Chapter 003

(Amaka's POV)

After I finished having my breakfast in the kitchen, I stepped out of the house and made my way outside the compound.

The house was a rented apartment; Mrs. Ann didn’t own it.

Luckily, as I got outside onto the busy road, I saw a yellow bus and got in. I sat beside a tall man who wore a black suit, and he smiled at me.

I was too preoccupied to smile back, and after what Joseph had done to me, I limited smiling at any man. It was very painful that Joseph broke up with me. He should have told me he wanted only sex, not that he wanted to marry me.

I was a decent girl in my area, which is why I became a laughingstock among my peers, who hadn’t expected a good girl like me to become pregnant.

I wiped my sobs away and kept my gaze focused on the road. The man who sat beside me spoke, “Hi, dear. I have paid your fare.”

“Huh!” I was taken aback that a total stranger would help me pay my fare. As I looked at this man’s face, I gulped. He was fair-skinned like me; he had short brown hair like my son. Although he wasn’t Joseph Ericson, he was handsome and masculine.

“Thank you, sir, but you shouldn’t have done that. I don’t need any favours from you,” I replied, as the bus continued to drive towards our destination.

“I understand, but I can’t help but appreciate your beauty. Do you live around, or where are you heading to now?” he asked, and I grimaced.

Gross! I hated it whenever a guy poked his nose into my affairs.

“I am sorry, sir. But I cannot tell you anything about myself. These days people easily get kidnapped, and trusting a stranger is a risk,” I replied, my voice lowered to avoid embarrassing him, since we had other passengers seated behind us.

“Fine. I will keep that in mind,” he said, while I looked away.

“Industrial estate. Anyone getting down?” The driver of the yellow bus asked, and I responded, “Yes, sir.”

I got down from the bus. The tall man in the black suit also came down, and my brows furrowed, wondering if he didn’t have a job at this early hour of the day.

I wanted to pay the bus conductor, but he told me, “Your husband has paid.”

“What? He’s not my husband,” I warned the conductor, who gasped, “Oh! Sorry, Madam. But you two resemble.”

“Alright!” I turned and quickly made my way to the company I was heading to: J.E. Globals.

I didn’t speak to the man who walked along with me. I believed by the time I got into the company, he would find his way.

However, as I got to the company's gate, the man checked in with his ID and the security man let him in. I was surprised that the man was already working there, but I wasn’t allowed inside.

“What do you want, madam?” the security man asked me, and I replied, “I’m here for my interview.” I showed him the email on my phone, and he finally allowed me into the company.

I had to wait for my interview with the boss, as the company was very strict, as Maureen had told me. I didn’t research this company, believing I would secure the job.

A receptionist told me to sit and wait for the boss to arrive, and it was already 9 a.m. before he came. I didn’t raise my head to look at the boss who walked into the company. I heard whispering from other new members who had come for their interview. I believe we were up to 10 candidates who came for this mouthwatering job interview.

Soon, the lady in charge of ushering us came with her folder to introduce herself to us, as she had previously told us to sit and wait.

“Hello, everyone. Welcome to J.E. Global Enterprises. We do not entertain cheating or breach of contract. We expect our staff to keep our company name high to motivate other brands out there to partner with us, and our goods and services. So we will proceed with the quick introduction. I am Anita Edward, your new coach. I will give out this consent form to each and every one of you. Once you sign it, it shows that you have agreed to our company’s terms. Then I will assign you to your partner, who will mentor you on how our system operates. But before that, you will have to go in one by one for your interview with our boss. Once he approves of you and why you’re here to work with us, then you can sign this form. Agreed?” she asked, and I swallowed hard.

I sat in the lobby on the long guest chairs, waiting. I could see some clients coming in and going out of the building. I was nervous, wondering who that man I had seen earlier was.

There was no way the boss of J.E. Globals would be taking a bus like I did. Although I had the money to afford a small car, I didn’t want to show off.

I was earning more money than Maureen, who taught me how to blog. So if I bought a car, it would seem like I was trying to compete with her. I didn’t know if that was how Maureen felt, but I thought she might feel that way, so I limited doing anything to piss her off. Though she never got pissed off, I didn’t want to show off.

“Amaka Richard. It’s your turn now to go in for your interview,” Anita said.

“Oh!” I quickly snapped out of my trance, rose from the guest chair, and adjusted my red top and black skirt properly.

“Ma, can I go in there with my handbag?” I asked, not knowing if I could carry it in.

“No. Come with me,” she ushered me to follow her, and she showed me a safe where I could keep my bag and hold the key until I returned to take it.

“Thank you, ma,” I told her, and she smiled.

“Hurry up and don’t keep our boss waiting,” she said.

“Okay,” I gulped and walked to the boss’s office.

I drew a deep breath and entered the vast office on the fifth floor, and my eyes landed on the dark-skinned man in a black suit seated behind the desk.

“What?!” I gasped, shocked to see Joseph Ericson as the boss of this new company. *Why didn’t I research him? How did I forget to check the new company I was coming to work for?*

I tried to look away from him and leave his office. He appeared indifferent, as if he didn’t know me.

“Are you Amaka Richard?” he asked, pretending not to know me.

Unbelievable. Did I change that much? How could he not recognise me just after four years of our relationship?

My lips trembled as I tried to respond to him. “Jo... Joseph. You own this company?” I asked, tears welling up in my brown eyes.

“Excuse me, have we met before?” he asked. I shook my head. Since he was pretending not to know me, I would pretend that I didn’t know him too. We had dated for one year before he ran away. How couldn’t he recognise me?