Chapter Sixteen

He drummed his fingers on the table, as he went through the reports the management team had presented to him, following his absence from the office the previous week due to the conference. He heaved a deep sigh and looked up at the clock once again, for the third time in a space of nearly a minute. It was 10:30. Why wasn't she around yet? Was she sick? Why didn't she place a call, at least, informing him that she wouldn't be around? Or worse still, had she decided to quit? He shrugged, thinking she had every right to. He had not pushed her away when she had kissed him back, and had forgotten all the principles he had towards her, and had kissed her like his life depended on it. That night, she had slept in his arms, and for the first time since the day Mr Thomas Jibawo Ketu died, he had slept peacefully. He always had nightmares, and even when he took sleeping pills, he still ended up having a nightmare. When he woke up, he'll be sweating profusely, and his heart will be thumping loudly, accompanied with a throbbing ache in his head. It had been eleven years, but that did not erase the guilt he felt, and he thought that working with Bukunmi will not only help her out, but will as well erase or lessen the guilt he felt. He'd always see Mr Ketu's face in his nightmares, grinning to the point that it scared you, with blood dripping down his forehead. Then, he'll turn around, and start walking, gesturing to Tade to walk closely behind him. They'll walk on and on till they got to a cemetery, where there'll be thousands of corpse, all in white clothes, beckoning on to Tade with white clothes in their hands, asking him to put it on and join them. Out of fear, Tade would stretch out his hands to collect the clothes, but just before he'd do that, Mr Ketu would wear a smile, wear the clothes and tell him to leave. The same nightmare had been haunting him for several years, and at times, it wasn't even in a cemetery. Tade might be almost getting hit by a truck in his dream, and Mr Ketu would get him out of the way just to be hit instead, and other times, it could be Tade begging on the streets, and Mr Ketu would step down from his car, give it to him, and beg in his place. It haunted him, and he dreaded going to bed. The nightmares always passed one meaning: Mr Ketu loved him and would do anything for him. That's why he always felt guilty, because he may not have pulled the trigger for the bullet that ended the poor man's life, but he had killed him. It was he who had murdered Mr Thomas Jibawo Ketu, in cold blood despite knowing that he had taken him as a son and would never have done anything to hurt him. That is why he had hated himself in the morning when he had woken up to see Bukunmi lying in his arms. He had taken the life of her father and he had been stupid to have kissed her in the first place. Like the jerk that he was, he had stood up and walked away, heading back to Lagos without even so much as a goodbye note or a text message, telling her of his whereabouts. It was 10:40 now. He knew then that she had probably quit and was not going to show up in his office ever again. She must have felt really hurt, and he knew he had messed up big time, but he also knew he had done what was best for her. She would hate him for a while, but with time, she'd appreciate what he had done. It would be an abomination to have anything to do with he, who was the killer of her father. Closing the file which contained the reports, he diverted his eyes to her desk, and pictured her working there with a smile on her face, doing her work with zeal and enthusiasm. He was going to miss her, but it was good while it lasted, and he hoped she remembered only the good sides of him, and not only about him being a total jerk towards her. He heard the door open, and looking up, found it hard to believe his eyes as Bukunmi entered, wearing a grey skirt and a white shirt, with white heels, and a white office bag. Her hair was tied up in a bun as usual, and she wasn't putting on any makeup or jewellery. 'Good morning, sorry I'm late," She said, and headed to her desk and chair opposite him. He simply nodded his head, unable to comprehend what had just happened, then opened the file, pretending to be busy, when actually, he was still struck at how she had come to work when he had thought she wasn't coming back. 'So much for being an over-thinker," He mumbled to himself. 'Sorry?" Her tiny voice asked. 'Er...nothing. Why are you late though?" He asked, taking control of his tongue. 'I woke up really late. I had stayed in Ogun State even after the conference ended, so I just came back last night, and was really tired. That's why I slept later than usual. Then, there was this huge traffic, I'm so sorry," She said. 'You came back on Sunday?" He asked, surprised. 'Yeah. That was yesterday," She affirmed. 'Why? What were you doing in Ogun State?" He asked. 'I was catching up with a friend," She replied. 'I didn't know you had friends there. Anyway, the next time you'll show up late to work, your salary will be deducted. For your sake, I sincerely hope this doesn't repeat itself again, because I won't accept whatsoever excuse that comes up," He said. She was taken aback, but just nodded her head, unable to come up with anything to say. 