The Selection
The next morning, she arrived at the office determined to bury herself in work and pretend the previous day had never happened. She hadn’t even settled properly when word began to move around-there would be a brief meeting with the boss.
Her heart dropped instantly.
The first thought that crossed her mind was yesterday. But he had forgiven her, she thought. Her hands went cold, her chest tight. She leaned towards Esther and lowered her voice.
“Do you know what the meeting is about?”
Esther shook her head. Others around them were just as unsure, trading guesses in hushed tones. No one seemed to know anything concrete, which only made her more jittery. Before the speculation could go any further, they were called into the meeting room.
They took their seats, mummering softly among themselves, when the door opened.
Kelvin walked in with his usual commanding presence-calm, composed, unhurried.
The room settled immediately. He greeted everyone briefly, then moved straight into general office updates, timelines, performance notes, expectations.
Her shoulders loosened slightly. Maybe it’s not about me, she thought.
Then his tone shifted.
“As you all know,” he said, “the next congress is fast approaching. “Staff selection will be different this year”.
The room stirred.
“I’ve noticed that we’ve been rotating the same set of people year after year. That ends today. This time, anyone interested will write their name on a piece of paper and drop it in the box beside me. I’ll be selecting two names to go with me, alongside my PA.”
Papers were passed around. Pens scratched softly as names were written.
Everyone wrote-except Sharon.
She sat still, paper untouched. She had never been interested in attending the yearly summit, had never been selected before in the five years she has worked, and saw no reason to start now.travel , exposure, attention-it wasn’t for her. She folded the blank paper and kept it on the table.
Kelvin reached into the small black box on the table, unfolding the first slip of paper.
“Angela,” he called.
A soft murmur rippled through the room as a woman from accounting straightened in her seat. "Yes, sir,” she said quickly, half-standing before sitting back down, a proud smile tugging at her lips.
Kelvin dropped the slip and reached in again.
“Sharon.”
“Sharon,” he called again, sharper this time.
Her ears rang. The sound of her own heartbeat drowned out everything else.
Then voices broke the silence.
“Are you not the one he’s calling? ”Won’t you stand up? ”Isn’t your name Sharon?”
Her chair scraped softly against the floor as she rose, legs trembling, every eye in the room suddenly on her. Confusion was written plainly across her face.
“I-sorry, sir, I-”
“You again?” Kelvin cut in, irritation flashing openly now.
“Are you just bent on pissing me off? Is that your mission? Or are you dense and stupid?”
A low murmur of shock moved through the room.
“I had to call you multiple times before you responded. Or do you think I have nothing better to do than stand here calling your name all day?”
Her chest tightened painfully.
“I’m sorry, sir,” she said, voice barely holding together. “It’s just that I didn’t-”
She stopped.
Her eyes met Esther’s across the room.
Esther had gone pale. Her hands were clenched together, her head shaking almost imperceptibly, eyes wide with silent pleading.
Please.
In that instant, everything clicked.
The slip. The name. The silence.
If Sharon spoke now, if she said she hadn’t written her name, Esther would be exposed. Questions would follow. Consequences she couldn’t afford.
Her stomach twisted.
She swallowed hard and changed course.
“I’m so sorry, sir,” she repeated, lowering her gaze. “I didn’t hear you call my name at first. My mind was... far away.”
A beat passed.
Kelvin studied her sharply, eyes narrowing. Everything about this girl unsettled him-the hesitation, the downcast eyes, the way she always seemed braced for impact around him. A sharp sigh escaped him as he shook his head, visibly restraining himself.
“Unacceptable,” he said flatly. “When you are in a room like this, your attention belongs here. Nowhere else.”
“Yes, sir,” she whispered.
“Sit down,” he added curtly.
She obeyed at once, hands trembling slightly as she folded them in her lap.
Kelvin straightened, redirecting his attention to the room.
“Those selected,” he continued firmly, as though nothing had happened, “should submit their details immediately. This year’s congress will be held in Johannesburg. You’re expected to represent this company with professionalism and competence.”
A ripple of excitement moved through the room.
“Contact my secretary,” he went on. “She will handle visas, travel arrangements, and accommodation. Any delays will not be tolerated.”
