It Started With A Contract

Chapter 2

A normal person would have said no but Leila stopped considering herself normal the moment she

signed the contract with Kelvin McKenna. They only went on two dates for God’s sake. Her best friend

didn’t even know because he convinced her to do it before telling Freya. And she agreed. She said yes.

Did she make a mistake?

Leila was still thinking about this as she entered her work building, she pulled the door to her office

open and paused.

Everyone was here.

She stole a peek at her wristwatch, she wasn’t late. It was only five minutes past eight. She walked

briskly to her table and set her bag and files down.

Her head raised when someone sat on her desk. Lily. They were not best of friends but she preferred

her to that witch staring at her. Sam’s mission in this office was to make her life miserable but Leila was

bent on avoiding her as best as she could. Already, it was working. She had received the best staff of

the month award last month for the third time in a row.

Before Lily could say a word, Leila mumured, “Random question, can you marry a stranger? Someone

you’ve only been on two dates with?”

Lily hummed in thought. “It depends.”

“On what?”

“If he’s rich. Is he rich?”

Leila didn’t have an answer to that. It would have been awkward to discuss that with him but so far, he

looked well to do. He gave her a black card and his apartment was comfortable.

“You wanted to say something,” Leila murmured.

Lily nodded. “Yes. Did you hear?”

Leila chewed on her lips. If this was another round of office gossip, she wasn’t interested. “Hear what?”

“About the merger.” Leila sighed. “We have a new boss.”

Her eyes jerked to Lily’s face and the woman curled her fingers in her long strawberry blonde hair.

Asides from her long hair, she envied Lily’s flawless face and her composure. Unlike her, Lily didn’t

have that annoying tiny birthmark on her jaw that called attention to it. People wanted to look at Lily

because she was pretty not because she had a weird birthmark.

“Sarah has been fired?” Leila asked.

Each department in Tech valley had its own leader. Sarah, sometimes, got unbearable under pressure

but she was one of the few heads of departments Leila liked. Lily shook her head with a small smile.

“No.” She bent over Leila’s laptop, turning the screen to Leila so she could input her password. “The

boss’s boss. Sarah has a new boss.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. You should have received an email.” Her eyes swept over the room before finally coming to rest

on Leila. “I got mine today.”

Leila was quiet as Lily typed away on her laptop, she snatched the sleek device from her when Lily

opened her email and an apology tumbled out of her lips at Lily’s frown. Her marriage certificate was

there. Kelvin emailed her a soft copy alongside a copy of the contract that held the future of their

marriage.

Two years. If she wasn’t satisfied with the state of things between her and Kelvin, she could walk away

with their house, a car of her choice and a million dollars in her account. A part of her hoped she never

had a need for the contract. Today was the second day of the marriage but she was willing to make it

work or at least try.

“Do you know who he is?”

Lily shook her head. “She didn’t say much but we have to welcome him today. That’s why that one…”

Her voice held a hint of annoyance as she threw a look at Sam’s table. They both disliked her. Sam

was in the news department, so they never got to engage often so it was a surprise to see her in the

production department. “...is here. She’s interviewing him today.”

Her eyes met Sam’s and Sam hissed. If Leila was as callous as that lady on bangs, she would have

switched Sam’s script long ago so she could be fired. But she was far too kind for that. Sam might be a

terrible person but she was a great reporter, one of the best in Tech Valley.

The door to their office opened, Sarah stood in the doorway, her sharp eyes going over everyone. “Lily

Bloom, you are not paid to sit on other people’s desks.” Leila heard the sound of muffled laughter, she

looked up right in time to see Sam giggling. “Get up or get out of here.”

“I’m sorry,” Lily offered as she scrambled to her seat.

“Save your useless apology for the dead,” she thundered.

Lily’s lips twitched but she didn’t say a word as she settled down. Leila offered her friend a smile and

she winked. This was Sarah for them.

The office grew quiet as Sarah barked out orders. “Samantha.” Sam stood. “Do you have your script?”

“Yes, Ma.”

“Good. Sit. You’re just to introduce him to the world and that’s all. Ask him questions people want to

hear. Do your job.” Sam nodded again. “Fifteen minutes. Twenty minutes tops. Anything more than that

and you will spend the rest of your life looking for a new job. Got it?”

Lily and Leila shared a look, a smile broke out on their lips as Sam’s face grew red. Already used to

Sarah’s attitude, they didn’t think twice of her threat but this was Sam’s first time in their department.

Good for her.

The phone in Sarah’s hand rang, she shoved the notepad under her armpit and took a breath. “He’s

here.” Her eyes lingered on everyone. “Sam and the rest of the news crew will conduct the interview

but he will be here to inspect the team behind the wonderful scripts.” Shoving her hands into the

pockets of her suit jacket, she said, “If you are not cut out for this job, now is the best time for you to

quit.

Some of them snickered and Sarah softened. “Good luck, everyone. Our future depends on this.”

The department was as quiet as a temple after Sarah and Sam left. Lily wiggled her brows but didn’t

dare to leave her seat. Leila stretched her arms and yawned. She didn’t sleep well. It would take a

while to get used to sleeping on a new bed or being a married woman.

She resumed typing on her laptop at the same time a gasp echoed in the office. Susie, the loudest staff

among them, raised her phone and screamed, “He’s hot. He’s fucking hot.” To buttress her point, Susie

licked her screen. Leila cringed. No one was disturbed by her act, this was typical Susie behaviour. “I

want to marry him.”

Leila paused. If she asked who, she would be drawn to the gossip Susie was ever willing to dish out.

But she was curious to know, it might be her boss. She might be off the market but she was allowed to

admire handsome men. Though, she didn’t think she would be doing that often, her husband was hot

enough for her. Leila stared at the script on her screen. She had to vet it.

Tech Valley was a media outlet that combined tech and entertainment. Most times, they had to find a

way to incorporate tech in fun ways to keep most of their younger viewers glued to the TV. All the

scripts from the scriptwriter had to pass through them before it was sent to the news department. In her

line of work, there were no mistakes, so she couldn’t afford to make one.

Lily beat her to the question. “Who?”

“The boss. Check your WattsApp. Mark sent a picture.”

Mark was one of the videographers. Everyone could count on him to supply the right information. She

reached for her phone and tapped on the group chat of Tech Valley staff. They had two groups, one for

serious messages and the other for gossip and chats and hook-ups.

The picture took a few minutes to load and when it did, her world crumbled. Her phone slipped from her

grasp and crashed to the floor. Her heart beat against her chest as she picked it, she set it on the table

and forced a smile to her lips when Lily threw a worried glance at her.

This could not be happening.

Leila momentarily forgot about the cracks on her new Samsung phone and swiped right. The picture

was the same. She placed the phone face down and grabbed her head in her hands.

Why did he have to be her new boss