Three weeks later

6:35am Tuesday

Dare's POV

Dare's sleep was cut short by a call from Mr. Bakare. Cut short because he was up until 3:30am that morning waiting anxiously to hear from Gowon before he was able to close his eyes sometime around 4am.

"Hello" Dare was a little bit groggy but very much attentive because his sleep was still in the light stage.

"We need to talk" Chief said, almost in a whisper.

"Okay...." He cleared his throat "I'll be there in an hour," He added.

Dare fell back in his bed after the call. He wanted to catch 30 more minutes of sleep because he knows today is going to be a long day but as he recapped the events that led up to this, the sleep cleared from his eyes completely.

So, Alhaji Buba was arrested in Abu Dhabi 4 hours ago by Interpol for EFCC and is currently being extradited to Abuja. No one knows about this yet because everything from the investigation to the arrest warrant, to the extradition request was top-secret.

Gowon said the EFCC would hold a press conference as soon as he is taken into custody. Dare is not even surprised Mr. Bakare has heard already, the old Man has a lot of ears on the ground, he is only surprised at how fast the news got to him.

Chief was not part of the plan, he was in the dark the whole time. It was just him, the Minister and Gowon. Mostly Gowon actually.

That Sunday evening when Gowon dropped by, they had a long chat and honestly, after everything Gowon said Dare felt it was his duty, as a human being to turn in the evidence to the authorities because if he did not then he would be an abettor by virtue of his silence.

Dare had everything the EFCC needs to successfully prosecute Alhaji Buba. Not just for the embezzlement and Money laundering crimes, he also had hard evidence of Alhaji Buba's terrorism financing activities. Dare didn't even know about the terrorism part but Gowon linked it all up for him with receipts.

When Dare met with the Minister of Petroleum weeks back, he signaled her to officially forward the names of the companies that participated in the bidding round to the EFCC for 'extra vetting' as proposed by Gowon and that was all he had to do.

See ehhn, you don't want to be Gowon's enemy, that guy has people in every arm of the Government, in every MDA, in every city. His plan was so elaborate and meticulous and the funniest part is no one knows he orchestrated it all. All the files were sent anonymously, he has one cyber-security guy that handled the sharing of evidence files with the various authorities without it being traced back to them.

The EFCC is happily taking all the credit because this is going to be their first real big catch in a years.

Dare is sha happy the Alhaji Buba problem has been sorted, he can now focus on other matters in the Company. The news of his arrest will break later in the day, the Minister will meet with the President tomorrow to quietly revoke the award and reallocate it to another Company, a real Company.

He knows Mr. Bakare won't like this, this is a little bit extreme but, fuck it! Alhaji deserves this.

7:45am

The Bakare Residence

"It has come to my attention that....Alhaji Buba was detained this morning?" Chief asked calmly. It was a loaded question, he wanted to know if Dare had something to do with it.

They were on one of the many balconies in Chief's mansion where Dare had met him indulging in his green tea and watching the sunrise over the Lagos Lagoon. Both men were leaned over the balcony rails with Dare all dressed up for work while Chief was still in his indoor Jellabiya.

Dare nodded first then glanced towards his Boss "That's correct"

Chief raised his brows, Dare could see a little bit of panic in his eyes but there was no disapproval.

"How...?" He paused then looked at Dare again in astonishment. "Who?..."

"You know I can't tell you that" Dare smiled self-assuredly and Chief just sighed deeply then looked over the balcony once again. Dare cannot tell him it was Gowon, he cannot reveal that to anyone, that is one piece of information he is taking with him to his grave. They both fell silent for about a minute then Chief took another sip of his tea and gave Dare a stealth fist bump. As though he didn't want anyone to see. Lol.

"Sorry to interrupt Sir, you have a call" Chief's PA said "It's Mrs. Alabi"

As Mr. Bakare took his phone from his PA, Dare signaled to him that he was leaving and the man nodded. As he walked off the balcony, he could hear Mrs. Alabi's sharp voice laughing her ass off wildly on the other end of the phone. lol.

