Happy Birthday scshae, more front hair and lots of love. 🏵🏵💓💓

Mrs Nse jumps in shock, wiping furiously at her lips while Mr Adams remains seated on the edge of the table with his arm hanging from her waist. She takes a step away from him and his hands come to rest on his knee, eyeing me like I am not needed here. With an intensity that makes me cringe; angry.

"What is going on here?" I reiterate. My voice comes out stronger than I expect it to and I give myself a mental applause.

Mr Adams crosses one of his legs over the other and asks, "What are you doing here?"

"It's your birthday," I start with annoyance lacing my words, "I wanted to take you out. I came here to pick you up, not knowing..."

The way Mrs Nse's eyes widen doesn't go unnoticed by me and I send her a chilling glare. Of all women to have an affair with, it has to be her, the married woman who made my stay here miserable with her early morning gospel. Does her principle of modesty not apply to her? Is it for the youths, the single, unmarried ladies alone?

My eyes find their way to the floor, I bite on my bottom lip, waiting for that image of him kissing her with his hand under her skirt replaying in my head to pass. For God's sake, why will he get into an entanglement with her? Mmá is single, he is single, they have known each other for ages. They are the perfect match for each other, not this witch with her holier than thou attitude.

"She's married, Uncle," I state, not a care for how harsh my words sound. He deserves it.

I have never seriously thought of him and Mmá as a couple until now but the idea warms me over. They will make a great team. I raise my head in Mrs Nse direction, she is still staring at the ground and I scoff.

Seeing Mr Adams with her doesn't sit right with me, not one bit. I know he has not hooked up with any other woman since his wife died, neither has Mmá hooked up with any man and I don't want the first woman he starts dating to be Mrs Nse. I dislike her.

"She's getting a divorce."

Of all the years I have known Mr Adams, this is the most foolish thing I ever heard him say. "And you believe that, uncle?"

My feet carry me in Mrs Nse direction and I don't know what I would have done if he didn't step in to block my view of her. I stop in my track, a scowl decorating my face as I stare hard at Mr Adams chest like my glare will penetrate through him. He should have given me a chance to hit her for all those times she made me feel so low with her words, the rumours she peddled.

"You evil witch," my fists are balled at my side, "what did you do to him?" Then I lift my chin to Mr Adams and say, "She is using you, you better shine your eyes. Wake up."

Mr Adams is smart, calculating, thoughtful, never one to be manipulated and now, all of a sudden he wants to get together with the woman who isn't divorced yet. I scoff and shake my head, this is a scene straight out of a Hollywood script. This cannot be real.

"Ifunaya, I won't have you disrespect Nse and definitely not in my presence," he says. His eyes are pleading but his lips are set in a stern line, he wants me to understand. My head shakes, I can't. I don't want to. I refuse.

I have always liked it when he called me by my Igbo name but now, I don't want the same lips that have been on hers uttering my name. I spare Mrs Nse who steps out to stand by his side a glance, they are even on a first name basis. Just how long has this, I cringe, this affair been going on for?

"God," I mutter and start searching through my bag. They both stare at me, their eyes watching my every move and I grimace.

This is what I rushed here for, this rubbish. I shake my head slowly; I should have just stayed behind to pacify Paul. I wonder if he still wants to talk to me after that scenario. God! I raised my voice at him. Over what?

My fingers locate the box and I bring it out to give it to him but stop as my eyes scan the office. It has been renovated, every proof of my former existence erased, wiped off.

The wood that used to separate my corner from Mrs Nse is nowhere to be found. Her desk has been replaced with a bigger one, the walls repainted and new blinds attached to the windows. The thought of him doing this for her fills me with rage and I close the distance between us in one step.

"Is this why I was transferred to Pavilion?" my hand sweeps across the room, "I was transferred not because I deserve it but for you two to have all the privacy in the world to continue your affair. Uncle, why?"

