she added
He was still staring at her with a very stern expression.
'Sit down Karen' he said but she made no move
'I said you should sit down Karen' Mr. Mark repeated himself again
'Sir?' karen responded. Her boss said nothing and then she got the message. Dragging the chair reluctantly, she whispered softly 'I am sorry' as she sat down.
'Miss Karen, where is your report on the project?' he asked stretching his hands forward, as if expecting something to be placed there.
karen found it so hard to breathe as she stared blankly at him. He tapped his hands softly on the desk, trying to refrain himself from shouting at her . Mark repeated him self again 'Where is your report?'
'I haven't start....started worki..ng on it yet' she stuttered.
Her boss clenched his fist so hard, she was already biting more than she could chew.
He took a deep breathe before saying anything again to her cos he was loosing his patience.
'Are you tired of this job Miss. Karen?' he asked calmly. it came as a shock to Karen cos she was expecting the roof to be raging with fire by now.
'No sir, I am sorry' she replied with a bowed head
'I wasn't expecting an answer karen!' he screamed and Karen shivered.
'That was a rhetorical question' he said in a more calmer way.
'The deadline of the deal has been shifted much closer. I am giving you just three days to work on this with Mr. ken. You can take a break for the three days starting from tomorrow.' He said as he stared deeply into her eyes. Those eyes of his could make any body faint
'Thank yo..u sir' she stuttered again still maintaining her seated position.
'You can leave right now. Don't forget , it's just three days, if not I will move it to Mr. Ken and he will work with another team' her boss threatened her.
'I am sorry sir' Karen said to him as she stood up to leave and headed straight to the door.
'Don't mess this up, Karen' Mr. Mark said to her as her hand reached to the door knob. Karen nodded her head and left, shutting the door behind, heaving a big sigh of relief.
The first person she met was ken with his everlasting pregnancy and 'ITK' head, he walked straight to her 'Where is the sack letter?' he asked
Karen had no strength for him but she just had to say something
'How does your family members tolerate you?' she replied with disgust written all over her.
Ken ignored her statement
'I heard we are working together on a deal. Avoid pissing me off so we can work in peace. I know you can't stand my cute face and sexy look' he added before walking away.
The last statement made by him made her more irritated.
*
She walked straight to her office and rested her head on the desk thinking of something that could relieve her stress right now.
'Why do I have to work with Ken? his so good at pissing me.' she gently tapped on her hair.
Karen picked up her phone to call her mum...