"No, no I don't know anything about it," He heard Chief say to the Woman.

*********

Friday 11am

Sofi's POV

Dare: SPECIAL dinner tonight, my place?

Dare: Booked us a Chef.

Dare: Do you like Mexican?

Dare: Let's try Mexican today

Dare: ....typing

Sofi: So... you finally have my time?

Dare: I always have your time love 😘

Sofi: 🙄🙄🙄

Dare: I am sorry now, mabinu 😊

Sofi: lol

Last weekend they were supposed to get away to a private beach house but the unku had to leave for Abuja. Man she tried to understand as usual o but this one pained her because, it is very hard to reserve this particular beach house.

The beach house is one of the most beautiful and exclusive in Lagos and she had to pull many strings to move up the waitlist. She also lost the reservation deposit because it is non-refundable, he has said he will pay for it O, but how is he going to pay for the pain of the full body waxing session she endured in preparation for their little getaway?

She had intimate plans of them sipping wine and whiskey (respectively) while stargazing because the night sky light pollution is pretty much nonexistent at the beach house since it is miles away from the city.

The werey even teased her when she told him about the stargazing plans, said they were definitely going to 'do it' under the stars as a joke...and probably to disguise but she knows he is a sucker for nature, he was looking forward to it too.

But las las sha SHE UNDERSTANDS.

Today sef he is kind of under pressure because he is chairing a board meeting on behalf of Chief in a couple of hours and he had other matters to attend to.

She finished reading the document she was working on and mailed it back to him then printed 3 copies. It was his presentation for the Board meeting; she was proofreading it for him.

She knows three certain Board Members, Mr. Akpan, Mr. Abdulrazaq and Senator Dele will claim they cannot see the screen or use their tablets and then the Board secretary would now call her to help so she was being proactive. She gathered the printed copies and walked over to his office.

His face brightened up when he saw her "Thanks" He said again, he had already responded to her email with a "Thank you Miss Ireti"

"Here" She dropped the papers on his table "You will need this for those troublesome old men" She smiled and he chuckled.

He stood up and walked over to her.

"So?.....are you coming?" He took her hand in his, she batted her eyelash playfully, and he smiled.

She was following him to do this love nwantinti in the office because Ada was not on seat when she walked in. And because she would hear her footsteps if she comes back, so she took the risk.

"Want me to kneel?" He took her second hand and leaned on his table.

"Yes" She said. Shebi he said she should 'give him hell' if he stands her up again.

He started going down but she stopped him.

"So that's a yes?"

She nodded.

"Thank you" he smiled, she wanted to walk off but he held her in place.

"Give me a kiss for good luck," He said as he inched closer to her.

She snatched her hands away from his real quick and eyed him, he laughed.

"You and who is doing that one in the office?"

"I am nervous" He lied.

She scoffed "You are joking right?"

She placed her hands on the lapel of his suit and his eyes followed them "You're not the one that needs luck for this meeting," She said as she smoothed her palms over the crisp fabric of the sharp blazer.

"Nice," He said casually.

She was confused "What's nice?"

"Your nails, I love them"

She smiled like one fool. Awwww he noticed my new nails? This is the first time he has complimented her nails. All of sudden she stopped feeling bad about the 'armed robber' bill the salon gave her last weekend lol.

He smiled and licked his lips in anticipation knowing he had succeeded. The Adrenaline rush she got from the fear of being caught kinda made her do it, she didn't have go very high on her tip toes today she was wearing high heels.

His hands fell to her waist as he deepened the kiss, slowly taking his sweet time as if they had all the time in the world. She had to break it.

"See you later," She said sensually as she dabbed the traces of her lip-gloss on his lips with her thumb before he will go for Board meeting with shine shine lips.

He smiled sheepishly as she sauntered out of his office.

She was feeling herself, feeling like one goddess but when she stepped out, she saw Ada back at her station and her countenance changed, mild panic followed as she wondered how long the girl has been back in her sit for.

