Kite had been watching back and forth as the meeting had dragged for close to two hours already. She was seated in a corner of the room typing the minutes on her laptop. From time to time, her eyes had wandered to Williams and she could see he was tired, it showed visibly on his face, he really did need some rest. Present at the meeting were two representatives from the VILDE group who were recent customers of WOLTEL, the telecommunications branch of WOLCORP.
VILDE group was an oil and gas company and were having issues with connectivity on their off shore rigs. Oil rigs are notoriously known for their isolation. Since they are in the middle of nowhere, telecomm operators didn’t find it profitable to operate in such locations as there is no population, so instead the rigs depended on satellite communication. The issue here was that their internet connectivity was quite slow and almost always failed due to constant heavy rainfall in the region which they needed a quick solution to.
The engineer who, to Kite seemed quite full of himself, possibly because he was seated in the boss’s presence had said it was due to too much sharing on their bandwidth which had to be increased to deal with it’s slowness but there was nothing that could be done about fades when there was a heavy rainfall. Kite knew otherwise, the small company she’d worked with last were usually contracted to go into remote locations to install small satellites and she had an idea of their operations. She knew of a solution that could very well work but the problem was she wasn’t sure if it was in her place to speak up.
Seated in the back in a corner, she was quietly doing her typing while Ise Williams flanked by Princess and the Communications director on either side were seated at the oval shaped conference table along with the engineer and two representatives from VILDE.
Kite watched them as her hands flew over the keyboard; she was a very proficient typist and didn’t need to look at it while typing thanks to a year learning typing when she’d awaited admission into the university.
That Princess Lady was really feeling good with herself; seated at the right hand side of her boss she’d been feeling really important, it was in the way she took down her notes on her PC. When Kite had gotten into the office that morning, she’d acknowledged Kite’s greeting with a slight movement of her hand without looking at her, as if waving off her greeting with an irritated look on her face. ‘Nor be her fault, na because I open mouth greet am,’ Kite had thought to herself. They’d not exchanged any words except for when she’d haughtily told her she was expected to take down the minutes of the meeting.
“Are you sure that nothing can be done about the fades?” Ise was speaking, looking at the engineer.
“Yes Sir, it’s a normal thing, there’s ……..” the engineer started. Kite didn’t know when she began talking, cutting off the engineer
“How about a wireless last mile?” Everyone turned to her and she thought she would shrink into the wall.
“What?” the engineer asked.
“Ummm…a wireless last mile link to the closest fibre optic P.O.P as in point of presence-“ The engineer was looking at her now like what did a secretary know about Satellite Communications?
“I know what a P.O.P is but what is it’s relevance here?” Kite swallowed. She should have just shut up in the first place, now six pairs of eyes were on her.
“They are complaining of a weak connection and since they are too far from the closest fibre footprint, I was thinking of a wireless last mile link which will provide a perfect, cost effective, high-speed wireless connection either through radio or microwave, that carries data or voice to the nearest Wireless High Site from where it is delivered via a fiber ring backhaul.”
When she was done, everyone paused for about two seconds, that self conscious feeling came upon her again and she looked down at her hands.
“Okay, that sounds like an idea, makes a lot of sense” Ise said, he was the one who recovered first
“But it doesn’t stop the fades during heavy rainfall.”
“ Not if you try the STM solution.” She replied
“The what?” That was the Engineer again.
“The STM solution, where you deploy a versatile, small footprint Ku band VSAT with a 1.2m VSAT antenna, deployable in four hours, then communication to these isolated rigs can be set up. Once the link is up, it is used to carry, data, voice, and video traffic. it’s worked before, it’s even deployed on floating rig platforms, I’m quite sure that if we can integrate components like Stabilized antennas, connectivity should improve greatly.”
The Engineer guy still had a frown but he seemed to consider her idea for a while. Ise turned to him
“So? What do you think about her idea?”
“It does make some sense….” He seemed to be going over it in his head before he came to a quick conclusion
“Yeah, it can work.”
Of course it will work, duh? She thought to herself.
“Thank you, Kitty.” Ise said and Kite’s head snapped up to look at him, he had a smile on his face as he winked at her ever so lightly. Kite felt the blush creeping up her neck. ‘Damn this light complexion!’ She thought to herself as she nodded, her eyes moving from him to Princess’s fuming face. Jeez! Her look spoke pure hatred for her. Did she kick her dog in a past life or something?
