Donald watched the man sitting behind the huge mahogany desk surreptitiously. This was the third time a smile would flicker on his face and he'd daze off for a while only to shake his head as if dispelling the image and then take a sip of his coffee to continue working. Donald had an inkling why but he would not pursue it. At least not now. He'd bid his time until the right moment.
He and James were sat in Lucas's office, undergoing thoroughly the proposal by Mr. Luchtein, their Russian partner. He had liked the product despite the mishap at the office last week Monday, and now they were checking how much product they could possibly bring into the Nigerian market as well as to their investors. James thought they might have bitten more than they could chew but the persistent man behind the desk was willing to break limbs to meet the demands. Donald, on the other hand, did not see how last Saturday's visit would favor his plans.
He had called Sara yesterday afternoon to ask about her visit to her son. She was reluctant at first, trying to keep him out of her affairs and he did not like it very much. Now that she had connected with her son, she was kicking him out the door like he meant nothing. Eventually though, she had come around with a narration of how things went down. To his annoyance, she was very vocal about Lucas's absence and that worried Donald. The purpose of convincing her to get back into his life was to bring them together. It would be hard but it was possible. But if Lucas was being very professional about this, how would they form a bond between them? And more importantly, how would this help his cause?
This thought kept Donald on his toes all day and all night. He reviewed his plans over and over again, going through those magazines as though they would somehow magically have the solution. Perhaps he was going at this all wrong, he thought wildly. What if they didn't need a bond? What if all they needed was a custody battle? Would it help or more specifically how would it help Sara? He hated himself that his thoughts were driving speedily in that direction but a plan B was always essential.
He skimmed the magazine again, his eyes narrowing on the scandal issue. Perhaps he wouldn't need to do all the work by himself if he could get a little help. Women tend to react more when they have a competition. What are the odds this won't happen again? Talk about history repeating itself, he mused. Perhaps that was all he needed really.
Before he fell asleep, he had reached two ultimate conclusions. The first was to play it by ear and hope somehow those two idiots would start liking each other again. If jealousy was suddenly thrown into the mix, things could get heated. He had learnt a long time ago that life and love were that mysterious. The second was to be the precursor for things to happen. Dig into the possibility of Sara coming into a lot of money through her son. Lucas was devoted to that little boy, that much was clear. A devoted man would do anything to protect that which he loves.
By Wednesday, Donald had already put plan A in motion. It sounded like a total fail to his ears but he wasn't willing to scratch it off just yet. Houdini did not become a great magician by dwelling on the failure of his first show or the ridicules of the public. He was no magician but he was about to pull a rabbit out of his hat.
He walked into Lucas's office to find his boss reviewing some files. Now was the perfect opportunity to present his idea.
"Good Morning, Sir." He greeted with a cheerful smile.
Lucas cast him a glance and nodded, his eyes locked on the files in front of him. "Good Morning, Donald. What is it?"
He hated this man's professionalism sometimes, he fumed but kept mum. Getting the pink slip from a well-paid job like this was not a palatable idea. "I have some proposals for the refurbishment of the three new offices in the second and third floors, Sir."
"We don't need proposals for that, Donald. The maintenance department said they'll handle it and I already gave them my permission."
"Yes, but I have very good recommendations, Sir."
Lucas paused to look at him and frowned. "I take it you refer to that company you contacted to refurbish my house. I'm not particularly enthusiastic about them anymore."
Donald frowned too. Oh, the nerve of the man. "Is anything the matter, Sir?"
"It has nothing to do with the staff in general but I'd rather not run into my ex-wife every time I go to the conference room, Donald."
Denial was always the first phase. "Your ex-wife?"
"Please don't tell me you didn't know Sara Amadi and I have a history. It is the general office gossip here or am I missing something?"
"No, Sir." Donald shook his head blandly. He would not be deterred from this mission, however. There was a lot of things counting on its success.
He went professional. "Indigenous, growing companies, Sir, are good for business. You talk about philanthropy and the need to invest in the Nigerian sector always."
"Legendary is an indigenous company, Donald. Where are you going with this?"
"Valiant needs the capital. Legendary is a leading name in the interior design business. They work for thousands of companies in and outside of the state. We don't need to fill their over-flowing pockets with more Naira when we can invest in smaller companies."
Lucas said nothing and watched him for some minutes, brooding. Donald squirmed under the man's gaze, hoping he didn't give himself or his intentions away. "You are asking me to be altruistic. What do you hope to gain from all this exactly?"
A lot but let's not get into details yet. "Helping out a very good friend of mine. The assistant manager and I go way back. This is my way of saying thank you for all the times he helped me become a better person."
The billionaire laughed suddenly at the seriousness on his face. "You didn't do that the first time around?"
I did, actually, but now this was more for my benefit. "Well, what can I say? He really helped me a lot. I feel like what I do for him isn't really enough."
Lucas nodded, going back to his files. He ignored Donald for a few minutes but the man was determined. He would not waver, no sir, not today.
"I'll see what I can do and I'll get back to you, alright?"
Donald nodded, smiling at him gratefully. Plan A was well underway.