"Hey! Babe how far? I didn't see you earlier" Sofi leaned over her table.

"Ehn I went to the ground floor" Ada said, she looked busy.

"You are scarce these days o" She has not been dropping by her office as frequent as she used to.

"Its work o" Ada whined, "He wants to kill me with work," She added in a whisper and both of them giggled.

8:30pm

She dressed up for the dinner, special dinner with him means NOT casual. She let herself into the house with her fingerprint, he added her biometric the second time he she visited. She checked out herself in the elevator mirror.
'See fine girl, this Dare is enjoying sha' She thought to herself as she smoothed out the satin dress around her hips.

The elevator door opened and he was right there waiting for her with a huge smile on his face. There was something in his mouth so he just flung his arms wide and she slid into them. He planted a peck on her forehead then took the bottle of wine in her hand.

"You look ravishing" He stepped back with a hand in his pocket. "Sorry, I started (eating) without you. I was starving," He said.

"It's okay. You didn't have to come pick me up from the elevator"

"I want to watch you walk," He said as he stepped backwards.

She laughed shyly. This one is not all right.

"Come on, walk for me, this is your runway" He smiled.

***

The dinner was set up in his kitchen. They had a female Chef today. One very instafamous one that runs a culinary academy in Lekki.

As they ate, she noticed he was heavily distracted on his phone. He was chatting the whole time and not focused on the food. Usually he would comment on the food, discuss extensively with the Chef about the Entrée, and talk about the history, origin, and stuff like that. Today, he was not talking; he was not mentally present.

She wanted to complain but............she does not want to be THAT girl that cannot give her man small space. She knows him, he is not always like this, he gives his all to this relationship and he is doing great. So she just ignored it, perhaps it is a spillover of whatever it is that has been keeping him busy.

"So how did the Board meeting go?" She knows he is not supposed to tell her what they discussed but she wanted him look up from the phone.

"Good, we are going to finalize the restructuring by the end the quarter" He sipped his whiskey then put his phone down.

Finally.

She smiled.

"What are we even celebrating tonight?" She chuckled.

"I have the most gorgeous, amazing and brilliant woman in the world," He said with a straight face. Now done with his main course he focused his gaze on her.

She rolled her eyes. "You're jobless"

Sofi saw that the Chef smiling at their little banter.

"What are we going to do for you birthday?" He asked seriously.

She shrugged. Her birthday is in two weeks.

"Come with me to Singapore, I have some private business to attend to there, we could make some plans around that, take a week off, maybe?"

"We cannot just disappear from the office at the same time?" She said. The birthday is on a weekday.

"Who says we can't?" He picked up his phone again. "Baby I don't care what anyone thinks, you need to..."

"Easy for you to say" She cut him off and he paused. She has come to realize that Dare doesn't need this job, he is actually doing Chief a favor by holding things down for him until he can get a permanent CEO. She is very sure he won't last up to 2 years in the Company. He IS indeed bigger than the Company.

From all indications though, he wants to move back to Nigeria but being the CEO of an Oil Company is not what he wants to do in Nigeria. The job does not even excite him, it is like a chore for him.

However, for her the job is everything, her job, her career is all she has.

He sighed, "Okay, think about it, take your time, I promise you won't regret it. Singapore is amazing." He continued selling the idea as she continued her forming.

"I just feel like all we ever do it eat and ...." He smiled.

She saw the Chef smiling again, deeply this time as she prepared their dessert.

"We've never gone on trip together you know," He said absentmindedly as he picked up his phone again.

"Urm, we went to Terra de pérola together," She reminded him.

He looked up "That does not count, and that was a stressful trip" He frowned.

"But that was the first time you confessed to me, so it still holds precious memories for me" She smiled.

"Let me confess again in Singapore this time" He said with a straight face and she almost choked with laughter. Werey.

