The Offer - last episode

The race for greener pastures commenced several months after most of the lawyers at the firm resigned almost at the same period due to several reasons that could easily be fixed but was neglected. The workload increased with their exit but the allowances were caste on stone despite several heavy briefs and alerts we were privy to. When I saw the Email inviting me for an interview, I was both surprised and relieved. I took no chances and my hard work paid off when I came out tops.

That was last month and since then nothing was heard from them until that day.

The next day, around 8 am, I called Kelvin; our head of chambers to inform him of my good fortune. He was happy for me and had no objections provided I got back to my desk before noon.

By 8:30am, I was already at the new office. The receptionist was polite and asked me to wait for my scheduled time. Few minutes before 9am, a lanky paralegal walked me to the board room where a young man introduced himself.

The chat was very brief. Their terms were not appealing and they were not ready to shift grounds. All these big time chambers always looking for ways to exploit a young lawyer; I sighed sadly. Without second thoughts, I turned down their offer and was so glad I had not resigned from my crappy but now very appealing job. In fact, I could not wait to get back to my desk.

The elevator was delaying, so I turned towards the stairs. Half way down the last flight of stairs facing the elevator doors on the ground floor, I decided to take a selfie just to preserve the memory. I pulled out my phone, took a single snap and was about walking down the stairs when two men stopped in front of the elevator. They were engaged in an animated conversation and so didn’t care to look my way.

That familiar brash voice paused my steps and triggered an alarm in my head. The shoulders registered as I slowly took two steps backwards and flattened my body against the wall of the staircase. That was My Principal ooo!A voice yelled in my buzzing head.

When did he come back? How come Kelvin didn't tell me he was back? What was he doing there at the same time I was supposed to be going for an interview? Could this be a trap? Chai! Nikky see how you just lost your job in this recession all because of a stupid offer!! Where would I hide if they should decide to use the stairs?

Several questions raced through my head as I calculated my next move while praying silently for the stupid elevator to respond. It finally arrived. The sound of the doors opening was the best sound I had heard in years. I waited as it closed and continued to convey them upwards. I peeked out to be sure he had boarded before hurrying down the stairs. Once outside, I pulled on my sunglasses and hurriedly walked out of that office without a backward glance.

After a month, I got an amazing offer.