Long Chapter warning! I merged two chapters ( i'm giving you people bonus for dropping this late)

She slept deeply for about 1hr 45minues, that adjustment he did to the Chair made it much comfortable for sleep. Even the blinds that he shut made the whole section cozy and she was grateful for the blanket.

Why does he have to be so sweet? He is making it hard for her to stop liking him completely Abi. No wonder all the girls flock to him, but she won't be part of that camp anymore abeg. He is everywoman's dream but the man in her own dream is only for her. She won't...cannot share her man or be a side chick. No matter how great he is......or how amazing his D is. She is a very possessive person.

She stretched then turned back and saw him in the living area section with Mr. Obaze. They were discussing, Mr. Obaze was eating something that looked like swallow she couldn't see well because she was still groggy. She wouldn't be surprised if it is actually swallow. The man is a typical Naija Dad he likes native dishes. Eya that poor attendant must have prepared swallow specially for him. Lol.

Dare's back was facing her so he could not see that she was up. He looked good even from the back sef, like.. just by seeing that broad shoulder and head you can tell it belongs to a fine person. They were talking about something serious. It must be that thing, that has been on his mind, the reason Chief came in the other day.

They landed in Ankete by 3pm. The time zone is 2 hours behind Nigeria. When they alighted the flight there were four cars waiting for them on the tarmac two of them were escort SUV with armed military men or police officers. Africans and ceremony!

Their travel agent specifically informed the President's Protocol Officer that they are just 3 in Number. A car or two would have sufficed.

An armed soldier opened the door to the first car and the Protocol officer stepped out to greet them.

He went to Mr. Obaze first because he is elderly so he must have assumed he is the CEO. However, after the handshake, he kind of figured Dare is the Head because he quickly switched his attention to him.

She saw the way Dare shook the man's hand firmly his dominance and body language must have conveyed that he is the leader of the team to the Protocol officer.

Is that what he is planning to do to her, coerce her into becoming his booty call by dominating her mind? She did not ask him to adjust her chair or shut the blinds or cover her freezing legs but he did it anyway without asking her. Maybe he is a control freak sef. She told herself to stop interpreting his kindness as sweetness; it will help her move on.

She decided to enter the second car on her own instead of just following him and Mr. Obaze and he turned around looking very worried when she said she would be in the second car. He wanted to say something to her but she moved quickly without looking at him again.

Her own car had one military guard in the front seat and a Lady at the back. She was  from the Natural Resources Ministry.

Her English was very fluent unlike the protocol officer; the country's official language is Portuguese so English is a 3rd or even 4th language for most of them. The Lady, Cristiana told her more about the country, their tourist attractions, where to shop, nightlife etc.

They drove for about 15 minutes to a helipad first and flew to the first rig. She caught him staring at her the whole time as she gisted with her new friend, Cristiana on the helicopter flight.

From the first rig, they took a very nice boat ride to another floating production rig. As they got off the boat, she saw him waiting on the pier to help her out instead of proceeding with the others because it was a little bit high and she was wearing 3-inch block heels.

She quickly switched places with Cristiana when she saw what he was planning to do, he ended up helping Cristiana out instead, and Mr. Obaze helped her.

He kinda smiled when he saw what she did there, but he still helped the lady like the gentleman that he is. Cristiana was flustered a little as he released her hand and made way for her to pass, she thanked him profusely arranging her long relaxed hair as the offshore blew it wildly.

They both looked cute and a pang of jealousy hit her from nowhere.

"So this is the Tubarão FPSO!" The protocol officer announced then continued his tour speech. Snapping her out of her silly thoughts.

Why is she so confused when it comes to this Dare FFS? He has turned her into this complete crazy person. She wants to hate him so bad again, she wants to stop finding him attractive, but he is making It so hard for her by being so freaking nice and effortlessly hot. She reminded herself to be firm because it will be harder to resist him especially now that they are thousands of miles away from home in this beautiful island nation.

