Deveron went on to tell them about the loan that had been approved for the expansion of his truck company. Now, he could buy more trucks and even employ more people and that would generate more revenue and profits. It was a dream come true for Deveron and his family shared in his happiness. They were elated about the news.
However, Carnise just wore a little smile even though she was happy with her father, but what weighed on her mind took the first seat.
The expression on her face didn't go unnoticed by Daliana, who made a mental note to talk to Carnise about what was bothering her later on. Daliana was hesitant as that subject was something that she didn't want to visit. It was a wound that had struggled to heal and to revisit that would take a toll on her -- Daliana knew that much.
Daliana stood up and walked towards the kitchen. "This calls for a celebration, am I right?!" she asked rhetorically. She brought out a bottle of sparkling wine from the fridge, popped it, and proceeded to serve food for her family. Laughter and smiles were on everyone's faces that evening and they ended up planning a dinner for Friday, at the end of the week.
* * *
On Friday, which had been chosen for the family dinner, Hanita sat in her office in the bank settling some accounts. She worked in the marketing department of the bank and was superb at her job. She was good with numbers and basked in the challenge that often came with her kind of job -- the challenge of meeting deadlines and hitting quotas. This was her dream job and Hanita saw herself growing to the heights in that field. Hanita was quick to think on her feet and fast to come up with solutions to problems. People loved working with her as she made their collective tasks easy to pull off.
A message came into her phone and she jerked at the sound of the ringtone. Hanita sighed and reached for her phone that was in the pocket of the dark blue blazer that she was wearing. She looked into it and read the message that had come -- it was a memo from the manager to the bank's Whatsapp group. There was to be a briefing after closing hours when there were no more customers on the bank's premises.
The door to her office opened and one of her colleagues walked in -- Brenda, who was Hanita's friend.
"Did you get it?" Brenda asked.
"What? The memo?" Hanita replied. "Yeah... yeah I did," she finished with an exasperated look on her face as she raked her fingers through her hair.
"What's the matter?" Brenda asked as she took a seat in front of Hanita's desk.
"I have an important family dinner to attend after work..." she trailed off.
"Oh..." Brenda replied. "What would you do? Would you speak with the manager then?"
Hanita thought for a moment. "That message had a pretty important vibe to it, I doubt he would give anyone an excuse to be exempted from the meeting."
"True..." said Brenda. "I wonder what's it about though."
Hanita shrugged. "Things will work themselves out," she said. "Perhaps, I would stay for the meeting a little and if taking too long, I'd ask for permission to leave. It's not like I ask for that every day."
Brenda winked and stood up from the chair. "See you there... It's almost time."
The meeting commenced and it was unexpectedly brief. Hanita could not have been happier. She was glad that she didn't have to ask the manager for any favors as she didn't like to ask people for things. She rushed to her office and began to park her things to head out.
The briefing was about a new job that Hanita had been given. She'd also been assigned to a team that would travel out of state for a new branch opening. They also had to rally for new customers that would bank with them and strategies needed to be put in place for that task to be carried out and be successful. But that was exactly what Hanita Hill thrived on. There was a smile on her face as she parked up and her brain was already working on some ideas.
Her phone rang again and she jerked. Sudden sounds had that effect on her as she was always thinking about something. Hanita had a busy mind and her father had always told her to try to calm down sometimes, but it was something that she couldn't help.
Taking her phone out again, Hanita slid on the screen, answering the incoming call. "Hey, Mummy," she chimed into the phone.
"Hey, baby," Daliana said on the other end of the call. "So... your father and I went shopping," she chuckled like a teenage girl that had gone out to pick her prom dress.
Hanita rolled her eyes and smiled. She loved the way her parents were and how they related to each other. It had set a standard for Hanita as she'd like to find love like her parents did.
"So? Did you get something that you like?" she asked with a smile on her face as she used her shoulder to hold her phone to her ear.
"You bet I did..." replied Daliana. "So... we happened to find ourselves around your bank and were wondering if you'd like to be picked so we'd head to the restaurant together. Your sister is already on her way there."
"Oh..." Hanita said. "Oh that would be lovely! How far are you?" she asked.
"We'll be in the car park in ten," Deveron called out.
"I'll be down waiting for you," Hanita said as she hung up the call. She felt relieved that they were coming to pick her up as she wouldn't have to use the train. Her father had gotten her a car when she'd landed this job but Hanita had too much anxiety to sit behind the wheel. She would jerk and fret and every honk from other cars. It was so bad for Hanita that she'd left her car parked in their garage ever since.