Karen looked at the huge pile of work she had to do and she felt her heart drop into her chest.
It was only the next day. She had gone to see Kai at the end of the work day and returned with an impossible amount of work to be done.
According to him, since he bought the company he hadn’t been to it in person. So now Karen had to take care of a backlog of work dating four years back.
For the first time ever, she had to stay back after work to try and cut down the work load.
Her phone rang and she saw the caller ID as Beulah.
“You’re just who I was thinking of.” She said with a relieved sigh.
“What’s wrong babe?” Beulah asked. “I got a call from the school and they said you aren’t here yet. It’s two hours past closing time.”
“I’m so sorry,” Karen said, hanging her phone on her shoulder as she packed the enormous paper work and dumped it on the ground to free up more space on her desk. “I got swamped with work all of a sudden. Is David with you?”
“Yeah,” Beulah sighed. “We’re going for ice cream now. David say hi to your mama.”
Karen waited.
“Hello mommy.” David’s sweet voice reached her ears.
Karen sighed gratefully. “Baby I’m so sorry I’m late okay? Beulah will take you home. I’ll be with you soon.”
“Okay mommy.”
Beulah took the phone back. “So um, meet us at home?”
“Of course.” Karen said and ended the call.
She put her phone in her bag and faced the work.
It was nine pm by the time she had gone through a sustainable part of the work. She was exhausted, her body sore and aching. She was the only one in the office. She got up, did a stretch and packed up her things.
She made her way out of the office and the building entirely. She got to the parking lot and got into her car. It took her a moment to catch her breath before she started driving.
She made her way home. She saw Beulah’s car, a pink porche still parked outside her house. Karen parked and got out of the car. She went inside the house. Beulah was in the living room, eating a bowl of ice cream and watching a drama.
“It’s really late.” She said with a sigh.
Karen joined her on the couch and sighed in exhaustion. “You have no idea.”
“The new boss?” Beulah asked and passed the bowl of ice cream to her.
Karen nodded. “He’s the devil himself.”
“I put David to bed. And yes I gave him a bath. We also did his home work and no I didn’t feed him ice cream for dinner.”
Karen smiled softly, her heart feeling soft. “Thank you so much Beu.”
Beulah waved dismissively. “Please don’t. It’s nothing, the kid is like my own son at this point.”
Karen knew that to be the case. So much so that she put Beulah’s number as an emergency contact in David’s school.
Karen is very sure that Kai is hell bent on making her life hell.
She took a cold shower and got ready for bed. Beulah left a few minutes later. Karen didn’t get much sleep before it was morning and she had to go again.
***
“Do it all over.” Kai said and tossed the report in Karen’s face.
She closed her eyes as the paper slammed into her face, her teeth clenching in annoyance. “It took me five hours to do that report, sir.” She said simply. “I can’t redo it.”
“You used the wrong font.” Kai replied, he didn’t even look up from his computer as he spoke.
“You didn’t even read it.” Karen snapped back.
“Your time is ticking.” Kai said. He looked up at her. “Get to it ”
Karen felt anger spark inside her. She bent down and picked up the papers and turned to leave. She walked out of his office, her head raised confidently. She made her feel way to the elevator and waited for it.
She got into the elevator and hit the button so hard her finger hurt. Once it started moving she let out a scream of frustration. Her precious hours had just gone to waste all because of what?! A font?!
It dawned on her that it had just been three days. Three days only and if felt like an eternity. The weekend didn’t even excite her anymore as much as it did before.
Karen got out of the elevator and walked to her office. As she walked in she couldn’t help but notice the eyes one her.
Let them stare. Her problems were more than that.
She went to her desk and sat down, slamming the report on her desk. If only she could quit this job so she wouldn’t have to deal with Kai. If only. there was….
“Hello Karen,”
Karen looked up to see Sonia. “Hi.” She mumbled back.
“You don’t seem very happy.” Sonia said.
“What’s there to be happy about?”
Sonia laughed softly. “That’s so unlike you. You used to be the happy one.”
Karen didn’t reply.
“Anyway,” Sonia said with an inhale. “In your absence there was an announcement.”
“Am I being fired?” Karen asked, her eyes lighting up
Sonia frowned. “Hell no. How can you be fired? You just promoted on Tuesday!”
Oh right. Karen had forgotten her promotion. What point did it make? She was being stressed now even more than when she was an intern.
If only she hadn’t gotten the promotion….
“And besides,” Sonia added. “You’re valuable to the team. No one would fire you.”
Karen was starting to regret being such a dedicated worker. Look at where it landed her!
“What’s the announcement then?” Karen asked with a tried sigh.
“We’re throwing a welcome party for the CEO. He has approved the plans and the party is next week on Friday night at his place.”
Karen felt her heart drop into her stomach. “I’m not going.” She said immediately.
Sonia raised a brow. She leaned into her as if she wanted to spill a secret. “Do you know the CEO from somewhere.”
“No.” Karen shot back. “All I know is I’m not attending that party.”
“We’re also going to celebrate your promotion. You have to be there.”
Karen didn’t want to be there. Not with Kai. Not with anyone. A party at his place?! That sounded like a recipe for disaster.
Karen sighed. “I’ve got a lot of work to do Sonia, and I can’t make it to the party.”
“Don’t worry. It’s in a week’s time. There’s enough time for you to make your mind up ” She said and gave her a pat on her shoulder. “And also cos there’ll be food and booze and all that stuff. Rich people stuff.”
Karen wondered what Sonia would do if she found out her boss was a werewolf. The thought made Karen smile.
“Okay ” She said. “I’ll think about it.”
“Good. Let’s go for lunch today.”
“Sorry, I can’t. I have some work to redo.”
Sonia looked suspicious but didn’t make a comment about it. “Bye,”
Karen exhaled deeply after Sonia left. There was nothing to think about. She had made her mind about the party. She wasn’t going.
***
“I think you should hire a help.” Beulah said over the phone, the sound of cooking loud. “With the recent developments, you can’t leave David to himself”
Karen sighed, popping the joints of her fingers. “I should right?”
The week had finally come to an end. Once again Karen was late to pick David up. Picking him up, doing the groceries and making dinner had zapped her of all her energy. Beulah called to see how things were going and suggested a help.
“Yes. Luckily my mom knows someone. She was the nanny who took care of me so, she a really good hand.”
“That’s wonderful. Could you arrange a meeting with her?”
“Of course. I’ll ask mom. She should still be in contact with her. ”
Karen felt like a weight was lifted off her shoulders. “Thank you so much.”
“It’s nothing. And oh, mom wants to see you. She said you don’t call her anymore.”
“Guilty as charged. This man is after my life.” She said under her breath.
Beulah laughed softly. “Our Sunday still a thing?”
They had a lunch date on Sunday with some of their friends. Karen so needed the break.
“Of course.” She replied. “How else am I going to survive the new week?”
“Alright. I’ll see if I can get the nanny tomorrow so it can be done and dusted.”
“That’s perfect.” Karen replied.