Work has been going fine, the increase in customers left Mr Adams so impressed he asked me to maintain my position here. I laugh at the reminder of our little banter before he asked me to permanently manage this place. I am his most promoted staff. The thought doesn't bother me, I am just glad to be out of Madiba, away from the rumours that are sure to circulate at this promotion.

For the first time in a long while, I bristle with excitement to see King, I want to gloat. I haven't seen him in days, weeks, the same goes for Paul. He has not returned here to eat and the guilt of kissing him stops me from asking Chi any questions about him. If he wants to see me again and I hope he does, he knows where to find me. I am here.

My life is a bunch of routines: wake up, bath, go to work, chill with Chi on the days the guilt isn't stifling me, go back home or drop Chi off. Sometimes I take myself out and on rare occasions, I hit the gym.

I haven't been in Calabar long enough to have many friends and I have not made much effort to socialise. I like the life of solitude more than I thought I would.

My laptop pings with a notification and my eyes lower to it. I yawn and stretch my hands. My eyes widen at the growing list of applicants for the Chef position. We lost our main Chef, something about him relocating to another city. I don't recall how Chi put it but she had been upset to see him leave.

To pacify her, I put her in charge of the selection process, expecting it to be done and over within the week but the list has grown larger ever since. All of them have strong recommendations to their names and it makes me happy I'm not in charge of the decision making, it is a tough call.

A knock sounds on my door, I ask the person in and Chi saunters in. From the information she had unknowingly divulged to me, I know Paul is still in Calabar. I also know they have been keeping up with each other. He doesn't want to see me, if he does, he will request for my number from her.

Chi smiles and lowers herself onto the seat across me. I have told myself not to ask her about Paul to avoid seeming desperate but the words leave my lips before I can stop them. "How did you meet Paul?"

Her fingers still on the file she dropped on the table and she purses her lips as if she's thinking of the best answer to give me.

"Meet?" She smiles. "We lived together."

I must have done a poor job of hiding my surprise because she shakes her head, laughs and goes on to explain. "He stayed with me until he got his place."

A headache hits me at her response, they are even closer than I think. The realisation hits me with a new wave of guilt for kissing him and I have to bite down hard on my lips to avoid confessing to her about our kiss.

My head bobs up and down of its own accord. I have been to her house, it's a nice two-bedroom apartment with a living room that's barely in use. Same with mine.

"Yeah. He stayed with me when he first moved here, for about a month or so until his house was fixed. Now, we just hang out."

One month in the same house with him? That hot, male specimen. I spare her a look, she is smiling in fond memory, probably in remembrance of all the dirty things they did together in that period. I know I would have done the same, christen every part of my house with our bodies going at it.

"He moved?" She nodded. "From where?"

Her smile fades. "It's best he tells you that himself. How and when did you two meet?"

"One Friday Evening," I start, "at The Palace, his former workplace. He was our waiter."

She nods and I go on to add the bit about the drama with Edwin while watching her face for any reactions. She only laughs hard and clutches her side, no hint of jealousy.

"Udo is stubborn but he can also be very sweet. It all depends on which side of him you see first, the side he shows," she says.

I don't like how she calls his name with a familiarity that I do not possess. Now that I know he can also be sweet, I want to see that side of him. All I have gotten so far is arrogance laden with more arrogance and the gentlest kisses I have ever received. I want to know all sides of him like she does.

"You know him so well," I state, she nods, ignoring the barely concealed jealousy in my voice. I hate how I sound but I can't help it. "How come you two are not dating?"

I am fishing, hoping for her to slip up, give me more useful information but the gaze she directs my way chills me to my bone and I quickly rephrase my statement.

"Some of my friends are single, I'm asking on their behalf. I'm not saying you two-"

The iciness with which she replies me is similar to my welcome. "He's off limits."

That's my cue, I take it as a warning to stay away from him and seal my lips about our kiss but my body yearns for more of it. I nod again, trying to redirect our conversation to her reason for being here.

"There are two people, a male and a female. I like the female more and I'll invite..."

The rest of her words are lost on me as I repeat her warning in my head, Paul is off limits. For some reason, that's not enough to stop me from picturing us together or missing him and I nod in response to all Chi says, not a word registering in my head.

*    *    *

The door to my office bursts open, my head raises to give the person a lecture until I see it's Chi. Today is Friday so she's back to wearing the hotel's T-shirt and black jeans. Her sneaker is the latest Adidas version and I cannot help but wonder as I always do if she's doing something outside this job.

"I'm so sorry to disturb you but you have to taste this." She set a stainless flask on my desk. "I specifically asked him to prepare this for you and if you don't like it," she pauses to sigh, "I will painfully let him go. But believe me, he's a great cook."

"He?" I ask and Chi nods. "What happened to Anna? The lady we agreed on."

Our friendship is still new and the fear of coming off as judgmental has stopped me from asking how she manages her high tastes but if she has gone against my orders and hired someone else, I may lose it.

Anna is one of the best female Chefs here in Calabar, her recommendations, the food she prepared when we asked them to come in showed that. I heave a sigh and swallow, it's partially my fault too, I let her in charge of work I should have done myself.

"I let her go," Chi answers and I scoff.

