On my first day as the CEO, excitement jolted me awake like the voltage of electricity. My alarm hadn't even gone off when I woke up that morning. The feeling was amazing, but the anxiety that came with it was unrelentlessly overwhelming. With this new feeling, came a totally new behavior. At first, I went straight to the kitchen to have coffee, took the liberty of staring out my balcony towards the horizon, before flashing my teeth at the mirror, practicing to smile since I was going to be doing a lot of it that day. For some reason, I felt at peace.
When my alarm finally blared, I slammed my palm into it to shut it before stepping into the bathroom to shower. When the water poured down my face, it felt almost as if breathing was difficult, so I left my mouth slightly opened, my eyes sealed shut as I enjoyed the warm water. Not long after, I turned the water off, stepping out of the bathroom to wipe my body. I put music on, vibing to it as I tried about three outfits on. Finally I got one, after long consideration before the mirror, I decided to roll with it. Aaliyah and Nadia hadn't woken up when I left the house.
The sun rose languidly behind the dense clouds, casting it's rays all over like an exploding light. It's reflection sipping in through the tiny cracks in our corridor window. The weather was cold, but the warmth of the sun offered a relief to counter the cold atmosphere. The silence of the morning like a moment of grief. I arrived at the garage, sat in my car, then took another five minutes to check my face in the mirror. This wasn't who I used to be... I had to look my best on my first day. When I finally felt satisfied, I reversed out of my spot before driving towards the light.
By the time I arrived at Berkscorp, about six reporters were already waiting outside but no one at the office had arrived. I evaded their questions and drove in like it was just another normal day. At that point, it didn't feel strange anymore for the reporters to be around the company. There was always something going on in Berkscorp to report on. When I arrived on the last floor, memories of Asher quickly flooded my mind but I quickly shook it off. It wasn't my fault that he left. His office was still locked, he hadn't moved out his things. I lay my hand gently on the glass, saying in my heart it was only a matter of minutes before I received what's rightfully mine in the beginning. I casually walked back to my previous office to wait for everyone.
Around nine in the morning, the whole place started to get loud. Workers had started to arrive, and their voices echoed like the wailings of an infant, each group holding a different kind of conversation as they all settled in. Then at once, everything went silent. This was the normal routine in Berkscorp, I just wasn't that used to it since I was usually slightly late to work.
My hand fumbled over the decor of my old office, nostalgia hit me like wave, almost as if I was saying a final goodbye. I ran my palm over the table, over the keyboard, and the edge of my chair then I heard the door open. I raised my head to look, and behold, Mr. Barney was standing in the room with his secretary.
"Come with me," he ordered.
I got up without hesitation and followed him out of the room. He took me straight to Asher's office and unlocked the door. His secretary stepped in first, and he followed her closely behind. I looked around for a bit before walking inside with them.
"This is your office from now on," he added.
Smile crept to my face. "But Asher haven't moved out," I replied, looking around the office.
Mr. Barney's expression suddenly changed. He looked at me like was pissed off by what I said, but he immediately calmed his frustration. "He has nothing here anymore. Settle in, and report back to me," he answered before walking out without saying another word.
Who knew a day like this would come when the universe would decide to reward me for my goodness? I paced around the room for a bit, restless. I stood by the window for a brief moment, then ran my hand over the CEO seat. I calmly sat in, looking proud. I pulled the name tag on the table, read out Asher's name before tossing it in one of the drawers. I pulled mine out of my bag and placed it on the table, smiling like I had finally achieved everything. So, this was what power felt like? I couldn't say it looked any different to what I had before. It made me feel like my obsession over it was for nothing, and it wasn't worth fighting over at all. We struggled with each other for months over a seat—just a seat. It didn't feel as if there was anything special about it. In fact the only physical representation of power in that room was that the office was bigger than my previous one and had everything an apartment would have, and perhaps the title associated with the room... The rest was psychological.
Although this felt like just any other room, the psychological understanding that came with it was great. It made me question if power was truly in the title or the mindset. I spent about twenty minutes clearing out the desk, around that time, Robin arrived. He only greeted me casually before sitting at a corner in the office. He seemed off, perhaps he was bitter I stole power from Asher. But I didn't steal it, he gave it up.
I couldn't care less. I shook off the feeling of inferiority I was getting before stepping out for a bit, and surprisingly, the applaud that welcomed me at the corridor was quite heartwarming. It was almost as if the entire office had been waiting for this day, everyone was happy for me. My smile widened as some of them stepped closer to wish me congratulations. It was beyond my original expectations... I was finally where I was supposed to be. I finally got what I deserved.