Mr King Daniels was right the first time he said I didn't deserve it, at least not at that point in my career. I should never have gotten promoted. To think I called it a jealous man talk makes me angrier and Mr Adams silence has me tugging on a strand of my twists to keep myself in check.

"You deserve the promotion; you know you do. Your work speaks for itself," he defends.

A proud smile flits to my lips but it has little to do with his words. My work speaks for itself because of the efforts I put into it. For whatever reason he sent me to Pavilion in the first place, I don't care anymore, I am there to stay. I have proved my worth.

An empty can of Pure Heaven, the non-alcoholic wine rolls to the floor and my eyes narrow at the leftover cake on the table, at the other cans of wine and soft drinks I didn't notice up until now.

"So now you like parties?" I ask without expecting a response and place my gift on the table. "I'm disappointed in you, Uncle."

Then I walk out without another glance at them. They can continue kissing each other for all I care, now, they have privacy.

*   *   *

A knock sounds on my door, I raise my head from the phone in my hand. I can't bring myself to hit the call button, I don't want to apologise to Mr Adams. He doesn't deserve a word of apology from me, he should be the one apologising. He should dump her.

In anger, I had called Mmá to tell her what I witnessed. She was ecstatic. When I asked if she didn't feel lonely and went on to tell her about my recent fantasy involving two of them, she had laughed so hard I joined her.

They have known each other for too long, they can't be more than friends, he's like a brother to her. She does feel lonely sometimes but it's not Mr Adams she wants. So now I have to fulfil my promise to call and apologise but I don't want to. She even told me to tell him how happy I am for him.

It has been a week now since his birthday and I can't bring myself to dial his number. I will be lying if I say I am happy for him, I don't want to do that. What will I call Nse?

I have always referred to Mr Adams as Uncle even though we are not biologically related but I can't call Mrs Nse aunty. No, I shake my head, she can't be my aunty, I won't call her that. Never. Not in this life.

The knock sounds again. "Come in."

Chi walks in, holding a food flask and a box with a mischievous smile on her lips.

"I'm not hungry," I say at the same time my stomach growls loudly. She tries to stifle her laughter but only ends up giggling.

Pointing at the space I create on my table, I say, "Fine, I'm hungry. Drop it there." Then I cross my arms under my breasts and pout. "Thank you for the food, I know you want something but you can't have it. Bye now."

Chi's face drops at the last statement then she lets out a peal of laughter. I know her well enough; she won't do something this nice for me without expecting a reward. She claims I barely leave my office and she will not indulge me by bringing up my lunch.

What she doesn't know is that I've avoided coming down for lunch because Paul cannot stand the sight of me. He hates me. Okay, maybe hate is a strong word but he acts like he does and he is good at acting. Too good it scares me to bump into him.

He doesn't respond to any of my greetings, not said a word to me either. If I happen on him and Chi talking, he will go stone cold until I excuse myself. I don't like it but I don't know how to get to him. I miss him.

Chi points to the flask. "Paul sent me, he said you didn't come down for lunch." A smile makes its way to my lips; he noticed. Her finger taps on the box and she says, "This one came in today, there was no name." Her voice lowers to a whisper, "I think you have a secret admirer. Open it."

At the mention of a secret admirer, my ears perk and a small laugh escapes me. I don't have a secret admirer. The thought makes me laugh harder because I haven't been out to socialise in a long time. My eyes raise to meet Chi whose hands are clasped together while eagerly waiting for me to open the box. Her interest in the gift has me wanting to open it but I stop myself, I don't know what's inside. I won't live with her teasing if we find something embarrassing inside.

"I'll open it later," I say and she groans in disappointment. I stick out my tongue at her and she reciprocates the gesture.

Shaking my head, I shoo her away to her work station. I should have known she had other reasons for helping Paul with the food delivery. We have Aaron and some other guys to run this type of errands.

"Before you throw me out," Chi says when she's at the door and I giggle. "Baby girl, happy Valentine's day." She waggles a finger at me. "Make sure you take yourself out."

