2 The secretary (chapter two)
Chapter two
McKenna
McKenna got to Elena's office forty-five minutes late; she took a deep breath and prayed silently for her to get the job. In front of her was a gigantic building, so beautiful that for a moment part of her told her she won't get the job but her other part reminded her that she is brilliant and graduated with distinction. She didn't do much studying to get it because she had a photographic memory.
She made her way to Elena's office space. Elena is the head of marketing and she also helps plan the office meeting schedule.
Elena glared at McKenna and she knew Ellie was angry at her.
"Mk, you are forty-five minutes late. You need to show that you are up to the task" Ellie told her
"Ellie… I'm sorry dear but you should be grateful I am here. One mad man almost ran me over" McKenna told her and that got her attention
"Are you okay?" she asked
"Yes" McKenna answered "Is your boss here already"
"No and what the heck are you wearing?" she asked "this is supposed to be a job Interview not a club event and you are meant to dress accordingly.... Well, not to worry, I took the liberty of bringing some of my corporate cloth for you. Quick, go to the bathroom and change"
"Do I have to?" McKenna asked feigning tears
"Yes and you can tell me about this mad man of yours while you are at it" she replied McKenna
"What would I do without you Elena?" McKenna asked her taking the clothes and smiling.
"Nothing" she replied and smiled too
McKenna told Elena everything that transpired earlier that morning and Elena was genuinely angry at the madman
"You look beautiful and responsible" Elena told McKenna after she changed
"Thanks to you" McKenna replied
"The things I do for people I love. I should be mother Theresa the second" she joked
"To be fair, I took a bullet for you" McKenna reminded her
"No, you did not. It was a tiny knife and the stab wound was the size of a pea" she corrected her
"It is my story and I get to say whether it is a bullet or knife" they kept arguing for some time
It was always that way with them, they nagged each other every minute of the day and they rarely agreed on the same thing
It was at the moment that McKenna mistakenly dropped her pen and she bent down to pick it up, when she heard Ellie welcoming her boss.
"Good morning, sir" she greeted him
"Good morning, Edna. Send my 9:30 up right away" he said and walked up to his office with a man behind him.
"It is Elena" Ellie murmured to herself
"Why did he call you Edna? That is not your name, is it?" McKenna asked
"No, for the one year plus I have been working here Mr. Yagazie has never gotten my name right but to be fair he has other important things to worry about besides getting my name right" Ellie said feeling disconsolate
"Well, he is an ass because you are very much important and you should tell him that"
"Well that ass is going to be your boss and you are his 9:30" she adjusted McKenna's clothes and said "you are ready"
"I am, thanks Mom" she said sarcastically and smiled and walk up to the office, she knocked, took a deep breath and opened the office
"You!!!" she said surprised
JASON
Jason was angry because it took his friend extra twenty minutes to pick him up and he called his mechanic to fix his car and when his best friend Chike came, he was speechless. He didn't know how to explain to Chike what happened to him without Chike cracking up in laughter
"You mean to tell me that a girl slashed your car and you stood there… watching" he said and burst out laughing
"What should I have done? She was mad" Jason tried to explain
"I would literally pay good money to see the girl that dared defile the great Yagazie" he said and kept laughing
When Jason got to the office, his mood was already crappy and he asked his head of marketing to send his 9:30 up. Jason was interviewing for the job of secretary. He needed someone to make his job easier.
"boy, how was the discussion with your mother?" Chike asked him
"The almighty Elixir Yagazie declared to me yesterday that I should be married before this year runs out"
"This is September. How are you going to do that since you have never dated a girl for more than three minutes? Or are you planning on proposing to Sheila?" Chike asked
"I broke up with Shelia last week and still when I told mother, she simply said I owe it to the universe to give something in return for being in it. Seriously guy I don't understand" Jason simply said
"Knowing who you are, you have something planned. If not for anything, just to get back at your mother" Chike implied
"Oh yeah, well I am planning on calling Amazing and knowing who she is, she will jump on that offer just to spite her father"
"You dare not! Your mother would have a heart attack and she would never let you have a wedding"
"Well, she never made an exception and moreover I am not planning on having a wedding, I will just have my lawyer draw up some documents for I and amazing to sign. I will deliver that document to mother dearest on her birthday; it will be my very own birthday present" Jason said plotting his revenge
"That might just be the worst idea that you have ever come up with and I strongly advise against it" Chike said but he knew better
The Donnas and Yagazie family have been rivals since forever. Jason's mom and Jackson Donna has never saw eye to eye, and Amazing, the girl Jason wants to marry just to spite his mother happened to be Jackson Donna's only daughter.
Amazing and Jason dated for a while a year ago. None of them were in love with each other and their relationship ended as fast as it began, but Amazing would probably agree to Jason's outrageous proposal just to spite her father for marrying her best friend when her mother died.
Jason had already forgotten about the incident that happened that morning, when he heard someone knock and he picked up his file ready to interview his possible secretary. He wanted to ask Chike to leave but thought better because he knew he would never do as he is told, so he relaxed when the person push the door and entered the office
"You" she shouted
BOTH
When McKenna saw that Jason was the man who was going to interview her, she wished the earth would open up and swallow her but no, it did not. Instead she stood there staring at him. She wasn't sure the man behind the desk remembered her and even if he did, he did not show it.