'I take it that you understood what I said," He said in a firm tone. She nodded again, in the affirmative. 'We're not using sign language, are we?" He asked, glaring at her menacingly. 'We're not," She forced herself to say, understanding that he wanted to be communicated with verbally. 'So, I take it that you understood what I said," He repeated. 'Yeah. I understood it clearly," She said. 'I'm not a dunce," She muttered under her breath. 'You said?" 'I said I understood!" She exclaimed, almost yelling. Knowing better than to push her further lest she broke down or lost her cool, he arose from his chair, and decided to just clear his head and go to where he enjoyed thinking. 'You're to go through these reports," He said, pointing at the stack of files on his table, and began to walk off. Bukunmi watched him with a menacing gaze until he got into the restroom, or so, she thought. Once the door was slammed shut, she released the four-lettered words that had been on her mind ever since she came into the office that very day. 'Jerk!" After they had both shared a blissful moment of a make-out session, which she was sure they had both enjoyed, the piece of shit whom she had obviously been right about from the very beginning left her lying there... ALONE! Who does that? 'I know who... Tade Wellington," Her subconscious responded. 'Shut the fuck up," She yelled, in a whisper. She had felt utterly embarrassed and ashamed, especially since she's the one that had initiated the kiss the second time when he had pulled away. Of course, she hasn't expected anything from him; she had just thought he'd have the decency to stay behind and they could talk about it and both agree that nothing had happened between them, and they'd continue to live the way they used to before the kissing thing happened...or maybe they'd have just come to a conclusion that whatever happened stayed between them, and that things weren't going to get weird with them. No part of her had thought he'd solely make a decision on his own to just leave her side, and go back to Lagos State, without duly informing her of it. The worst part of it all was that it was the same annoying nosey parker of a hotel attendant that had broken the news to her when she had, like a fool, swallowed her pride, and had gone to his room in the morning. 'Was that really the worst part?" Her subconscious asked. Whimpering like a wet cat with tears forming in her eyes, she remembered that wasn't the worst part of it all. Swallowing her pride for the second time that day, she reasoned that something bad had probably happened and that's why he had just left without a word. She had been so convinced that he had to have had a good reason for his departure, and so, she had placed a call to him. 'Seven times," Her subconscious mind added, worsening the hurt she felt. Ignoring her mind this time, she became so overwhelmed with sadness and anger, recounting how Tade had refused to pick up his calls. Still unable to believe he was ignoring her calls on purpose, she had thought that he was busy and would call her back. 'I'll just go back to my room, he must be busy," She had told the attendant, who was still standing there for no reason. 'Why don't you call him with my phone?" He asked, presenting his second-hand used Itel phone with buttons, whose life was being held together with a rubber-band. Bukunmi remembered forgetting about her problems for a moment, and giving a small laugh, upon seeing that her phone was at least, better than someone else's phone. 'You'll collect it or you won't?" The attendant asked, slightly offended by her behaviour. 'I'm so sorry," She apologised, and collected the phone. Although she knew he was not being helpful and was standing there just because he wanted to hear what happened out of sheer curiosity and for the purpose of gossiping with his co-workers, she didn't mind, and was determined to prove him wrong. However, on dialling Tade's number, the call had been picked up almost immediately. 'Hello, who am I on to?" His voice had called from the other end. Words could not explain the embarrassment and shame that had overwhelmed Bukunmi, and had stuck to her like glue, even to this moment. The attendant had just scratched his hair and gave her the I-told-you-so look. Bukunmi, for the first time in so long, silently prayed and wished for the ground to open up and swallow her, as she ended the call and handed the phone back to the attendant. 'At least, you know he's all right," He said, either trying to mock her or cheer her up. Anyways, he knew he had only made matters worse for her with the look she gave him, like she could kill him and feed his body to vultures if he didn't shut his mouth. Sensing that Bukunmi wasn't in the right frame of mind to speak to anyone, he immediately announced his exit, stating that he had something to do, and left without getting any response from a dishevelled Bukunmi, leaving her to feel the tinge of embarrassment and shame all alone. Remembering what had gone down, she lunged at the table with clenched fists in a bid to exact her anger, and instead of curtailing the anger she felt, or even give her relief from it, the punch she had given the table made her yelp in pain. 