The next day, when Marks arrived at work, the first thing he did, after going through the pending appointments which his secretary had submitted, was to send for Angela, and within minutes, he heard a knock on the door.
"Come in!" He called, after properly positioning himself to look like he was hard at work.
The door opened and Angela entered.
"You called for me, sir," she said and walked up to his table.
"Yes, I did. Sit," he ordered without looking at her.
She sat down on the sofa in his office and he went on turning pages and scribbling meaningless things, just to prove that he was busy.
When he had acted to his complete satisfaction, he sighed and put the papers away. "You can see I'm very busy, but I had to call you and let you know about this as quickly as possible."
Angela nodded, more out of the need to please than anything else. She really didn't understand what he meant, but she didn't want to risk losing her job and he knew it.
"First, I want to start by asking you a few questions."
Angela shifted in her seat to prepare herself for the questions.
"First question, has your junior secretary complained about anything to you recently, like her salary or something like that?"
"No, she hasn't. She has never complained about anything, " she said with conviction.
"Are you sure?" Marks asked, looking her straight in the eye.
"Yes, I'm sure," she nodded without blinking.
"Okay, I think I believe you. But notwithstanding, we have concrete reasons to believe that the young woman has recently become disgruntled. "
"Mara?" Angela asked in surprise, wondering perhaps he was talking about someone else.
"Is that her name?" Marks asked as if he didn't know.
"Yes. Mara Johnson."
"We need someone to keep an eye on her so we can figure out what she's planning. We believe that it's something capable of hurting the company and putting..."
"B... but Mara is harmless."
"Then you'll have to prove it. We have decided that you are the most trustworthy person for this job. Don't worry, you will be handsomely compensated for your efforts. All you have to do is find out what she's planning, who she's planning with and every other detail you can find, especially her opinions about the company and its... ahem... its CEO. Pump her for information, follow her if you can and report back to me with any information you obtain. And again, I assure you that the company will express its gratitude very handsomely, if you succeed in this little mission, which I think is very generous seeing that the individual in question is your direct subordinate and you might be made to take responsibility for her actions."
It was instantly clear that the last few words had a strong impact on her. She had looked like she wanted to disagree with him, but on hearing those words, all the fight went out of her. He had deliberately and successfully hit her weak spot.
"So, do you understand all I have said?"
"Yes... yes, sir. But..."
"Good. Then you can go. I expect your first report soon."
Angela had no choice but to swallow her reservations and walk out of the office. She had come through that door a normal curious human being and now she was going through it again as a shadow of her former self.
Walking like a blind ghost, she managed to find her way back to her desk and then slumped down on her seat.
"Are you okay?" Mara asked in concern.
"Yes, yes. I'm fine," she replied with a fake smile.
"But you don't look fine. You look like someone who has just seen a ghost."
"Seriously, I'm fine. "
"Okay," Mara shrugged and let the matter drop. Then silence occupied the room.
The girl went on typing happily, glad that little Leo was in safe hands at home and not in the office where she had to keep him in mind all the time, but little did she know that Angela was looking at her intently.
There was a tough conflict in Angela's mind. Marks had all but told her that she would lose her job if she refused to spy on Mara. And she badly needed to keep her job. What on earth was she going to do? Spying on Mara and pumping her for information to take back to him was nothing short of betrayal. She couldn't even think of doing such a thing to someone who trusted her. How would she sleep at night? Her conscience would surely peck her to death. How would Mara feel if she eventually found out? The poor girl would be so disappointed and might never ever forgive her. The mere thought of this made her cringe inwardly and she couldn't help but mutter a prayer to God to give her a clue, a sign... anything, provided it would show her a way out of this dilemma as safely as possible. The time was 9:02 a.m. She gave God up to 9:32 a.m. to deliver or else she would be doomed!
It was a tortuous 30-minute wait. Angela couldn't sit still. Her attention perked up at any little sound or sight of even the tiniest objects blown the fan in the room. But the more she looked and listened, the more anxious she became. No matter how hard she tried, nothing she saw or heard could provide any sign concerning the next step she was to take.
At long last, the clock struck 9:32 a.m. and Angela sighed deeply in resignation. She suddenly felt like someone whose death sentence had been approved. Grabbing her handkerchief, she proceeded to dry the perspiration from her face and neck. Even though the fan was at full blast, she had sweated like someone in a sauna or even a desert on a hot day.
She glanced furtively at the girl across the room and it was clear that she was occupied and fully concentrated on her job. Young innocent harmless kid... Just why on earth would someone want to suspect her of anything negative or evil? And how could someone look at that face and think of betraying its owner? She just couldn't bring herself to do it. She just couldn't!
But what about her job? It was her only source of income. Losing it could mean starvation for her and her family. She was the sole breadwinner of her family. Everyone looked up to her; everyone expected her to provide most of their basic needs. They would never listen to her or forgive her if she told them that she had given up a job on the grounds of principles.
Clearly, the matter was fixed. It was either her or Mara, and unlike her who had an entire family dependent on her for survival, Mara had only a baby to take care of. And by the way, what was the worst thing they could do to her? Not that they could fire her. She was hundred percent sure that Mara was innocent of these accusations, and if she found nothing like she knew she would, that would be the end, wouldn't it? Mara would be cleared and everyone would be satisfied and happy. On second thought, this was not as bad as she had thought it was. She would do it... for her sake... for her family's sake.
"Ahem... how's the baby, Mara?", she asked in a voice she could hardly recognise as her own.
"Oh, little Leo is doing great as always," Mara replied with an enthusiastic grin. She was always happy talking about her baby and it only made Angela feel a bit more guilty, but she managed a weak smile nonetheless.
"Why didn't you bring him today?", she questioned with genuine curiosity.
"Oh no need. He's with his favourite, big Leo. They..." Mara shut her mouth abruptly and her face turned into an expressionless mask. What the hell had she just done to her boss?? Why, of all the things she could have done, did she stupidly call his name?? Oh God, now they were doomed!
"What's the problem? A... are you okay?" Angela asked in concern, surprised by her abrupt stop.
"Yes, yes. I'm fine," Mara replied quickly and jumped up to her feet. "I'm pressed. I need to use the restroom."
Already, she was hurrying away.
Angela simply stated after her in surprise. She didn't know what to make of it at all. Did the girl know that she was being spied on? Had she known for long?
For the next few minutes, Angela couldn't sit still. She was very eager to see Mara return, so she could gauge her mood and try to deduce what was going through her mind.
It seemed like a lifetime, but Mara eventually walked back into the room, nervously smoothing down her skirt and keeping her eyes on the ground. Angela didn't know what this meant. She had expected the girl to be sad or perhaps angry, but being quiet and with no expression on her face was certainly not something she had expected to find in Mara. But, either way, it was clear beyond doubt that any effort to spy on her would have to be postponed to another day entirely.