11 – Meeting Mr. Elijah (Book 2)
Aniya’s pov
Owning a cleaning company certainly comes with its own set of challenges.
Customers may have high expectations and demands, while employees may have
their own concerns and issues. It’s important to establish rules and guidelines to
ensure that everyone is on the same page and that the business runs smoothly.
As an owner of the cleaning company, I implemented a rule that was supposed to
provide the employees with a 10% commission, based on the amount of revenue
generated from my clients.
This was a common practice in sales-based industries, where employees were
incentivized to generate more business and increase revenue.
My mantra was, offering a commission can motivate employees to work harder and
provide better service to clients in order to earn more money. It can also help to
increase employee loyalty and reduce turnover, as employees feel valued and
appreciated for their contributions to the company’s success.
“I am supposed to get the commission of cleaning Mr. Bern’s house,” Jen whined
when she held her salary slip.
“Yes. You are right. Except that you never reached there, and I had to send a
replacement urgently because the lady could not stop herself to use cuss words on
the phone. So no, Jen. You don’t deserve that commission.”
‘Think of it again! I might leave, Aniya!” She cocked up an eyebrow and placed her
palms on my desk. I didn’t even bother to raise my head.
“Don’t forget to talk to Natalya about your clearance,” I said busily and got up to make
some coffee for myself. She was my old employee and initially used to blackmail me a
lot.
Not anymore. At that time, I was an amateur in the business but later my dearest
Justin taught me so well. Lately, he had become my go-to person.
Jen let out a huff and slammed the salary slip on my desk. “This is not fair, Aniya. I
deserve that commission, regardless of whether I reached Mr.
Bern’s house or not. You should have given me a heads-up before sending a
replacement.”
I raised my head and looked Jen in the eye. “I did try to reach you, Jen. I called you
several times and even sent you text messages, but you didn’t respond. I couldn’t
afford to lose that client, so I had to send a replacement.”
Jen crossed her arms and glared at me. “I had an emergency, okay? My sister was in
the hospital, and I had to rush there. I didn’t have my phone with me.”
I sighed and rubbed my temples. “Jen, I understand that emergencies can come up,
but you have to inform me or someone else in the company if you cant make it to a
job. You can’t just leave us hanging like that. And in this case, you didn’t even inform
us that you couldn’t make it to Mr. Bern’s house. We had to find out from the client
herself.”
Jen rolled her eyes. “Fine, whatever. But I still think I deserve that commission.”
I shook my head. “I’m sorry, Jen. You didn’t complete the job, so you don’t get the
commission. That’s how it works.”
Jen let out a frustrated sigh and stormed out of my office. As I watched her go, I
couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt. I knew that Jen was going through a tough time
with her sister in the hospital, but she also couldn’t afford to lose clients and revenue
for the company.
As I sipped my coffee, I made a mental note to check in with Jen later and see if she
could use some help. I also made a note to talk to Natalya about her clearance issues
and ensure that everything was resolved properly.
Running a cleaning company was no easy task, but I was determined to make it work
with the help of my trusted employees.
I stretched and straightened in my seat.
“I need to get laid beneath a handsome guy,” I muttered to myself and opened my
laptop. It was a continuous hassle to keep track of the cleaning staff and clients.
Man! I was missing that icy blue-eyed handsome. Marwick Garner. The way he used
to throw those se*xy smiles my way.
Top of Form
To T To move my focus away from the hot stud, I engrossed myself in my work. I was
still in my office, surrounded by piles of paperwork and invoices.
I let out a sigh of relief when I heard a brief knock on the door before it opened to
reveal Emily, one of my trusted employees.
“Hey Emily, thanks for coming in today,” I said with a smile.
Emily returned the smile and walked past me towards the backroom. “No problem,
Aniya. I’m happy to help out. I’m just here to collect some stuff and supplies from the
backroom.”
I nodded and turned back to my paperwork. I had a lot to do today, including ordering
some new cleaning supplies for the company.
“Speaking of supplies, did you order the bleaching agents from the company?” Emily’s
voice suddenly boomed through the office, making me wince.
“Uh, no, not yet,” I replied, rubbing my ears. “I was just about to get started on that.”
Emily let out a small chuckle. “Sorry about that, Aniya. I forget how loud my voice can
be sometimes.”
I grinned wryly. “It’s okay, Emily. I’m used to it by now.” I winked.
Emily grinned and disappeared into the backroom again, leaving me to get started on
the tedious task of ordering the cleaning stuff.
As I typed away at my laptop, I couldn’t help it when Marwick’s face again popped up
before my eyes.
“Stop it. He is not mine!” I growled at myself.
It was good that he was still waiting for his wife but at least he could have considered
me for a one-night stand. Urgh. How desperate it sounded! And that sucked!Top of
Form
I was not looking for any commitment, but I wanted Marwick out of my system. For
once and for all. Eve had been asking me to forget about the man. He was Ashley’s
brother and there was a high chance that he considered us as his sisters.
For the next hour, I didn’t dare to raise my head from the laptop when I heard a knock
on my office door. I didn’t bother looking up at first, assuming it was one of my
employees coming to collect supplies from the back room. But when the knock
persisted, I began to feel irritated.
