Chapter Ten

She could hardly take her eyes off him, as she watched him sit very relaxed and drive the car with a cool swag, fiddling with his beards time and again. Was he really just an annoying piece of shit?, because in all honesty, his looks made up for his overbearing personality. Sure, it was sickening to work for him as all he ever did was taunt, tease and complain about what she did. He was hard to please, but in all sincerity, maybe she shouldn't have just said bad things about him. One could just ignore his shortcomings, which his looks made up for. Looking at him closely now, he looked even more god-like than she had thought before. How could someone be created so amazingly well? He was the true definition of perfection, little wonder every girl wanted him. If she could, she would just stare at his face all day long without getting tired. He was a whole meal, and she wanted to have him all to herself. 'Stop staring at me, you look pathetic," He suddenly said, shooting her a distasteful glance. She was immediately jolted from her thoughts, and cursed herself silently for taking out time to admire him. It wasn't like he was that much of a handsome dude anyway, she had seen better. 'Shut up, you liar," Her subconscious nagged. 'You should be on my side," She fired back, and looked down in shame, realising she had said that aloud. A smirk played around his lips. 'You...are...a...nutcase," He said, with a tone of finality. Forcing her brain to think about something else, she remembered the articles she had seen the previous night while looking him up online, which had contained scandals about him with women. For someone who wanted revenge, she obviously wasn't cut out for it, as over the years, she had never even checked him or his father, or the company up on Google. She had a long way to go, and a lot to learn in her pursuit for justice, she had to admit to herself silently. 'Do you and your brother get along well?" He asked, out of the blue. She nodded, giving him a positive response. 'Why then was he rambling on about so many things to me?" He asked, wearing a slight frown. She was puzzled. 'He was? I apologise on his behalf," She said. 'Just why are you apologising?" He asked, casting a weird look upon her. She fiddled with her seat belt, and looked out the window. 'Well, you seemed annoyed." He scoffed. 'Well, I wasn't annoyed. He just kept on talking about so many stuff, which I thought he ought to discuss with you, and he even asked me to play soccer with him," He explained. She diverted her gaze back to him, as she let out a chuckle. 'Seriously? He asked you to play soccer with him?" 'Yeah. He was like: ‘We have a really big compound, but it sucks not having anyone to play soccer with. Uncle Tade, let's have a small match before my sister comes in, what do you say?'" He said, trying to imitate Benjamin's voice. Bukunmi let out a loud laughter. 'Oh my goodness! You have no idea how you sound right now," She said. He tried to refrain himself from laughing, but he couldn't help it as the sound of her laughter wafted through the air, and lured him into bursting into a fit of laughter himself. 'I must have sounded really terrible for you to be laughing this way," He commented, in between laughs. 'You know you did. Never try to mimic someone ever again. It's crazy as hell, terrible and funny altogether," She agreed, still laughing. She watched as a tear slid down his eyes, as a result of laughing too hard. She picked up his handkerchief, and dried his face, while he still continued to drive. He quieted down, and took his eyes off the road for a moment as he watched her, smiling so broadly as she leaned closer to him to dry up his face. He swallowed, as he felt his heart racing. What was this feeling? He had never felt that way before. 'Watch out!" Bukunmi cried out, as she saw the car almost swerving off the road. Tade immediately regained his self-control and stepped on the brakes, setting the car back in motion. 'Watch where you're going, will you? You almost gave me a heart attack," She yelled. 'It's your fault!" He yelled back. She scoffed. 'Learn to take responsibility. Why did you have to drag me into your mess? How was this any of my fault?" 'You set my heart racing, that's how," He wanted to reply, but stopped himself from doing so, and just fixed his eyes on the road. 'Yes, shut up and drive," She said, folded her arms, and looked out the window. They remained silent throughout the rest of the drive, not even daring to steal a glance at one another. About five minutes later, Tade pulled the car over in an exotic boutique's parking lot, and undid his seat belt. Bukunmi was surprised to see where they had come to. She hadn't been sure of what to expect, but she could never have guessed that he was going to take her to a boutique. She felt belittled and embarrassed. For him to take her to a boutique, it simply meant that she wore improper and worn out clothes that weren't befitting enough for his company. 