"Tilewa, I'd like you to be at the meeting with the execs from YSG when they come by today."
Tilewa looked up from the computer she was working on and stared at her boss -Sinclair Phillips- like she had grown a second head, dressed in a bold purple gown with fuchsia pink heels in a combination that Tilewa would have imagined to be a nightmare to colours. Sinclair was quite the fashion icon as she managed to make this absurd colour medley work.
"What?" Tilewa asked nonplussed.
Sinclair went on to repeat her statement.
"Oh I heard you the first time, but the meeting with YSG is meant to be with the creative team. I'm not a creative, I'm just your assistant"
"And I am the Creative Director; so technically, you're part of the Creative Team," Sinclair said.
Tilewa sighed and gave her boss a hard look. "What's this about?" she asked.
Sinclair started to shake her head and was about to give a dismissive answer when Tilewa raised an eyebrow as if to say 'do-not-dare-lie-to-me'.
"Fine," her boss said with a sigh. "The guys from YSG never really like my pitch whenever they come by, but the last time you joined us in a meeting, things went a lot better than I would have normally expected, so I would like you to be there. You are my good luck charm."
Sinclair cringed as she beheld Tilewa's incredulous expression.
"Please Tilewa, I beg you," she began, cutting off whatever her assistant was going to say to send her point down the drain. "I need to nail this pitch for YSG to finalise the partnership. The MD called me to her office last week to ask why I haven't already bagged this deal. Please just help me."
Tilewa pursed her lips in a semi-pout as she always did whenever she was considering something she didn't like, before consenting with a sigh.
"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" Sinclair gushed excitedly before running back to her office.
Tilewa just stared at her retreating form in awe. Her boss was 6 years older than her and was one of the most creative minds in the game, but she was so child-like in her thought process sometimes and was always very disorganised; spontaneous announcements like this were her stock in trade. Just 3 months ago, Sinclair had asked Tilewa to become her assistant instead of serving as her secretary because she could barely keep up with her own life, with her disorganised nature and inability to even plan her own life accordingly.
She was a very free-spirited person who could alter the course of her whole life on a whim or a random thought. Tilewa's ability to pin her down to achieve her tasks and manage her life had Sinclair promote her from secretary to assistant with a significant percentage increase in her salary.
Shaking her head, Tilewa went back to her task on the computer system. The meeting was not for another 2 hours and she still had a lot that she could accomplish within that time.
***
"Tilewa! Tilewa! Tilewa! He's here! They're here!" Sinclair all but screamed, running out of her office with the sound of her high heels clitter-clattering all over the place.
"What?" Tilewa checked her timepiece; it was 15 minutes to the time of the meeting.
"They're here already, the execs from YSG!" Sinclair screamed.
"Okay, calm down," Tilewa replied, standing up to adjust her clothes. She was glad she had chosen to put on her mint coloured pantsuit with a white dress shirt and the green print shoes she had gotten for herself as a birthday present last year.
"Go downstairs and greet them for me," Sinclair declared.
"What?"
"You heard me! Go downstairs and greet them, then usher them to the board room."
"Uhm... that's not in my job description, we have staff that are paid to do that, besides, the people from YSG-"
"Tilewa, what is your problem? You're always so stubborn! I told you already, you're my good luck charm, now please go and specially usher the YSG executives up to the board room so that we can finally seal this deal and add them to our client list!"
Sinclair's tone made it obvious that her assistant was not going to be able to argue her way out of her assignment, so said assistant meekly pressed her lips together in a sign of disapproval before going ahead to perform her designated task.
***
"Thanks for coming bro," Alex said, hugging his longtime friend.
"Anything for you my guy. So when is the meeting?"
"In a couple of minutes. I just wanted you to come to hear the creative team's pitch with me. I'm not too sure about them and I cannot be pumping the amount they are billing without getting the full worth of my money."
"I understand you, bro. With the way things are going in this country one, cannot make unfruitful commitments."
"Exactly, the Creative Director is smart and quite young, but I don't know," Alex dragged the last word with a sceptical tone to his voice.