“Yes, sir,” several voices responded in unison.
He concluded the meeting with a few routine remarks about timelines and expectations, then paused. His gaze flicked back to Sharon-brief, intense, unreadable.
She felt it instantly.
Her breath caught, and she turned away at once, eyes fixed on her desk, heart racing violently in her chest.
Without another word, Kelvin gathered his papers and walked out of the room.
Only when the door closed behind him did Sharon finally exhale-slowly, shakily-aware that something had shifted, even if she didn’t yet understand what it was.
The atmosphere shifted immediately. People began congratulating Angela and her, smiles and chatter filling the space. She heard none of it.
Her mind was racing.
How do I get out of this?Should I say I’m sick?No-that wouldn’t work. He would ask why she wrote her name in the first place.
Her chest tightened painfully.
God, what will I do?
She turned sharply, scanning the room, pulse pounding.
I am seriously going to kill Esther,she thought.
Esther was already looking at her, eyes wide and glistening, guilt written all over her face.
The moment their eyes met, Sharon knew-knew-that Esther was responsible.
And from the way Esther’s hands twisted together nervously, it was clear she hadn’t expected this outcome at all.
It had been a joke. A harmless nudge. Something they would have laughed about later.
Not this.
Esther hurried toward her, lowering her voice the second she reached her.
“I’m so sorry, Sharon,” she said quickly.
“I really am. I didn’t think you’d be picked. I swear. I just thought-” She paused, searching Sharon’s face.
“You never do things like this. You never take chances. Even the Friday night dinners, you don’t attend. You’re always just work, work, work. I saw you weren’t writing your name, so... I did.”
Sharon stared at her, disbelief mixing with panic.
Esther rushed on, words tumbling out. “I thought it would push you a little. You know... you should have fun sometimes. Life isn’t all about work. Do things that make you happy too.”
What Esther didn’t say-but what sat heavily between them-was that she wished she had written her own name instead. Like many others, she had a crush on the boss. She would have loved to be selected. If she had known Sharon would actually be picked, she never would have done it.
Sharon shook her head slowly, running a hand over her face.
“How do I get out of this, Esther?” she asked quietly. “I don’t want to go.” Her voice dropped even lower. “Should I go to HR? Or his secretary? Tell them I want to give my slot to you? You want to go, right?”
Esther’s eyes widened. “No-no, that won’t work,” she said immediately, avoiding the second question altogether. “They’ll ask whyyouwrote your name in the first place.”
Sharon swallowed. “Okay. Then what if I tell them I’m sick?”
“That won’t work either,” Esther replied, shaking her head. “They’ll reschedule or ask for medical proof. Besides... It’s Kelvin Mark. He doesn’t play with excuses.”
Sharon let out a shaky breath. “So what do I do?”
Esther reached for her arm gently. “Just go, okay? Please. It’s already done.” She tried to smile. “Besides, what’s the worst that could happen? It’s just two weeks. Before you know it, you’ll be back.”
Sharon looked at her incredulously. “You’re asking me what I’m scared of?”
Esther hesitated, then said softly, “Yes. What are you really afraid of?”
Sharon didn’t answer.
They stepped out of the meeting room together, moving slowly into the open office space. Around them, voices rose in muted disappointment.
“Bad luck, honestly. ”I should have written my name. ”Imagine going to Johannesburg on company expenses. ”Some people are just lucky.”
Each comment landed like a small weight on Sharon’s chest.
She kept walking, her mind still spinning, one truth ringing louder than the rest:
This wasn’t just a trip.
It was two weeks under the same corporate umbrella as a man she had spent years carefully avoiding-and there was no graceful way out. It is general knowledge that people in his radar get fired for as little as nothing.
She barely heard them.
Her mind drifted back to that moment of eye contact with him before he left the room–the intensity of it, the way it had unsettled her.
She didn’t understand the feeling it stirred in her, she had been very nervous, yes, but there was something else too.
A strange thrill. The realization annoyed her. She pushed it aside.
There’s no way out, she admitted to herself. I’ll just have to prepare.
