Regina Regan up there! Enjoy!
"...in this company, we do not play games, your every action counts and..."
Echoes, those were all they were to her. Maldives was sure she had probably only listened to the introductory parts of her little speech, and even till now, she wasn't sure she could make out even two points from all that Regina had been saying. All the while, from the moment she stepped into that office and saw that the person she was going to be working with, was the same person she couldn't even stand talking with, her enthusiasm to assume her official duties went into hibernation.
"...I look forward to working with you all. I'd like to have a private meeting with the financial secretary, the rest of you can leave. That'll be all for now" she dismissed them and they all started leaving, including Maldives who had paid no attention whatsoever to what she had said and only began walking away because she saw everyone else doing so. Luckily for her, Rachel stopped her before she reached for the exit.
"What are you doing?!" she whispered.
"H—huh?"
"Ms. Regan said to have a private meeting with the financial secretary, that's you!"
"She did? She did....I'm sorry I was—"
"It's alright, just pull yourself together... and good luck!" she said then took her leave. Everyone else had left, leaving Maldives alone with Regina.
"We meet again Miss Coleman...I didn't believe it when my nephew told me you were the best graduating student but I guess he was right after all, I've looked at your credentials and you do appear to have some brain beneath that...that hair of yours, you're going to have to do something about it"
"Why do I have to do something to my hair?"
"Because I don't like the sight of it, it doesn't suit the style of this environment so you should get something more appropriate"
"With all due respect ma'am, I don't see the reason why I—"
"With all due respect Miss Coleman, you work for me now, you work for this company and you will abide by the company's rules"
"But I've gone through the companys book of conduct and I saw no such rule"
"I am the company, rules are whatever I make them to be. This isn't the streets where you and your kind walk around holding placards and protesting about what-not, this is an office! A company! One that is going to be paying you good money in exchange for your compliance"
"But—I"
"Rule number two, never talk back at me. You only got away with that the other day because my family was there to defend you, but right here, it's a different ball game. If you intend to keep your job, which I'm sure you do, you're only to do one thing; do as I say, did I make myself clear?"
Maldives stood there in pure shock, not sure whether to scream, laugh or cry. Here she was, the supposed 'envy' of virtually everyone at the NYU , receiving nothing but insults, on her first day of job. If only there was a way to murder someone and make their corpse disappear into thin air, Regina Regan would have been a floating object in the Bermuda at that moment. You can do this Maldives! Remember, you are Nigerian, you are resilient...you are Black, you don't crack! She swallowed, "Yes ma'am"
"Good, I'm glad we're on the same page. Now that we've cleared all that up, we can get down to business. I believe Rachel has told you the basics and you've met with Mr. Rodriguez, so you'll know what to expect in the coming days, or months, or years, that all depends on how well you fare here. I have some invoices I want you to look into for me, I'll send them to you later, you can leave now"
"Alright, excuse me" she took her leave.
When she got back to her office, she let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding in as she wondered how she was going to get through the rest of her day and get through the rest of her time at the company. Sure, she could just turn in her resignation letter and resign on her first day, but what message would she be sending out to other organizations out there? What would her resumé look like?
With all her qualifications, wouldn't people wonder why she couldn't even make it pass through day one of her first real job? Then there was her mother, she had made so many sacrifices in order for her to be seated where shes at now. Was she going to throw it all away simply because one woman made some racial remarks about her?
She had dreams and aspirations, ones she needed money to accomplish and she wasnt going to jeopardize it over one person. She was going to try and work there, for at least the next two years to save up enough for her Masters.
After minutes of deep thinking, she decided to pull herself together, that way, she got all she needed done, done.
~~~~~
Apparently, working in the healthcare system wasn't the easiest of jobs and that was something Fai was beginning to learn. When he relocated to NYC to begin his new profession as a doctor, he had initially requested that they put him up for a 12-hour job, in a bid to keep him as engaged as possible as that was his sole reason for moving to the city, and God forgive him, but that was also his sole reason for suddenly deciding to want to explore his medical degree, and even though he did get some level of fulfillment helping mankind, he was beginning to question his decision to practice medicine.
He wasn't going to admit it, but the truth was that he missed his job. He missed it very dearly. Even now, when he was seated with his colleagues having lunch in the hospital cafeteria, all he could think about was how much he missed his office chair. How he often twirled around in it each time he was busy pondering his next takeover strategy and the rush that often came with him sealing a business contract worth millions of dollars God that always felt so good! He missed how Rachel, his personal assistant back then often made his coffee, black, strong and bold...Fuck it! Hospital coffee is bullshit!
