Chapter 4 Besties & Backup

"Girl you better start talking, what are you keeping quiet for? " Anna-Leigh asked. I had a thing for Black American accent and it was quite weird.

There was another minute of dead silence.

"Listen up Miss Lady, I came down here 'cause you asked. I'm not ready for none of your shit right now, so are you ready to talk or I'm going to walk out of the damn place." She said angrily to me.

"I might loose my job. " I managed to say, taking a sip of my cocktail, pornstar martini.

Annie's expression said it all, her eyeballs popped out of their sockets and then rolled rolled. Her mouth was wide open too.

"What did you say?" She asked, pretending not to hear what I had said.

"I swear to you Annie, I'm not even joking." I could joke about a lot of things, but I was being dead serious.

"Yo, I'm 'bout to Call Dani, Cami and Gia to come over, because Kalani, you're obviously tripping. " Anna-Leigh said as she searched for her phone in her handbag.

There was a ninety percent chance that my other girlfriends were going to make a joke out of it,Gia especially.

"Wait, I'm not joking. I'm being for real with you. Remember the appointment I said I was going with Dayton tech CEO. "

Confusion had been the order of my day lately. I drank like each day was my last. It was crazy how the outcome of the appointment could just ruin everything.

"Mmmh, what about it"? Annie asked, still looking for her phone in her handbag.

"Well it didn't go so well, he was being so proud and I snapped." I said, hoping that she wasn't going to call my other friends.

"I've always told you, if only you could just put your pride in your pocket at least for once. " She was getting angry at me. She'd always warned me to be nice sometimes because of the way I approach some customers at her boutique when they asked stupid questions.

"Yoo Kalani are you out of your damn mind. " I could bet that Annie still found it hard to believe what I'd told her.

"You should know that men like that are proud about what they've achieved like no one's s in the freaking room." She went on while I just sat there, sipping on my drink and watching customers walk in and walk out of the restaurant, it was something I did regularly.

"You should have ignored him, you know. "

"He was rude right from the moment that I walked in. It's not even normal for him to come and see me, but I don't know what arrangement he had or whatever, but he was just too rude and he wouldn't even let me explain shit." I responded grouchily.

"Does Artem know about this? " Annie asked.

"No he's not been around for two months, he'll be back by next week though. I wonder how I'm even going to explain myself because he would not hear shit, he'd just fire me. I guess that's the influence rich people have on CEOs. It's so sad that I'm not a billionaire." I grinned sarcastically. I was beginning to take this whole thing to another level, although I found it funny.

"And you've not heard from Derek Payton since the incident? " She asked.

"Nope, but something tells me that he'd ensure I loose my job, he'd make sure of it. I'm still shocked that it hasn't happened yet, maybe he has a game plan or something. " I said, seeming so unperplexed by everything that was happening.I honestly didn't want to loose my job, but shit had been funny at that time.

"I'm honestly out of words, sincerely speaking. You know his ego can't contain in a place considering how rich he is, Lani I expected more, you should've just ignored and continued with the appointment regardless."

"Look, I just needed to tell someone to get it off my chest. I honestly don't want to be blamed." I shrugged, taking one gigantic swig.

...

"Lani I want you in my office now."

Artem was back from his trip and I knew I was done for. I was going to become unemployed in a matter of minutes.

I dropped my phone on my office table and walked to the elevator that would lead me to Artem's office that was on the top floor.

The time I spent in the elevator seemed like the longest seconds of my life.I wanted to get out and at the same time, also remain in there. Time seemed slow, everything seemed to stop and it felt like the only thing going on around was just me trying to get up through the elevator.

It wasn't like like I was afraid of Artem but since I worked for him, I had to give him maximum respect. He employed me and it was through his agency I had become one of the best real estate agents that Manhattan had to offer.

He would get mad and talk about how he employed me and his agency made me who I am today. It wasn't completely true because the agency wasn't as good as it now.

If Derek Payton wasn't going to work with us, then the agency was fucked. If he was going to work with us, that would draw more clients to the company considering that fact that Dayton worked with us.

The elevator finally stopped after what seemed like ages and I walked out of it immediately sighting the door to Artem's office .

My fists were curled into a ball and my legs began to shake, I didn't know what was happening to me, but it was just a habit that happened anytime I was nervous.

I walked further and opened the door, there was no need to knock because he was the one who called me on the phone a few moments ago.

"Sit down." He used his hands to gesture without even letting me say a greeting.