“Sharon,” Esther said suddenly, tugging her arm. “Did you hear anything I just said?”
She blinked, pulled back into the present.
“Sorry, I was just thinking.. What did you say?”
“I asked you what you are scared of” she repeated, “also what was that back there, What did Mr. kelvin mean by ‘you again’. And the atmosphere was tensed there for a moment-I asked you yesterday, you said nothing, and there have been rumor spreading around the office”
“What rumor?” she asked sharply
“You tell me.... I searched for you yesterday after work, but you had already run off-what is actually going on Sharon?”
Sharon hesitated, then sighed, “I entered Mr. Kelvin’s office yesterday-he wasn’t alone.′
“Okay.......” she answered curiously , “who was he with”
“With a lady...... .they were kissing” Sharon added, cheeks warming. “Then I ran out. He was angry I didn’t get his permission to come in before I did.”
“That’s all that happened,” she added, “he shouted at me, and I apologized”.
Esther stared at her, then let out a dramatic sigh. “That man is so private... what’s the big deal there-but what i would give to be in that lady’s place”
“Then you should have written your name instead of mine” she admonished, “you would have been close enough to be in that position”
“I said I’m sorry now, besides if i knew he would pick you, i would have written my own name”
Whatever lay ahead, Sharon knew one thing for certain–her quiet, predictable life had already begun to shift, whether she was ready for it or not.
“But did you really see them kissing?” Esther continued, lowering her voice conspiratorially as they walked. “Because rumor has it... he might be gay.”
Sharon stopped short.
“What?” she asked, turning slowly. “Why would you even say that?”
Esther shrugged, unfazed. “It’s what people say. I’m not making it up.”
“That’s a serious thing to just throw around,” Sharon said quietly.
“I know, I know,” Esther replied quickly. “But think about it. Have younoticedhow he doesn’t pay attention to anyone? Not even Laila-his PA. That woman is beautiful, Sharon. God-given curves, brains to match, and she spends like eighty percent of her day around him. If it were any other man-”
“He’s professional,” Sharon cut in. “That doesn’t mean anything.”
Esther chuckled softly. “You always say that.”
She continued anyway. “We just keep hearing he has a girlfriend we barely ever see. I mean, which woman will have Kelvin Mark as her boyfriend and not want to be around him all the time? Honestly? I don’t believe he has one.”
Sharon frowned slightly, listening despite herself. She wasn’t one for rumors. She had never been. Gossip felt frivolous, dangerous even. Still, Esther’s words settled uncomfortably.
“And then there’s that rule,” Esther added. “No flirting. No trying to seduce him. Who makes rules like that unless they’re hiding something?”
“Or unless they’re tired of nonsense,” Sharon replied.
Esther leaned closer. “I actually think he wanted you to catch them.”
Sharon’s steps slowed again. “Catch who?”
“Him and his so-called girlfriend,” Esther said matter-of-factly. “So people will stop talking about his male preference.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” Sharon said, though her voice had lost some certainty.
“Doesn’t it?” Esther countered. “Most of our female clients patronize ASG because of him. You know that. It would be bad for business if people really thought he was gay.”
Sharon didn’t respond.
A strange unease settled in her chest. Her mind replayed the moment over and over-the unlocked door, the silence, the look on his face when she stepped in. The shock. The anger. The way his composure had slipped for just a second.
Was it staged?Or is Esther just overthinking everything?
She shook her head slightly, as if to clear it.
“Please,” she said quietly, finally breaking the silence. “Don’t tell anyone what I told you.”
Esther lifted both hands. “Of course. My lips are sealed. You know me.”
Sharon wasn’t entirely sure that was true-but she nodded anyway.
They continued down the corridor, footsteps echoing softly against the tiled floor. Around them, the office buzzed on, unaware of the quiet storm brewing in Sharon’s thoughts.
What she had seen felt real-too real to dismiss so easily. Yet doubt had a way of creeping in, rearranging memory, blurring edges that once felt sharp and certain.
One thing was becoming painfully clear: Kelvin Mark was far more complicated than office gossip could ever capture.
And somehow-without intending to, without wanting to-Sharon had stepped far too close to the center of it all.