+++++++++++++++++
Sara scanned the newspaper slowly, frowning at all the red marks she had made on them. Dropping it back on the sofa beside her, she scrolled through nairaland jobs to search for more. There wasn't much on the site and the few she saw did not pertain in her area of expertise or general knowledge. She was gradually getting frustrated.
After meeting with her son on Saturday, she had come to the realization that she needed a job and fast. She needed a stable income supply to be able to uphold her visiting arrangements with Lucas. He didn't agree that Freddie would come over to her apartment yet, but they would get to that bridge soon and she didn't want to be living off nobody when that time came. It took her three years to achieve the level of independence she had now. Walking out of her job in a moment of anger wasn't the best decision as she was sooner going to see the repercussions. Even if said Job hinted that she'd be welcomed back anytime if she do wished, she still had her doubts.
She scrolled through her phone, reading things that caught her interest. A vacancy said hotel receptionist and a cleaner. She could do receptionist though but flipping out at the slightest provocation did not bode well for her income supply initiative. Another vacancy said office clerk but distance was to be a barrier. Lekki-Epe expressway could be stressful most times. She was rapidly running out of options and she didn't like it.
A knock on her door had her eyes darting to it. Sluggishly, she stood from the sofa and made her way to the door. She looked through the peephole before opening the door. Donald stood at the other side with a lunch pack from Crunchies. He smiled at her warmly which she returned and she stepped out for him to enter.
He went to sit on her sofa, dropping the pack on her center table as his eyes found the newspaper. He skimmed through it and a smirk painted his lips. "Unemployment is a bastard."
"Tell me about it." She shrugged, moving towards the fridge. "Water or beer?"
He declined her offer and she came to sit beside him on the sofa. Gingerly, they talked about their days, complaining and lamenting about the unemployment rate in the country. Sara knew he was here for something else but if he wouldn't bring it up, who was she to do so.
More than half of an hour later of him being in her apartment, he slyly went into the reason why he was here.
"Are you sure you don't want your job back? I know you told me Jeremy treated you badly but he and I are friends and I'm sure he's sorry for being an idiot."
Sara eyed the newspaper in front of her with a resigned sigh. "What is the use? I'm not sure any boss would love to continue working for someone who flipped them off and threw away her appointment because she was angry."
"Yes," he concurred, nodding his head at her. "You have a point but you have priorities right now and on top of that list is your son. After everything you did to get to him, you'd let pride come in between that?"
She kept mute, thinking about the impropriety of going back to her job. Once bitten, twice shy they said. Jeremy had tried to use her before. He would do it again given the chance.
"Trust me, I know how custody situations work. They can only allow you to be in your son's life when they see a steady income supply, something totally legit. Take your neighbor for example. You and I both know she would not have been allowed to be with her daughter if she was a jobless, koboless woman." He pressed, watching her.
"Lucas already agreed to our arrangement and that works fine." She would do anything to not go back to Valiant.
"And how long would that hold water?" He asked, interrupting her. "I know you don't want to but accept it for now until you find something better. I will continue to help you guys with minimal contracts as much as I can."
"Your future with your son lies in your hands along with the decisions to back it up. Think about it carefully, Sara," he admonished strictly.
That evening after he had gone, she sat on the carpeted floor with the newspaper in hand as she reviewed what he said. She was tired of staying at home day in day out while working on her paintings. Her paintings were her hobby, yes, but she knew she couldn't bring herself to live her life selling them. He was right, she couldn't continue like this indefinitely and since there was a job opportunity waiting for her, she'd grab it with both hands and be on alert in case Jeremy came up with another awful scheme. She dialled his number that night to let him know she would be returning to work the next day. To hear his enthusiasm had her skepticism rising.
Just before she climbed into bed to sleep, she sat down on her bed thinking about the rest of her conversation with Donald.
"I felt a tiny bit of disappointment that Lucas wasn't there to supervise things. I mean, it is his son's first time of being with his ex, you'd think he'd be bothered," he had spoken up.
"I'm confused." She really did not get his meaning.
"What I'm saying is that I couldn't help but notice him dazing out and staring into space on Monday. I know it's none of my business but I wanted to believe it had everything to do with you and this arrangement you guys have."
"Why would he do that and what makes you think it has anything to do with this? What exactly are you implying, Donald?"
He then looked at her with a knowing smile. "My ex-girlfriend told me women know this things like the back of their palm, but no matter. I'm saying quite confidently that Lucas Caspian-Asiegbu is attracted to you and I want to know if you felt the same way about him."
She didn't give him a definite answer. They might be friends but he didn't need to know the secrets confined within her heart. Was she attracted to him? Probably, if allowing him to kiss her senseless at the club and then not doubting when she seduced him accounted for the attraction. The real question was whether she wanted to be attracted to him. Attraction was a dangerous thing, and she knew from experience to not let it stick her to him. There is little guarantee a single attraction would not lead to many complications later. Just like it did five years ago.
"I don't care about what Lucas feels. I'm only here for my son and that's that."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I don't know what to say to this exactly but being unemployed when you need the cash can be really frustrating.
Fact: (this is funny actually). When I was thinking of a dope name for Valiants' competitor, the first name that came to me was Albatross. Only googled it recently to realize Albatross wasn't such a nice name. Google it too to see why😊😂
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