The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea 4

Taiwo tossed and turned on her bed all through the night. Sleep was elusive. Fear, worry and trepidation were her companions. Her boss's request was unheard of. Who ever does that? Certainly not a normal human being! And yet, she knew she had no choice. She was now the mainstay of her family. If she said no, Malcolm had made it clear that she and her family would go back to square one. There was no one to help. He had told her he would give her a week, max to think about it and the consequences of saying no. In no uncertain terms he had also told her that if her answer came out as negative, asides her job loss, she and her family should be prepared to move back to the shanty they had left barely two months ago.
She thought of her sick, pain ridden, bedridden mother, who had to be fitted with adult pampers. She thought of her brothers who she had started making admission arrangements for,
 at tertiary institutions. She thought of the last born who she was trying to relocate to a private secondary school. She thought of the accomodation they presently inhabited, the convenience, spaciousness and how decent, presentable and beautiful it was. No more leaking roofs, no more trekking to fetch water from the only public tap miles away from their former abode. She thought of the salary increment promised and how badly she needed it to move her family to the next level. The promise of a new car and the vacation abroad were not topmost on her list, but they were a plus to her decision making.
She thought of all she stood to lose and knew she wasn't ready to lose, anything.
Immediately Malcolm came in the next morning. She walked into his office and said ' Goodmorning sir. I really have no choice, but to agree'
Malcolm smiled
' Good girl! I knew you'd see reason! We start tonight!'
' Where sir?'
' Where else?! In this office of course!'
Taiwo exclaimed ' But that's too risky!'
Malcolm shrugged
' It's my company, I can do anything I want' he paused 'Are you through with Maurice and sons files?'
' Yes sir, I'll bring the file right away'
Taiwo walked back to her office, trembling slightly. There was no turning back, now.


To be continued....