She told herself that maybe it is the distance that is making her long for familiarity because this is how he started entering her in Abuja, and before she knew it, she was going to his house to collect D.

6:45pm

As Dare and the Main Protocol officer rounded up their discussion at the helipad the Protocol Officer's 'Assistant' came to meet her to discuss their lodging arrangement.

The man informed her AGAIN that they will be lodged in their most exclusive 'presidential' hotel, the hotel is very close to the Palácio presidencial (Presidential palace) so it is heavily guarded and secure.

The hotel has 12 luxury chalets along the beach and 200 rooms in a 12-story building. From the booking arrangements, she saw that they booked three chalets for them and hers was next to Dare's own. Hers' was 1C his was 1D and Mr. Obaze's was 1G.

She didn't want to be that close to him in the middle of nowhere, she has seen pictures of the hotel, those chalets are beautiful and ethereal but they are kind of isolated, although there are a lot of Staff around that cater to guests lodged in the chalets but still, she didn't trust even herself.

Therefore, she asked the Man if he could get her a room in the main building instead. She claimed the chalet was too big for her, said she wanted to see aerial views of the city instead of the ocean so he made a call and was able to get an executive suite for her on the 7th floor of the main hotel building.

She smiled satisfactorily as they checked in and the bellboy started carting her own luggage in a different direction. Dare looked surprised but he just smiled.

Beachside Chalets/Villas are heavenly to be honest, one time she, Toyin and the girls travelled to the Maldives and they all shared one. It was chaotic because she was sharing it with her loud girls she couldn't really relax. This would have been a perfect opportunity for her to experience it but thanks to Dare, she had to sacrifice that perk.

She looked around her new hotel room, it was not that bad. In fact those chalets are a complete waste of money. Instead of impressing business guests, the country should use the money to develop the rural parts of the nation where most of the citizens live. She unpacked her luggage carefully. She had packed two business suits for tomorrow one is backup. The remaining outfits were just like what she wore today.

She showered, changed to another summer dress then went downstairs to the restaurant. At least she should socialize nah, her future husband could be here, language should not be a barrier she can learn Portuguese.

The restaurant was a little bit empty; all the guests looked like foreigners too. Not surprising, the hotel is State owned.

After eating, she strolled back to her room, changed to her nightie and crashed on her bed. It was already 10pm she needed to get some rest real quick. She carried her phone to set an alarm, the meeting with the President is for 11am, but she should get up early to prepare and rehearse her presentation.

As she pondered on the most suitable time to wake up, she got a text from him! She didn't want to open it at first because she feared it would be something tempting, plus she has had a glass of wine at that point and her guard was struggling to stay up. She sha decided to open it, if he is asking her to come out she won't go, its not like force her.

Mr. Madaki: Please check your work email.

A/N(lol she has changed his name back to Mr. madaki on her phone)

He had done some modifications to their presentation based on new information he got from their tour and he wanted her to add it to the slides. He had typed everything already he just wanted her to copy and paste it since she is the one with the final copy.

She smiled as she did it because deep down she was low-key disappointed. However, it is good to know he won't disturb her again here. Or..... maybe he wants them to finish work first before he continues?

*****

Next Day 12noon

The Presidential palace was Majestic, opulent and low key intimidating. There were heavily armed soldiers everywhere. This one is military rule nah why were they passing it off as a democratic government. The meeting was supposed to be for 11am but they were delayed for 3 good hours!

He finally arrived, wearing black camo with a red beret; he looked just like his pictures she found on the internet. He is 42 but he actually looks younger than his age because he has baby face. 

On the surface he looks harmless and friendly O, but that is a face of a Man who singlehandedly planned a coup and successfully executed it against his own father, overthrew a man that has been in power since before he was even born. He claims he has sentenced the old man to life imprisonment but word on the street is he actually killed him, because no one has seen the old man since then.

His brother who was the father's right hand man is a fugitive on Terra de pérola soil. That one was able to escape the Coup alive. He was just as evil as their father was and this is probably why the President is heavily guarded because he knows his brother could strike back anytime. But no one has heard of him for 5 years now.

