Chains That Bind Us - Episode 7

 

Chidinma heard the noise outside. It woke her up from her occasional afternoon siesta. She  recognise the voice of her gateman anywhere anytime and she knew trouble when she heard one. Her mother-in-law was not around and so was her husband. She had arrived early from work because she was too tired to concentrate on her job. One of the major advantages of owning her own business is the fact that she could leave at any point in time without answering to anybody.
The noise grew louder and she could hear the angry shout and demand in the voice of another man . She quickly got up and went outside to see what was going on. Hopefully she would be able to stop the fight before it turned out to be a full fledged war.
“You cannot see my madam.” Chidinma heard her gateman say as she stepped outside into the sunny afternoon.
“Why can’t I see her? I know she is inside so why can’t I see her?” The angry demand of the other man’s voice grew louder and stronger. It sounded like he was ready for a fight and would either see her or fight till his very last breathe until he does.
“Make you go get appointment then come back.”
“I want to see Chidinma and I want to see her now. Why don’t you just go in and tell her who it is that wants to see her and stop wasting both of us time.” The voice demanded again

All episodes of this story can be found here >> https://www.ebonystory.com/story/chains-that-bind-us

. This time around saying her name like they know each other and they have known each other for ages.
Chidinma who had been walking down towards the gate knew it was time to interfere. At least know who it was that was at the gate causing so much commotion that disrupted her precious afternoon sleep. “Abbey, who is at the gate”? She asked interrupting the reply the man was going to give to the man at the gate.
“This man said he wants to see you.” Abbey replied. Hopefully it wasn’t Nelson, was the last thing on her mind as Abbey swung the door open wider for her to see who her august visitor was. 
“Raymond.” Chidinma screamed out and ran into the open arms of the grinning man while Abbey quickly flung himself aside so that she did not crash into him. They hugged for a while before they finally pulled apart. “When did you arrive?”
“Last week.” Her old friend replied. Raymond was her friend from the University days. After school, he travelled immediately for her masters and they lost touch with each other.  They communicated only once in a while through emails and social medias once in a while.
“Why didn’t you email me that you were back?”
“Wanted to see the surprise look on your face when is showed up on your doorstep.”
“I can see you kept the address I sent you.” Chidinma said happily as she took her friend’s hand and practically dragged him into the house.
“I hope I get to meet the husband.” Raymond said as they entered the house.
“You came at the wrong time. If you wanted to meet my husband then you would have come on a weekend instead.”
“I wanted to see you first.”
“Now I know why I was feeling so tired at work today and everything in me was just pushing me to come home.” Chidinma said as she sat down. “This actually calls for celebration. I haven’t seen you in seven years. So we really need to celebrate. What should I offer you?”
“Wine of course since we are celebrating.” Raymond replied cockily.
“Okay I will go get the wine and some ice.” She said as she stood up and left for the kitchen. She arrived few minutes later carrying a tray with two wine glasses, a bottle of Andre and a small bowl of ice. “Forgot to ask. Did your wife and kids come with you?”
“Yes they did. That was one of the reason we came actually. It is high time the kids met their extended families and for I and their mother to do our traditional marriage.”
“What were the chances that both of us would marry Yoruba people?” Chidinma asked smiling as she handed him his glass of wine after putting some ice in it.
“Chances were next to none for me at least.” Raymond replied. “You still had more chances than I did. You were in Nigeria and you could have met one easily but I was in New York and chances of meeting your fellow Nigeria could be incredibly slim if you don’t move in the circle. When I met Aderomoke, I fell totally in love with her but it wasn’t love at first sight though.” 
Chidinma laughed heartily. “I never thought it was. I can’t wait to meet the woman that finally caught you.” She said while sipping her wine.
“She is amazing.”
“Why don’t you come over on Saturday so we could have dinner? I get to meet the wife and you get to meet the husband and the bonus would be getting to dote on the kids.”
“Well it’s a date then.”
“Yes it definitely is.”
................................
Just as expected, pitiful glances were directed at her when she got to the office that morning. Eunice noticed people looking at her then immediately returned to whispering amongst themselves. Thankfully nobody came to her to tell her how sorry they were for what happened to her. 
Having the weekend out with her sister had relaxed her moderately and she had arrived at the office looking like almost a new person. Her appearance communicated to people that she was fine and ready to move on with her life. It didn’t communicate how nervous and uncertain she was about what the future held for her. She covered that put with a smile she had practiced so well that it came quite naturally to her. 
