Jill

"Miss Jill, you are needed in the first lady's office."

"What....what do you mean?" I asked Gloria, looking at her side-eyed.

"I was told to call you!!" She repeated.

"Well tell whoever that sent you that I am not available!" I shot back at her.

"She will be there in a minute." Jackie said to Gloria, basically saving my life.

"Jack!!"

"What!! Do you even know what you are doing?? Get your ass up and go to Mrs. Ella's office now, who do you think you are?? " She shot back at me. " Trying to flaunt orders as a common staff member at work, you had better be serious!!" She said.

"Okay, I have heard you. I do not know what came over me!!" I said and stood up ready to leave.

"And what are you still doing here?" I asked Gloria.

"Mrs Ella told me to come alongside you to her office." She said, bowing her head down.

"Are you for real now??"

"Yes, Ma'am." Gloria replied.

"No Gloria, you can leave. I will be going myself."

"I am sorry I cannot do that." The young girl said, bowing her head.

"Excuse me!!" I screamed at her.

"Please Ma'am, I do not want any trouble. Mrs Ella gave me clear instructions on what to do, and I can not disobey her!" She said.

"You are already in a lot of trouble, just watch out!!"

"Jill!!"

"What??"

"Common. The young girl is just doing her job. Surely you do not expect her to flout Mrs Ella's orders." Jackie chided, saving the situation the second time.

"Oh Jackie but why is she calling me??" I asked, really stressed. I was adjusting my clothing.

"We can never know girl, only one way to find out!" Jackie said. She stood up and pushed me direction of Mrs Ella's office and then Gloria followed suit behind us.

"Jackie stop." I chuckled.

"If I don't do that, You would never go to see Mrs Ella...."

"Okay..."

"And if you do not go to see Mrs Ella, you might get fired!!"

"Ohh Damn... really!!!" I said. My words are filled with so much sarcasm.

"Yes Babe, and please stop joking, be serious," Jackie said to me. She looked really serious.

"I know you do not want to be in this situation." She began adjusting my collar. " I know it's been crazy, the things going on in this company, but I want you to know that you've got this, we all do."

Tears filled my eyes.

"Thanks, Jackie. You are a good friend." I tapped her shoulders, but she pulled me into her for a warm embrace.

"Silly you!!" She said.

Finally, I adjusted my skirts one last time, and wiped my tears before heading into the office. Honestly, I really have a bad feeling about this.

I have avoided Mrs Ella for the most part, most especially after our last argument, which was very heated.

Skin by Nature just lost an award last weekend and today was not the day that I would want to be in her presence or any senior officer's presence in particular.......



***

"Hey stand there." Mr James ordered.

"Gloria, you can leave." Said Mrs Ella. "And lock the door behind you." She added.

"You step closer." Mrs Ella ordered Tim. Tim worked with me in the survey department.

"Show us those records again." She ordered him.

I was not comfortable with the way Ella was ordering Mr Tim around. Aside from the fact that she was the first lady, she was still a relatively young staff and still had a lot to learn.

"Here Ma'am," Tim said, showing Mrs Ella the records.

"But what records??" I thought. "And how has that got to do with me??" I questioned myself.

"Show them." Mrs Ella said to Tim. Which he did.

He moved to Mr Maxwell and then to his father, Mr James, and they both nodded their heads in response. Despite all, Mr Maxwell was looking really confused.

"Okay, Miss." Started Mr James.

"I heard you were in charge of the surveys..... The ones held in other to meet the requirements of the BBA??" he asked.

"Yes Sir." I breathed heavily, so unsure of where all this was going. He wheeled his chair to me, facing me directly, and I could feel my heart sink into my stomach.

"Give me..... " He said personally, "The complete details of how the surveys went and how it was documented."

"Sir..." I began to fumble. "I do not have the records with me anymore, I have since submitted them to Mr Tim..."

"Don't you think I know that?" He thundered. "May I remind you that this is bigger than you think.....you could be sued if care is not taken."

A single tear escaped my eyes.

I held my palms together because they were so shaky and so sweaty.

"Sir, the survey..." I began to fumble and mince words again. I watched as Mr James got irritated so I cleared my throat and started again.

"Sir, I was in charge of the skin care survey. We were meant to do complete research on sixty women, mostly women of color. It was to test our newest products- three-step skincare for people with more melanin...." I was saying and tears filled my eyes. I was shaking terribly.

I could see Mr Maxwell sitting in the corner, his face read all pity for me.

"Jill."

"Yes Sir," I replied, trembling.

"Sit." He ordered. That was Mr James.

I sat down on an empty seat.

"Now continue..."

"Sir, I did everything possible, I did everything I could for my company because I loved my company...."

"Including altering the results??"

"Sir I promise, I never altered the results...."

"Here." He flung the documents in front of me. "It shows here that all the results on the women were inflated just so Skin by Nature could have an upper hand in winning an award."

