Aeipathy ➳ Normani ✓

twenty-one

C H A P T E R T W E N T Y - O N E

Mature Content + Trigger warning: the smut in this one's a bit hectic, no one gets assaulted/harmed or but it is a bit triggering. gonna put a (•∆•∆•) at the start of the scene for anyone who'd rather skip it.
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When Keith had graduated from the Nigerian British Academy nine years ago, it had been with great excitement that he had left home for Boston. He already knew the direction his life would take, he knew the magnitude of his purpose - he knew that he had to do everything he could to be the best.

He was nothing like many of the young men his age, who frolicked around in university with some half-baked hope that their degrees would give them the kinds of jobs that would satisfy them. He was the son of a Big Man, the heir to a powerful empire and he had shoes that he needed to fill.

He would never forget the feeling he got when the plane he was in began its descent into American soil - it was one of utter vulnerability. He had to navigate and conquer this new land and make a name for himself because he knew all that was at stake.

The first few weeks of freshman year had been awful because naturally, adjusting into his new home had been painful and unfamiliar and he'd been plagued with a homesickness so strong he had to fight tears.

But then he had came, seen and conquered and after the four tireless years at MIT he headed to New York, ready to claim the position of CEO in his father's company.

The first thing he had done to establish himself was to ensure that his office space boasted his energy to all those who entered it. He had been meticulous about colour schemes, access to natural light, modern and sleek appliances and furniture and such.

Naturally, it was a room that brought him great pleasure. He was his own man in New York with an entire company that answered to him, his father's most trusted representative overseas.

But here in Abuja, in the cramped office that had been made of wood that was far too shiny and the light that entered the room was too strong, Keith felt like a boy, still slaving away to earn his father's approval.

He hated his office space and he hated the fact that he spent so many hours stuck in there. He'd known that he could take a full on vacation, of course but had expected the workload to be moderate, but it seemed that his father's wants grew more and more demanding. It had all to do with the fact that after more than two decades, his father had finally decided to merge his company with his long-time friend Eugene Ladipo.

They'd spent the entire summer at the Ikande Tech Corp head offices. Eugene had brought with him his right hand man, Samson Adebayo and his daughter, Josephine. Keith didn't see the logic in merging a companies that specialised in starkly different fields but he, along with everyone else knew the story of Damola, Eugene and Oladayo - three men who'd met in The University of Ibadan over thirty years ago.

All three of them had come from very humble backgrounds and formed a brotherhood so strong it lasted for many years. They promised each other they'd one day start their own separate enterprises that would make them very rich and comfortable, then their end goal would be to merge all of their companies into one.

Oladayo Adebayo had passed away more than a decade ago, long before he could establish any sort of business and so, in honour of Oladayo, his son, Samson would own 33% of the company, the amount Oladayo would've had and so, Eugene had taken him under his wing. And soon enough, there would be a lineage of people dedicated to this merged company. Josephine was already expected to dedicate her life to this endeavour, which was why Keith found himself sharing his space with the girl.