"You are McKenna Omasirichukwu Chukwuka" he asked.
Jason looked at the application on the table that contained her details - her first name was Mckenna, middle name Omasirichukwu and her Surname was Chukwuka.
McKenna nodded her head in affirmation.
"I am not in the business of employing deaf and dumb nor am I gifted in the craft of mind reading. I need you to speak up so I know I am not talking to myself, Miss Chukwuka" Jason snapped
Any doubt McKenna had that this man was the one he encountered this morning evaporated because he definitely was the one.
Jason studied her, his heart had skipped a beat when he saw her but he was skilled in the art of poker and so he didn't show it. He noticed she had changed her clothes, transforming from the sexy slutty girl he saw this morning to a person you can mistake for a lawyer or a banker but her beauty remained.
"Yes I can speak and you are correct that is my name" McKenna answered she knew she wasn't getting the job but at least she would leave with her dignity.
"Have a seat, Miss Chukwuka" he said, going back to been professional
"Thank you, sir" she answered and sat down
"Tell me about yourself" he said and closed McKenna's file.
McKenna knew it was a trap. He wanted her to stutter, so he would have a good reason to not hire her but she wasn't going to make it easy for him.
"I am McKenna Omasirichukwu Chukwuka, I have a diploma in business administration" she made it simple
"What grade did you come out with? Second class what?" Jason asked
"Distinction... I graduated with Distinction. I won best graduating student of my class. I finished my Diploma on full scholarship" McKenna answered, Jason was surprised and this time around he made no effort to hide it.
McKenna knew it was bad to brag about her achievements but she wanted to rub it on Jason's face.
"I'll say I am impressed but I never asked you about your achievements"
"I'm sorry sir. I got carried away" she apologized
"What do you know about this company, Miss Chukwuka?" Jason asked
"Yagazie enterprise was founded by your grandfather Chief Damien Yagazie. it was the first customized clothing line in the country then he ventured into cosmetics and changed the name to Yagazie Elixir group of companies after his only child. He also created under Yagazie Elixir group of companies, Yagazie consolidate and Merry-Johanna Yagazie specialist hospital after his wife. Unfortunately, Chief Damien and wife both perished in a plane crash" McKenna concluded
"You know quite a lot about his grandparents" Chike said, it was the first time he had spoken since the interview started
Jason looked him and continued "He is right, you know quite a lot about my grandparents"
"Can I go now? We all know I'm not getting the job" McKenna said tired of playing his game
"You are not?" Jason asked
"Am I?" McKenna asked surprised
"As my secretary, your job includes running errands I consider unworthy of my attention, planning of my meeting schedule and signing some documents I can't be bothered with. Sending and receiving of my mail. Taking calls and telling me about the important ones and… Miss Chukwuka, no more slashing of my tires and you must dress appropriately, can you manage that?" he asked
"Yes sir" she answered
"All my staffs sign an NDA before working for me. Do you know what that means?" he asked
"It is a non-disclosure agreement and I am okay with it"
"You start tomorrow and most times, you'll have to work late with me" he said
"Yes sir" she said and stood up
"The tire you slashed this morning is moderately expensive and will probably take you a lifetime to pay the debt. but i fancy myself a reasonable man and so I will be taking it out of your salary for the next few years" he said
"But you called me a .... How much is my salary?" she asked obviously infuriated
"You don't expect me to know that, do you? "
"You can take it out of my salary" McKenna said as she controlled the impulse to slam his door on the way out
McKenna was close to tears. She didn't know how she was going to survive and she was low on cash. She hasn't gotten herself a single cloth since a year now and all her clothes were either too short or too tight. She is three months behind on her house rent and it will take a miracle for her to survive the month and now the Ass of her boss wants to deduct money from her salary.
"How did it go?" Elena asked her
"I got the job" she said and smiled sadly "There is just a little problem"
"What is it?" Elena asked
"You remember the mad man that almost ran me over?"
"Yeah, the one you slash his Tire"
"Well… he is your boss"
"You slashed Jason's car?" Elena asked
"Am I allowed to call him Jason?"
"Not to his face but yeah" Elena answered
"Jason is the madman and now he is going to take the money for damages from my salary. What a jerk!"
"That is unlike Jason. He is a philanthropist and he must really hate you"
"Well the feeling is mutual" McKenna said
"I took the liberty of bringing you some clothes that are just not my size anymore" Elena said handing a bag to her
McKenna, open the bag and saw a lot of clothes in them, there was a tag on one.
"These are size 8 and you are not size 8. One has a tag…these clothes are new, Ellie"
"I know how you feel about someone helping you out… you can pay me later"
"What would I do without you, Elena?"
"Hmm, you would be a mess" Elena said and both of them smiled.
Jason stared at McKenna as she left his office and he knew he had gotten under her skin but she didn't strike him as a first class material.
"Is she person I think she is?" Chike asked
"She is the crazy girl I told you about" Jason answered
"You like her, don't you?"
"She is not my type but I do have plans for her" he said