"Sir I promise, I could never possibly do anything like that Sir. I promise." Tears filled my eyes again.

"Then how did this come to be??" Mr James asked.

"So the women were given a week to use our three-step system, and I was to take their reports sir, but I promised I wrote down everything they said, and I never tried to inflate those results."

"We got a call from the BBA saying that the reason why we could not bag any of the awards was because our survey results were corrupted and not feasible....we have gone through all the loopholes, and it falls on this newest skincare line that I made for skin of color. " This was Ella speaking. Until now, she has been so quiet watching me explain.

"Jill, you were in charge of the surveys on that line. How do you expect us to believe that you have no hands in this??"

I watched her with bitter hatred in my eyes. I knew at last that this was her doing.

"Ella, I will not forgive you!!!" I swore in my heart......



****

"Oh, Jill."

Immediately, I stepped out of the office. Jackie caught me in her arms and we cried together.

"I am so sorry Jill, you did not have to go through that, nobody should really." She held me in her arms just outside the office.

"You heard Jackie??" I asked, still crying.

"Of course I did. I was there the whole time and I heard everything."

I looked up to face Jackie and tears filled my eyes and I cried some more. I had not known Jackie had been standing there, just outside the office the whole time, risking her job for me.

And by the time I came out of Mrs Ella's office, she was also fully in tears.

"Let's get out of here," Jackie said.

She pulled me with her to our shared desk. We cleared out our desk of our personal belongings.

Together we stepped out of the office premises.

****

"Jill! Jill!!"

I and Jackie both looked back. It was Tim.

"Tim!" I called back.

He ran straight up to us. We were about to leave the office when he caught up with us.

"Look Jill, I am so sorry about what happened back there." He said breathless from all that running.

"I know you did not alter any results in any shape or form, but I did not know how to defend you." He said.

"It is alright Tim. My case had already been decided before I even stepped into that office. Mrs Ella has been trying to take me down for whatever reason...."

Jackie pinched me to avoid me speaking any further, but Tim got the gist so he just smiled.

"I understand." He said very simply.

"We'll see Jill when you get back to work. I will try my best to make sure you are saved from all this mess."

"You know what Tim..." I started, pulling my hair behind my ears. "You do not need to risk your stay at work for me, you both do not need to," I said, looking at Jackie.

"This is my battle and I will fight it all alone," I added.

Tim just shook his head and patted my arms.

"Please be safe. Just be safe okay??"

"Yes, Tim," I replied, and then he walked away, going back into the office.

Tim was like that. A man of caliber, a man of very few words.

"Jill."

"Yes, Jackie."

"Let's go home and please, never say a word about me, leaving you to fight your battles alone!" She shot at me.

"Yes, Mama!!!" I said lovingly.

And we both walked out the gates.



****

"Home so early?? Impossible!!! What's the news, Sis??" I could hear June say.

"Ohh..." She uttered. "I get it now." She said when she saw me walking in with Jackie.

"June good day, how have you been??" Jackie asked, but she did not really look concerned about her cousin.

"Fine obviously," June said, twirling around. "I have had breakfast, lunch, and dinner already, and it is not even noon yet."

I laughed a bit at myself. June has always been bratty and has always known how to put a smile on one's face, I must say. She was fun and humourous, to say the least.

"Alongside, I have been watching Netflix and Hulu side by side. Ohh Jackie, if you were not such a workie worker I would have shown you this new series on Hulu....." She kept on saying.

I started laughing much more loudly...June was really cute.....

"So in order words, have you wasted the day again eating and watching movies??" Jackie asked.

"Not exactly Sis!" June replied jumping around. One would think she was a six-year-old girl.

"Hey, Jack! She just threw you massive shades!!" I said to Jackie, trying to ignite a fire.

"Oh, I get," Jackie replied. "I am a workie worker, still you eat all my food and lazy around watching Netflix on my subscription...." Jackie fired back playfully though, and we all burst into laughter.

For a second, I have forgotten all my worries that's June's effect!

"Jill, make yourself comfortable. Let me see if this lioness of a sister remains something for us to eat."

"Yes, Jackie," I said, laughing.

"Oh come here cutie pie," I called to a little bunny. "Bun!" I called.

"He's shy," June replied.

She carried the pure white, fluffy bunny in her arms and kissed him on the cheeks.

"Say Hi to Jill." She ordered.

"Say Hi bun!"

The bunny looked away.

I wondered how old June was. She looked really young and she was so beautiful. She had on a pink armless shirt that was decorated with shiny beads. She had that on a pure white pleated skirt.

Her hair was plaited into two sections and pink ribbons held each plait in place. The ribbons flew down the length of her hair and beyond and were flying around.

There was something sweet about her attire and that sweetness matched the sweetness of her little bunny.

****

"June!!!!!"

Jackie screamed from the kitchen.

"Did you evade my kitchen????"