The following day, as every day, Laylah was at the coffee shop attending to customers along with her colleagues. It was weekend, her final working day of the week. Sundays were not working as it was church services day, so she worked shorter days on Saturdays.
Despite the events of the previous night, Laylah had chosen to move forward and pretend as though nothing had happened. Even as she overheard her colleagues discussing the scandal and the fire incident, she remained silent, ignoring their inquiries.
Amidst the atmosphere of serving customers, Layla's colleagues approached her with a concerned expression.
"Did you notice that fellow? He has not moved since he arrived at the shop. You were the first to give him coffee." Her co-worker added.
Laylah glanced over in the man's direction before returning her attention to her co-worker. She recognized him as a regular who would stay at the shop for hours, sitting and pondering what was on his mind.
He seems ready to work, but over an hour has passed, and he's still there. Laylah observed.
"Yes, I did." Laylah said. "Why don't you send him over for another cup of coffee? You could ask him if anyone is waiting for him?" Her colleague advised. Laylah agreed and approached the man's table.
Finding him with head lowered and vacant coffee cup, she couldn't help but wonder if he was indeed waiting for someone, much less in his outfit on a saturday.
"Excuse me, sir. Are you waiting for someone?" She asked, but was greeted with silence. Laylah attempted again, this time gently poking his shoulder.
"Huh?" He startled, clearly lost in thought. Laylah excused herself for bothering him.
"I'm sorry, I thought maybe you'd be waiting for someone. You look upset. Everything all right?" She asked, even though she knew that she shouldn't have minded.
"How could I be all right when my business is being stripped from me? I've ruined my family's life." He was upset.
Laylah chastised herself for invading his personal affairs. "Would you get me another cup of coffee, please? I came alone, I'm not anticipating anyone." He inquired.
She obeyed, returning a few minutes later with coffee.
"You can have this one free, it's on me." She declared.
"Thanks" He replied. As Laylah was about to leave, she stopped, feeling that she needed to learn more about his situation.
"If I may ask, why is your company going out of business? What's the name?" She inquired.
"It's TIKITAKA, a furniture company. It's not yet well known other than to a few." He explained.
Laylah being unaware of the company presumed that it was a fairly new company still under development.
"I'm sorry to hear that. Hope that you manage to solve your issues. Good day." She said before walking away.
As she walked back to work, Laylah could not shake the man's worried face from her head. A security guard soon approached her and whispered a message into her ear.
"Is that so? Why would they come to see me?" Laylah asked, before being informed by the manager of a visitor waiting outside.
"Ms. Laylah, we apologize for the abrupt notice, but you have visitors waiting outside." The manager informed her.
"Oh, okay, I will be leaving now." She replied, off to the changing room before leaving outside.
There, she saw Liam's assistant standing next to a car. Laylah got into the car and was surprised to see the Mayor sitting in it.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know it was you. The manager was just telling me to go because I had guests." She said.
"It's okay. I will have you join us if you're available." The Mayor asked.
"It's fine. Let's go." Laylah concurred, glancing at Liam, who was saying nothing. The Mayor knew they weren't in a relationship but didn't mind because Rose had never voiced any complaints.
It was more important to him that he liked Laylah and had no problem with where she worked.
Jerry drove the vehicle, followed by the Mayor's security entourage. The ride was quiet, with everyone deep in thought as they made their way to pay their respects to the family of the late security guard.
When they arrived at the apartment complex, they alighted from the car.
"Ms. Laylah, this is where the late security guard resided. We have come to provide our condolences and to tell what occurred." The Mayor informed.
"Okay, you go ahead." Laylah responded in an even tone, accompanying them into the apartment.
"Good morning. What can I do for you?" She greeted them anxiously, as they strode into the apartment.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you. I only know you on TV." The lady apologized, crouching down. Laylah reached over to assist her in getting up and sitting on the couch.
"Okay. We're here to speak with you about your husband." Laylah clarified, noticing the lady's demeanor shift.
"He is your employee. I have been attempting to contact him, and he is nowhere to be found. What's wrong with him? Tell me nothing has happened to him." The woman implored.
"We are here due to the fact that something did happen. Your husband got sick and was rushed to the hospital, but he did not survive." Liam explained gently.
There was a moment of silence before she screamed out.
"No! No! How did it happen? I made him go to a doctor when he said he was not feeling well." She cried out in agony, screaming at her stomach.
"No! Was your husband sick?" Liam asked.
"He said he was not feeling well, but he did not want to go to the hospital. He promised to go afterwards, but I never had a chance to ask if he had gone or not." She wept hysterically.
The Mayor and Liam stared at one another. What they have discovered about the medical conditions of the dead security guard, doesn't add up.
Laylah couldn't help but believe that his death was perhaps because of his health issues.
"That's the same complaint he used to make before he passed away. We would appreciate it if you kept this to yourself, given what you have told us about his health condition. Making this public would only generate unnecessary fuss." Liam begged, hoping she would listen.
But her reply surprised them all.
"How could you ask for confidentiality? This is my husband, your employee." She indignantly protested, pushing Laylah back who had tried to comfort her.
Laylah recognized the severity of the moment, and she also moved back, finding it was not time to get involved yet.
"Mrs. This is not a time for shouting. Have a look at your condition, you are pregnant. Certainly, you would not want to jeopardize your baby's health." Laylah stepped forward quietly.
"No, please, get away from me! I have a right to be upset. We need to figure out what has happened to my husband and not try to hush it up." She pushed Laylah aside, still sobbing.
Laylah took a step back, hurting as she thought about her own loss. Having lost both her parents already and with her sister's death still vivid, she comprehended the widow's sorrow deeply.
"If you report to the authorities at this point, is that going to make a difference? You already stated your husband's health issues, which you had urged him to take care of, but he did not do that. Is that not enough reason to suggest that he died of sickness and neglect?" Laylah argued, although her heart hurt with compassion.
Liam and the Mayor both reacted to Layl firey outburst, having never before seen her display her own pain in such a manner.
"I'll advise you to make a choice. Excuse me." She added, and exited the room.