The Wall Between Us

Chapter 3 - Too High

"The heart dies a slow death, shedding each hope like leaves until one day there are none. No hopes. Nothing remains."
- Chiyo Sakamoto

NATHAN

An hour later, the Secretary, Ms. Maria Ahmed breezed into my office to remind me of the meeting with the chief officers at nine a.m. The meeting so important even the chairman showed up, however my body refused to function. The situation perplexed me. Over an hour since she confronted me and stormed out, yet no word from Everest.

"Are you fine Mr Nath?" I forgot she still waited for my reply.

"Yes Ms. Maria, I'm fine. I'll make it in ten." I shooed her away with my hand.

"Ok. Because we don't want to infuriate the Big Dog on such a fine Tuesday morning."

"You seem not to want this job anymore Ms. Maria. Found a new one?" I teased, but kept a straight face.

She looked horrified. "No sir, why?"

"You're going to get yourself fired if he ever hears you call him that."

I fought the small smile that formed on my lips when I saw her expression. But she recovered fast.

"He should hear what you call him then," she said, with a smirk.

I called him 'The Devil'. It sounded a bit exaggerated but others called him more dramatic names. The names all boiled down to one thing. My father, Williams Agaba Adakole was not a man anybody could mess with. He intimidated many and commanded fear and respect from staff and business partners alike. He exuded the aura of dread, only his grandchildren found him soft and adorable.

"Smart. You win again. Let's keep that our little secret," I said, while I stood up.

I picked up my phone and Macbook, and made a mental note to call Everest on my way to the boardroom.

"But are you really fine sir?" I perceived the incident with Enitan earlier the reason of her concern.

I felt the urge to talk to her but I contemplated my answer. She dedicated almost half of her life to Avalon Group and overtime became family, but even though loyal to my family for nineteen years, the topic of my marriage proved too sensitive and she remained just a secretary. So I kept it in.

"Yes. And please confirm all details of my trip on Thursday and forward to Rose, can't have her slipping up again." With that I headed for the door and she followed behind.

"Yes sir!"

"Thank you Ms. Maria." I stepped out then made the call.

"Nothing? Could you have missed her on her way out?" I asked, confused about his feedback on Enitan's whereabouts.

"Not at all sir. The CSO finished his brief shortly after your first call, I made my way to the lobby seconds later.
E-dispatch could have directed her to an elevator already on a trip down, making her wait." Everest's baritone voice reverberated over the phone.

"For over an hour?"

"It's also possible she decided to take the stairs. I have eyes on both."

The idea of her walking sixteen flights of stairs sounded absurd and unlike her. It took a hell of convincing to even get her to the gym, she hated long walks and anything close.

"That's impossible. If she's still in the building, I want to know where."

Guilt plagued me. I ended things with her in the most uncivil manner and didn't deserve to know whether she cried in some corner or walked down the entire building.