He has the full support of majority of his people but the woke ones who are mostly abroad are still critical of him. They want him to allow a real election to hold but he claims there is no opposition. But in reality that is because no one dares to challenge him. The ones that have tried it have fallen one way or the other and are now in jail for a crime they committed (/framed up for) or dead.

He spoke fluent English with an American accent, she read from his wiki page that he schooled in the US and worked for a big tech company before he returned to the Country to 'save it' from his ruthless father.

The truth is he is better than his father O. If his father was still the president they wouldn't even be here doing business with the Country. President João has made a lot of improvement in terms of their economy and jobs but there were still gaps in the human rights.

He apologized for arriving late, said he had an emergency meeting with his Chief of Naval Staff because of an attack on one of their vessels, he asked about Chief and said he couldn't wait to work with them.

He said he is a pan African and he prefers working with Africans and African Companies because his 'predecessors' were foolish and they trusted European and Americans too much who fooled them into signing away their oil rights  for 40 years because they did not read the fine prints of the contract properly.

Dare started the business discussion, he talked about their current associated gas and non-associated gas projects, then Mr. Obaze said something too before he asked Sofi to start the presentation.

Immediately she started speaking President João's eyes lit up with excitement. He paid attention carefully and even asked her some questions.

it's like he is very passionate about this gas project too. She thought to herself.

When she finished her part of the presentation, she sat down and he started clapping enthusiastically, everyone joined him.

"Good, this is brilliant!" He said to everyone in the room.

"And she is an amazing presenter" He said to Dare and Mr. Obaze and they both smiled.

Yay! I don blow internationally. She thought to herself.

"Thank you Sir" She smiled.

"No, thank YOU" He said looking her in the eye. "Now I understand how this whole natural gas value chain works, usually the only thing I pay attention to is numbers...dollars...money, haha" he joked and everyone laughed.

When Mr. Obaze started going into the technical aspects President João stopped him.

He scratched his forehead then said; "Now I am lost again, can Miss Sani take this part please?" He said almost rudely but Mr. Obaze smiled and nodded, Dare nodded to her too signaling her to go ahead.

"I am sorry if I sound rude Mr. Ob..." He forgot his name "it seems I only understand things better when it is coming from beautiful women" He joked again and Mr. Obaze laughed too then all the aides in the room joined them.

But the moment he said that Dare stopped laughing. He laughed at his previous jokes O, but this time he just raised his eyebrows then he looked at her, as if he wanted to check if she was oaky. 

Their eyes met briefly but she quickly looked away then laughed uncomfortably and started Mr. Obaze's part of the presentation, it was the technical part but she has done it before in Abuja and she is very conversant with it. When she finished, President João clapped excessively again.

They continued the discussion and at some point he made some slightly inappropriate jokes about how Nigerian women are the most 'beautiful'. Then he started diverting into other issues. He talked about how he 'supports' women and prioritizes them in his economic and social policies.

He bragged about how he has just completed a massive modern 'fashion center' in the City. And how he has invited global fashion brands to open their outlets there to collaborate with the local fashion industry and improve tourism. He said it is one of his 'women empowerment' programmes.

How exactly is that supposed to empower women, is fashion the only thing women can do how about you send more women to school to learn engineering, law, politics? He is so full of shit tbh. He probably thinks women belong in the kitchen. She thought to herself.

"Miss Sani, I'd love to give you a tour of the centre... would you be chanced this evening?" The President suddenly said directly to her and she froze.

That was directed at her specifically not at the whole team, Wait a minute, Is he hitting on me! She started shaking. What is going on with her these days! Why is she attracting men like this, how did she go from 1000% single to this? At first it was Wale talking about leaving his marriage for her, then Dare chasing her like a Tiger, then this a whole ass President of a Country! A PRESIDENT!

Is it the ileke?, she is not even wearing it right now, ever since Dare cut one of the of the strings she just removed the second one. Moreover, seeing it everyday reminds her of him so she has stopped wearing them completely.

