THE ROMANTIC OFFICE SAGA: PART 101

THE ROMANTIC OFFICE SAGA: PART 101

I turned and whoever I saw almost made my heart skip a bit, if not stop beating. I even thought I was dreaming. I even turned again just to be sure I was seeing someone I know or a ghost.
“Stella! My goodness where did you come from? And how did you even find yourself here?” I asked her, the one who called me lover boy.
“Ehe, so you thought we shall never meet again in this life? Here I am. What a coincidence!” She said and as if pulled by some magnet she threw herself onto me and gave a hug, I hugged her fast and released her. Her name was Stella Njoki, my first ever girlfriend, my childhood sweet heart, the girl who took my virginity, if such a thing applies to men and she too was a virgin when I got her. It was a well-guarded secret. 
With Stella, we never broke up, it would not surprise me if she still thought I loved her. We just lost contact when I switched residence and never got to see her again and all my efforts to trace her yielded no fruits at all. Looking at her made me realize how much I still felt for her such that it scared me a little.
“All right, welcome. What brings you here?” I asked her.
“Tony, you mean you don’t know why I am here? I am here to see Madam Sally. I have been interviewed and told to come here and meet with the boss who will introduce me to the company. I am being posted here as a secretary doubling up as the company lawyer. I am looking forward to working here and with you too.” Stella said smiling so broadly as if she just struck some gold mine.
I felt confused.
“All right, welcome. She will be here in a short a while.” I told her. The name lover boy was the name they used to call me when I was young. Girls used to tease me not because I was really a lover boy, but I was so shy and due to that most had come to love me and associate with me. To combat my shyness, I used to tell every girl who teased me, “I love you.” And they would all laugh. I had been brought up believing that you must love all people, including those who hate you and so I thought the girls hated me hence why they teased me so I would just tell them I love them, hence earning the name lover boy.
“Oh! Welcome. Stella, meet me in the office.” Sally told her when she got back to her office.
“Thank you.” Stella said rising politely to greet Sally. 
“Do you two know each other?” Sally asked Stella. My heart raced knowing what she could answer.
“Yes, we were neighbors during our childhood back in Secondary.” She said.
“Oh! Great, that makes it easier for me to introduce you to the company.” Sally told Stella as they got into Sally’s office.
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Seated in my office made me realize how much I still felt for Stella. Ours was pure and fresh love, young and naïve love, uncorrupted love before I got a series of heart breaks and gave up on loving. I felt like I had just gone back into time, to 13 years ago. I fantasized a lot, I used to fantasize marrying Stella, living with her in a big house, getting children with her, etc. But all that was cut short when we moved out of our area and since I had no phone then, there was no way of ever getting Stella. I remember going to my bedroom and crying almost the whole night knowing that I might never see Stella all my life again.
Childhood love was coming back to haunt me.
As I was thinking, Sally came with Stella to my office.
“Tony, take her around, I know she will be more at home with you.” Sally told me jokingly.
“All right, I will introduce her.” I told Sally. 
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I took Stella around introducing her to everyone in the company as she told me a bit more about her past.
“So, what have you been up to all that time?” She asked me.
“After high school, I did computer science and here I am.” I told her.
“I did Business Law Degree. I majored on Legal secretarial business aspect. Worked for a shipping company for some years until it got bankrupt. So, I looked for a job and here I am.” Stella told me.
“Oh! That is great. You will enjoy working with us.” I told her. As we were talking, she got a call and talked for almost a minute with whoever was in the other end. After she terminated her call, she looked at me and told me, “Sorry, that was my husband was calling to know if I arrived here.”
“Oh! You are also married. For how long?” I asked her.
“Been married for 4 years now, I have a 3 years old daughter. I have left her at a day care center. And you?” She asked me smiling.
“I got married this year, expecting my first born very soon.” I told her.
“Nice! Time really moves. I am happy for you.” Stella told me smiling.
We settled at a corner of the restaurant and ordered Zuhura to serve us some more tea.
“This place is so conducive for working; silent and cool. I like it already. I have also noticed the staffs are very lively and lovely people.” Stella told me.
I smiled, “You will really love this place.” I told her.
“The boss is also very friendly, she is a nice lady I see.” Stella told me.
“She is the best, you will really like her too.” I told Stella. She was yet to know Sally was my wife.
After finishing our tea, we went back to our office. 
Sally met us in our office and proposed Stella share office with me before we got to create an office for her. It somehow took me by surprise since I was not even aware someone else was being recruited. 
Later, Sally called me in her office.
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“Tony, I am equally surprised. Kamau did not tell me he was hiring someone else. They took Stella through the recruitment process without involving me too.” Sally told me sounding worried.
“Relax, all is well. I will handle it. Leave it to me.” I told Sally.
For some reasons, she felt like Stella was there to replace her since the way she was recruited was shroud in a lot of mystery. But Kamau was completely behind it.
As we were talking, Letisha came and updated us how far he had gone with Kamau. 
“I managed to hypnotize him and got the following:
• Company registration details
• His next of kin in case he dies
• Bank details
• I also made him sign on my I -pad and now I have his digital signature.
What do we do for him after that?”
Letisha asked.
“Did you obtain his KRA passwords and login to the banking vault?” I asked her.
“Yes.” Letisha told me.
“Good, just give them to me, I will handle the rest.” I told Letisha as she went back to her office.
“Tony, are you planning to steal the company from Kamau?” Sally asked me.
“What else do you expect? Were it not for this man’s stupidity, Angeline would still be alive.” I told Sally. 
