REMARKABLE

23

Armineh had only opened the car door when the phone vibrated in her hand.

'Hello?' Armineh said as she tucked the phone in the crook of her neck and sat in the car.

'Ma'am, I can't find you. Where are you?' Her secretary's worried voice reached her ears and Armineh ran a hand through her hair.

'I am actually on my way home. What is it?' Armineh asked, looking out of the car window as the scenery passed by in a blur.

'I needed your signatures on some documents.' The secretary chewed on her fingernails.

'Okay. Leave them on my table, I'll sign them first thing, tomorrow, Sabine.'

'No-No. Today's the deadline and I totally forgot when I came back from my vacations. I didn't mean to though, I hadn't checked my diary since I came back. I only opened it today-' She rambled on and Armineh shook her head.

'It's okay- It's okay. I'll come. I'll be there in ten minutes.' Armineh told her and cut the call as her secretary thanked her. She glanced at her wristwatch as she bit the inside of her cheek.

Guess, Yahya Firas would have to eat out.

'Safiullah, take me back to the office, please.'

❇❇❇

Armineh was hunched over the sheets of paper, her shoulders cramped when a knock resounded on the door and her secretary poked her head, inside, biting her lips.

'Ma'am? You have been in here since three hours.' Armineh looked up and nodded as she glanced at the wall clock. Her eyebrows quirked, It's been three hours since?

'I can't sign it without discussing it with Unc- Sir Adam. We need to go through some clauses, again.' The secretary nodded, taking her words in, not that she understood what was in the file. She was just a secretary, after all.

'What about the deadline?'

'Depends when Sir Adam will have the time to meet with us.' Armineh said, her eyes skimming the words on the page,'Schedule a meeting with him as soon as possible and request Petrocep for a deadline extension. Run it through HR. We need it if we are to sign the contract.'Armineh emphasized.

Her secretary didn't leave instead she stood in front of her, wringing her hands and Armineh cocked a sleek eyebrow.

'Sabine, shouldn't you be hurrying to type those emails?' She inquired, her eyes back at the words on the page.

'Right now? But it's so late. I thought I'd do it tomorrow?' She heard her secretary say, hesitantly.

'Really?' Armineh asked, her temper flaring at her secretary's incompetence,'No, miss Sabine, You'll stay and write those emails so when you come tomorrow, we have some sort of plan to follow regarding this. I know you forgot and it happens, sometimes. I don't blame you for that but it's a mistake just the same and I expect you to make up for it, be it by writing emails at this hour when you could be at home in your pyjamas, binge watching your favourite show or whatever because believe it or not, your little mistake has costed company it's professionalism and you don't get paid for your incompetence, here.'

Armineh rarely got upset and this was one of those times. Her secretary blinked as she looked at Armineh, tears swimming in her eyes.