Being Mrs Dantata

38

"I quit working at ECOWAS today. Catherine did too...We've accepted the offers from the UN. I thought you two should know."

Hanan and Zayd stilled.

Zayd, who was combing out Hanan's damp hair, let his hands drop and he turned to the computer screen where Amal was displayed, a calm look on her face as she stared right back at them.

Hanan blinked. "I'm sorry, come again. I don't think I heard you right."

Amal smiled. "You did, Hanan. You heard me right."

"Amal," It was Zayd. "What happened?"

She toyed with the curled ends of one of the two cornrows that sat on her head; cornrows Hanan and Zayd had no idea who had made them because Amal never liked making her hair.

"It was Emeka." She replied. "Emeka happened."

Zayd's voice had an edge and he looked set to kill. "Did he do something inappropriate?"

"He was going to. When we got to Praia and checked into the hotel, his suite was opposite mine and he was waiting for me outside his door. Immediately I saw and hear him say whatever nonsense he said, I went back down to ask for them to upgrade my suite because every other person was on the other end of the corridor and I really did not want to risk anything."

Hanan placed a hand on one of Zayd's fists. It took a long second but he relaxed slightly. They listened as Amal continued.

"The receptionists were acting funny, asking stupid questions for protocol and whatnot. Emeka met me there and he grabbed my wrist, trying to make a scene and all that."

She sighed. "I sprayed his face with pepper though and he let go. I left the hotel and got a security team hired from this reputable security company here. He went ahead to file a physical assault case at the parliament and he may have twisted the CCTV footage. I normally would fight back but when I saw they were going to be biased, I told myself it wasn't worth it."

"Why didn't you call?" Hanan asked gently. "You should have called."

Amal's signature goofy smile appeared. "And ruin your fun?" She waved a hand in dismissal. "Oh, please. I handled it well. What really pushed me to the edge was the ultimatum they gave me. Imagine Bruno telling me to explain what happened, justify my actions in twenty-four hours or get fired if I refuse to do so." She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I just looked at the email and told myself 'Nah, I'm not doing this with you people.'"

She sniffled, adjusting the collar of her sweater. "So I got in touch with the UN. I still have Nancy's number from the time I interned there. She was more than happy to immediately get in touch with the recruitment team so I could know if the offer still stood. I did tell you two about the offer that came during the wedding period, right?"

Hanan and Zayd nodded slowly, vaguely remembering her bringing it up. They had never gone into details because she dismissed it then, stating that she did not see herself working at the UN again.

"Great!" Amal toyed with her collar and continued. "So, the offer still stood and they sent a contract for me to skim through alongside another email, asking if I had any recommendation for a Human Resource Manager." Her smile was so beautiful. "I recommended Catherine and funny enough, they knew her and they knew Sunday too so she got the job."

Zayd finally smiled. "You'll always be the sweetest person."

She blushed. "Stop it!" She sobered up quickly. "I got called sha. Catherine went to fight for me and it was so nice of her. I told her to tell Bruno I had sent my resignation letter and I told her she had been employed at the UN. She quit too."