I nod and she takes her leave. Silence settles in my office and I hug myself. Valentine's day; day of love. She is the first one to wish me that today. I already scraped it from this year's calendar. I don't have a lover so there's nothing worth celebrating. If Edwin and I were still a couple, I would have received a ton of gifts already. Chocolates mostly. I have a strange liking for them and he knows that, it is what he has used to earn my forgiveness in the past. Cookies too.

My eyes lower to the gift box. Did he send this? I raise it to my eye level, inspecting the size to see if I can guess the content when someone knocks. Without thinking, I shove it inside my drawer and ask the person in, half-expecting it to be Chi. But it's not.

"Paul?" I breathe out and stand as he steps in. My heart begins to thump, a shy smile graces my lips and I have a hard time keeping my eyes on his face. He came to see me.

His eyes lower to the flask on my table, I cringe. "You haven't eaten," he states. I nod, the smile on my face disappears as I avoid his gaze and lower myself to my seat.

"I am about to," I say and reach for the flask. I don't want him to get mad at me again.

The cover of the flask drops to the table and the aroma tickles my nostrils. I close my eyes and inhale; I can already tell the food tastes nice. Paul laughs and my eyes flutter open, he's staring at me with an unusual expression that makes me feel conscious.

My fingers trail a line around my necklace, I tug at the pendant and clear my throat when he continues staring. He offers me a smile, the first in days and I do the same. If he's smiling at me, then he is no longer upset with me, right? Right. It has to be. The food too is a sign; he does care about me.

"Thank you for the food," I say and he nods. "I didn't realise so much time had passed."

"I was not flirting with her," he starts and I swallow the food in my mouth to ask who he is talking about. "The woman from last week, the one you tore her business card."

There's no accusation in his words, his tone is bored. "I'm sorry," I murmur and Paul walks over to the mini-fridge at the corner to get me a bottle of water. "Thank you."

"You are sorry?" he asks with a small smile and I set the bottled water on the table. I bite my lips and nod, I regretted doing that almost as soon as I did it. "I won't accept your apology except you make it up to me."

"How? How can I make it up to you?"

"Do you have plans after work?"

"No." I shake my head, clear my throat and say, "No." Now that we are talking, I don't want us to stop, I will do just about anything to remain in his good graces. I like him.

Paul takes one look at his Rolex wristwatch, stands and says, "It's settled then. I'll see you when you are done eating, madam."

"I'm done," I cry out. "I'm done eating." He chuckles and I say, "Don't call me madam."

"Alright, not madam," he says and I giggle, "when you are done eating." He holds a hand to stop me from speaking then points at the flask. "I made the food for you and it will not finish itself. So when you're done."

I find myself nodding to his words, elated at his admission. He made the food for me, my favourite. My teeth sink into my lower lip and when he starts coming over to my side, I stiffen as his fingers caress the corner of my lips. My heart thuds, my nostrils pick up on his smell, it's a mix of spices and another flavour I cannot identify. I want to hold him.

Paul takes a step away from me as if he can hear my thoughts and says, "You had something there." I nod, at a loss of words to say to him, I want him to touch me again. "Come down to your car in twenty minutes."

It is when the door jams behind him that my shoulder sags and my breathing returns to normal. My hand goes over my chest where my heart is beating erratically. I am falling. I am falling for Chi's boyfriend.

**********

Picture: Linda Ikeji

I have no idea who I want to act as Mrs. Nse, suggestions please. Linda Ikeji just popped into my mind, what do y'all think about her playing the role?

Question: Should Pauline have reacted the way she did? Can you guess where he's taking her to?

Please remember to vote, comment, share your thoughts. Always follow for more update. It makes me feel extra good about my writing.

Do check out the second book (White Hat Playboy) in the series if you haven't already. I started a new book: Love Lives Here, it is to give anonymous shout-outs, so send me a message with the username of that Wattpader who has made this journey fun for you.