Whatever was about to go down was about to get serious. Things were about to get real. I sat down without even saying a thing. I liked Arterm very much, but I didn't like to anger him because that was a part that nobody wanted to see.

There was one time he yelled at a dumb janitor for cleaning his office when he had visitors. Everyone on the three floors connected to his floor was scared, some even said that the impact of his yellin shook the floors--mere exaggeration .

"I was gone for a while." he said and smiled lightly, butI already knew where he was heading to.

His outburst was going to be serious one.

"So can you tell me what has been happening around? " He asked, pretending not to know what had happened.

He didn't seem angry, but that was the type of person he was, he wouldn't show how angry he was until he exploded.

I just kept quiet, remaining still in my chair, talking would be stupid. There was no reason I would give that would justify what I did.

The rules were straight 'Treat clients nicely' and well, if he'd treated me nicely as well. The rule applied for only clients, but it didn't apply for workers.

"Talk to me." He said, the anger in his voice became obvious even though he tried to control it.

I still sat there, keeping mute. I hated that side of my boss and it was a shame he showed it because of what I'd done.

"Lani, you and I know the rules and you've been able to abide by them and obey them and you've been able to keep your spot here for some time, I need you to tell me why you did it." He asked, sounding a bit calmer that time around.

There was another minute of silence.

"Lani answer the damn question." His face was turning already turning pink.

"I-I-I I'm sor-sorry. " I stuttered in between my words.

There was serious silence on both ends. I couldn't look at my boss directly in the eye. He was giving me this crazy look that seemed like he wanted to strangle me. Although it wasn't something he could do.

"That hasn't answered my question, Miss Monroe."

"Sir, I'm really sorry. I know I should not have been rude to him, but I was and I have no excuses. I'm sorry. " I said. If someone had recorded my apology and played it back for me, I'd have laughed myself to stupor. It was just so funny, but I had to beg.

"Lani I like you a lot that's why you're still seated here . You are a great asset to this company. If it was any other person, then that person would have been out the door before he even stepped foot in my office. I can't just let you go, but you are going to have to do something for me." He smiled lightly.

I began to shake on my chair and my legs and hands were shaking. I was damn too nervous. I honestly wondered what it was going to be.

"I'll do whatever it is sir. " I said, sounding a bit out of breath.

"You haven't even heard what I want to say, but you're very much capable of this assignment. It won't be too hard to pull this off. " He said, smirking slightly.

"Mr Payton is returning back to England next week, I don't want to hurry this up, but I want you to get on a plane and move with him. You have to convince him to come back to Manhattan to work with us. "

I pushed the pinna of my ear into my ears so that I would hear him clearly.

"Ex-Excuse me sir. " I muttered.

"I said what I said, you're capable of this. Just so you know, if you can't pull this off then you'll have to loose your job. Now go home and get ready. You have a flight to prepare for. " he said as he got up from his chair and walked to the window side.

"Ok sir, thank you. " I managed to say before getting out of his office.

...

Artem could not be serious. What he requested for was not possible.

It was like going back to lick the vomit of an animal.

I laid on my bed thinking about all that had happened today at the office. Maybe I didn't hear him right. Maybe I was feeling a bit tipsy. How the fuck would he tell me to go to England?

We had only one encounter and we both couldn't stand ourselves,although he had nothing to loose and I had everything to loose. My job, my hardwork, my reputation and if it was going to take forever to get another job then I was also going to loose my apartment.

I hadn't even been to England before. I didn't know my way and it wasn't even an official visit, but I definitely would have to pretend like it was official. I hated situations like that, but that was what I was going to have to do in order to keep my job.

I needed something badly, I couldn't say what I wanted exactly but I just needed something to forget about the incident at the office.

I walked to my fridge and scanned through the drinks, but none of them was what I needed now. I needed alcohol and not soda or yogurt or coke.

I later found a bottle of whiskey half filled in my cabinet. I didn't even bother getting a glass. I took a big ass swig directly from the bottle.

The sensational effect was immediate. It burned my throat like fire and ice. I took some more gulps before returning the bottle back.

The whiskey had failed me. I still found myself walking around the living room thinking about what my boss said. I needed something to clear my head but nothing worked.

I stooped down to sit on the floor, the cold tiles sending shivers down my spine. I guess that was that I needed. I needed cold. I hadn't even completed my flu medications yet. I was completely ignorant of what the doctor had told me.

I eventually fell asleep sometime after laying on the floor.

...