At the Gate.
‘He would be surprised to see me,’ she fantasized and parked. She honked with the confidence that she would not be turned back anymore. Then, the Chief Security Officer, who had seen many of her types since the previous week, walked up to her by himself.
“Good day, Ma’am. How may I help you?” he asked her politely.
The new face she was seeing for the first time looked more mature than the security guard who had embarrassed her the previous week.
“I wish to see the President,” she said confidently.
Now, the CSO observed her again and inquired, “Are you on an appointment with him, Ma’am?”
“Yes. He must be expecting me. Please open the gate. I want to avoid keeping him waiting,” she made clear.
The officer locked eyes with her and then declared with a mockery smile, “I see. Sorry, Ma’am. The President is not on the seat.”
Just like anyone would be, with a surge of hostility and violence, she got out of her car and began to rant, “What do you take me for? A kid? After interrogating me, you dare to tell me lies.”
Now, the security had alerted the police, and they were heading to the complex. When Denise saw the drama at the gate, he called the officer. He picked up his call and stepped aside to speak with him.
“Hello, Boss. How may I help you?”
“What is going on? What does the woman want?”
“She said she had an appointment with the President. She flared up when I informed her that the President was not on the seat.”
“Ask her to come in, please.”
“It is all right, Boss.”
He walked back to Lorene, who was clenched by emotions and declared, “You can go in, Ma’am. You have to submit your phone at the security post.”
Meanwhile, she felt that the security officer wanted to take her for granted and that her insistence had made him grant her request. After submitting her phone, she glared at him before she got into her car.
Then, the gate man opened the gate for her and she drove in with a high spirit without the knowledge of the location of the President’s Office.
When she got to the Administrative Block, she walked to the President’s Office and was thrilled to see the inscription on the door.
She walked in and met the clerks and other workers, who were surprised to see her. Usually, there would have been a call from the security post informing them that a visitor was coming.
“Good day. I am here to see the President, please,” she informed them.
“Take your seat, Ma’am,” the clerk advised her and walked away to inform Mrs. Felix.
“Ask her to come in,” she advised her.
“It is Okay, Mrs. Felix,” the clerk answered and walked away.
The clerk returned to Lorene and informed her, “You can go in, Ma’am.”
“Thank you,” she said cheerfully and got up.
She walked into the Secretary’s office, hoping to meet the President.
“Surprise, Surprise,” she joked.
To her astonishment, she met a high-profile secretary whose office could be mistaken for that of the President with an officious look on her face. Then, her face, which was full of smiles, suddenly went pale.
“Hello, Ma’am. Welcome to the Bailey International Conglomerates. Kindly fill out the visitors’ form,” Mrs. Felix said and handed over a notepad to her.
“Thank you,” she said and collected the form from her.
She filled out her information and handed it back to Mrs. Felix, who collected it and said, “Kindly take your seat.”
‘These protocols will soon be a thing of the past,’ she assured herself and took her seat.
Meanwhile, Denise had been monitoring her since she left the gate. He did not wish to alter any of the protocols in the President’s Office. Therefore, he allowed her to go through the processes. Then, the secretary forwarded her information to Denise, who went through it and asked her to usher her in.
“You can go in, Ma’am,” she said and pointed at the President’s door.
“Thank you, Secretary,” she appreciated her and walked on majestically to meet her Prince Charming.
She put out her beautiful face and exposed her dentition. To her embarrassment, she saw a familiar young man with an officious demeanor.
“Good day, Ma’am. Kindly, take your seat,” Denise said and fixed his eyes on him.
Now, her beautiful face turned pale again and the dentition concealed with surprise.
“Good day. Thank you, for the offer,” she responded coldly and took her seat.
Then, Denise continued with the demeanor of a successful Chief Executive Officer.
“I learned that you wished to see the President on appointment. I apologize for the disappointment. He had an urgent need to travel out of the country,” he explained.
Now, the confused Lorene looked around the office and saw the portrait of the Prime Minister, Retired Gen. Armand Bailey of blessed memory in his Military Uniform, Late Williams Bailey, and Arthur as the present President. The man she saw in the portrait as the President did not look like the man she spent the weekend with. While she was running her eyes through the office, Denise looked at the CCTV and saw the police arresting a woman. He turned to Lorene to dismiss her so that he could attend to other matters.
To hear more about the President, she smiled and pointed out, “The trip must be so urgent that he forgot about our appointment today.”
“You may be right, Ma’am. He traveled last Friday, so he may be too busy to remember appointments for Monday. I hope you understand.”
Now, Lorene’s face beamed with surprise. When Denise noticed it, he asked, “Do you think it is something I can handle?”
She smiled and declined at once, “Never mind, I will be on my way.”
“It is all right. Once more, on behalf of the President, I apologize.”
“Thank you,” she appreciated him curtly and got up.
They could not recognize each other again because they were casually dressed when they met at the clinic on Saturday. Now, Lorene, who was demoralized, walked out of the office with her head bowed.
“Have a nice day, Ma’am. Mrs. Felix said.
To her surprise, she did not respond rather, she walked on like a disappointed child.