Now she is sitting outside the boardroom fidgeting as the company’s Board of Directors discuss her case and come to a conclusion. Her palms were sweaty and she had to hold on to her handkerchief in order to keep it dry. It would be unprofessional and embarrassing if she had to shake her bosses with sweaty palms. It was enough that she was sweating despite the fact that the air-conditioner was on.
The boardroom door opened and her immediate boss stepped out and gestured for her to come in. ‘God what was the verdict?’ she soliloquized as she stood up, carried her handbag and immediately walked smartly and calmly oozing charisma and confidence she was presently lacking. As she entered the room before her boss, she asked herself quietly if she should once again greet them or not. She had been sitting in the same room with them until a few minutes ago when she was excused so that they could deliberate amongst themselves the possible solution to her problem. As she sat down in her former seat, facing the men and women who held the keys to the company she walked for in their hands, she decided against greeting them. It would only end up communicating how nervous she felt at that moment.
“Mrs. Okafor, we have discussed and deliberated on your request amongst ourselves. What this company wants is for its employees to be comfortable and capable to work and for that to be possible, their physical, emotional and spiritual well being must be put in consideration.” Mr. Owoyeni, the company’s CEO and chairman Board of Directors said. “We have decided to grant your request and transfer you to our branch office in Ibadan. There is no position opened there presently so it would have to be an exchange. Someone from Ibadan would have to come replace you here while you replace the person over there. You are a valued employee that is why we are adjusting and making changes for your sake.”
Eunice wanted to smile, she wanted to laugh, she wanted to cry but she kept a straight professional face. She had all the time in the world to smile, laugh and cry later. “But,” the CEO continued. “We would put you on a year probation to see how you fare with work and performances. If you decline considerably, we might have to let you go.”
Eunice immediately gave thanks that she hadn’t smiled at that particular moment. The expression would have been completely wiped out of her face and they would notice it. She was scared. She knew she was going to be monitored but them actually saying it and confirming her suspicions is like they were hoping she would fail because she would always be on the edge from now on. She would try to make sure everything is perfectly done and on time with no mistake and that is one sure way to failure. She would have to try to get the probation out of her mind and do her work as she always does but that would be incredibly difficult. “Thank you sir. I promise to remain the diligent, dedicated employee that I have always been.” She said with the fake confidence she was feeling.
“Promise Mrs. Okafor is a debt and shouldn’t be made when they would be difficult to keep.” He said. “I suggest you start packing your bags for Ibadan. Your transfer letter would be ready soon.” He stood up and immediately everybody stood up as well including her. She wondered what she had ever done wrong to deserve such a disdain from her employer. Their paths hardly ever crossed and since she started working for the company, they could count how many times they have met on both her hands. That’s the disadvantage of these rich kids who automatically assume their father’s position in their companies without actually working for it.
“Congratulations Eunice.” She heard Mr. Komolafe say beside her.
“Thank you very much sir. I am very grateful for this opportunity.” She said smiling heartily at her boss.
“Take your mind off the probation. He only said that to put you on the edge. Take care of yourself in Ibadan and although it feels like you are running away from all your problems, I am sure you would feel better once you breathe a new air and get to start afresh. At least you don’t have any commitment that would keep you here.”
“No I don’t.” Eunice replied.    
“Well I have to go. Have some papers awaiting my undivided attention.” He said then turned to leave. It was after he was gone that Eunice noticed they were the only ones left in the boardroom and with him gone, she was the only one left. Was she to continue working in her office until her transfer letter was ready? She didn’t know. Nobody mentioned anything like that but they probably expected her to. They might decide to let her go if she doesn’t show up for work. Well, one of the advantages of working in a private company is that things always happen fast. Her transfer letter was probably being worked on already. There is no harm in coming to work for at most one more week until they hand it to her. 
“I had better start looking for a place to stay in Ibadan.” She whispered to herself as she headed to her office. Soon to be her old office.