Sofi's POV

"Urrrm our flight is scheduled for 7:30pm" She was hungry o, but she was not ready to race against time again like she did in the morning.

"Do you have plans in Lagos tonight?"

"Not really" She said. She's just going home to sleep nah since there is work tomorrow, she has already told the Website designer she was supposed to meet earlier to come back on Saturday.

"It's late, let's leave tomorrow morning instead" He said. "Night flights are at a greater risk of delays or even cancellation"

She just raised her brows because she didn't know what to say to that. He is right about evening flight delays, plus they are no longer in a rush right?.... but she is going to work tomorrow.

"What do you think?" He asked her.

"Okay? I'll call the travel Agent" She didn't want to agree with him outright so it would 100% be his idea or instruction to sleep over. Before he will use it against her one day.

He nodded then said "Great, so where do you want to eat?" He said as she started chatting up the Agent.

She froze.

Come o, is it that his personality switches whenever he is not in Lagos? She thought he just wanted to get 'take away'. This Man does not eat with other people, he doesn't even drink the office water. He really wants to sit through a meal with her?

He must have noticed her surprise and confusion because he raised his brows questioningly to remind her he was waiting for an answer.

"I don't know anywhere.....I don't have any dining experience here" She said.

"Wait, is this your first time in Abuja?" He paused.

"No, not really I have attended some weddings and the one time I was here for work, I didn't sleep over." Abuja is boring nah, plus she does not have any close relatives or friends here to visit. She has actually visited Dubai more than Abuja.

"Really? Why is that you Lagosians hate Abuja?"

She chuckled "There is nothing to do now?"

He nodded then started unfastening his tie and she almost lost her bearing for a second but steadied herself quickly because....... that was hot.

Calm down Sofi, don't get carried away. She thought to herself, she was still struggling to process this his Abuja-alter ego, no need to complicate things with thirsty thoughts.

"So how can you be so sure there's nothing to do when you just admitted that you don't know anywhere" He said.

She just smiled.

"Do you like Thai food?"

"Yes" She nodded. Actually one of her favorite foreign cuisines, very underrated in Lagos because everyone is blinded by Chinese.

He spoke Hausa to the driver. She knew he was describing the place for him. The Driver was gisting a lot with him the whole time, it's like the Driver was from home because the agent didn't arrange for that.

The Restaurant was in Jabi and holy shit! The food was good, it was even better than her favorite Thai place in Lagos. They had an actual Thai Chef and their customer service was amazing, she actually picked out his food because he said he couldn't make up his mind.

They talked a lot about the food, he dragged her favorite place in Lagos through the mud because apparently he tried it one time and regretted it .She couldnt stop laughing.

"Nah those guys are just cosplaying as a Thai restaurant, they have a long way to go" He added when she finished laughing.

"How do you know so much about, food?" she asked because he was very detailed in his critiquing of the Lagos Thai place, he didn't just criticize the taste he deduced possible reasons for the 'poor taste'. He mentioned weak stir-fry techniques and over steaming of vegetables. Omo! Even her sef did not know all that one o.

"I've worked as a Chef Assistant before" He said proudly.

She was shocked "How did you go from that to....." She pointed at him.

"So, I dropped out of medical school in my second year to 'find myself' and I had to work multiple jobs to pay my own bills"

She just stared at him blankly, too shocked to even react, based on her stalking online he attended oxford, did he drop out of Oxford Medical school? To find himself? Ajebo things!

''So did you find yourself?'' She sipped from her wine glass, eyes on him. She was genuinely curious.

"I think I did....at the time that is. But I have come to learn that self-discovery is a life long journey" He said seriously.

She nodded. That is so true.

***

The travel Agent got them a hotel in the central business district close to the NNPC towers so they had to drive back to the city centre. It was dark but he tried to give her a mini drive by tour and showed her some major landmarks; Jabi lake, the Ecumenical Center, the central mosque etc. She was just fascinated by the complete lack of traffic, it was so weird to her.

Immediately she checked into her room she undressed and took a warm shower. The room was very big, it was an executive suite as per she was on Mr. Obaze's tab.

She was actually glad Mr. Madaki suggested they sleepover, she didn't even know she really was stressed till her back hit the luxurious bed and she sighed.