In spite of it all, in spite of how much difference his current lifestyle had in comparison to his previous one, he wouldn't go back, he just couldn't. He wasn't ready. He knew he was getting better, evident from how much less aggression he now transferred to abortion patients, but he still had to heal. There was just so much more healing he had to do in order to be in the right state of mind to assume his duties as CEO. Managing a company such as REGAL Corp. wasn't cake job as it often required not just one's mental strength, but physical strength too. They had over thirty branches worldwide and he often had to travel a lot to meet up with clients and business partners.
Viewing everything from another angle, life in New York wasn't as bad as he expected it would be. He didn't work as much during the weekends and so he often found time to go out every now and then. According to the stats and tabs which he kept on his brother, FERGE was doing great which made him even more proud of his little brother who now seemed to be living the kind of life he had always dreamed of; good job, good woman, good life, if they had told him in his wildest dreams that his brother would get to achieve that level of stability before him, he would have laughed it off heavily.
It wasn't because he doubted his brother's capability; it was because he never saw his brother as the sort of person who craved such things. Faury had always been the most carefree amongst his siblings. Their mother often joked about how amongst her pregnancies, his was the toughest to handle as he was always so hyper and restless whilst in her womb.
Fai kept reflecting on his past. He remembered her, all the good moments they had, all the love they shared. She had been his first love and childhood best friend. He, she and Nico were practically inseparable as children. He often wondered if Nico would have been the one to end up with her, had his and her parents not been the closest. He remembered the joy their families felt when they announced the news of their enagagement. LA's Celebrity Splash magazine had dubbed their union the 'Merge of Love and Wealth,' referencing to both their love and large wealth.
Her family owned a steel company and they were going to form a sort of permanent partnership with their own gold mining company, until the unfortunate incident took place and led to their separation. Following their separation, he made it clear on how he wanted nothing to do with her and her family. He couldn't do it, there was just no way he could see himself working alongside anything that reminded him of her. The fact that her twin brother always had to attend their board of directors meeting was one of the reasons why he took a break from REGAL Corp, an organization he had sacrificed a lot for.
How can women be so heartless?! He often wondered. Being a gynecologist made things even harder for him as he was always caught up between his personal values as a person and his ethics as a medical doctor, but after Faury had talked some sense into him, he had taken the decision to keep it together and be as professional as he could. The world was such a small place and he didn't want his actions backfiring at him someday. You never know where you'll meet an ex-patient someday, he thought. The grocery store...the park...the bar...a convocation ceremony he smiled to himself as he remembered the incident with her.
Maldives...an unusual name for an unusual person. Although they had had a previous encounter at Prof. Rogers' office, he certainly wasn't expecting to meet her at the ceremony, and especially not as the best graduating student of NYC. For some reason, he thought her to be someone who had lost track of what she wanted in life, coming to the hospital for an abortion only to later on ask if she would still be able to have kids, for him a woman who had the guts to take the life of her own child was someone who was mentally clueless, and if there was one thing he couldn't withstand, it was people like that, but then they had met again. He had been in a much better place and had found out that she wasn't bad company, if anything, her attitude when his aunt Regina had tried to pick on she and her friends, showed how much integrity and self respect she held.
Shoot! He muttered, when he remembered all of a sudden that she was going to be working under his aunt at their new branch there in NYC. For some reason, he felt bad for her, he knew his aunt wasn't going to make life easy for her and he felt sorry that her very first experience working in a formal setting was going to bumpy one. Should I pay a visit? I think I should...no wait! What would I say my reason for visiting is? No, I'm the boss, I don't need a reason to visit. I could just say I wanted to know how things were going over there...right? He sighed.
He couldnt, no matter how much he wanted to, he simply couldn't. He wasn't ready. What if the moment he walked in there, the first thing he saw was something that reminded him of her? There was no way he was ready to deal with that. Deciding it was probably best he took his mind off things, he rounded up his lunch and got back to duty.
~~~~~
"...does it fit perfectly?" she asked.
It had been a month since Maldives had began her job as the financial secretary at REGAL Corp. and things weren't particularly easy for her. To start with, Regina Regan didn't make working under her the easiest, as no matter how hard she tried to impress her, her expected reaction always yielded the reverse. It was hard enough that adapting to the comprehensive methods of keeping the financial records of REGAL Corp. was a struggle for her, she had a nasty boss to add to it. At least she had Rachel and Mr. Rodriguez, whom she was more than grateful for. They, together with Gerald, the company's publicist who also happened to be her date for their company's dinner party which she was currently getting ready for, were often the only consolations she had.
"I think you look absolutely stunning! Like an angel, adorable!" Chris said whilst dramatically demonstrating with his hands.
"I wasn't asking you Chris, I was asking Brenda"
"What?! Why not me?! I'm the fashion fairy in this gang!"
"Yes you are, but you know sometimes you exaggerate a little too much"
"It's not exaggeration, it's passion, and I have a lot of it, thank you"
"Of course you do...a whole lot..." Brenda said as she stepped forward to properly observe her dressing from a closer range. "Nice weave, where'd you get it?" she asked.
