Seducing Miss Perfect

Kathleen kept tapping her right foot impatiently as the cab driver slowly made his way through the early morning Lagos traffic.

She hissed angrily each time she glanced at her wristwatch, reminding her that time wasn't waiting for her. The day was yet to begin, but she already knew it was not going to be a very good day for her. It had started off too wrongly to be a good day.

She had woken up quite late, which was totally not like her. And it was all because her neighbour's four-month-old baby had chosen to cry all through the night.

She lived in a 'face me, I face you' building, and for someone like her who had a very light ear that picked up sounds very fast, it was almost impossible not to even hear the conversations her neighbours were having in their rooms talk more of the sound of a crying baby in the very room which was next to hers.

She had been unable to sleep all through the night but had finally managed to doze off in the early morning hours.

She had woken up with a start when her phone rang, only to discover it was only a few minutes to seven.

So, without bothering to check who the caller was or even taking the call, she rushed outside to the bathroom, wanting to bathe and leave.

She had been shocked to discover there was no water and a long queue of people were also waiting to use the bathroom.

She had an appointment by 9AM, and by all indications, she was going to lose this opportunity to get a promotion.

She had moved from Delta State to Lagos in search of greener pastures, and just when she thought she had a good chance at finally making it in life and making her mother proud, her village people had managed to show their ugly faces again.

So, instead of searching for water to bathe, she quickly brushed her mouth with the remnant of the sachet water she had kept in a cup the previous night.

Without bothering to look for water to bathe, she put on her well-ironed suit, made up her face, combed her hair, and left the house.

There was no way she was going to be using a bus, not when she was this late; after all, 'na money they dey use take find money.'

So, she had decided to take a cab instead. And of all the cabs in the beautiful city of Eko, her village people had directed her to stop a slow one, so here she was, stuck in traffic.

When she finally got to the office, she ran straight to the meeting room where she was supposed to make her presentation. She opened the door, but the room was empty.

She paused by the desk as panic hit her. 'Calm down, Kat, just calm down and think,' she told herself as she took a deep breath.

She suddenly remembered she was yet to pray because of the rush.

Even after skipping her prayers, she still hadn't made it to the meeting. She thought as she quickly decided to take a moment to pray and ask God to make things work together for her good.

After her short prayer, she checked her wristwatch and realised it was just past 9:30AM; she felt calm even though she knew she really needed the promotion, not just for the sake of the title of head of HR but also for the salary raise that she knew would come with it.

She needed that increment, no matter how little it was, to meet up with payment for her younger sister's medical expenses and take care of other family expectations.

Being the first child of her parents, she had so many responsibilities on her young shoulders, so she desperately needed the promotion.

She knew the only way to get her much-deserved promotion was for her to take a desperate measure.

So, defying the office protocols, she headed straight to the CEO's office, and before the secretary could stop her, she pushed open the door.

"I'm sorry I came late, sir, but please can you..." She stopped mid-sentence when the man standing by the window turned around to face her.