Speaking of Mr. Madaki why is he being so nice to her is it because they are in Abuja. Perhaps his weyrey is only in Lagos. Well it is easy for one to be nice in Abuja, there is no traffic, it's not crazy, everyone is nice here so makes sense that his sweet side can show up here.

She enjoyed the dinner and he is good company, she likes talking to him.....this side of him o. Not that ruthless, mean, savage version they get in Lagos.

He complimented her during their session, she thought she was going to do all the talking during the technical presentation but he chipped in a lot and he tried for someone that is not even on the project Team. He would have been fine alone.

Then she remembered they even ran into the Minister of petroleum; Dora Ikenna. So he knows the Minister. Wait who are his parents? Ordinary people don't go to Oxford.

But Chief is a Baddd guy O. Most Nigerian Billionaires usually just force their kids to marry into a politically strong family to strengthen their power network and increase their political leverage. But can y'all see what Chief did here? He hired one, one that has ties to the Minister of Petroleum!

She was starting to think all these presentation and bidding hustle they were doing was only for formality. The Minister is literally the one who approves the allocation of the blocks.

Hmmm Chief knows how to play this game sha. She thought to herself.

She grabbed her phone and looked up his last name again, but his last name was very popular, she couldn't find anything. Then she remembered he gave the password he gave her for his Wi-Fi and it was a name; Lydia. She was a little bit tipsy but her brain was working exceptionally well this night. Lol.

So she searched for Lydia Madaki and voila, she found all she needed. The woman is currently a consultant to the FG on public health and Ex-UN diplomat. She found so many articles about her, and so many research, books and articles written by her. She found some images and she could see the resemblance, definately his Mum.

As she dug further she found pictures from his Fathers burial like 6 years Ago. Eya. She read about his Dad too, discovered that he was a top surgeon, one of the top surgeons in Nigeria, he was on the team of doctors who did the first open-heart surgery in Nigeria. He has lectured in different universities around the world, including the Oxford. Aha!

She finally stopped searching when she realized she was reading medical research papers his father wrote. Lol.

She called room service to order for red wine, because she was feeling some type of way. Now she understands why he has extra shoulder pad, he is not just a successful London Investment Banker, His parents are.......intellectuals, academics, UN diplomats, Surgeon with national order of merit award. This is even cooler than having politician parents. She envied him!

About 30 minutes later she was on her second glass of her wine scrolling through instagram when his text came in and her heart stopped.

Mr. Madaki: Hey,

Mr. Madaki: Still up?

Mr. Madaki: I want to show you one more landmark.

She shrieked and ducked under her blanket. Her heart was beating fast as she tried to think of how to respond to that. Are they going out again? What am i going to wear!

After she found and extra tshirt to pair with the jeans she wore in the morning, she responded to his text, smiling sheepishly as she typed it, blaming her excitement on the wine.

Sofi: Yes

Mr. Madaki: I'm at the rooftop bar, meet me.

Sofi: i'll be there in 15 minutes.

Dare: Okay.

The bar was packed with hotel guests, they all looked like visitors too and there were a lot of foreigners. She heard French on one table and mandarin on another as she walked to the area the waiter directed her to. He was seated in the outdoor section away from the noise, the outdoor section had a very captivating view of the city skyline.

He was wearing his shirt from earlier but it was buttoned down to the third button, his sleeves were rolled up.

"I hope you don't mind the lack of air-conditioning here, I am running away from the tobacco smoke" He said as he pulled out a chair for her.

"Why?" She laughed, so there is something he is afraid of.

"Because it can literally kill me in minutes" He chuckled.

She stopped laughing and searched his face to discern if that was a joke. but it wasnt.

"I have a rare type of asthma that leads to something called tension pneumothorax"

She stared at him, confusion written all over her face, waiting for him to say 'just kidding'

He just laughed when he saw her reaction. "Anyway tobacco smoke is one of the things that triggers my asthma, so If you smoke, I'm sorry in advance for being an inconvenience"

"Don't, worry I don't smoke" She said quickly.

"Great" He called the waiter to come and get her order. He was drinking something that looked like whiskey.

She wanted to ask him more about the asthma, it sounds scary. But he interrupted her thoughts.

"So, that is Aso rock" He pointed across the city skyline "It is quite dark but if you look closely you can see the outline behind Transcorp"

"Wow, this is such a stunning view of it" She smiled. This Abuja is fine sha.

