WHERE IS SECRETARY ANNE?
Eating her meal in peace was what Anne needed at the moment. She was eating the meal in the restaurant nearby, very mindful of the time Mr. Richmond gave to her.
Just as he instructed, she ate her meal slowly and very much relaxed. Few customers were in the restaurant, making it the perfect spot to eat.
Nobody was staring at her or giving her weird gazes, which she was grateful for.
After she was through with her meal, a waiter came and cleared her table. She paid the bills using the black card but remained in her seat. She was staring at the giant wall clock placed high on the walls, waiting for the duration of the time given to her to expire before she left.
When it was five minutes to the time, she stood up from her seat and went out of the restaurant.
Entering the company's premises, she heard a sound coming from the waste bin, it was low and pained.
She checked inside the waste bin but there was nothing there, she heard the sound coming from the other end of the bin. She turned and behold she saw a black cat, it was black and fat. One of its legs was trapped between two pieces of wood filled with pointed nails, its golden eyes were filled with pain. It was meowing softly, making her feel sad. It reminded her of her pet, Mr. Pringles.
She felt sympathy for it, she went close to it, wanting to touch it. It swatted her hands with its sharp finger but she jumped back before it could touch her skin.
"You have to keep calm if you want me to remove that stone from your leg," it was as if the cat could understand her, it relaxed and was watching her.
She tried to move the waste bin but she couldn't, the waste bin was filled to the brim with rubbish. She tried to push away the wood closer to her. But the more she tried to remove the wood, the more blood poured out from the cat's trapped leg.
She stopped pushing, it was only worsening the whole situation. She straightened, what should I do, she thought.
She was supposed to be in the office by now, but the cat was still trapped between those pieces of wood filled with nails. She was caught between grumpy Mr. Richmond and a hurting cat.
Richmond checked his wristwatch, Ms. Mccody should have been here by now, he thought.
It was already past three, they were supposed to be in the car by now, heading for Cronbury Corporation. But it seemed like his secretary had her plans, you give people an inch and they take a whole yard, he thought.
He didn't need to use the intercom, she wasn't in the reception. He called her number but she didn't pick up, he could hear her phone ringing in the hallways.
She didn't take her phone along with her. He checked his watch again, she had taken over fifteen extra minutes and it didn't look like she would come anytime soon, he thought.
He became worried, he couldn't stay still and not flinch, "Anne doesn't know anywhere in this place, she is new to the area. Perhaps, what if her scent attracted other wolves and they kidnapped her, or they have eaten her?"
He waited another ten minutes, but she hadn't arrived, "Or did she run away with the black card because she knew it was unrestricted? No, Anne doesn't yet," His thoughts running wild.
He got up from his seat, already calling the number of his private detective.
He went out of his office with his phone pressed against his ear, his legs racing for the elevator.
"Hello Mr. Ashvery, how may I be of assistance?" The private detective spoke, his voice very low but loud enough for Richmond to hear.
"I am in the middle of the job you asked me to do right now, so please can you go straight to the business of today."
If anybody was looking for something or somebody, Jacob was the suitable man for the job. He was the one who found the grave of the witch that cursed him. Where his ears can't reach, Jacob's legs were sure to reach there. He was Richmond's eyes and his nose but he couldn't say for his ears, after all his ears were the best in the world.
"I want you to help me in finding this woman, Her name is Anne Mccody. I have already sent you her details, I need you to start looking for her immediately," he came out from the elevator. He stepped out calmly, so as not to arouse suspicion, even though he felt like running out of the company in search of Anne.
"Do you need me to drop this other job?" Jacob asked his voice, monotone.
Just then, he heard someone grunting. It was feminine, he could tell it was exhausted from the sound of her grunts.
He paused in his steps
"Why is this thing not moving?" The person spoke, Her voice sounded so familiar to the person he was looking for.
Of course, who else but Anne? While he was busy thinking of all the crazy scenarios that must happened, she was busy fooling around. He heard her grunt again, she sounded like someone suffering from constipation, he thought.
"Sir, are you still there?"
He had forgotten that Jacob was still on the line, "I am sorry for disturbing you, you can carry on with what you are doing," he said and ended the call.
"If something is not happening to you, you will be happening to something. Ms. Mccody, why are you always testing my patience?"
She turned to look at her boss in surprise, she didn't hear him when he was coming close. "I was coming when something happened."
"Now, what is it this time around?" He drawled.
"This happened," She moved her body away, showing him the bleeding black cat that was trapped between the two pieces of wood.
He looked at the cat, it looked weak and pathetic. Its leg was trapped and already it had lost a lot of blood, "Even if we manage to release it, it won't survive," he deadpanned.
Anne shook her head stubbornly, looked at him, and said, "It will live, it deserves to live."
He doesn't care if the cat lives or not but there was a fierce look on her face, that was rare to see nowadays. A fierce look on her face, to save a life no matter how small and useless that life looks.
He easily pushed away the waste bin with one hand, and the two pieces of wood that were balanced stiffly gave way.
The nails that were digging into the cat's leg fell off, the cat meowed in pain and relief. It tried standing up, but it fell flat on the ground.
Anne reached for the cat but it swatted at her, Richmond frowned. The cat tried standing up again but it was met with a negative result, it was too weak to stand.
Anne reached again to lift the cat off the ground but the cat swatted at her fingers. This time around, its claws tore through her skin, drawing blood.