"Don't worry bro, I'm here for you."
"Thanks, man," Alex said clapping his friend on his back.
"Good afternoon Mr Braimah," a foreign voice said from behind causing both men to turn simultaneously.
Ekene sucked his breath as he saw his mystery woman, looking so much like a snack and dressed to kill. She approached them and he could only watch as she greeted his friend.
"This is my friend, Ekene Okafor, he's going to be with me at the meeting," Alex said, gesturing to him after shaking her hand.
"Pleasure to meet you, Mr Okafor." She extended her hand to Ekene then and he took it, his gaze unwavering as she stared up at him. The look on her face bore no recognition. If she recognised him, she did not give any indicators to show that she did.
"Gentlemen please come with me," she said spinning on her heel and ushering them into the board room.
"Guyyy," Ekene tapped his friend as soon as the lady walked ahead of them. Alex looked up at him in response.
"Shey you remember the babe wey I tell you say I meet for bar the other day? The one wey I tell you say she run comot for my house for night?"
Alex laughed at the memory.
"Shebi you talk say, you no fit smash anybody after her? Wetin happen?"
"Guy, na she be that."
"What?" Alex asked taking off his glasses.
"Guy, I swear na she be that."
"Wait o, this same babe?"
"I fit use my mama swear, na she!"
"Na wa o, small world."
"Like, I've not been able to just have a one-night stand in peace since I met her."
Alex laughed. "Na so she use jazz hold your konji reach?"
Ekene laughed at his inference. "Bro, it's not that. Like, I just connected with her on this whole other level you know and, I don't know... I guess I've been looking for that connection ever since and... she just turned me on in a different way I guess."
Alex laughed at the look on his friends face. "Maybe she's the one that will finally tie you down."
Ekene walked next to him, admiring the lady walking ahead of them and realised he would not mind if a woman like that could tie him down.
***
Tilewa rushed back to her office and as soon as she shut the door behind her, she leaned against it and let out a ragged breath.
She was confounded, to say the least. How did her almost-one-night-stand end up here?
As soon as she laid eyes him, she had recognised him immediately and had to school her features and maintain her composure. But here and now, within the confines of her office, she was losing it. With a deep breath, she moved over to her table and collapsed in her seat, rubbing her temples in a circular motion to hold off the migraine that was steadily thrumming through her cranium. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she exhaled as she tried to gather herself together.
A knock on the door made her look up at whoever made their way into her office. It was the new intern on the creative team.
"Uhm," he began in a pensive tone. "Sinclair is waiting for you in the board room."
Tilewa gave a nod before responding. "I'll be there in a minute."
Sinclair had told all her staff to address her by her first name, formalities unnecessary to her and she wanted to breed a work environment where people were not scared to air their divergent viewpoints regardless of whatever factors. Tilewa did not understand her boss and her modern ideologies or unorthodox approach to virtually everything but it seemed to get the job done so she kept her opinions to herself and did as she was asked.
With a sigh, she picked herself up and made her way back to the board room.
***
Alex Braimah was no fool and he could never be swayed with weak arguments, that was already a given. However, his friend was a completely different case entirely. Ekene paid attention to the last measure of detail and questioned every single bit of information that their team provided. The group was completely shaken up by the end of the deliberation process and it was a shock that YSG agreed to partner with their firm at the end of the day.
Tilewa watched Sinclair mouth the words "good luck charm" to her as their new partners signed a contract of engagement. Rolling her eyes, she bent to pick up the files Sinclair had left behind carelessly on the table. She made a straight beeline for the door, eyeing Alex Braimah's companion from the corner of her eye making sure he was not paying any attention to her exit. Just as she was about to step out the door, her colleague, Janet blocked her.
"Tilewa, I think you mistakenly picked up my file."
Tilewa checked her peripheral vision to be sure Ekene was not paying her any attention. She wanted her to escape to be as uneventful as possible.
"Oh I didn't know that, why don't we stepped outside and I'll check?"
"Bring them, let me check."
"Jane, I don't have time for this, let's go to my office and you'll take it if it's there."