'Ouch!" She screamed out loud, hot painful tears cascading down her eyes without warning. Unluckily for her, she had hit the sharp edge of the desk, and had in the process, sustained an injury on her knuckles. Sighing and cursing Tade, she stood up and looked around to see if there was a first aid kit anywhere, but there was none in the office. She wiped her tears with the palm of her left hand, and cursed again, but at herself this time, for using her right hand to lunge a punch on the desk which was the same hand she used for practically everything. Thanks to her mother's continuous nagging and lashing out, Bukunmi, had from a very young age, never left an injury; no matter how small or unimportant, unattended to. She, therefore, then decided to head downstairs to ask Kate for where she could get a first-aid kit. For the time being, she used a roll of tissue paper to wrap the injured spot, and casting one last look at where Tade spent most of his time, she made a show of landing a blow on his insanely cute face, and satisfied, walked out of the office, humming the tune of her favourite lullaby. She thought to herself as she stepped into the elevator, heading for the ground floor, that Tade was being mean to her on purpose just so she would know that what had happened between them was nothing. Still, it was a very childish thing to do. Why couldn't he just tell her to her face instead of going back to being an annoying jerk? Who does that? 'Tade Wellington," Her subconscious responded. 'Just keep quiet," She hushed it, then looked around and blessed the name of the Lord, that she was the only one in the elevator. She swallowed as she remembered waiting for him all through the weekend to return her calls, which he never did. She had stayed back when the guy she had been talking to, Charles, the CEO of Amethyst Fashion House, asked her to, hoping that Tade would call to ask if all was well and why she wasn't back yet; but apparently, he hadn't even taken note of it. He hadn't passed by her home to see if she was around, he hadn't called the hotel to find out if she had checked out; he was obviously less concerned and didn't give a damn about her. The doors of the elevator opened and she stepped out, and begun to walk slowly to the receptionist's desk. Maybe he had only been pretending to be nice to get her to come for the conference, but a part of her disagreed. He was her boss, and he was very much aware of the fact that her life depended on the job, and so, she'd have still gone even without a persuasion. She needed the job so bad, and it could clearly be inferred from her still staying despite being embarrassed time and time again by him. Tade Wellington had changed towards her. He had become so nice and had even got her thinking if there was a misunderstanding between him and her late father. She shrugged as she reasoned: 'Well, once an annoying piece of shit, always an annoying piece of shit." 'Hey there," She heard Itohan call. Taking her mind off Tade for the first time that morning, she smiled and increased her pace to Kate's desk, where Itohan was standing there, probably gossiping about something as usual. 'Hi. Good morning," She said to Itohan. Itohan gave a cheerful smile. 'Good morning to you too. How was the conference? I heard you were awesome," Itohan said. Bukunmi chortled. 'The conference went well, and I was just mediocre...nothing like awesome," She responded. 'Being modest, are we?" Itohan asked, with a knowing smile. Bukunmi appeared like she was thoughtful, then finally replied, 'Maybe." 'Come here, I missed you," Itohan said to her, extending her arms for a hug. It was the first time Bukunmi was going to be hugging Itohan, and she was quite surprised by this gesture. Sure, Itohan seemed nice, but inasmuch as it was new, Bukunmi appreciated this and it was a welcome development. Kate cleared her throat, and like unsuspecting lovers, they quickly withdrew from each other's embrace. 'What's going on? Is Tade close by, or do you think he's watching us and may be displeased by our show of affection? Arrrgh. Scratch that. Someone would think we're in a relationship or something of the sort," Bukunmi said, with slight irritation. 'Don't sweat it. Kate is just being a jealous little girl," Itohan said. 'Really?" 'Oh, please," Kate said, as she removed a strand of hair from her face, in the most dramatic fashion. Bukunmi's mouth gave way to a grin. 'What are you laughing at? I only cleared my throat because you acted like I was invisible," She said. 'Oh, I'm so sorry about that," Bukunmi apologised. 'It's not like you mean it," Kate said, folding her arms, wearing a pout. 'Quit being such a baby," Itohan said, with a chuckle. 'Good morning, Miss Kate. I hope your weekend went well," Bukunmi said, with a smile. A smile lit up Kate's face as she nodded, affirming that her weekend went well. 'That's good to know," Bukunmi said. Kate cleared her throat again and went back to being serious. 'Okay. Now that that's said and done, what brings you here?" She asked. 'Umm... I had a small accident and I'm in need of a first-aid kit," Bukunmi replied, showing her tissue-wrapped knuckles. 