A TIME TO HEAL

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@fourdoorgallardo

This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any format or by any means—— electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—— without prior written permission of the writer.

Cover design by Adeneye Bolatito

This is a work of fiction.

Names, characters, places, and incidents, either are product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locale is entirely coincidental.

I WALKED into the office feeling as sunny as the morning weather after polishing every last drop of syrup on my plate some minutes ago. I'd stopped at an eatery earlier and ordered some waffles and chicken wings and the host, God bless his heart had doused an enormous amount of syrup enough to drown a fish all over the waffles. I was aware that the outcome was a tad too sweet but sugary food had always been the one thing that made me buoyant. I over indulged all the time and I carried enough weight around to testify to that.

As I walked towards my desk, I saw some of my coworkers giggling and I could tell from their facial expressions that I wasn't the brunt of their joke this time. Whatever they were sharing must be really juicy because they hardly noticed me as I went around to my desk. It was a relief as my weight was usually the focus of discussion whenever they saw me. I caught some snippets of their discussion and they seemed to be talking about a man; a very handsome man judging by the "OH's" and "AH's" that was constantly exclaimed as they talked.

My chair groaned as I sat in front of my desk, and it was as if it was informing me that it wouldn't hold my heavy weight much longer. I ignored it and powered on my system. While I fished out a file from my bottom drawer, I noticed a pair of Jimmy Choos heels clad feet next to my desk. From experience, I could tell who it was before glancing up. Gwyneth! Of course it had to be her, the pancake I'd been salivating over in the morning turned in my stomach.

"Can I help you?" I looked up and asked pleasantly, making my tone as soft as I could muster.

Gwyneth grimaced as her eyes landed on the Maltesers on my desk. I couldn't even remember putting it there, and my hands itched to toss it in the bin.

"Snacking again, I see," she chided.

Her tone grated on my nerves but I bit down hard on my tongue and forced my lips into a tight lipped smile. One of my other colleagues, Kate joined in, she stared at me with utter disgust written all over her face.

The funny thing about the whole situation was that I could never hate neither of them or the other colleagues that flocked around them like lapdogs. They were always so pretty and well put together and sometimes when I was feeling really low, like chocolate—couldn't—help type of low, I envied them.

Gwyneth had the perfect facial bone structure, her jaws were so prominent and well angled. And her lips were always so pouty and glossy. Her skin looked better than caramel and overall she oozed sex appeal.

Kate on the other hand, had straight, long, brown hair that was a shade lighter than her complexion, and you would always see her pushing the heavy mass of hair off her face. A face that was so innocent you wouldn't believe half of the things she said came from her mouth. There was also a way she stared at you like a lost puppy that made you want to give her all your love and affection. Too bad her attitude didn't match her pretty face. I really couldn't compete in my dowdy clothes. As if it wasn't bad enough that I was overweight, I also hated makeup and would never smear it on my face. So of course, I looked like the ugly, unkempt step sibling next to them

Initially, when I started working at the firm, I tried to be friends with everyone but I got voted for as the most hardworking person after a month of working. Since then all the girls in my department stopped talking to me, just like that they turned on me. I didn't realize that I was in a danger zone and when it did dawn on me, it was too late to thread carefully.

By the time I toned down my efficiency, Gwyneth had made herself the group leader of the hate group established specifically to frustrate me. They took turns in bullying me, they excelled at it even, each trying to do more damage than the other. It was not as bad as it seemed but sometimes, it got to me. I saw myself as a genuinely nice person and to be in such a toxic space where half the people around me refused to be polite was exhausting and downright humiliating.

I looked up just in time to see Gwyneth trash the packet of Maltesers on my desk, I sighed and raised my brows. I could easily smash her face with one fat arm, but that would only get me arrested and fired and she wasn't worth all of that.

"Well, we're to meet at the coffee room for an announcement. I'm saying it in case you didn't get the mail," she said hauntingly. She floated towards the coffee room and I silently wished she would trip over her six inches heels. Seriously, who wore that to work?

I got my fat ass out of the chair and walked as gracefully as I could to the coffee room. I wasn't in the tiniest bit curious as to why we had to converge there on an early Monday morning. It was unusual, but I wasn't worried. I spotted an empty chair as I entered the coffee room but before I could reach it, Kate picked it up and gave someone else. I gave her an icy death glare and went to the rear of the room to stand.

The room was painted with a bland green wall and there was also a grey refrigerator that had the company's logo on it. It was the only room with some sort of color on the wall, the rest of the office was painted in white. I smiled at some colleagues from other departments sitting on the countertop directly under the green cabinets. I leaned against the wall with my arms folded as I awaited the announcement.

My boss walked in and the room became quiet. He was a fiftyish man with a Malaysian background, rotund, with a slight bow leg. His face was the greatest thing about him; a face that put you at ease even at your lowest. The other workers called him, Mr. Munsi, but I simply called him 'Boss'. He rubbed his palm over his bulging tummy as was his habit and I rolled my eyes.

He cleared his throat and began to speak in a low baritone, "I hope you all enjoyed your weekend?" He continued after our grunts, "I called you lot here to introduce you to the newest member of the family...his name is Kelvin Okoro, and he's joining the Accounting Department. I want everyone to be nice to him as he's one of us now," he ended in a grave manner.

He moved towards the door and beckoned to 'the newest member of the family'. The boss walked out leaving us to interact amongst ourselves. The room buzzed with excitement as a tall, dark, lanky male entered, and my heart literally stopped beating as I studied his face.

Kelvin looked like some sort of edible, giant chocolate cake, because there was no way anyone should be that good looking. His faced looked perfectly sculpted, like the gods themselves molded it...they must have. I saw his lips moving, but my brain couldn't register whatever he was saying. I stared at him, transfixed and drooling. I cautioned myself just in time, because his gaze bounced on me for a second.

The room erupted in a cheer after he introduced himself. I saw Gwyneth jump out of her chair to speak to him, and I cringed as I watched her body language. Her left arm was now draped around his shoulder as if they were former lovers reunited in a new life. He was also beaming down at her like she was the best thing to happen since sliced bread. His pink lips formed into a perfect smile transforming his whole face. Ah, a flirt. I was disappointed but not surprised. A guy that good looking would apparently be aware of the effect he had on women. I left the room in uncontrollable disgust.