"Why must we go all the way to your office? Give me the files jo!"
Tilewa gave an exasperated sigh. Of all her colleagues, Jane was the most insufferable. Instead of arguing any further, she handed over the files to her and side-stepped; about to make a run for it.
"Tilewa hold on for a second!" It was Sinclair this time. She tried desperately not to look back and instead faked a fumble and bent to dust whatever off her clothes, anything to make her act look believable.
"Tilewa please come," Sinclair said this time.
Closing her eyes, she turned around and kept her gaze fixed on her boss who was standing a few paces away from the door. By the time she made it to Sinclair; she dared a look at where Ekene stood less than a minute ago to see that he was no longer there. Her curiosity got the better of her and she turned to check behind her.
Bad move.
He was right in her line of sight and had been staring. She averted her gaze and tried desperately to get Sinclair to walk out of the room with her.
"Calm down na, are you even listening to what I'm saying at all?" Sinclair spoke, clearly annoyed.
"So sorry, I have to pee." Tilewa lied.
"Is that why you're fidgeting like this? Jane, please come" Sinclair beckoned.
As Jane made their way to them Tilewa realised that the files were no longer in her hands.
"Jane, where are the files I gave to you?" Tilewa questioned before her boss could even get a word out.
"They're with him," Jane said, pointing behind them.
Tilewa dared a glance and cringed internally.
Ekene made a show of being absorbed with the content of the files in his hand.
"Why would you give our company documents to a stranger?" Tilewa interrogated.
"What's your deal? The content of the files have already been shared during the meeting, collect them when he's done and go ease yourself or whatever. Jane, let's go." Sinclair replied and strode out of the room with Jane almost immediately.
Tilewa spared a glance at the board room and realised that they were suddenly the only ones left. Steeling herself, she turned to the man behind her. He was now leaning against the table, the look of concentration on his face as he studied whatever he was reading which was obviously an act, he had just spent 3 hours drilling the Creative team about the content of the files, there was no need for him to be interested in whatever was inside them. The smirk on his face, however, told a completely different story. A more believable story. He had baited her up till this point and there was nowhere to run.
With no other option than to man up and get out of the awkward situation she had mysteriously found herself in, she piped up "Hi."
"Hi" he replied, slowly lifting his head from the blasted files and staring straight at her. "I would never have expected to see you here."
She shrugged, at a complete loss for words.
"You didn't say goodbye when you were leaving," he stated casually, straightening up from the table and moving closer to where she stood.
Tilewa took a deep breath. Covering her face with both hands in shame, he stood right in front of her and chuckled, his gaze unwavering.
"I am so embarrassed." She peeked one eye at him to find him still staring down at her with an amused expression.
"How about you make it up to me by letting me treat you to dinner?"
Not what she had been expecting. Without missing a beat she responded: "Alright then, when do you have in mind?"
"How about tonight? Right now, in fact?"
"Right now?"
He shrugged "Why not?"
"You don't expect me to just up and leave, this is my workplace, it's not even time for me to clock out"
"I could always tell your boss I'm taking you to dinner..." Ekene suggested.
"Uh... you know what" she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, imagining a hundred scenarios where her boss teased her about Ekene "Let's do this later in the evening" Tilewa suggested trying desperately to reach a compromise
"Alright, when do you close off work? I'll be here to pick you"
"In like..." she gazed at her wristwatch, it was quarter past 4 "two hours"
"Great it's a date" he spoke coolly as he strode out of the conference room.
_____________
And that's a wrap!
Photo credit goes to the stunning Professionista, Buhle. You can check her out on IG @buhle_m
She was gracious enough to allow me to use her pictures to portray Tilewa's character.
Writing this story has been such an experience for me, this is the first story I've completed since 2014 and I'm very excited to share it with you all. However, the first draft is not what it should be and is undergoing serious editing, so I'll be updating this book twice a week, I apologise for whatever inconveniences this may cause.
If you enjoyed this chapter don't forget to hit the little star at the bottom of your screen. Drop your comments and share!
Chapter 3 will be posted on April 8th 2020.
xxx,
Mure👑