'Why have you brought me here?" She summoned courage to ask, staring at him coldly. 'Why does it look like I've brought you here?" He fired back at her. She scoffed. 'I know I may not be the best dressed out there in your office, particularly with my old clothes and shaky heels, and faded bag, but you don't have any right whatsoever to make me feel small by bringing me here to get clothes," She said, anger laced in her voice. 'Sorry?" He asked, looking surprised. 'Even if you wanted me to dress better, you could've said so, but not bringing me here, and I'm sure even if you deduct my salary for the next one year, I won't be able to pay you back for the clothes," She said, looking really hurt. He rolled his eyes. 'Calm down, will you?" 'Don't tell me to calm down," She said. 'Listen. I don't really care about what you put on to work for me, and I'll never deduct this from your salary," He said. Shock was written all over her face. 'Come again?" 'You heard me right," He responded. She stared at him in disbelief. If he wanted nothing from her in return, it could only mean that he was up to something, but she couldn't quite place her hands on what he might be up to. 'May I know what this is all about then?" She inquired. 'Well, you'll have to go for a conference next week, and I wanted to make sure you had everything you needed. I really don't want you to go there feeling intimidated, then end up ruining everything for me," He explained. She let out a sigh. 'This conference...when is it?" She asked. 'It will hold from Tuesday up till Thursday..." 'Sorry?" She asked, her eyes almost popping out of their sockets in utmost shock. 'The venue for the conference is in a hotel in Ogun State. Other top organisations and companies in the Fashion industry will be present at the location. You will be representing our company, along with Mr Oshodi and Mrs Brown Aniedi, with two others from the company's branch at Ogun State," He continued. She scoffed, feeling really angry and disgusted. 'And you're telling me this now?" She asked. 'When was I supposed to tell you?" He fired back. She shrugged, not knowing the answer to give. He heaved a deep sigh, already tired of her drama, and rubbed his forehead gently to show that. She shot a glance at him, and suddenly started feeling sorry for him. It was as though he was trying to refrain himself from shouting at her, out of frustration and anger. It had been sweet of him to provide her with a decent job and a good salary, and it had also been sweet that he had taken time out of his precious schedule to come all the way to her home, when he could have sent a driver, or simply wired her the necessary amount of money she needed to use to buy stuff for the conference. He had been nothing but nice to her, but she had shouted at him when he almost caused an accident, and had sounded ungrateful now that he had brought her here. She didn't know if it was her ego that made her behave like she was possessed, or if it was the fact that he had something to do with her father's untimely death. He may have been an accomplice in the death of her father, but she knew that he was a good person deep down. He had saved her life, and had saved her father from a painful death at least. After a moment of dead silence between them, he finally decided to be a man and speak up. 'The company will pay for your travelling, feeding, and accommodation expenses, okay?" He said to her, in his deep voice, which sounded hostile this time around. Her fingers quivered. 'Okay," She responded. He didn't say anything again, and placed his hand on the car door's handle, attempting to alight from the car. She could swear he was already regretting why he went to her house that day to pick her up, and take her shopping. She wanted to apologise, but her pride did not let her. 'Aren't you stepping down? Do you want me to open the door for you? This isn't one of your silly soap operas," He said, casting her a distasteful look, as he alighted. She stepped out of the car slowly. She hadn't been waiting for him to open the door for her. After all, even when they were on nearly good terms when they left her house, she hadn't waited for him to do such. She was just his employee, and could not dare to request for such an act. She wanted to tell him that, but definitely did not want to make matters worse than they already were. Tade locked his car, and proceeded to walk into the boutique with fast-paced steps, while she struggled to keep up with his pace. 