It was Wednesday morning. An important day for Audrey. She woke up at five in the morning, had a satisfying stretch, and showered. She was dressed neatly and smart. Anyone who saw her would know that she was a serious businesswoman. She had breakfast at seven and kissed her godmother on the forehead before dashing out in a hurry.
"Be careful of those heels." Godmother warned as she sat on a lounge outside, receiving the morning sun, and watched Audrey running towards her car.
"I will, wish me luck," Audrey responded.
"Good luck my child. You will do great, I'm positive." Godmother assured. Audrey blew a kiss towards her mother, threw her suitcase on the passenger seat then slipped into her car. She drove away as the morning sun glowed on her skin.
Everyone who passed by Audrey's car that morning could tell that she was in a light mood. Her radio boomed with Celine Dion's song "I'm Alive" and she sang along dramatically.
As she danced to her song, not caring who was watching, she turned to her left and her eyes met with two guys smiling at her from their car.
"Hey, cute." One of them said and Audrey almost shrunk in her seat. She slowed down her car and allowed them to go ahead.
"Well, that was embarrassing." She said to herself and sped up.
To Audrey's dismay, her car suddenly went out of control and got hard to manoeuvre as the front tyres flew out. The car came to a halt, almost hitting a tree. Audrey was wide-eyed. Her heart sped up and she shivered in her seat. It took her time to digest the fact that she almost died just now. Audrey got out of the car, almost falling as her legs couldn't handle the shock of what had just unfolded.
The bigger shock was the fact that the road was suddenly empty. There were no passers-by to help. It was as if it was all planned but Audrey did not want to think of it that way.
"I know I should not have followed this road." Audrey groaned and stamped her foot. That was not how she thought her day would go.
She grabbed her bag from the car and took out her phone. She dialled Rosa's phone number and luckily for her, it went through and was answered immediately.
"Rosa..." She began but Rosa interrupted.
"Girl, where are you? Everyone is here."
"I just had an accident. I'm scared, I'm all alone." Audrey said shakily as she looked around.
"Oh my God. Are you okay, Where are you?" Rosa asked as she paced the reception.
"I'm fine, that shortcut I told you about," Audrey said and spotted a car coming from the direction she was headed. She waved frantically at the car to get their attention.
"Okay, I'm coming right now," Rosa said and hung up.
The car stopped. It was the man whose friend was smiling at Audrey earlier. He was alone in the car and when he got down, Audrey saw that he was also dressed for office.
"Are you okay?" He asked with a worried expression.
"No, I had an accident and I need to get to work. I have an urgent meeting." Audrey replied sharply.
He scanned the car over briefly and asked.
"Which direction are you headed?" He asked.
Audrey knew better than to let a stranger give her a ride.
"I called my friend and she said she's coming right now," Audrey said. She was completely unsure of what she was saying. She knew that if she had to wait for Rosa, she would be late. But trusting a stranger was not something she would do again. Not after knowing how men are.
The man totally understood what Audrey was on about. After all, he is aware of how dangerous the world has become.
"Okay, that's fine but... Do you feel safe staying here all alone?" He asked. "It would be uncivil to leave a woman alone on a quiet road." He added.
Audrey hesitated for a moment then replied "I'd really appreciate it if you keep me company. I'm scared." Audrey confessed and the man nodded.
"So, you stay in your car. I'll go to mine and wait for your friend." He said and Audrey nodded. She respected this young man for his understanding and respectable behaviour.
In about twenty minutes or so. Rosa arrived at the direction Audrey's car was headed and where the young man was coming from. Audrey was overjoyed. She locked her car and followed Rosa after thanking the man for being a lifesaver.
Rosa warned the man not to proceed in the other direction. There was a sign board that said "Danger, men at work." But Audrey was sure she didn't see anything like that when she passed by.
As Rosa spoke to the man, she could not help but notice how good-looking he was. She almost asked for his name but considered the sticky situation her friend got in.
It turned out, it was a well-planned conspiracy. The signboard was meant to keep people away from that area so Audrey would not get any help. The point was to make her late for the meeting.
The person behind her accident hid behind a rock, informing their boss about their achievements.
"We did it, boss. She will never get there on time."
*****
Miguel was awoken by a bang on his door, followed by a call for him. He woke up frightened as he realised that he had slept in.
He got up to answer the door and found out it was his assistant. The poor guy had been calling his boss's phone number to tell him that his father had arrived at the meeting and they had started.
"I'm in trouble, aren't I?" Miguel asked his assistant.
"Yes sir," the assistant said while slowly analysing Miguel's appearance. Miguel's hair was standing up in all directions and his face showed that he didn't get enough sleep. The assistant understood that Miguel had been overworked and needed rest but the investors would not care, or his father.
Miguel spun around and quickly got dressed. He did not have his breakfast before leaving for the office.
The assistant was surprised at how composed Miguel was, despite knowing that his father would not be pleased with him.
*****
Audrey and Rosa arrive at PK & sons. Audrey kept checking her wristwatch on the way. Constantly telling Rosa to speed up.
After getting out of the car, Audrey checked her appearance one more time through the glass door. Her loose Armani suit was perfectly neat. The two went in and headed straight to the board room where a presentation was taking place. Everyone eyed the two of them as they rushed in. Mr. Parker was not impressed, but not as disappointed as he was for his son's lateness, Miguel had still not arrived.
Audrey knew better than to interrupt the presentation so she saved her apology for when the young lad would be through. She found her seat beside her friend Rosa. The burning glares Audrey was getting did not go unnoticed by Rosa.
The presenter was through and everyone gave her their applause. Audrey was impressed at how confident she was.
Audrey looked over to Mr Parker who was already staring back at her. She gulped down her saliva and finally gathered her words.
"Mr..." She began but was cut off.
"Save your excuses, young woman. I don't need it." Mr Parker said bitterly. Everyone now had their undivided attention on her. She felt like vanishing.
"Let's see what you have prepared." A woman interrupted and Audrey nodded. Her hands were sweaty from anxiety, never had she ever felt so scared in her life.
Audrey got up and handed copies of her presentation to Rosa. Now that everyone had a copy, Audrey went ahead to the front to start her presentation. She had been planning it for months and now the time has finally come. She started by greeting everyone and apologised for being late. There was no point in explaining how she got late, nobody cared.
About fifteen people were sitting in front of Audrey but it did not bother her.
Mr Parker was the first person to read what Audrey had presented and his brows knotted in confusion, or rather in anger.
An undertone murmur was all Audrey heard, and their reactions to what they saw were not at all pleasing.
Mr Parker looked up at Audrey furiously.
"Is this a joke?" He said and Audrey's heart skipped.
"Pardon..." Audrey said, what had she done again.
"You stole our project?" A woman said out of nowhere. The board roared with gossip, making Audrey even more anxious. She could not believe what she just heard.
Audrey started to lose it. The audacity of that woman.
"Excuse me, how could you accuse me of such a thing? I've worked for months on this!" Audrey's voice suddenly rose. She's gone through plenty of unbearable things since she woke up that day. To say that she woke up very early only to be insulted like this, is unbelievable.
"Silence." Mr Parker ordered and the room went quiet. His eyes met with Audrey's and he motioned her to come closer. He made her scan through the accuser's papers and Audrey's mouth hung open.
It was exactly the same as hers.
*****