The Love We Deny ✔️ [COMPLETED]

Chapter 36 - A different life

As my heels clicked in the lobby of J&Co, I felt a new sense of determination. The weekend had been filled with the football game, the celebration, and the tabloids entering my life. Important note there, none of it was directly linked to me. I wasn't planning on being a trophy girlfriend, I wanted to stand on my own two feet and be proud of myself.

If I couldn't dance any more then I was going to pour all my energy into this job. I would be the best that I could, and I wouldn't let Sandra say anything reproachful.

The beginning of the day went well. I even took some time during my break to look up possible master's degrees. Perhaps I could apply to a part-time one, this way I could continue working at J&Co while still furthering my education and possibly specialize in something I found interesting. I knew for a fact this would be music to my mother's ears.

I hadn't seen much of Sandra all day. She had been cooped up in her office dealing with back-to-back meetings. It was just after my lunch break when she called for me.

"Kathanya, the IT department is coming up in a few minutes for a meeting with me they have a new software they want to implement and need my approval for it. Can you handle it?" she asked.

I stood still in front of her stunned by what she was asking.

"Alone?" I nearly stuttered as I tried to clarify the request with her.

"Yes, I don't have time to deal with this today. Just do as you always do, send me the minutes and your recommendations later. Make sure you ask all the relevant questions I don't want to have to schedule a second meeting if this one ends up being wasted," she continued as she signed a few additional papers that were on her desk.

"I'll send everything to you as soon as it's ready," I confirmed feeling both nervous and thrilled by this change in responsibility.

"Good," was all she replied. This was my cue to leave her be. I returned to my desk with a smile on my face. Let's be honest I was proud she felt she could trust me with meetings. If I could prove to her I was worthy perhaps she would lean more on me in the future.

I prepared for the meeting by reviewing who would be there and what they had mentioned in their correspondence emails.

Walking into the meeting room, I took a seat at the head of the table where Sandra normally sat. Just being there made me feel powerful and more ambitious. I wanted to make it in the industry, just like my boss had.

The IT team soon shuffled in, before looking at me and stilling.

"Where's Sandra?" the blond guy, I recognized as Mauricio asked. He was the project manager and unfortunately for me a close friend of Peter's.

"She's busy with something else, she asked me to cover this meeting for her," I explained while I waited for them to settle their presentation. They didn't.

"If you overbooked her schedule, you could have just said. We could have rescheduled. We're free Wednesday at four as well, have a look if this is more convenient for her," he replied with a condescending tone.

Prick! He had immediately assumed it was an error on my part like this was not something I would ever be capable of doing. He wanted to undermine me in front of his team. I'd hope he would stay professional despite his relationship with Peter. I was wrong.

"Actually, there was no overbooking. Sandra has simply asked me to handle this meeting. If you need more time to prepare, I'm sure I can clear my schedule for Wednesday afternoon," I replied smiling professionally while I boiled inside.

"We are well prepared, we simply think Sandra's input on this matter is valuable," he answered with clenched teeth. I didn't miss the jab in his sentence, clearly, he had meant 'more valuable than mine'.