I made today’s episode quite long I do hope you enjoy reading and do let me know your thoughts.
When Dapo hung up, he stared at his cell phone wondering.
What was I thinking?
He had noticed her sudden silence when he said those last words. He hadn’t thought much of it till when he realized he must have passed the wrong message across.
Dropping the phone on his table, he tried to shake his head away from it hoping she wouldn’t think all he wanted to do was get physical rather than know her as a person.
His past was really ruining things for him and he hated it. He hated the way the guilt thawed at him anytime he wanted to be grateful for the answer God had provided him and he was certain it hadn’t been his thoughts. The first day curiosity had drawn him close.
The way it draws you close whenever you feel you’re in charge? His flesh taunted
No, he knew the way he went after relationships in the past was different from this. He’d been curious and forgotten about her. And then he saw her in his sister’s office and it felt like his heart leaped on seeing her.
This is crazy. He had thought. She did not have the kind of beauty that caught a man’s eyes, neither was there anything spectacular about her. Maybe it was the fact that he hadn’t been in any relationship for 7 years running now. He felt it was probably the reason and so he told God about it, praying that he would rather forget her if she wasn’t the one for him.
And there she stood, at the bustop that day right after he’d felt he would never visit the house or see her again. She looked lost, like someone who needed a guide, a leader and he just knew within his spirit he wanted more. He knew he had to go after her. There was something that pulled him closer to her. He couldn’t define it, but it was there alright.
“Father whatever this is, I pray you make it clear. All I want to do is your will, anything less, then I’d rather let go now.”
He didn’t get the answer he wanted, but he felt the peace overwhelm him.
“Then lead me aright and let me not make a fool of myself . Let me not do anything that dishonors you and let her know it too if you wish us to be together and establish your kingdom on earth. Amen.”
A call came through and he picked it on seeing a familiar number.
“IK! How far now, long time.”
“D-kay! Where you at?”
“I dey work, why? You dey Lagos?”
His friend laughed. “Yea, I just arrived this morning. I’m at a friend’s place at the moment.”
“Really? Ah when you take commot for Portharcourt and you no tell me?”
“My man, abeg no vex. Na impromptu. Infact the way the thing happen eh, we go talk when we see. When we fit see?”
“I have a board meeting in about 30 minutes time and those meetings usually last hours. Our external investors are coming today and they’ll be going through a lot in the company.”
“What about weekend? I understand the weekdays are usually not smiling in Lagos”
“In Nigeria as a whole.” Dapo laughed commenting. “Oh I forgot, you work for House of Assembly so you don’t go to work every day.”
Ikeena laughed out loud. “You haven’t changed. So how far, Saturday good?”
“Uh, I have plans for Saturday so I won’t be able to make it. What about Sunday after service? I can drive down to your place, or do you want to crash at my place on Saturday night so we can just stay indoors?”
“Thanks for the offer bro. You make me feel like I have a family in you whenever I’m here.”
“What are friends for?”
Another call was trying to come in. “So just text me abeg make I no forget.” Dapo said. “I’ve got to go, someone’s trying to get across to me.”
“Okay no wahala. We go see.”
“Yea, later.”
He picked his other call from one of the insurance house his company had affiliations with. He was already hanging up when his secretary’s head bobbed in with her cat eye-glasses and her vintage top, coupled with her natural hair bun giving her a 80’s look. He liked her and trusted her and though some people at the office even speculated that the two were a duo, they both knew their relationship wasn’t beyond profession turned friendship in the 6 years she had been working for him as his secretary.
“Bibi…” He raised an eyebrow. She usually called the intercom before she came in except on rare occasions. The feeling of trepidation crawled up his spine when he saw her lips move around a familiar name.
“Mrs Akudo is here to see you sir, privately before the meeting.”
He swallowed. They both knew what that meant and she smiled sympathetically as if she understood his predicament.
And then she was gone all to be replaced by a woman in her mid forties looking like she just stepped out of a fashion cover. She had the right make up in places and her top was nothing short of what she came to deliver.
“Hello Dapo, I just came to wish you luck” She greeted with a coy smile coming towards him and he stood up to pay her his due respect.
“Mrs Akudo…”
“You still stick to formalities.” She chuckled and it sounded like iron grating iron in his ears. It had been 12 years ago and he regretted his actions till date. If there was someone he wished God would clear from his memory completely asides what he was currently dealing with, it was this woman who was currently divorced and came all the way from the States after her husband left her for someone else and was coming after him.
It’d been one of his flings back then before graduation and she came once in a while to taunt him about what he was missing or ‘thought’ he was missing.