To my surprise, the CEO seat was a depressing one. Not many work came to my desk, there wasn't yet another Manager and Assistant Director—the two positions I was managing before, so my first day as CEO was completely dry. At one point, I even slept off but I wasn't really comfortable with Robin there. Also, I couldn't tell him to move out because I had promised Asher to look after him. It would be bad to go back on my word. It shouldn't actually bother me for now, I would eventually figure something out.
The day slowly came to an end. On my second day as CEO, my morning went exactly like the first. I listened to the same song, woke up at the same time, took coffee, stared out the window, dressed up and arrived early like something was chasing me out of my bed. The building felt silent as usual until around nine when it briefly went loud, shortly after all I could hear was the sound of keyboards being used by the staffs. Robin came late as usual, we didn't say a word to each other, and the day went on boring as usual until around three when Robin finally forwarded a mail to my computer.
"There is a job for you," he told me.
I calmly lay down my phone beside my computer, before turning on my laptop to go through what he had sent.
I went through the reports he had sent to me, reading it page after page, until I finally found something that caught my attention. I stopped, scrolled to the bottom, staring intently at the screen, confused. My brows furrowed almost instantly.
"When did you receive this?" I asked him.
He raised his head to look at me. "Yesterday, is everything alright?" He asked, rising from his chair as he moved towards me.
"Not really. This shows this is a follow up report... Has there been any before?"
He leaned close, stared at the screen and sighed. "Yes, we received something similar last month."
They received something similar? And I didn't hear about it. Berkscorp was in debt and was nearing bankruptcy due to the legal battles that had lasted over a decade. I stared in shock, my mouth left ajar and curiosity struck me like lightning. What if Asher didn't even take responsibility? What if he found out about this and decided to leave before it all came crashing? Perhaps, him leaving Berkscorp wasn't out of guilt after all but rather a strategic retreat. I had to talk to him. I had to know what he knew.
On my way home that evening, I branched at his place to talk to him but no matter how much I rung the bell, there was no answer. His car was parked outside, but it didn't seem as if he had been home in a while. There were leaves all over the yard. Maybe he didn't want to talk to anyone and had stayed indoor. I still had to get a hold of him, while i walked back to my car, I called him the seventh time that day and it went straight to voice mail.
:. You've reached Asher Barney. I'm out working, leave a message.
The phone beeped and I ended the call.
I was partly worried about him since he hadn't shown up anywhere since he stepped down from the position. He was out of reach at the same time. Maybe he cared more than I assumed, but it didn't make much sense to think he did. I just shook off the thought and returned home, hoping to get a hold of him the next day.
On the third day, things took a slightly different turn. After going through my new routine—the song, coffee, and all, I decided to branch at Asher's place before going to work. That way, I would not be too early and I might be lucky to catch him before he went out in the morning. When I arrived there, my car pulled over in his driveway. I stepped out, my purse clung to my arm, and I adjusted my glasses as I walked over to his place only to find out that his car was no longer there. At first, I was devastated, thinking I had missed him again only to get even more shocked when I saw the 'for sale' sign by his door. His house had been listed for sale which meant not only had he been out of reach, he was completely out of town.
I walked back to my car in shock, my mind mixed up in thoughts. Partly, I wanted to blame myself for everything, but I still didn't understand why he would choose to leave town despite knowing his father would fix things up. There was more to this than I knew, perhaps he had been planning this for long. I stepped back into my car and dialed Robin's number immediately, suspecting his silence had something to do with this. The phone kept ringing but he didn't pick up. I gently placed my phone in the phone stand beside the steering wheel, before starting my car. I tried again, and after it had rung for a while, I heard his voice over the phone.
:. Hello
"Hey Robin, it's Isla," I answered as I pulled out of Asher's driveway.
:. Morning, Miss Reyes. Sorry I'm runnin' late—had to sort a few things for me pregnant missus. I'll be there quick, faster than lightning.
"That wasn't why I called. Have you heard from Asher lately?"
:. Asher.
He hesitated for a bit like I had uttered a forbidden name.
"Yes, Asher. I just dropped by at his place and his place is out for sale. He didn't tell you he would be out of town, did he?"
:. Huh...
"What?" I impatiently asked.
:. Asher's off to Amsterdam. Touched down there a couple days back. Said he's got a few bits to sort and won't be back anytime soon.
I was shocked. He wasn't out of town, he was out of the country.
"When did you find out about this?"
:. Day he resigned, innit. Gotta be honest with ya, he ain't comin' back. Everything alright, ma'am?
"Everything is fine. I was just worried. Thanks, Robin."
:. Anytime.
The phone beeped, and the call ended.
The shock didn't leave my body all day. If he had chosen solitude, at this point I was certain he knew something that I didn't and I couldn't wait to find out.