Chapter 5 5

AMAKA RICHARD:

I continued working for the rest of the day and felt Simon's gaze on me frequently.

Why was he always looking at me? I pondered, but didn't ask him.

My phone rang, and I unlocked it to see that Maureen was calling me. She had obviously taken Jason to school, but I didn't want to chat with her about Jason here.

Feeling Simon's scrutinizing gaze on me, and the fact that Joseph was in his office monitoring me, made me uncomfortable.

"Hello, dear, I'll call you back later," I told Maureen, and she replied, "Okay."

I looked at Simon, and he frowned and looked away. I didn't understand the reason for his frowning, but then I heard the buzzer sound.

"It's break time," Simon informed me, and I sighed. "Okay."

I turned off my laptop and stood up from my chair. "I think we'll be going to the cafeteria, right?" I asked Simon as he rose from his chair.

"Yes. Or you can request your meal here," he smiled, and I smiled back. "Fine. I'm still new, so I'll go to the cafeteria."

I exited Simon's office, sucking in a deep breath of fresh air, as I was no longer under surveillance.

My day had been ruined by meeting my baby's father. How do I tell him that we have a child? How could Joseph Ericson claim not to know me?

Was four years too long to forget someone? I tried not to sob as I walked ahead to the elevator to go down to the second floor.

As I arrived at the elevator, I entered and looked back, seeing Joseph step out of his office. My heart skipped a beat, and I looked away, wanting to shut the door and leave, but the security guard told me to wait.

"Hmm," I narrowed my eyes at him as Joseph came into the elevator and joined me in going down to the second floor. We didn't speak to each other. Luckily, there was a female staff member in the elevator with us, and she was also nervous to be in the same elevator as the boss.

Joseph had grown taller than the last time I saw him. As much as I tried to look away from him, my eyes still traveled to linger on him. But he spared me no glance at all. How ruthless of him.

Joseph walked out of the elevator with perfectly measured strides, maintaining his stance as he entered the second-floor hallway. The security guards greeted him as he stopped to speak with the two men, but I marched away, feeling upset that I was being ignored.

My year of being pregnant. Going through all that journey alone. The fact that my parents sent me away.

I wanted to confront Joseph about this, and he couldn't pretend like he didn't know me.

I moved over to the counter and requested my meal. They served free lunch, and I requested a plate of jollof rice and fried chicken lap. It was one of my favorites.

As I turned to take a seat in the cafeteria, I saw Joseph looking at me. But he quickly looked away as my eyes met his. I swear I saw a look of longing in his eyes. He was lost for a moment, like he was admiring me. But he looked away and moved away from the security guard he was speaking with and went to take his seat.

I sat two chairs away from him, but his eyes were on me. Each time I looked at him, he looked away.

A waitress went to serve Joseph lunch, but I didn't know they had waiters. Most of the staff didn't wait to be served and went to request their meals.

As I sat alone, lost in my deep thoughts, I decided to speak to Maureen about this first before I confronted Joseph again. He might have moved on, I guess, as he was so obsessed with sex. He wanted to sleep with me until I gave in, but he changed after that night.

"Hi, may I join you for lunch?" Simon asked, snapping me out of my trance. I could feel Joseph's gaze on us, and likewise, some other guys in the cafeteria.

Many staff were coming and going. The space was vast.

"Sure," I told him, and he sat across from me.

"How do you enjoy the meal?" He asked, and I smiled back.

"It's nice," I said, feeling Joseph's gaze on us.

"Okay, I'm glad you like it. So can I get your personal phone number to call you after closing time?" Simon asked, and I looked at his face.

"Why? I don't need any calls," I replied, and he grinned.

"It's just a harmless call to check up on my colleague. Nothing else," he said, and I nodded.

"Alright. I'll think about it. Maybe when we get back to the office, I'll give you my phone to put your number," I told him, and he smiled.

"Alright." Simon waved over to the waiter to bring him lunch, and he ordered the same food as mine. We sat there eating, and I finished up my meal and rose to return to my office.

I could still feel Joseph's gaze on my back, and I tried not to look at him.

I exited the cafeteria and went back to Simon's office to sit in my chair. My mind was filled with numerous thoughts.

I resumed my office work, helping the company advertise their new products online. I finished up with all the new products available and signed out. I picked up my phone and signed into my son's account.

I looked at his photos and videos and recalled Joseph denying that he didn't know me. I hadn't applied much makeup, so why couldn't he remember?

Simon came into the office, and I quickly signed out of my son's profile. I kept my phone in my bag and waited until 5 pm when the company closed.

It wasn't a new company after all. I had thought they were just starting, but it was a branch of their main head office on the island.

I thought about Maureen putting my son in a school and her going back to her husband's house. They hadn't gotten married, but he had paid her dowry, with a church wedding still to be done.

Maureen wasn't so obsessed about the wedding, so she wanted to go and live with her fiancé since he had invited her over. She would be packing tomorrow, and I didn't know if I should tell her about my trouble or not.

It was closing hour, and Simon rose from his desk and came over to me.

"I haven't forgotten to ask for your number," he said, and I agreed and collected his phone.

I gave him my number, and he told me he would call tonight. I shook my head, picking up my black handbag and fled the office.

As I got out, thankfully Joseph wasn't in sight, so I made my way into the elevator and left the building.

I looked around the parking lot, seeing only three cars there. I sighed, looking forward and exited the premises. I got a cab and went back home.