He was currently seeing her for what she was. A miserable woman who wanted to be loved and felt he could provide her that. She had told him she knew one or two of the investors coming in today and her words could go all the way to make or marr his company. How she knew them or whatever she was affiliated with, he couldn’t say and he didn’t care. Yes she was a top woman in the country, even the woman had mentioned how well she knew his father.
But right now, humans didn’t dictate his success in life. God did.
He’d blown her proposal away as what it was. A bone to a hungry dog.
Except he wasn’t a dog anymore, neither was he hungry or greedy. He was content and was going at his pace.
“Sara, look you can’t keep doing this, walking in on me, into my office just because you feel you can. I try my best to keep respecting you and you keep doing this.”
She ignored him and reached for his arm but he nudged it away. Placing his hands in his pockets, he asked bluntly
“What do you want?”
“I want you…”
“No, you don’t want me and stop doing this to yourself. Stop trying to look for love in the wrong way and stop barging into my life. It’s wrong, it’s rude, you don’t even respect me when you keep doing this. Do you even know how this makes you look?”
“How can you say that to me?” She looked hurt but he wasn’t having it this time. A year and a half and she’d been doing this. It was no longer ordinary but becoming something else.
Like an obsession.
He sighed. “I don’t want to call security on you Sara, but you have to leave my office now.”
“I have nothing to lose. No husband, nothing. I’ll have my way with you and there’s nothing you can do about it.” She looked him in the eye.”You’ll come begging me to love you Dapo, no girl is going to have you but me and I’ll make sure they don’t.”
Raising an eyebrow, he wasn’t moved by her threats. “Good luck with that.”
She retreated seeing that he wasn’t moved and that had hurt her more. She threw on her shades and stormed out of his office ignoring Bibi who was shaking her head either in disgust or sympathy he couldn’t say.
“Is there anything you’d like me to do for you sir? I’ve checked the conference room for lights and everything else. “She smiled for him alone.
“If you can get rid of that woman, and make her stay out of my life, then that would be something.”
“She’ll get tired.”
“So I thought and it’s been a year plus now. If she’s not coming to the office, she’s looking for the next place I’ll be. The sad part is, I tell the police about it and they’re scared to take it up because she’s a top woman and her money can take her places. It’s just ridiculous the way this woman stalks me.” He ran a hand on his head.
“I wish I could really help you here but something tells me I’m not entitled to that role.” She smiled with a knowing grin.
He blinked and looked into her eyes then. He could see the mischievous glint there.
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing…”
“You better talk or you’re not getting your Easter and Christmas bonus this year.”
She looked at him like she wanted to kill him but he ignored her.
“Pick your choice.”
She laughed. “Okay, it’s just…, I don’t know, there was something about you this morning. You looked like you just won a jackpot when you strolled in this morning. It was all over you. The aura of ‘loooove'” She chuckled.
He laughed loudly. “Bibi the love seer”
She bowed graciously. “At your humble service my lord.”
“So, am I right…, is there a special someone, who’s the lucky lady tell me.” She pressed further.
“You need to mind your business young woman.” He teased.
“Well, sorry to break it to you but ever since you stood up for me against Kola 5 years ago, I have never stopped minding my business. If not for my beliefs and values as a Christian I would have told Madam Akudo that ‘I‘m your girlfriend and if she doesn’t want to be haunted at night by my guards, she better keep her hands off you.’ But I think the time has come for the real madam to take her position and put her where she belongs. Maybe that will calm her busy body down.”
Dapo smiled softly remembering how she’d been in an abusive relationship back then and how an obviously spoilt boy and not a man had been yelling at her downstairs.
The incident was still very vivid in his memory. Bibi had only reminded him of Lara. Petite, had a beautiful oval face and doe eyes. A victim of a bad relationship, she had clung to Kola believing he could provide her with what she could not have since she had only gotten the job. The boy had used her and kept using her all in the name of love.
He had decided to leave the office earlier that day when he saw a young boy shouting at a girl beside his car. She had cowered when he kept yelling and he pushed her to get into the car.
The girl looked familiar. He was tempted to mind his business but he wasn’t comfortable with letting it go. If he could be yelling at her to get into the car and she was cowering that way, only God knew what he would do when he was alone with her. He suddenly remembered how she was often keeping to herself in the office and would arrive late on some days.
She had been typing something on the computer when he saw some marks across her arm as her sweat shirt tipped slightly.
She had quickly covered it up.
He drove closer and saw it was indeed Bibi and she had been crying.
“What’s going on here?” He had asked her.
She shook her head in fear of her boyfriend than her Boss.
“Mind your business ol’ man.”