"I got it online from Tiffany's"
"Hmm, nice"
"So?"
"So???"
"SO how's the dress, is it okay?"
"Yeah, I said it was nice" she said as she kept munching on the potato chips she held in her hands.
" 'Nice?' I can't believe I shut Chris up for 'Nice'!" she said which only made Christian laugh hard.
"Guurrl, I'm straight as hell, you don't need me telling you you look hot and all, you should know that yourself hun"
"I know, but it wouldn't hurt to tell me, would it? Women empowerment, remember?"
"Yeah right, Imma empower you, but not by telling you how dangerously hot you look right now...God, I can't believe that came out that way!" she said with an irritated face.
"You're something Brenda! But seriously, do you guys think it's maybe too much?" she asked, while staring at the wine-colored dinner gown which hugged her body from the top down to her mid-thighs and swept the floor. Its back was covered by a nude-coloured net piece which did nothing to conceal the contours of her back.
"Beauty can never be too much Mal, you look gorge!" Brenda smiled.
"Yes, angelically stunning!" Chris added.
"Thanks guys!" she sighed as she felt her nerves kicking in.
"What's wrong?" Chris asked.
"Oh it's nothing...it's just...there'll be all these different people there tonight, lots of potential investors. I even heard we might be seeing some of the employees from the branch at LA, you know how intimidating the people over there can get, it's all money-Ferrari-Gucci over there"
"Intimidating?! Humph! More like fake! Fake ass, fake boobs, fake smiles, fake brains too" Brenda said.
"Bree, you overexaggerate...although it is true that they can be quite...perfection-seeking over there"
"Yeah, right"
"Yes, but plastic surgery is a choice, I have botox too you know" Chris said.
"Botox is different" Brenda defended.
"Is it?" Maldives asked sarcastically.
"Look, Christian is our friend, so he'll always get the exemption. All I'm trying to say is you're a Black woman, with skin as tough as a dragon's, they couldn't break you even if they wanted to, you're stronger than that. So, if any bitch try to mess you up, tell them to shove their silicone down their throat!"
"Um...what if it's a man?" Chris asked.
"Then they can burst their damn balls with those stupid Italians on their feet!..Now THAT my friends, is woman empowerment!" she said, feeling proud of herself.
"Err...sure, if 'castration' is the new 'women empowerment', then yeah I guess" Christian said.
"Dude, whatever gets the job done"
"That reminds me, do you think Dr. Stiff Face is going to be attending the party? I mean, he is technically still the CEO of the company right?" he asked.
"Honestly, I don't know. From what I've heard back at the office, he made it pretty clear that he wouldn't want to have anything to do with the company during his 'temporary leave'. I don't really know the whole ordeal concerning his leave, but I think it's a pretty sensitive topic
"Hmm...it does seem like it, I mean why else would a billionaire decide to abandon the job that gave him so much, only to work hours in a community hospital?" Brenda asked.
"Well he didn't exactly 'abandon' the job, everyone's still pretty optimistic he'll return soon and I honestly hope that's true, I couldn't survive the entire year under his aunt"
"I'm sorry you have to deal with that racist pig of a woman" Brenda said.
"Yeah, it's okay. Hopefully, Fai resumes soon"
"Fai? I never knew you two were on first name basis now" Chris teased and elbowed her.
"Hey, don't get ahead of yourself now, calling him his first name means ABSOLUTELY nothing"
"Yeah, sure, there's ABSOLUTELY nothing you like about him right? Not even those dangerously sexy eyes of his...or his white pearly teeth... nothing...and you haven't even told us all about your encounter with him at the club!" Chris said.
"You met him at the club? When did you even--" Brenda was saying when they heard a knock on the door.
"That must be Gerald!"
"Who's Gerald?" Chris asked.
"Gerald is the guy I told you guys about, the company's publicist...he's my date for tonight"
"Oh, why the nigg* got to have an old mans name? And Lord I hope he's a nigg*, because if he's not, then..." she was saying right before Maldives opened door, revealing a tall and dark muscular guy who stood at nothing less than 6ft2. "...well hello handsome..." Brenda said with her lower lip between her teeth. "...he-is-a-fucking-nigg*..." Brenda whispered to Christian who nodded in agreement as they both drooled at him. "Damn right he is..."
"Gerald, meet my friends, Brenda And Christian" she said as she introduced them to each other.
"Gerald, I heard you into publicizing and stuff...any plans on publicizing my friends 'veejayjay' tonight?" she teased, to Maldives disapproval.
"Brenda! How could you—You know what, I can't with you right now!" she pulled him out of their living room.
'What?! Girl, don't be acting like you don't already have em cobwebs growing down there! You need some dick in your life!" she kept throwing at her as they rushed into his car.
"I concur Mallyyy! Get sore tonight home girl!" Chris added.
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