The next few hours, I spent them forging documents with Kamau’s signature on them, logging in into his accounts online and transferring everything in virtual accounts and even changed his next of kin to read me, and placing myself as his son.
After that, I called Reginah and told her I wanted to meet her in the evening; I decided I would literally seduce her to help me get rid of Kamau. Not kill him but put him out of the way for good.
“Tony, you were so shy back in those days.” Stella told me breaking the silence.
“Yes, I was still a young naïve boy.” I told her.
“You have really changed, for the better.” Stella told me.
“You too have changed.” I told Stella.
Stella had always been a tall slender lady since we were in high school, in fact I thought she would grow taller than me. She however grew to about a height of 5 feet 8 inches tall, she was still slender, brown, lively as she was since childhood and she walked with confidence. Stella had always been a confident lady since childhood. She was also bold I even thought she would become a judge.
“You grew taller than me…” She said, smiling at me.
“Yes, when we were growing, you were taller than me.” I told her. Being 6 feet 2 inches tall meant I was clearly taller than her. She looked at me and laughed. 
“But you are too tall for a lady…” I told her. She laughed.
“I tried modelling and failed miserably. I lacked confidence.” She told me and laughed.
“Why? You used to be very confident when you were young.” I told Stella.
“I don’t know why I began being shy when I become an adult, more so when in front of many people.” Stella told me. I looked into her eyes and she looked away from me. I looked back at my laptop.
“You are taller than any woman here…” I told her. She laughed lightly. 
“Tony, I have been through a lot since you left. Time has really changed me.” Stella told me. I did not probe further. 
I did not want to discuss much with her since the more I talked, the more it brought old sweet memories of me and Stella. I remembered when we once went to fetch water to the river. As we were joking, Stella pushed me jokingly but I fell right into the river. Stella thought I was drowning and she jumped right in to try to rescue me but it turned out I had to rescue her from the flooded river. In the process of pulling her out of the water, I held her by her underwear and it got torn, in the process, I touched her naked crotch and she jolted away from my hand falling again back into the river. I held her by her dress, pulled her so hard until it got torn.
When we went back, her parents looked at us when they met us on the way to shamba, looked at me as if I tried to rape their daughter. They nearly scolded me but Stella said, “He was saving me from drowning, in the process my dress got torn.” However, her mother never believed that story as she sent a stern warning to my mum to tell me to stop trying anything stupid with her daughter. 
It also made me remember days we used to go to the bush to look for honey from honey bee hives when we were very young, one time we got stung and Stella cried the whole day. We also used to go to till garden together, to fetch firewood together and at one time a wild dog attacked us and we ran away so fast; Stella outran me since she had long slender legs and I was left behind trying to fight with the dog until it gave up.
I also remembered when she got her first monthly period we were seated in class together, class 8. Stella began crying. She thought she as sick. I gave her my sweater to wrap herself by her waist to hide the red stain on her white skirt. She really thanked me after 2 weeks, after she got to know what was it. I also genuinely thought she was sick and was going to die.
“Tony! You seem so lost in thoughts.” Stella told me.
“To be honest, you remind me so much about my past.” I told her.
She looked at me keenly for some seconds and her lips curved into a smile.
“Don’t remind me of my past…” Stella said jokingly. We continued to crack jokes until lunch time. 
We went to lunch together with Stella and returned to office a little before the rest of the people came for lunch.
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In the afternoon, I met both Stella and Irene as Irene were to update Stella on her job description. However, it seemed like Stella completely knew what she wanted and what work she was to do.
“So, you guys know each other?” Irene asked.
“Yes, such a coincidence!” I told Irene as she got to know me and Stella grew in the same village. Stella being a little lively and an extroverted, she interacted well with everyone.
“This world is really a small place!” Irene noted and laughed. 
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In the evening I met Reginah.
“Reginah, I want you to help me get rid of Kamau. Displace him not to kill him.” I told Reginah.
She looked at me keenly. I continued, “Come on! Reginah. I know the nature of your job enables you to know a lot about people and easily. I know you can get much about this man and, we are trying on our side but help us too.” I told Reginah.
“All right. I will frame him with a crime, ensure it is well known among the CIDs and get him arrested. We shall make it sound and seem so real he won’t escape. We can have him locked for 10 years. But I can assure you one thing; if it ever shall become known we did that to an innocent man, we shall never be forgiven by anyone.” Reginah told me.
“Do whatever you can, I wish I would be able to pay you.” I told Reginah.
She laughed. “What are you laughing at?” 
“The only payment I want from you is your child, or rather your seed. Forget about money I have enough for myself.” Reginah told me.
“Done! Just do away with this shit of a man!” I told Reginah.
We talked about so many other things until we parted and went our different ways.
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“I am increasingly getting concerned with Kamau micro managing the company without consulting any of us.” Sally told me in the evening.
“Yes, I am equally concerned. Does the other directors even know?” I asked Sally. 
Sally suddenly stopped doing what she was doing.
“By the way……. probably they are not even aware!” Sally said.
“Make a point of meeting with them, try to know.” I told Sally.
“Tomorrow, I will get to one of them, organize a meeting and we shall know more.” Sally said. I did not tell her about my deal with Reginah, since I did not want her to feel alarmed. But I knew if Reginah played her cards perfectly, Kamau would never escape. But I kept wondering how Reginah shall accomplish that. Would she need Letisha? I wondered. 
“Sally, trust me. I will handle this. Remember, I also was able to assist you to reach the position that you are now. I will remove all stumbling blocks ahead. I just love this company and I feel like it is mine. We have come from far to just leave it at this level.” I told Sally.
She just looked at me and smiled.
>>>>To be continued>>>>
As narrated by Dr. Love,