He didn’t know if it was the beer that reeked from the guy’s breath that made him come up with that fake American accent or the guy was just not in his senses.
“Bibi, who is this guy and why is he talking like a lunatic?”
“Oh, you two know each other? So he’s one of the guys you been messing with huh? After everything I’ve done for you, you whore.” He kept cursing her and she kept crying.
Dapo reached for his phone and dialled a number.
“Bibi, step away from this young man please.”
Looking confused, she looked from man to man wondering whom she should follow.
“If you go with him your life is over. Forget it. You will never see me again.” Her BF threatened.
“And you will be spending your life in jail if you raise your hands against this young lady again.”
“So is there anything you would like me to do for you?” Bibi asked smiling at him.
“Just pray for me, I would appreciate that very much.”
She nodded with determination in her eyes. “Of course. I pray for you each and every day.”
“Thank you Bibi.” He turned to his work and looked up as she strolled out. “You look nice by the way.”
He could see her blushing.
“Your girlfriend whoever she is, she is sure one lucky and blessed girl.” She said before leaving.
Dapo sighed when she stepped out thinking back to his past and what had happened in his office some minutes ago thinking contrary to her statement.
“I do hope she sees it that way.”
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Aisha sat at the table in the cafeteria waiting for her the man she had spoken with over the phone. With her shades on, she tried not to look too suspicious and could almost jump with excitement that her sister had provided access to sweet revenge.
Lara did not know who she was messing with. She knew she wasn’t as popular and her reputation wasn’t at stake here. If there was anyone who could die to keep her reputation, it was her ex-best friend.
At the thought of her and Soji, her anger burned, so much that it consumed her and drove her to do whatever she could do to get back at them. Lara had played with fire and she was going to get burnt.
For life.
The way they had hurt her and taken what was precious to her. As if rubbing her father’s wealth in her face wasn’t enough for her. She had to take the man she loved away from her because she felt she could. She felt she could make puppets out of people because of her money.
But she was wrong.
Years of their friendship when she had endured everything she did. Years when she’d been the ‘mumu’ friend and babysitter. The one that helped her get whatever she wanted and ran her silly ‘errands’ All the times she would keep her dirty little secret even while she was going out with Soji and would tell her not to tell. She had known everything about her and yet wanted the best for her.
But she had loved Soji and felt he deserved better but the idiot couldn’t see it because of the Kitan’s money. The money that would be his ruin. He wasn’t aware what he was getting himself into.
She had tried to save him but he didn’t see that. He had seen her as the enemy.
And yes, she was going to show them that she was one indeed.
She stared back at her phone and smiled to herself. She had stayed up all night to dig up past messages Lara had sent to her years ago. At the time they were still so close they shared even night dresses. The ones she had confessed about the Kitan’s darkest secrets. The one that would shock the world that daddy’s little girl was still ‘Daddy’s little girl’ afterall.
Her guest strolled into the cafe and she smiled on recognizing him. He had told her he would be wearing blue denim and a check shirt and so she knew spot on he was the one.
“Hi…”
“Hey, Halima’s sister right?”
“Yea, you can call me Aisha.”
“Oh nice to meet you Aisha.” He smiled moving straight on to business. “Your sister told me you needed my services.”
She nodded. “I’m sure you already know what I need.”
“I have the best girl for things like that. I just need your guy’s usual hangouts though a club would be preferable if you want things done fast and neat. All I just need to do is plant her in the right places and make coincidences look like coincidences. Then my camera is ready for the show. It might cost you more because I’m putting one of my girls on the line here.”
She gave him the necessary details inclusive of an envelope filled with cash. “That’s half. I’ll pay you half when the job is done.”
“On second thought.” She broke in as he was about to stand up and leave. “Can I see this girl? I need to know what I’m paying for.”
He smiled knowingly and reached for his phone. Even the way he showed her picture reeked of confidence. On first sight of the girl, Aisha gulped and the envy spiked before it disappeared. She was more voluptuous than any woman she’d ever seen. Even Lara who felt she was ‘endowed’ would see this girl and get jealous.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll send you the pictures and the video when it’s done.”
And he was gone.
She laughed inside and relaxed on her seat. Revenge was sweet when served cold.
“Oh Lara, you’ll be regretting every single moment you made me lose my baby by the time I’m done with you.” She mumbled. Emptying the last drop of juice into her mouth, she left the cafeteria and headed home.
She had to start putting her plot together for the grand finale unravelling before the world.
Because this was going to be like a movie. The only difference was she would be the one running the show this time and she’ll be laughing last as it unfolded before her eyes.
Much love. xo!
Original story by ITUNU TAIWO owner of http://myglowingscenes.com
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