'Hurry up, will you?" He fired, without even looking back. 'Slow down, will you?" She retorted in the same vein. He stopped right in his tracks, and slowly turned around, and looked at her with eyes that said he could strangle her if she didn't behave herself. 'You keep forgetting that I'm your boss, isn't it?" He asked, menacingly. She had also stopped right in her tracks, and bent her head low to avoid his frightening gaze. 'Look up," He ordered. She fiddled with her fingers and looked up at him slowly, making sure not to meet his eyes. 'I'll be giving you a warning for the first and last time. Never ever forget your place. I employed you, and not the other way round," He said with a firm voice, turned around and resumed walking. As he walked off, a piece of her father's memory came to her mind's eye. She had been ten, when Nneoma and another girl had gotten into a fight during recess at the playground in primary school. Nneoma was her very close friend, and when others were being mean to her because she had actually been at fault, she supported them, and went against her friend, leaving Nneoma feeling hurt, disappointed and betrayed. In her words, it felt bad when others had chastised her, but when her best friend, instead of defending her, joined in the taunts and insults meted against her, it had driven a nail into her heart. After that incident, Nneoma refused to speak to her for about two weeks, and she was upset about it, but couldn't go to meet her to just talk to her about it and resolve the entire issue. She couldn't tell her mother what had happened, and so, confided in her father on one of the few days he was at home. To her, she didn't seem to understand why Nneoma was so hurt when she had clearly been wrong, and she didn't see the need to apologise to her. Her father, Thomas Jibawo Ketu, had cleared his throat, and patted his little girl's head. 'There's no terrible feeling as that of being betrayed by someone you care about. You should have stood by Nneoma when others were saying mean things to her, and told her the honest truth that she was actually wrong in private," He had said. 'Why?" Bukunmi had asked, really confused. 'If you had been in her situation, what would you have wanted?" He had responded, throwing her a question too. She thought hard for a moment, then sighed, realising she had been wrong. 'If I were the one, I'd have wanted someone to be on my side," She replied. 'And who would you have wanted that person to be?" He asked. She started sobbing hard, feeling regretful. 'I'd have wanted it to be Nneoma," She responded, with tears in her eyes. He pulled her into his arms, and patted her back. 'What do I do now?" She had asked. 'Just apologise to her. I'm sure she'll listen to you," He told her. 'But...wouldn't it mean I'm weak?" Her father smiled, and stroked her hair. 'There's no such thing as a friendship without conflicts. You know why only a few people have long-lasting friendships with people?" She shook her head in negativity. 'Because when they go wrong, they apologise. What people don't know is that: Saying sorry makes you the bigger person. It doesn't mean you're weak, it means you value your friendship a lot to not want any little disagreement ruin it," He explained. 'Even at the expense of my ego?" She inquired. He gave a light chuckle. 'Yes, Ibukunoluwami. Even at the expense of your ego," He had concluded. Bukunmi blinked rapidly to shake off that memory. Her father's advice had given her a friend for a lifetime, and even though Tade was annoying as hell, he still had his good side, and she just couldn't be rude to him, especially since he had given her a job, and put an end to her mother's everyday lamentations and taunts. 'I'm sorry!" She shouted, without giving it the slightest thought. He stopped walking, but did not turn around. She was already feeling embarrassed, but she had said it anyway, and she had to let him know she really meant it. She hastened her footsteps, and walked up to him, and stood in front of him, daring to look him in the eye this time around. 'I said I'm sorry," She said, affirming her previous statement. Tade pretended not to care about what she had said, and moved away from her, and was about heading into the boutique, when she stopped him, by holding his arm. Now, they were standing side by side. 'Who gave you the audacity to touch me?" He asked rhetorically, as he forcefully let his arm out of her grasp. She moved to the front of him again, and clasped her hands together, to show she was pleading with him. 