"I CANNOT DO THIS," I groaned and put my head on the table, while Vanessa comforted me.
One month has passedand Istillhave notgottena job. Maybe I'm unlucky,who knows?
Vanessa, the person who encouraged
me to work, already had a job at this company that dealt with automobiles
or something. Her pay was huge, like massive. And if she worked for just a
year, she could sponsor her trip and even live there for as long as she
wanted to. And here I was, failing interviews like a fool.
I didn't tell my parents about it because I didn't want them to say what
they always said when things didn't go my way.
Itold youso
. No, no you did not "told me so", mom, you had no idea I
was gonna do this.
"Hey, don't give up just yet, I'll help you. I promise. My boss is
Chinese, he might know a few Asian CEOs in Abuja, who knows? They're
always open to new employees. Don't worry, okay? I got you. You wanna
go to Seoul, don't you?" She asked me and I nodded.
"And you wanna see your favorite actors and musicians?" She asked
again and I nodded with conviction. "And you wanna read the books in the
large library, and eat ramen by the Han River, right?" Vanessa asked me
again—this time her voice sounded strong, and so was my morale.
"Thanks, Vanessa. You're the best." I told her and took a sip of my
cocktail.
Ican'tgive up now, Ican't, in fact,Iwon't. IfVanessa can do it, I
can too
.
Iwon'tgive up.
God must have heard Vanessa and I talking. After that day, I didn't lose
hope. Though I got a lot of rejections, I still kept a strong face, praying that
my story would change, and it did. Vanessa called me over to her
workplace.
I arrived at the large company and asked the lobbyist for Vanessa. I
think she told me earlier that she was the consultant, but it slipped my mind
and I ended up telling her I was looking for Vanessa Francis. I was ushered
to a seat.
Vanessa came over and she hugged me, making me get a bit suspicious.
"What's this behavior? Did something good happen?" I asked her and she
smiled mischievously.
"Come, quick. The CEO wants to see you!"
"CEO
as how
? What did you tell him about me? Vanessa, tell me the
truth." I warned and she laughed awkwardly.
"Dunni, just trust me
na
. It's me
oh
." She said and I decided to let my
guard down. If
she manages to mess up my chances ofgettingemployed,I
willnever speak to her again
. We took the elevator and went up to the sixth
floor, the last floor. I disliked elevators a lot, and I always felt dizzy after
using them, but I had gotten better in the last ten years, otherwise, I would
have used the stairs. My knees would hurt, but it would definitely go away.
The chances ofthe elevator getting stuck like inthe Elevator Baby
movie are slim, butnever zero.
We got to the CEO's office and Vanessa knocked on it gently. A male voice answered, and we walked into this wide
office that had a perfect view of the road and other high buildings.
The floors were white, there were Chinese paintings on the walls,
accompanied by many vases, a bonsai tree, a bookshelf with a few books
that I had at home, two large white sofas and finally, a black desk and three
chairs. Behind the desk was a Chinese man in his forties. His hair was
slightly gray, accompanied by smooth skin without a single wrinkle. He was
dressed in a black suit, and the slate had his name boldly written on it.
ZhangMing, CEO ofJin TianMotors.
"Mr. Zhang, this is my Asian loving friend that I told you about,"
Vanessa said to him and pushed me forward.
"Ah, Miss Adunni, right?" His
Chinglish
was cute.
"Go-good morning, sir," I squeaked with a shaky voice and he
chuckled.
"I know you can speak Chinese, don't be shy. Vanessa told me that you
need a job, and I'm happy to help."
"Really? Thank you very much, Mr. Zhang. I am very grateful."
"Don't worry, it is my pleasure. My Korean friend runs a lunch box
company here, and she is happy that you can come. They are looking for a
Nigerian who can speak Chinese and Korean."
"Okay, sir, thank you very much for your help."
"No problem, I will let Vanessa know the details so that you can go to
the company. I have already informed my friend."
"Okay. Thank you very much, sir. Have a wonderful day. By the way,
your office is very nice. I have some of your books at home. I enjoy reading
them very much."
"Thank you, Adunni. We will see each other again soon. You can
contact me anytime through Vanessa. I hope you enjoy working there."
"Goodbye, sir."
We finally left his office and I squealed, hugging Vanessa immediately.
"I love you so much, Vanessa!" I told her and she chuckled.
"It's like you'llteach me Chinese too oh.
My colleagues are hard to
understand sometimes." She stuck her lower lip out and I laughed.
"I saw how you were staring at us when we spoke, you're so funny
.
Don't worry, I'll teach you,
you hear
?" I said to her, and she nodded. She
gave me a tour of the company and I greeted some of her workmates before
she printed my documents for me. I didn't stop staring at it.
"You'll bore a hole into it if you keep staring at it like that," she teased
and walked me out. I ordered an Uber to take me to the place. My heart was
beating fast, really fast. Thank God I wore a corporate outfit today, I could
not imagine having to run back home to dress up.
God, you did it.
I stood in front of the large, extremely large building
with a sign:
BadaShirak.
I was doing it, I was chasing my dream. All I
needed to do was go in and sign a contract, but it was easier said than done.
I hadn't worked in two years and I didn't want to fail myself or my dreams.