She smiled and answered him "Urmmm.... I am not really a fashion expert I urrm..." Her voice was shaking and she was struggling to breathe.

"You don't have to be an expert" He shrugged, his eyes still on her "I am sorry I just..... you know I love hearing what women think about it, especially women from other countries" He added trying to disguise since there were people in the room but the look in his eyes said otherwise. She is not an idiot she knows when a man is hitting on her.

Holy shit! What is she supposed to say? She can't be rude to him. The man and his whole country is a potential business partner. They can't lose this billion dollar deal because of her!

Sofi, It is just a tour, his entourage will be there, plus he is friends with Chief, he won't try anything with you because of Chief?.....He can't be as bad as his father. She thought to herself.

So she decided to agree but, before she could open her mouth to answer Dare stepped in for her.

"We have a virtual meeting with a client this evening" She heard him say to the man. Looking at him directly, Dare didn't even attempt to put it nicely, he was being intentionally aggressive. Even the Aides in the room were shocked. Mr. Obaze shot Dare a 'What are you doing?' look.

President João raised his brows turned to Dare's direction and smiled wickedly.

He nodded then looked back at her and said, "Very well, what about tomorrow morning?"

Dare looked at her. He looked like he was thinking hard about another excuse to use this time. They are supposed to leave tomorrow evening, they cannot use flight time as an excuse because Chief's jet is still on ground waiting for them.

She was so scared because Dare looked like he was about to loose his composure and she knows him, he will soon say something to this man that will trigger him and get them all killed in this room.

"Your excellency, Mr. president" His Chief of staff cleared his throat. "We are meeting with the President of Spain tomorrow in Madrid"

Thank God!

"Oh! I forgot about that haha" President João chuckled and she finally let out the air she was holding in her lungs.

He looked back at her then said "Some other time then, Miss Sani"

They continued the meeting; there was tension between him and Dare all through the remainder of the meeting. Mr. Obaze really tried in maintaining the diplomatic energy but it was gone.

She was worried for them but most importantly for Dare. The look president João was giving him was scary, it looked like he was plotting his death in his head already, he didn't even flirt with her again or drop inappropriate comments, his focus was now on Dare. And the annoying Dare was unbothered, he was even still being passive aggressive to the man sef!

When they finished talking, he thanked them for coming with that his baby face smile again. He said he is sold and will definitely do business with them. He then asked them to meet with his Minister of Natural Resources tomorrow.

He stood up and all the guards and Aides that followed him into the meeting followed suit, they all took position, 3 guards stepped out and one stood behind him, while the last one made some coded statements into his head set, informing the guards outside that the President was on the move.

"Miss Sani, please make sure you contact one of my aides when next you visit my country, I still owe you a tour" He smiled at her one more time, it looked like he was doing it to trigger Dare and Dare was taking the bait. He couldn't even hide his anger anymore but he didn't say anything. She was praying to God to give him the wisdom to stay calm in that moment because he is a coconut head and its like he has forgotten that they are not in Nigeria, they are on foreign soil, they are on this Man's soil and he has total control and absolute power here.

He can just kill them all and put their bodies on the jet then shoot it down and make it look like a plane crash. His father has done worse to people that have crossed him. He has killed people that have raised their voices at him.

"Yes Sir" She answered nervously with a fake smile, he was already leaving but when she said that he stopped then moved closer to her side of the table.

His Chief of Staff low-key, rolled his eyes when he saw that he was still talking to her, he was tired of waiting at the door already. They are probably used to his womanizing ways. She is not sure if he is married, there is nothing about his wife or kids anywhere, but one time he dated a Black American Actress.

When he got close enough to her, he looked her in her the eyes intensely, lowered his voice then said softly "You can call me João"

Then he looked at Dare coldly one last time before stepping out.

🇳🇬 🇳🇬 Happy Democracy Day guys!

Next Chapter on sunday (Might drop one on Monday since its a public holiday)

⬇️⬇️⬇️Don't forget to vote ;)