'I am really sorry," She said to him again. He scoffed. 'Sorry for what exactly? Telling me to shut up and drive or calling me an annoying piece of shit?" He asked, feeling really pained. 'For everything," She said, from the bottom of her heart. 'And I'm supposed to just forget all about it, or what? You berated my personality to someone who doesn't even know who I truly am, and I ignored it only for you to lash out at me, and be so rude to me for no damn reason," He said, nearly raising his voice. 'Look. The reason I said that about you is because you kept on rejecting my work yesterday, and you didn't appreciate them, and kept on just turning them down rudely, and I was really hurt when you yelled at me for looking at your phone when it was ringing, when I just wanted to place it on silent mode. And about this afternoon, I think I was jealous because I had seen articles about your escapades with women..." 'And who do you think you are to be jealous about my personal life?" He cut in, not waiting for her to complete her statement. 'That's why I'm very sorry. I have no right to get angry over your personal life, and I shouldn't have been mad either for the way you spoke to me and rejected my work. You are the boss, and so, you had every right to tell me that what I had done was not what you wanted," She said to him. Tade did not know what to think, and what to feel anymore. He had been pissed at her, but now, he just couldn't stay mad at her anymore. 'I'm glad you understand your place now," He said. She gave a faint smile. 'Do you forgive me then?" She asked. He opened his mouth to give her a response, when his phone started ringing. He rolled his eyes in annoyance, then answered the call. 'I'll be right there," He said, after listening to the caller for less than thirty seconds, then he hung up. 'You're leaving?" She asked, as soon as he had placed his phone back in his pocket. 'Yes. I'm so sorry, but you'll have to do the shopping all alone. I have an urgent business to attend to," He said, then reaching into his pocket for his wallet, he brought out his credit card and gave it to her. She accepted it, not knowing what to think about the situation. 'Feel free to buy whatever you like, including shoes and bags. I must admit that I like the way you proudly carry your bag, and wear your shoes, without caring about what anyone thinks, but I need you to look presentable at the conference, so, don't feel small about this, okay?" She nodded in the affirmative. 'My pin is 0716," He said to her. On noticing the surprised look on her face, he added, 'I'm not giving it to you because I trust you. If you try any funny business, I know my way to your house," He said, and gave her a wink. She gave a light chuckle. 'I understand. Thanks a bunch," She said. 'You're welcome," He said, and motioned for her to go on in. 'I'm also sorry," He called out, as he watched her leave, and she turned around, wearing a perplexed look on her face. 'For being an arse," He said, with a small smile. 'I didn't think you'd say that. As my boss, I didn't see the need for you to apologise," She said, still surprised that he had swallowed his pride to apologise. He shrugged. 'Well, someone once told me that saying sorry makes you the bigger person," He said. The words sank in, and she could not help but satisfy her urge to ask, 'Who is this someone?" He threw her a sly smile, which she was to later understand the reason behind it. 'He was my lesson teacher," He answered. Her fists tightened, and her heart began to thump loudly like horses stampeding. Her teeth was clenched, and anger seeped through her veins, as soon as he said those words. 'I'll be going now. Wait for me, make sure you don't leave without me," He told her, glad that he had gotten the effect he had so desired. 'My daughter got into a fight with her best friend, and that's the same thing I told her. Once again, they are inseparable. Just say sorry to your father, Tade. Saying sorry makes you the bigger person," Mr Ketu's voice echoed again and again in his head as he walked down to his car. His daughter still remembered his words as could be shown from her actions. What was going to happen now? Was she going to keep pretending like she didn't want justice, and didn't know who he was? He wasn't prepared to tell her he remembered her, but just wanted to know how she was going to go about things. He had given her the opportunity to get the justice he knew she longed for by giving her a job, but what if all she just wanted was the job, and wasn't interested in seeking justice in a corrupt country? Someday, he was going to definitely get the answer to that question that so troubled his mind.