The waiter came and she ordered for a glass of red wine because if she drinks more than that, she is going to crawl back to her room.

They were both silent for a minute then he broke it.

"So what was it like working with Mr. Bakare?" He asked as he twirled the ice in his glass.

She just smiled at first, she was reluctant to answer that because it could be a trap.

He noticed her hesitation so he elaborated;

"I know you all hate me and I understand, He was more of a fatherly figure right?" He smiled mischievously.

Hmmmm see setup. She sharply stopped drinking the wine and poured herself a glass of water instead, before she will run her mouth and cast herself here.

He started laughing when she did that.

She cleared her throat then started; She praised the old man. Acknowledged she was missing him but admitted that he needed to rest and take care of his health. Then she diverted the attention to him;

"I am just glad he was able to find a very capable and trustworthy CEO to run the Company for him, because typically, Chief trusts no one but himself... to run it" She said smiling excessively.

"So, do you think he made the right decision.....with me?" He asked.

Okay he is definitely baiting her lol! She tried to dodge his trap again. "Well.... it's too early to tell, and..... I don't think my judgment matters I'm just an employee"

"You and I know damn well that you're more than just an employee" He was not ready to let her off the hook.

She chuckled "Why would you say that?"

"You put the interest of the Company before yours, you take on any role as long as it helps the Company achieve its goal, you help everyone not because you like them but because you want the Company to succeed and you do all that without taking any credit for it" He looked her straight in the eyes as he said it.

"Wow, it seems you have me all figured out, you should write my biography" she teased him.

"You know it's true" He put down his glass, still gazing at her intensely.

"That is just me doing my Job" She sighed, looked away and took a sip of her cold water. His piercing gaze was doing things to her, the already wine in her system was not helping matters.

His phone on the table started ringing so he tore his gaze away from her to check the phone "Sorry I have to take this" he apologized in advance.

She nodded.

"Hello"...."How are you so sure I'm in town?".......... "She called you?" He laughed then he switched to Hausa then laughed again.

She tapped her phone and scrolled through some notifications to keep herself occupied while he was on the call.

After the call he apologized again. "Sorry about that"

"Are you Hausa?" She asked. She heard him speaking Hausa to the driver earlier too.

"No, I am Tangale... never heard of it right?"

She shook her head in shame. It's not her fault that there are about 500 languages in this country.

"One of the numerous 'minority' tribes in the country, My Mother is from Bauchi and my Father is from Gombe, but yeah we all speak Hausa too"

"Wow I didn't know that I always thought you were Yoruba, because of the name" She said.

"It is actually a Hausa name, the full version is 'Dandare' it means night or son of the night, my great grandmother thought it was a good idea to name me after the hour i touched down on earth; midnight" He laughed.

"'Son of the night'....now i know why you're always pissed off when the sun is up at mornings" She teased him.

He laughed hard.

"looks like you've got me all figured out too, when are you writing my own biography?" He returned her joke but she just laughed.

"You ARE Yoruba right?" he asked her.

"Yes" She looked away. She didn't want to talk about herself because she doesn't like to talk about her parents. So she stopped there, hoping he doesn't ask her more about herself.

He nodded.

"You know.... I really didn't want to spend the night in Abuja but,... I wanted you to get some rest and I want you to take the rest of the week off. You've done so much for this project already and you are exceptional. So when you get back to Lagos please don't resume tomorrow or friday, Okay?" His eyes were sincere, she could see that he meant every word of it.

You see ehhn, she is used to receiving praise and accolades at work from everyone but she is not used to this....this genuine concern for her wellbeing, her safety that she gets from him occasionaly is different and it feels so good. She felt like hugging him but, he is her coworker....her boss and that is out of bounds for her so all she could manage was;

"Thank you"

He smiled "i'll walk you back to your suite" He stood up. It was almost 11pm.

When they got to her door, he gave her a fist bump then said "Thank you, for hanging out with me tonight and for giving a badass presentation, i am so proud of all your hardwork and dedication"

She smiled.

****

The next morning when she woke up she got a text from him. He said he had some business to take care of in Abuja, but he gave her the Driver's number and asked her to call him to take her to Airport when she is ready.

Okay, he needs to stop being sweet otherwise she's going to break A LOT of rules.

This is so scary! She thought.

A/N: Not done editing o, pls point out typos.

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