"Stop looking at me like that," Chi starts and I roll my eyes. "She doesn't like the pay."

A peal of laughter slips from me, that is ludicrous. "She must be a thief, a criminal."

We offer the best salary to chefs, if not, we will not have about five hundred people applying for a position with only one slot.

"That's exactly what I said." Chi laughs. Her head moves from side to side as she repeats Anna's reason with air quotes. "She graduated from a cooking school in London, she can't accept such a salary, it's too small."

I break down in laughter at the tiny voice Chi adapts, it's eerily familiar to Anna's. "So who did you pick, Tony? He's not bad."

She shakes her head. "UD."

Cocking my head to the side, I stare at her in wonder. We already narrowed the list to two people, Anna and Tony, since Anna isn't taking it, it should have fallen to Tony.

"Who's UD?" I ask with a hint of annoyance. He's not on the list, he never even applied.

She points at the back of my laptop without meeting my gaze. "I sent you his file."

"When?"

"This morning."

Laughter spills from my lips. "You sent me his file this morning and you already employed him?" She pouts and stares wide eyed at me. "Chigirl, you will not kill me."

She shakes her head again. "Never."

"Why didn't you say something?"

Her smile weakens. "I wasn't sure you will like him, you wanted a female chef."

Yeah, I did, I still do. I want us to balance the ratio of male to female staff here but the company's interest is better than mine.

My gaze trails to the flask on the table and she brings out the small plates inside, putting them on the table to display four different dishes. I go for the plate with Jollof rice, it's my favourite meal and the last chef cooks it better than anyone I know.

Chi's hands clasp together, she blinks, urging me to eat with her eyes. I raise the spoon to my mouth when a thought hits me and I drop it back. She lets out a sigh but I am enjoying her misery, next time she will run a decision as important as this through me.

Raising the spoon to my lips for the third time, with my eyes trained on her, I drop it.

"Pauline!" Chi screams, her face is red and she covers her mouth in shock. "Please eat this food, please. He's waiting downstairs."

I bark out a short laugh and dive for the food. I take my first bite, then another and another until there is nothing left in the plate. I push that plate aside and start on the next meal which is the least bit familiar and do the same. I hear clapping and I raise my head to see Chi, she's still here.

"You love it," she states with a smile, too pleased with herself and I shake my head.

"It's okay," I say with slight disinterest.

"Okay? What do you mean okay?" Chi stands with her eyes nearly falling off their sockets. "It's more than okay, Madam. Mr Adams testified, the junior cooks also did."

She lowers herself back to her seat, places her folded hands on the desk. "Pauline, please say the truth and shame the devil."

Then I lost it. I burst out laughing at her tone, the seriousness in her voice and her facial expression. My body quivers as the laughter flows easily out of my mouth and I bang the desk repeatedly until tears stand in my eyes. If I am a drama princess, then Chi is the drama queen without even trying.

"I love it," I tell her and she stands again.

"So, he's hired?"

Her excitement is contagious and I find myself responding with my biggest smile and a nod. "I thought you already did that?"

"You are the boss, not me, you have the final say," she murmurs. "Should I call him?"

My head is barely halfway down in a nod when she sprints out of the office. I laugh, understanding her excitement. We share the same love for good food. UD can cook.

Using my eyes to search for the mail she claims to have sent, I come up with nothing, even in my spam folder. A mail catches my attention at the same time the door opens without notice and I groan at the intruder.

"You are a great cook, UD, but it doesn't give you the right to enter my office without knocking," I say without raising my head.

The email address is unfamiliar and on further inspection, I see it's a promotional mail which I am quick to delete. I finally raise my head but no one is in front of me. Instead, soft hands begin to massage my shoulders, easing some of the tension in my stiff limbs.

My head falls back, I close my eyes and moan in contentment, this is relaxing. Who knows, we might make UD a member of the spa team. His hands are a touch of heaven.

"I am many things but a cook," King's voice draws me out of my nap. My eyes open, I blink twice and swivel my chair to face him.

"What are you doing here?"

King's hands come to rest on either side of the armrest and he whispers with a hint of sarcasm, "We have unfinished business."

Those chills I have come to associate with his presence settles on my body, my tongue comes out to wet my bottom lip. His eyes follow my movement and I shake my head.

"Don't you ever knock?" I ask in the hardest voice I can muster. I am not in the mood to fight him. I am not sure I even want to.

His hands return to my shoulders, he squeezes them once and a moan slips past me, his hands are made for massages. They are made for many things, some of which I might experience if I give him the go-ahead.

"Do you want me to continue?" he asks.

I take a deep breath, exhale and say, "No. What do you want? I'm expecting someone."

"I'll wait."

My body goes rigid as he tugs on the pendant of my gold necklace. His touch is different from Paul's but they have the same effect. I am hot and flustered. My nipples harden under my shirt and my lace bra does nothing to hide the protrusion.

King circles them with his finger, the friction makes me hiss in pleasure. I bite my lips and ask, "What do you want, King?"

He angles his head so I can have a better view of his face and licks his lip. "The same thing you want, to make you feel good." 

**********

Picture: Uti Nwachukwu and Beverly Naya. It's supposed to be a picture of Edwin and Pauline when they were still together.

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