INSIDE FORTUNE BAKERY AND CONFECTIONERY (11) “Let me warn you and this is the last I will be doing this. Stop trying my patience in this place and this warning is for your own good. Mind you for your own good is in capital letters. I’m not a kid, I have eyes and can read every move you make against me. You keep coming up with some phony programmes and ideas hoping to nail me one day. Why are you are planning to nail Nelly? Currently, you’ve had your way about two times now. If I’m warned again on account of you and your stupid ideas, I will definitely teach you some lessons. I will teach you some lessons you won’t forget in a hurry. Be very careful with me,” Nelly warned. Nelly had barged into Grace’s office moments after she was roundly scolded by Mr. Faaz. She was convinced if Grace hadn’t come up with those ideas, she would not have been picked out for criticism. Grace supported her jaws with her hands as she listened to Nelly’s diatribe. Nelly was fuming as she spoke making it almost impossible for her to communicate clearly. Nelly stammers very mildly , the condition worsens whenever she is provoked. She was further infuriated when Grace tried to calm her down. Grace had crossed over to where she stood and curled her arm around her shoulder. Nelly quickly grabbed Grace’s hand and flung it out of her neck. “Don’t you ever touch me again with those filthy hand of yours.” Nelly warned. Grace maintained her cool throughout the confrontation. Nelly kept barking at Grace like those fair complexioned dogs popularly referred to as bingo would do when they are provoked. Grace kept smiling until Nelly stormed out of her office, she banged the door as loud as the energy in her tiny arm could muster. >>> “This lady came here to warn me to be careful with her,” Grace told Abigail on the phone just moment after Nelly stormed out of her office. “What exactly did she say to you?” Grace quoted Nelly verbatim and the exact time the incident happened. “So what do you plan to do?” Abigail asked. “Do? I didn’t see any sense in what she said. I’m just calling to let you know what just transpired here,” Grace responded. “My friend, don’t take any threat lightly. Not in these days and time. If somebody could muster the confidence to walk up to you and warm you, then, you have to take the person very seriously.” “So what do you suggest I do? Grace asked. “If I were in your shoes, I will not only report the incident to management, I will tell them in a very graphical manner everything she said to me. I think the more we try to shield this kind of attitude, the more wings she grows.” “Don’t you think it will seem as if I’m really out to witch hunt her? After all, there’s no evidence to back my claim. It’s my word against hers,” Grace said. “Anyway, if you think there’s no need to report her, then, be very careful with her.” Abigail insisted. “Okay, I will.” Back in her house, Nelly was still fuming at the fact that she had been warned on a number of occasions since Grace was returned as the Administrator. She could not wait to get home to tell her siblings about her ordeal at work. Her infuriated siblings fumed at every word coming from their elder sister. They demanded for action. They demanded to be allowed to deal with Grace and her cohorts at work. Nelly feeling good at the way her siblings were reacting to her story, first calmed them down for the full version of her story. She added twisted the story until every originality in the story disappeared. She told her family the version that made her immediate younger brother paced about in the sitting room thinking of the best treatment to be meted out on Grace. The version that made their hairs to split. The version that projected her as the victim and Grace as the villain. Expectedly, her family jumped in her defense. Grace was roundly vilified that night even in her absence. They agreed to give Grace the benefit of doubt since that was the first time their sister mentioned Grace to them. Some days after she confronted Grace, Nelly was still boiling in hateful rage; she believed if nothing was done to put Grace in check quickly, she could come up with more ideas that could hurt her. More ideas that could bring about an unpleasant ending to her engagement with Fortune Bakery and Confectionery. Folake had barely got home when her phone rang the first time. The phone rang the second and third time before she pulled her phone from the deepest part of bag. She was still struggling to pull out her phone from her bag when her phone started ringing again. Folake stopped to answer the call. Nelly started by accusing her of abandoning her after the restructuring exercise at Fortune Bakery and Confectionery. The opening speech alarmed Folake. She pleaded to return her call later, when must have got home. The discussion hadn’t gone far when Folake realized where Nelly was headed . Nelly went down memory lane to narrate what she described as her ordeal in Grace’s hand. Folake maintained a consistent eye contact with Nelly while she spoke. She nodded at every word Nelly said. She wished Nelly could see exactly what she was thinking at that moment. When Nelly indicated she was ready to listen to her, Folake sat up to respond to her. “If you ask me, I will tell you that the situation has not got to the extent of planning to harm anyone. I will suggest you seek alternatives ideas. There are other things you can do but planning to harm someone cannot be one of them at least not now,” Folake said. “Okay, I’m listening to you. What would you have done if you were in my shoes?” “Okay, if I were in your shoes, I would start with management. I will do everything humanly possible to always be in their good books, that way, whenever there’s a dispute between me and Grace and assuming it gets to them, the outcome will always be favourable,” Folake advised. “Didn’t I tell you what I did the other week?” “The girls?” “Yes, the girls.” “Nelly, I have wanted to tell you something. I want to tell you the truth as my friend. I love the way you drew me closer when we resumed here newly. I really appreciate it. However, I have examined a couple of events especially your clashes and tussles with Grace and Abigail. The way you’ve been going about the whole thing is wrong. I’m sorry to say it this way but it is very wrong. I can assure you that those ladies have better reputation than you before management,” Folake said. Nelly looked on as Folake told her the gospel truth. Nobody had confronted her this way since she joined Fortune Bakery and Confectionery. No staff could have done that especially the position she was employed to man at the beginning. “Okay, I have heard you. So break it down for me, what would you have done to win over management?” “Just do the right things always. Stop being confrontational to contrary opinions especially if they are coming from Grace and Abigail. You can even initiate some of those ideas that have projected her as very intelligent and hardworking; after all, someone once found you qualified for that position, you can regain that position if you work hard,” Folake. Folake’s advice was way off what Nelly had expected to hear, she was looking for an idea that would inflict some degree of hurt on Grace. She regretted ever mentioning her plan to Folake, her former confidant and accomplice. Nelly decided to pursue her ideas by herself. She was going to implement the same idea from Folake but in her own way. Nelly chose to try out her idea with Mr. Faaz first whom she considered as the most vulnerable, the weak link in her plan, especially after Mr. Fortune did not bother to touch the ladies she sent to him. In line with her plan, Nelly initiated a couple of actions she felt would get her back into full reckoning. At the end of that week, Nelly wrote an extended report about her Unit, the kind of report Mr. Faaz would like. She made the report a regular weekly affair, hoping one day Mr. Faaz would express his pleasure for her effort. A couple of weeks later, Nelly’s plans worked out just the way she wanted it. Mr. Faaz invited Nelly to discuss her obvious improved performance over the weeks. He showered Nelly with some praises and urged her to continue in that vein. Before she left Mr. Faaz office, Nelly made a request to him. A special request. She requested for an unfettered access to Mr. Faaz. “I’m listening,” Mr. Faaz said. “Sir, I’m wondering if I could always come around to discuss some of my ideas for the unit with you.” “Nelly, you know how we operate here. We always operate open doors here except that we insist on proper line of communication to avoid chaos here. But whenever you think you need help, advice wise, you can come around,” Mr. Faaz assured. Nelly left Mr. Faaz’s office grinning from mouth to mouth. Two weeks later, Nelly’s original plan happened in the most dramatic way. Mr. Faaz slept with Nelly in his office, in one of those evenings when most staff had gone home. The Story Continues…
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 06:31:14 +0000
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