Bentlee decided to not go to work the next day, a decision she took after much thought. She stayed and arranged her house, went grocery shopping to stock up on things that were in the doctor's list and she did not have.
She did her own manicure and pedicure as an avenue to rest. She listened to calming music as well. Her life would get hectic from tomorrow, so she might as well enjoy her self given day off.
Her phone rang and she answered. It was her boss rambling about how incompetent she was and how she would meet a surprise when she comes tomorrow.
Bentlee sighed after he hung up. She couldn't quit because other companies weren't hiring and their pay wasn't that good.
For the rest of the day she relaxed drinking grape juice and eating rice.
She fell asleep early and woke early the next day.
She prepared for work as usual and went to the company.
On getting to the third floor, she saw Leilani sitting in her spot and her desk was nowhere to be found.
"Where's my desk?" She asked quickly.
"I don't know, i saw my desk here when I came this morning", Leilani spoke justifying why she was in that spot which didn't concern Bentlee right now.
Mr Richard came in and laughed at bentlee's confused face. "Your desk is in front of the company. You don't deserve to work here. Your co-workers were the ones to place it there seeing how incompetent you are with your work."
Bentlee never trusted anyone here, but seeing what they did to her right now made her understand that it can't ever be am option or a possibility. All the laughing together and smiles were all fake.
She went in front of the company and asked a security guard to give her a hand in carrying the desk which he did. Her desk was placed in its usual spot, but it seemed isolated.
Leilani's POV
I was there when Bentlee's desk was carried downstairs. It was funny to see what'd happen later. The only reason I wanted to be in her good books was because she was friends with Kevin who worked on the top floor. I wonder how they became friends in the first place. And it seems she isn't needed anymore for me to speak to him so I can discard her.
Unexpectedly, Bentlee didn't react as expected. She was calm and nonchalant about the situation, talk about boring. She wanted to push Bentlee's buttons to understand if she would be a hindrance to certain stuff she would indulge in. She wouldn't be.
Unknown to her, Bentlee and Kevin had been friends for 2 years and counting. They were both alumni from the same university and had similar tastes, so it was only natural that they'd be good friends. When they'd met, his wife was his girlfriend at the time, so Bentlee was at the wedding and all.
At his wedding, Kevin tried to link Bentlee up with some guy from the wedding, who she turned down when he bothered her too much. He was charming at first until he spoke nonstop.
.....
Bentlee wasn't disappointed in her co-workers seeing as she never had expectations from them. Her new plan was to disengage. Not talk to them unless it was related to work, and not have any form of communication whatsoever outside work.
During lunch time, Bentlee went to the cafeteria to find all the seats filled. It seemed her co-workers all went for lunch today just to make sure she didn't get a seat.
She could go back to the office or to Kevin's office, but she didn't want to be a bother.
She bought bread rolls and headed for the third floor to eat in her office. As she ate, she laughed about some stuff she saw on her phone. She was done in no time and instead of doing work, she relaxed for the remaining 10 minutes.
Work went on smoothly, especially with her co-workers not interrupting her to talk about some unnecessary thing. Once work was over, she went straight home. She was aware of the hangouts her co-workers plan weekly but she didn't attend any and she was definitely not attending the future ones, thanks to their change of attitude.
She cooked dinner by 7pm and was prepared for bed by 9pm. One more day for this annoying week to be over.
.... Yesterday....
Mr Richards was in his office waiting for Bentlee to show up. He asked Mira to type some projects and she couldn't do something so simple.
He was so angry that he came out yelling, "Bentlee is so much better than all your incompetent asses. Look at how you can't even complete the basic of the basics, I wonder why you work here". Then he stormed off.
His words caused some of the co-workers to hate Bentlee while others just followed to crowd to not be left out. So they planned to terrorise her life in the office.
...
Friday....
Zeke went to his company earlier than usual, startling all the workers. He came for an inspection of the quality of work done. He found some lazy asses that hadn't finished a week 2 report and this was week 9, and fired their asses.
Once he was done, he went back home because he didn't feel like working. He felt uneasy and wanted to eat a sandwich. Mrs. Benson, his housekeeper and chef made him lasagna, and since he hated wasting food, he ate it.
.....
Bentlee's work today was even smoother than yesterday. She headed for the top floor elevator which Leilani didn't fail to see.
She walked straight to Kevin's office to hand him a gift she made, one for him and the other for his wife.
While she was there, the reason she didn't like coming to the top floor was so evident. They looked down on her because she worked below them. She could bear their whispers and loud gossips about how she and Kevin were even friends and how sure they were it was more.
She ignored them and spoke to Kevin for a while. He appreciated the gift and she took her leave not wanting to tarnish any reputation he had built for himself there.
.....
Anika was designing a model's outfit on the model when she got a text from an unknown number. It was attached to a photo of her husband and Bentlee laughing together touching arms. The text read, "he's found someone unexpected to play with".
Anika knew it was a ploy to get her to hate Bentlee and kevin, but she felt a bit of hurt in her heart seeing him laugh with another woman so freely even if it was his friend.
She replied, "mind your business" to the text, but it never left her mind.
Later that evening her husband came home talking about what happened at work and how Bentlee came to see him. She brought gifts for both of them.
Anika was feeling uneasy and aired it out, "Kev, can you stop seeing Bentlee so often".
"Why?" Was all he asked knowing where this was going.
"I just don't want any mistake to happen, so please keep your distance", she said waiting for him to answer.
"Okay, if it'll make you relax" he replied and she hugged him.
...
It was finally Saturday and Bentlee was preparing to meet her cousin, Emma, at a café.
She dressed in black ankle boots, a teal green crop top and white shorts. Her hair was tied in a lazy bun and her jewelry was minimal but effective.
In the café, Emma and Bentlee spoke for a while before Darwin arrived. They all chatted and she gave them her new address instructing them not to give it to their other relatives.
They ate their breakfast pancakes with coffees.
After chatting about work and other stuff, they said their goodbyes.
Bentlee went home to rest since her body definitely needed it.
Bentlee texted Kevin severally, but he wasn't replying despite being online. She didn't understand what was happening so she shrugged it off, tagging it as "he's probably busy".
The weekend went as fast as the blink of an eye and it was Monday again.