Honestly, a trip with him is not a bad idea for her birthday, Toyin will be away, and Farrah...that one is a married woman now no she is always leaving early. It is just going to be her, Bisola, and other friends.

The Chef served dessert and she dove into hers immediately. It was cheesecake with mango habanero sauce. It was sha good; it was actually her favorite part of the dinner.

"This is really delicious Chef Titi!" Sofi complimented the woman and she smiled proudly.

She thanked Sofi and they chatted small about the ingredients, Inflation, Lagos rains, and Lagos traffic.

After the Chef returned to the counter, Sofi noticed Dare hadn't touched his. He was back on his phone again. Hian!

"Baby you should try this, it is really good," She said as she took the final bite of hers. She ate the whole thing in about six bites, (y'all know how these Chefs always serve tiny portions)

"I don't want to eat that right now" He said without looking up from his phone.

"Why?" She asked. This is so unlike him.

"It's too hot" He looked up "You can have mine" He passed it to her quickly.

She gladly took it because she wanted more it was mad.

"Since when did YOU start hating pepper?" She said as she took the first bite of his. Dare that can chew raw pepper with a straight face. Lol.

She dug her spoon into the elegant cake again then froze as what he was trying to say clicked in her head and she almost choked again for the second time that night. She raised her head up slowly and looked in his direction.

His phone was still in his hand but his eyes were on her and he had that naughty and smug smile on his face. She had to pause to drink cold water, not wine, because her face was heating up and the heat was spreading real fast.

He was enjoying every bit of her reaction. He started chuckling silently as she poured more water for herself.

"Come here" He whispered to her as he put his phone down when she finished drinking her water. He looked so freaking hot in his white shirt and Jeans and the way he was looking at her at that point ehhhn, she almost obeyed, but her gaze flew towards the Chef's direction.

"Madame Chef...." He said nicely "I'll clear up the kitchen. Once again, thanks for coming on such short notice" He said as the woman sharply packed her stuff together trying hard to stifle her smile and stay professional but failing miserably. Sofi knows she heard everything. LOL!

****

2 Hours later.

11:45pm

Sofi opened her eyes when she heard his voice on the phone, he was speaking Hausa and he sounded a little bit apprehensive but she didn't turn around. She didn't want to get all up in his business. She knows he said she is 'a part of his space' but if he is not telling her what's going on then maybe he has his reasons.

She had slept off in his arms earlier after a wild session that started from that kitchen table and ended in his bed. He actually slept off before her sef, she's surprised he still has strength to be making calls this night. She peeped in his direction without turning herself fully, it was dark but she could make out his silhouette, he was standing by the window.

She closed her eyes back and pretended to be asleep. When he finished the call, he came back and sat on the bed, pulled the duvet over her and continued chatting on his phone. He looked worried as he typed quickly on his phone. Mehhn she could not take it anymore. If he has a problem, she wants to know; even if she cannot help, she wants him to know at least. He should be able to share his problems with her, she shares her problems with him all the time.

"Baby? What's going on, who are you talking to?" She said softly.

He looked surprised when he saw that she was awake. He ended the chat and closed his phone then climbed up the bed with her.

"Hey... you're up?" He said as he ran a hand through her hair.

"Who was that?" She asked seriously. He is not going to distract her again with his sweet tactics.

He sighed small then smiled. "Its work"

"What is going on?" Her heart started racing faster.

"Okay listen, I'm going to tell you something and you cannot tell anyone else....yet. I've been holding this back because I wasn't so sure about it but, now I am certain"

She did not know whether to be scared or excited at this point because he was smiling.

"Okay" she nodded nervously.

"We won the block" He said.

"What?" whaaaaat!

He nodded "You guys did it"

A/N: Urghh, I hate writing the politics/Ahaji Buba part it is so stressful and boring.

Also, I can't wait to scatter this relationship. I am tired of writing sugar I need to serve the 'breakfast' before September ends, so expect an update before October 1st.

Sorry about the late update, you guys amazing!!!

⬇️⬇️⬇️Don't forget to vote ;)