Tayo hadn't been bluffing when she'd assured Hope she was getting the job. On Friday, Hope went for the interview as scheduled. She was directed to the manager and once he confirmed she was the one that had been referred to him, he informed her she could start work on Monday and that was all.
Although she hadn't been expecting much of an interview considering she was applying for a cleaner's job in a hotel, she hadn't expected it to go that smoothly either. The Royals was no doubt one of the best hotels in the state so getting even a cleaning job wasn't supposed to be an easy feat. Hope kept it in mind to ask Hope just who her link to the manager was.
Getting the job however was the easy part. The real hurdle was how she was going to work without her family finding out, especially now that she had to live with her cousin. Val had called while she was still at the hotel to let her know she was ready to move in so Hope had to rush back home and about ten minutes after she got back, she heard a knock at the door.
"It's open!" She called, knowing it was Val.
As expected, the door opened and Val walked in, wheeling in a large traveling box.
"Hey coz," Hope greeted, getting up and taking the box from Val. She gestured around dramatically with her free hand. "Welcome to our humble abode."
Val chuckled. Playing along, she looked around like she was seeing the place for the first time and said, "Thank you. It's a nice place you've got here."
Hope laughed, shaking her head wryly. "Well, thank you madame. Come on, let me show you to your room."
Since theirs was a three bedroom apartment and two of the rooms were already occupied by Hope and her mum, Hope had prepared the third room for Val. She led Val along the narrow hallway and into the room that was directly opposite hers.
"So here we are. Does it suit your taste, ma'am?" Hope teased, a smile playing on her lips. They'd both known beforehand which would be Val's room 'cause it was the same room Val had occupied the one time she had been around for Sophie's wedding.
"If it doesn't, will you let me have your room instead?" Val asked sweetly.
"Haha, dream on," Hope scoffed, earning another chuckle from Val. "Settle in, alright? I'll be in the sitting room if you need anything. There's food if you're hungry as well."
"Thanks, Hope. I'll be out in a minute," Val replied, her smile showing her gratitude.
Hope nodded and left Val to settle in. She went back to the sitting room, settled back in her seat and began flipping through channels on the TV although her mind was occupied with different thoughts.
Growing up, Hope and Sophie hadn't been close to Val or any of her siblings so Hope wasn't especially excited at the thought of living with her. She didn't doubt Val was a nice person, she just wasn't all that familiar with her.
They were actually second cousins since it was their maternal grandmothers that had been sisters and for some reason unknown to anyone, their grandmothers had fallen out so their children hadn't grown up close, much less their grandchildren. It wasn't until a few years ago that Hope's mum reconnected with Val's parents.
Hope finally found a channel she deemed worthy of her attention and was already hooked when Val found her way back to the sitting room. Hope took notice of her presence only when she felt the seat next to her dip.
"Hey, so are you hungry?" Hope asked distractedly, her eyes still plastered on the TV screen.
"No, not yet. I ate not quite long ago," Val replied and Hope nodded, still absentminded.
They both sat in silence, watching the show playing on TV until the light suddenly went off, cutting short their show.
"This right here . . . is the exact reason I detest NEPA," Hope said with a resigned sigh.
Val chuckled. "Tell me about it."
Hope laid back down, not realizing she had sat up all through. That alone showed how engrossed she had been. She rested her back on an armrest so she was staring directly at Val. "So . . . still not hungry?"
"It's barely even been ten minutes since you last asked," Val pointed out, humor dancing in her eyes.
"Just making sure," Hope said with a shrug. Silence ensued until Hope decided again to breach it. "So mum told me you were initially posted elsewhere and only recently changed your workplace so I'm guessing your new workplace pays better than the former?"
"Yes, actually. I spent some months where I was initially posted but we were being overexerted with little pay and it got tiring. Someone helped me pull some strings to change to somewhere better but then I had to find accommodation by myself so . . . That's why I'm here."
"Makes sense," Hope agreed with an approving smile.
"What would you be doing all day by yourself while I'm at work though? Will it not be boring for you?" Val asked, her countenance taking on a thoughtful note.
"No, not at all," Hope replied hastily, her mind reeling to come up with a believable excuse. "Uh, so the thing is . . . uhm . . . my friend, Tayo introduced me to this tutorial group and we . . . uh . . . I've decided to attend. It's for the period of my holiday, about two months give or take. It's just to keep the brain fresh and prepare for next session, you know?"
