Mr Daniel

A FLASHBACK

I have been at Skin by Nature since a very young age, but not all my life. Mr Maxwell was my cousin.

My father was his father's elder brother.

When my father died, and we faced major money problems, I had to go to my uncle and live with him and that was how I was introduced to the cult-Skin by Nature.

I have stayed at Skin by Nature for longer than most of the workers and out of all the workers there, Ella was the only one that came at the youngest age.

She was literally born there.

Her father worked for Mr James Russel all or most of his life, as I have heard, and when his daughter was born, he literally brought her to work the following day and handed her to my uncle, Mr James Russel so he could bless her.

Ella's father respected Mr. James Russel so much and worshiped him that he brought a one-day-old baby to be blessed by him as if he was a god.

Mr James Russel was seen as a god in this small town in Washington DC and I could hardly ask why.

Ella's father almost always brought her to work so she grew before my very eyes. Ella grew to be extremely beautiful.

She was this rare beauty I was always seeing at work.

We were both placed at Skin by Nature commercial stores and our work was to count and record the numbers of skincare products that had been packaged in cartoons and were ready to be sold.

That's the work given to most under-aged workers. I started working at Skin by Nature at thirteen.

"Hi," I said to her on the first day I was transferred to her unit.

"Hi." She replied.

"My name is Daniel."

"I am Ella, but most of my friends call me Elle."

"That's such a beautiful name," I said to her, smiling.

This was the first time I had been talking to Ella, and I was so happy when my Uncle finally placed me in her unit.

"Do you love working with us?"

"What?"

"Do you love working with us at Skin by Nature?" I asked again.

"I don't have a choice, my father has worked here for the most part of his life."

"All or most?" I asked.

"Most." She said smiling. "He made me work here too."

"So you don't like it here," I asked.

"It's not bad Dan." She said to me, smiling. "And I am so used to it."

"Yes." I smiled. "But I want to see you every day Ella. "

Ella blushed.

She was just six years old when we had this talk.

I stretched out my hands to her. " Let's be friends!" I said.

"Let's be friends." She replied placing her hands on my hands.

Ever since then, we have been inseparable.

We did everything together.



****

Eleven years later.

"Hey, Mr Daniel."

I looked up to see who had called me.

"Hey, Ella. You look good today."

"I always look good." She said smiling. She wore a white T-shirt and tucked it in a navy blue skirt that was always above her knees.

This was how she dressed to work, always seductive and provocative.

"Come I have something to show you!" She held my hands and pulled me up from my seat. She led me out of my office.

Ella and I grew up in this company and had received multiple promotions.

We had finally left the commercial stores and were now working at the company's head office.

"Ohh what is it, Ella? You know I'm busy. It's a Monday morning." I grumbled.

She pulled me with her and we stopped at her corner.

"I'm sorry Mr Daniel, if it's not important I would not call you."

She took her handbag from her desk, still holding her hands, she pulled me alongside her till we had finally stepped out the front door.

"Ok, Ella what is it?"

"I'm coming, it's here."

I watched a little irritated and restless as Ella searched through her bags.

"Ella, what is it you want to share that you had to drag me out here?" I asked, really impatiently.

"Hold Dan. You have always been so impatient.

She kept searching through her handbag looking for only who knows what.....

*****

"Oh my God....." She screamed, muffling her screams with her hands.

"What the actual f**k. Ella!!!" I screamed too.

She ran close to me and held my mouth with her hands.

"Please don't shout!! Please Mr Daniel don't create a scene I beg you!!!"

"She quickly bent down and picked the object that had fallen to the ground and dipped it back into her handbag.

"What's going on here?" Asked a security man who had come to where we were due to the screams.

"Nothing!" Ella fired back.

"It's nothing, you can go back to your work post," I told the security guard.

"Ella!!" I called, but she had walked away, going back inside the building.



***

All through the night I could not sleep. I kept on thinking about what I saw that day at work.

I rolled back and forth on my bed till I finally had to call Ella.

"Hello."

"Hey." She called back. Her voice was really low.

"I'm so sorry Ella for calling this late in the night but I couldn't sleep."

"I understand Mr Daniel and I know it's my fault."

"But what do you do with something like that? "

"I don't know yet Sir. I just got it."

"Really?"

"Yes."

There was silence at both ends.

"Can we talk about it tomorrow, Ella? At work??"

"I do not know Sir, I'm truly embarrassed."

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about, dear."

"If you say so, Sir."

"So tomorrow right?"

"Yes tomorrow."

"Ok bye." I said.

"Bye Sir." She replied.

I cut the call and placed my phone on my chest thinking of how tomorrow is going to be already.......