“What?” I snapped, looking up from my laptop. But when I saw who was standing in
the doorframe, I froze.
“Tyler?” I whispered, disbelief etched on her face.
“How are you?” Tyler asked, hooking his thumbs in his pockets, and looking around
my office as if seeing it for the first time.
This was not the first time he was gracing me with his visit.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded, a hint of anger creeping into my voice. “I told
you not to visit me again. Or have you become a lawyer already?” I couldn’t help but
mock him, remembering all the times he had claimed to be studying law when we
were seeing each other.
“Look, Aniya,” Tyler began, but I cut him off.
“Oh, what should I call you? A lawyer or a liar?” I scoffed. “All that time you kept
making me a fool by telling me that you were studying law. You even made a fake
divorce decree too. Have some shame, Tyler and leave!”
Tyler remained silent, still standing in the middle of my office. I couldn’t believe that he
had the audacity to show his face again after all that he had put me through. I took a
deep breath, trying to calm myself down.
“What do you want, Tyler?” I asked, turning my voice cold and measured.
Tyler hesitated for a moment before finally speaking up. “I need your help, Aniya. I’m
in trouble and I don’t know who else to turn to. My bookstore needs some help.”
I raised an eyebrow, skeptical of Tyler’s sudden change of heart. But as I looked into
his eyes, I could see the desperation and fear in them. Maybe he really did need my
help.
“Really? What help do you need, Tyler?” I asked with my tone still guarded.
“Look, I’m sorry, Aniya. I’m sorry for lying to you,” Tyler said, his voice laced with
regret. “But I couldn’t sleep after that. You were always on my mind.”
I let out a humorless laugh. “And now you want to come crawling back? Is that it?”
“No, Aniya, that’s not it,” Tyler said, stepping closer to me, “I mean, I do want to make
things right with you. But that’s not why I’m here.”
“Then why are you here, Tyler?” I asked him again, folding my arms across my chest.
Tyler hesitated for a moment before finally speaking up. “I need help with my
bookstore audit. But I also want us to be together again, Aniya. Please.
I still love you.”
My heart skipped a beat at his words, but I quickly regained my composure. “You
expect me to help you with this audit sh*it, forgive you, and take you back after
everything you put me through?” I asked, my voice tinged with anger.
“I know I messed up, Aniya. And I know it’s going to take time for you to trust me
again,” Tyler said, desperation creeping into his voice. “But I’m willing to do whatever
it takes. I just want a chance to make things right between us.”
I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. I had always been attracted to Tyler,
despite his flaws. But I couldn’t ignore the hurt and betrayal that he had caused me.
“Could you really give him another chance?” Someone in my head tried to reason with
me.
“I need some time to think about this, Tyler,” I finally said, my voice softening slightly.
“I can’t just take a decision like this on the spot.”
“I understand, Aniya. Take all the time you need,” Tyler said, looking relieved that I
was at least considering his plea.
I nodded, watching as Tyler made his way to the door. As he was about to leave, I
called out to him.
“Tyler, if we do get back together, you have to promise me one thing,” she said, her
voice firm.
“Anything, Aniya,” Tyler said, turning back to face her.
“You can’t lie to me again. Ever!” I tried to warn him.
“Done!”
“And we are NOT starting any relationship. You won’t expect any kind of friendship,
we used to share once. If you accept it, fine. Otherwise, F*ck off! For your audit? Let
me know what I can do.” After all, he did so many things for me in the past.
I wish I could tell how embarrassed I was when I got to know about his lies. He was
never a lawyer and just did it to impress me and get into my pants.
Pathetic human! Huh!
He had left and I was already thinking of the way I could spend my nights with him. No
matter who the guy was. I could always imagine Marwick in his place. Right?
***
After paying the driver, I stepped out of the cab and was about to head towards my
apartment building when my gaze fell upon a luxurious car parked nearby. It looked
familiar, but I couldn’t seem to remember where I had seen it before.
As I was lost in thought, the owner of the car seemed to notice me, looking at it. He
stepped out of the car, and I couldn’t help but notice how handsome and distinguished
he looked with his tall build and sharp features.
“Mr. Elijah?” I whispered under my breath, recognizing him from Justin’s party where
he had been openly trying to flirt with Eve.
He nodded at me and jogged over. “Hello, Ms. Aniya,” he said, trying to smile as he
looked around. “Can we talk, Ms. Aniya?”
I was hesitant, wondering what he wanted from me. But he didn’t seem like a creep,
so I decided to hear him out. “What is it about?” I asked him.
“Evelyne!” he said, and just hearing that one word made my senses go on high alert.
What did he want from Eve?
“There’s a coffee shop down the lane. We can walk there and talk,” he suggested.
I agreed, and he quickly instructed someone on his phone to move his car. Maybe his
driver, “Once I’m done, I’ll call you here,” he said, flashing me a subtle smile. “Shall
we, Ms. Aniya?”
We started walking towards the coffee shop, and I couldn’t help but feel nervous about
what he was going to say about Eve.
My mind was racing with different scenarios, and I wondered if I was making a
mistake by agreeing to meet him.