The Blind Date

Chapter Six

The noise grows louder when I enter through the tailoring department doors. Different, loud voices are raised- competing for dominance against the loudest voice. Abdullah's.

"What's going on?" I say to Phoebe in front of me.

"I couldn't get a clear explanation from Abdullah. They won't let him talk."

She opens the door and the noise gets sharper. I walk in and some of it ceases but then the murmurs start.

"Good morning." A chorus of greetings meet my ears then the place gets quiet. "Do I need to remind you gentlemen that noise doesn't get anything done? What's all the ruckus about?"

The uproar starts again and Abdullah calls for the quiet. "One spokesperson."

"Good morning, madam. My name is Amos. We have a problem that we communicated to our boss, Abdul, a few weeks ago. He said he would carry the matter to you and sort it out but we haven't heard anything yet."

Abdul speaks up. "Miss Padmore, I placed the document on your desk for your go ahead. I sent a mail also, Phoebe is aware. I know how busy you are so I've been asking them for their patience but it-"

"Our families are not benefitting from your patience! The work is too much!"

"I have a babygirl but she barely knows me. This is not fair."

"Gentlemen." I take a step forward, raising my voice a little. "This is a very simple matter. It will be dealt with quickly, I can assure you. But ambushing your boss man and shouting the building down helps no one. I understand that you did what you were supposed to some time ago and got no response-I will hold Abdul for that. Everything will be taken care of. In the meantime, please complete the orders for our prestige clients before the weekend. We have a new wave of work coming soon. Good day, gentlemen."

The murmurs of the men behind me follow me out the door. Phoebe is close by.

"Let Abdul know that I want to see him in my office, please. And please find the document he's talking about."

"Alright."

Her footsteps fade and I exhale. It hasn't been two hours since I've been at the office but I am already anxious. What's bad is that I can't figure out what's causing it. Everything at the office is going according to plan and new work comes in every other day. Work is going great.

I enter my office and sit behind my desk. "Hey Siri. Do I have any messages?"

"Here's a text from Michael. I'm making my special pasta for you tonight at my place. Please don't be late. Be good. There are no other calls and messages."

The message from Michael fails to arouse my interest. I still have the feeling that he's not being completely honest with me and so it is killing most of the feelings that has been growing for him since we reconnected. And I am sure he knows.

Somehow, I was hoping that Travis would find my number and call me. How silly am I? It doesn't seem right anyway-pining over an old classmate when I have one leg in a relationship.

I am not even sure why I am referring to it as pining. Vivian Padmore doesn't do those things. In public.

"Boss. Abdul is here." Phoebe says and comes closer to the desk. "Here's the file you asked for."

"Miss Padmore."

"Please sit." I sit up and clasp my hands on the table. "How many tailors do we have?"

"Thirty tailors."

"Okay. How long have we had them?" I go through the document quickly, to get the summary of it.