Kite wondered a bit scared at that look. They began rounding up the meeting as Ise directed that the engineer work with Miss Omoh on the project and when they were done they got up to leave.
Ise leaving with the men from VILDE first, the ICT director and the engineer following. Kite was going through the minutes for errors when she looked up to see Princess in front of her. Kite rolled her eyes, what was it now?
“You think you’re smart now, do you?” She asked Kite frowned
“Excuse you?”
“Opening your mouth and butting into conversation which doesn’t concern you? Next time you shut up and focus on the work you were given to do. Can you get that simple instruction into your head?” Kite couldn’t help the smile that spread slowly across her face. See this short thing talking to her like this? Chai! She don die! Princess continued “ You just resumed here how many days ago and you’re already plotting your way up? It doesn’t work that way my dear. I’m your boss around here and you play to my rules.”
Oh really? Kite wanted to ask her but couldn’t speak. She wasn’t the type to talk so she just watched her wanting to slap that haughty attitude out of her life for good.
“You do as you are told and you shut up until you are asked to speak, get that?” Kite just continued smiling as she got up to her full six feet with the help of four inch heels of course dwindling Princess’s Five eight. Quietly, she picked up her laptop and folder containing some papers, she wouldn’t bother answering the little id’iot and she didn’t want to slap her so she decided it was time to leave the vicinity before she lost the control she was seriously hanging on to but she should have known that she wouldn’t be allowed to go just like that.
As she was about leaving, princess dragged her back by the sleeve of her shirt saying. “bitch did you hear what I just said or have you suddenly gone dumb?” Kite’s reflexes took over immediately, she stopped thinking on hearing the B-word. Her hand went for her tea cup which contained the remainder of tea which she’d not finished. Instantly picking the mug, she flung the contents in the other woman’s face. Princess screeched as the contents landed on her face and shirt, she looked shocked, like she couldn’t believe what had just happened.
Kite laughed, loving the look on her face. “oops….I’m sorry my hand just slipped.” She said as she turned and walked out damning the consequences of her actions.
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Princess was in the toilet cleaning up her tea splattered face and shirt and angry as hell. She was so angry she wanted to break something on that b’itch’s head. She’d definitely gone far this time and she was going to show her. Oh no! but she had it coming, she really had it coming. She had better watch her back because by the time she was through with her, she was going to wish she’d never met the Princess. Her closest friend Dara ran into the bathroom.
“Princess, Oh my goodness! What happened?”
“That tramp, that low life, gutter rat tramp poured tea in my face, can you imgine?”
“Oh my goodness! Look at your hair? Did you report to Mr. Williams?
” He’s not in the building and I can’t go around looking like this. Can you imagine? She made me a laughing stock! She’s going to pay, I swear she is!”
“What happened between you two?”
“I was reminding her her place in the company and next thing I knew she flung the drink in my face.” Dara’s eyes were wide
“In the presence of everyone?”
“No, we were alone in the conference room.”
“Wow.” Dara said incredulously
“What audacity?”
“As in, eh? The girl has just started, I will show her! I will show her who she dared to mess with! I mean, just look at what she’s done to my Chanel silk blouse that I bought from Paris just last month. it’s totally ruined.”
“Awwww” Dara sympathised “But how is it that she was moved up to the twentieth floor just like that?”
“Girl, didn’t I tell you? She and Ise have something going on.”
“What?!” Dara’s eyes were wide as saucers
“yes o, it’s looking like some bottom power things are happening, I’m not sure but it’s what I suspect.”
“They might be sleeping together?”
“Think about it, he sends her in from nowhere, no job application, no interviews, gives her a job appointment just like that? I even went through her C.V and there was really nothing of importance there except for one P.A job in a non existent company like that, so you see, put two and two together and what do you get?” Dara was considering it
“Girl, you better be careful, she might be aiming for your seat next o!” Princess resisted the urge to hiss, was that what she was thinking? She was more concerned with separating Ise and the girl but she nodded
“I know, anyway, I’ve got it all covered, she will wish she never crossed me.”
“Just let me know if I can help, will you?” Dara offered.
“Sure, will do.” Princess replied
“Abeg, come check if tea pour for my weave for here abeg.”
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