TOBI

Some of them think I am a rookie. I laugh, because prior to coming here, I worked at an Oil and Gas firm. The way my mom praised this Miss. Lawal lady was not what I expected. She came off clumsy at first but at the end, turns out she's full of sass.

I'll give it to her that she is drop dead gorgeous and from observation, she acts like the men here practically worshipped the ground on which she walked. Mom said she is an asset, a very big one and that I will learn a lot from her. Her over confident aura is what I did not like, coupled with the fact that she was extremely late to work today. She looks young, like in her mid-twenties. She doesn't act as such, though.

The mail notification flashes across my laptop screen and I click on it. It's from her. Well, that was fast. I take a glance at the documents, making a mental note to properly study them later.

I press the intercom to call the attention of Ugomma, my P.A.

"Yes, Sir."

"Order Lunch for me. I want Jollof Rice and Chicken from a proper Restaurant." I say to her.

"Yes, Sir." She meekly answers before leaving.

Time to take a look around.

First stop is my mom's office. She seems startled to see me. The crease on her forehead tells that something is wrong but she immediately masks it with a smile.

"Hey." She speaks.

"Hello, mum. Just looking around on my own." I shrug, leaning on the door.

"Alright."

"I met with Miss. Lawal." I notice her eyes squint, trying to put a face to the name.

"Who is that?" She asks. I am taken aback.

"Miss. Farida Lawal." Realization hits her as her mouth forms an O shape.

"Farida. Sorry, most of us are used to calling her by her first name." She laughs while explaining. Oh, now I understand the strange look on her face. I find that very unprofessional, though. She should be addressed properly. However, I couldn't say that to my mum. It would be grossly inappropriate and disrespectful.

"The meeting went well, I presume." The high esteem in which she holds that lady, though.

"You just over hype her, to be honest." I am not impressed by her, one bit.

"I don't. You'll see for yourself soon." She smirks and turns her gaze away from mine.

I hum and push my body off her door frame on which I initially rested. I look heavenward and let out a sigh before walking out of her office and my feet takes me to HER office.

She is not in.

"She stepped out, Sir." Someone says, as if sensing my unasked question. I just nod and turn to leave as she returns to her office, another staff in tow. A man. I could practically see stars in his eyes as he conversed with her. She is either oblivious to them or just basks in the glory of being admired.

Either way, this nonsense has to stop.

"Miss. Lawal." If she had not noticed my presence before, right now, she definitely did.

"Mr. Bankole, good afternoon." She mutters and walks pass me into her office. I don't respond. I just nod and walk out.
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FARIDA

"It is how he just came from nowhere and seized the position that that mumu Farida of a girl has been eyeing, for me."

"E sweet me die. I was so happy when Madam spoke to us about it. Did you see the look in her eyes?" Ehen? These girls.

"Yes, I did, my sister. It was very hilarious. At least, we know we don't have hope of getting it. The mumu has been ass-licking for a very long time." I really need to see the faces of these two gossips.

"E shock her." I just shake my head at their sheer stupidity.

So, they left their offices to come here for gossip. Interesting.

"Did she really think she'll get it? I mean, we all knew Madam has a son."

"Maybe she thought he will take over and be at the helm of affairs while she takes that position." These clowns don't know that I have been in the know of all that has been happening. Flushing the toilet, I step out and clear my throat. Imagine the shock on their faces.

"Hi, Fareeda." One of them says with a tiny voice and a smile. A fake smile.

"Hello." The other one's voice comes out squeaked.

I just look at them with a stern expression before walking out. They should keep the greetings to themselves. Two Agbayas. Married but senseless, sha marriage is not a prerequisite for being sensible. These women are way older than me and it's just pure envy. It's not my fault that even at their ages they still have not advanced to my ladder of success. They are pained and jealous. Na wa.

On my way to the office, Hakeem stops me to inform me of the problem we have regarding our station at Offa, Kwara. Our truck developed a fault on the road and as such, our product on transit to the station has been delayed. There are no available trucks left in the state.

What we need to do now is contact the Zonal supervisor of any of the nearby states to know if there are any siding trucks available there so it can easily be dispersed to them.

"Contact Abio. I think there is a siding truck with him." He nods in understanding as we head to my office.

"By the way, I need to speak with you about something."

"Miss. Lawal." I did not notice he was here.

"Mr. Bankole, good afternoon." I mutter reluctantly and walk pass him into my office. He doesn't respond and I don't bother to see if he did, anyway.

"As I was saying, Hakeem. Make that call and get back to me as soon as possible."

"Yes, ma."

"We'll meet later, after break. You can go."

••••••••••

Thursday morning.

Today's weather was a little bit fair. The sun is not usually scorching and everywhere feels cool, like it is about to rain. Only that it isn't; Lagos weather can have some kind small small brain touch sometimes. Health-wise, I am already feeling better. I got some drugs and they worked magic, thankfully. I was sitting in my office when I saw him walk pass with a lady in his arms. They look cozy, like they have a thing. Well, that is none of my business. He knows we are supposed to have a meeting; the both of us. He's just delaying on purpose and it is annoying that instead of doing his work, he is taking his time to hang out with someone.

You're just jealous, Farida. It's nobody's fault that you are single. My finger rubs my ring finger and as my mind threatens to drift to a memory I have kept buried for ages, I quickly decide to get myself occupied with work.

Still keeping it in mind that there are some credit notes that he needs to sign urgently so we can commence with the disbursement process, I begin working on the spreadsheet for last month's sales so as to have a detailed explanation about our total target, bearing in mind that we did not meet our target by a one million Litre margin. We have to do way better this month.

I crack my knuckles and take a brief pause to drink water, plug in my earpiece to listen to 'Sweet but Psycho' by Ava Max. When the stress of work gets to me, listening to music helps me get through the day. I keep checking the time at intervals, waiting to get the pending work done.

Two hours have passed and he still has not requested for my presence. As I walk towards his office, I try my best to keep my annoyance in check.

"Hello." I say a brief greeting to Ugomma while heading straight for his office.

"You cannot go in there, Farida." She says, trying to stop me.

Your boss should have answered me earlier. I say that in my head, though.

"Nonsense. I am going in." Before she could further stop me, I push the door and let myself in, met with laughter which stops upon seeing me.

"Hi." I say in a weird tone to her, forcing a small smile before focusing on Mr. Bankole, all traces of smiles gone. His eyes trail down my figure and he smirks. I could see the annoyance behind them and I can't help but wonder why he is annoyed. He should be apologizing instead! These are important clients that we are dealing with. The front runners amongst the retailers and here he is, delaying to sign their credit notes because he is here doing nothing but gist.

"You have guts." Yeah, I know I should not have barged in, but it was not the first time of me coming here today. The two times I did, Ugomma told me he was busy. Indeed. I look him square in the eyes, not budging.