'Oh, dear, is it serious?" Itohan asked. 'You heard her say it's a small accident, not so?" Kate retorted. 'Yeah. It's just something really minor, there's no cause for alarm," Bukunmi said, agreeing with Kate. Itohan seemed relieved. 'Okay. That's good. Just go to the sick bay, a nurse will attend to you." 'Oh. There's a sick bay in this company?" Bukunmi asked. 'Looks like someone didn't give a good tour," Kate said, directing her words apparently at Itohan. 'No, it's fine. Where's it at?" She asked. 'Second floor, first office by your right," Kate replied. 'I could take you there, you know," Itohan said. 'You don't have to, I'll be fine," Bukunmi objected. 'Are you sure?" 'Of course, she's sure. She'll only not be fine with you not taking her there if she was experiencing a boy drama," Kate chipped in. 'How has boy drama got any thing to do with this?" Bukunmi asked, wondering if it was obvious that she was having a relatable issue. 'Well, girls with boy drama can't do anything on their own, and it's sad," She replied. 'Don't listen to Kate. She's always been one to talk off-point," Itohan said. 'Always been?" Bukunmi asked, curiosity sneaking in. 'Yeah. We've been friends for over twenty years," Itohan said. Bukunmi let out a gasp, and her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as they widened in surprise. 'Really?" She asked. 'Yeah. In Nursery school, this big girl who was clearly spoiled from home would always take my snacks..." '...and she'd do nothing about it," Kate added, interrupting Itohan. 'Let me finish!" Itohan said, throwing a distasteful glance at Kate, which Kate merely responded to with her hands in surrender. 'Anyways, one day, the girl came to collect my snacks again. Kate was a new pupil in school and she was my seat-mate. When she discovered that the girl always took my stuff, she filled in sand from the playground in the girl's lunchbox one day, and when the girl came to complain to the teacher, Kate boldly stood up and was like she was responsible and would do worse if she kept bullying me into taking my snacks," Itohan concluded. 'Wow. That's so sweet, and really surprising," Bukunmi said, unable to believe that Kate had been a sweet soul when she was much younger. 'What do you mean? That I can't be nice?" Kate asked, taking offence. 'You said so yourself," Bukunmi said, with a shrug, to which Itohan gave a chuckle. 'Well, if I weren't a nice person, I don't see how Itohan and I could be friends for over twenty good years. Do you have someone like that in your life?" She asked, giving her a vicious look. Bukunmi smiled. 'I do. Her name is Nneoma. We don't have an interesting story like yours though. In kindergarten back then, she'll always cry whenever she was dropped off at school and all the other kids will laugh at her and refer to her as a cry-baby. I'd always go and stay by her side and watch her cry, not saying anything. Then, she asked me one day why I did that, and I said that I don't always like it when she cries, but since I can't do anything, I just like to watch her cry. Does that make sense?" She asked. Kate and Itohan burst into small chuckles. 'It's just really sweet," They chorused. There and then, a thought popped into Bukunmi's head, and she decided to voice it out aloud. 'Speaking about friendship, if your friend has an issue with a guy...say, they kissed and shared a moment, and now, he's ignoring her, what do you suggest she does?" She asked. 'Looks like Nneoma has a boy drama," Kate noted. Bukunmi just forced a smile, unwilling to lie against her best friend. 'Okay, Kate. Do your thing," Itohan said. 'What thing?" She asked. 'Oh! Kate is an expert on matters relating to the heart," Itohan said. 'Yeah, I am. So, here's what your friend would do. Let her ignore the guy as well and pretend that he doesn't exist," She said. 'Umm... How's that going to help?" Bukunmi asked. 'Trust me, guys detest being ignored. Tell your friend to carry about her business normally and she should also look classier and prettier, and also be pretending to be out on a date with someone or too busy for him. That guy will come running back to her in no second," Kate said. Bukunmi liked the sound of it. 'Are you sure?" She asked for the sake of confirmation. '100% ," She answered. 'Tested and trusted," Itohan confirmed. 'I will inform her about it then, thank you," Bukunmi said, happy on getting what seemed like a solution to her problem. 'You're welcome. Now, leave. It's suspicious that the boss hasn't called yet. He may be planning something," Kate said, looking around. 'Yeah, that's true. He watches everything. I should go back to work, and you should do that too, so it doesn't look like you're slacking off, or that Kate and I are bad influences," Itohan said. 'Sure. I'll get going now, thanks for all your help, see you," Bukunmi said, and turned around, heading for the elevator. She'd stop by at the sick bay first before heading back to the office. A sly smile lit up her face. She wasn't going to beg for his affection or act like she cared about his stupid and annoying attitude. She'd do exactly as Kate had suggested. She knew that recipe worked in books, and she could only but hope that it worked in real life for her as well.