Hope doubted she sounded credible given how the words had rushed off her lips so uncertainly but was relieved when Val nodded and said, "Oh, wow. That's a really nice idea. You'll keep yourself busy and at the same time study. That's great, Hope."
"Thanks coz," Hope replied, feeling guilty yet relieved.
They fell into another round of silence, this time more agreeable than the last. Hope picked up her phone and clicked on a game, ready to get busy but stopped when Val called her name tentatively.
"Yeah?" She replied, looking up from her phone and facing Val once more.
"I just wanted to ask . . . how well do you know Alex's brother?" Val asked, looking almost timid.
Hope raised a brow at how unexpected the question was. Teasingly, she asked, "Who? Uncle Raymond?" She knew very well that was who Val was referring to. Alex didn't have any other brother.
"Yeah, Raymond," Val replied with a nod.
"A bit, but not so much," Hope replied with a shrug. Watching Val's expression keenly, she asked, "Why? Is there something you want to know?"
"No, not really. It's nothing," Val replied dismissively.
"Are you sure?" Hope asked, drawing out the words. She was barely able to contain her smile when Val nodded while avoiding eye contact. Hope knew it wasn't nothing but decided not to pursue it further.
Focusing her attention back on her phone, it occurred to her that maybe her mum had been right after all.
• ~ •
Roughly three years ago, Raymond and his brother, Alex had officially become partners when they had succeeded in expanding their business and going international. They owned a chain of successful hotels in and out of the country and it would be humble to say they had done quite well for themselves.
When his brother had brought up the idea of having equal stakes in the business, it had definitely come as a surprise to him. Yes, the idea had appealed to him, but he knew how hard his brother had worked to build the business and he wasn't really sure he had earned it. Alex had been persistent though and Raymond had eventually given in.
Raymond loved working. To him, there was nothing as gratifying as investing time and effort into work and getting a productive result at the end of it. One of the reasons him and Alex worked so well together aside from the fact that they were brothers was that they were both driven and goal oriented.
Sometimes, the stress got a bit too much and the need to unwind got very strong. Most of the time, relaxing on his couch, sipping on his favorite wine while series binging usually did the trick but he had a feeling that wasn't quite going to cut it this time. He was stressed far beyond physically and he knew if he didn't get his feelings sorted, he wasn't going to really relax.
Raymond cleared up the last of his things, ready to sign off for the day. He stood up at the same time his door was thrown open and his best bud, Efe waltzed in.
Efe gave him a once over and his lips spread into a wide grin. "Now would you look at that? Talk about perfect timing. I came at such a good time, didn't I?" He threw both hands up for effect.
"Drama queen," Raymond muttered with a scoff, sitting back down.
"Yes baby, I'm your queen," Efe replied in a shrill voice, wearing a goofy smile.
Raymond chuckled, shaking his head at his idiot of a friend. "I don't even know why my secretary let you in."
"Because . . . " Efe prolonged, taking a seat opposite Raymond. ". . . she knows I'm the only form of excitement in your otherwise pathetic and boring life."
"Touché," Raymond admitted. "My life is not that pathetic or boring though."
"Really? Okay, you were just about to leave when I came in, yeah? What were you planning to do after leaving work, huh?" Efe asked but didn't wait for Raymond to answer. "Wait, let me guess . . . go back to your boring apartment with your TV as your only companion?"
Accurate, but Raymond was not about to admit that out loud. "It's not as bad as you make it sound."
"That's your plan on a Friday evening and you don't think it's sad?" Efe asked, his voice conveying mock sympathy. "Sad."
"Is this why you are here? To annoy the life out of me?" Raymond demanded, resting back on his office chair and raising both brows at his friend.
"No. On the contrary, I'm here to make your life better. I left work early so I can catch you here before you get home and give me the excuse that you can no longer come back out. We're going out to have some fun."
"And where exactly does this proposed fun live?" Raymond asked, his disinterest very apparent.
"Oh, wouldn't you like to know?" Efe responded with a smirk.
They commenced a mini stare down, neither willing to back down. Raymond was forced to break eye contact when his phone started ringing. He picked up the phone but muted it and dropped it back on his desk when he saw who it was.
Efe gave him a curious look and Raymond shrugged, not ready to explain.
Raymond caught his friend's intention a bit too late and Efe picked up the phone before Raymond could stop him. His friend's brows shot up when he saw who it was.
"Rose? As in Rose Rose?" Efe asked.
Raymond sighed, stretching his hand towards Efe. "Give me back my phone, will you?"
Efe ignored his request. "You're still in contact with this girl even after I've advised you over and over and over to stop talking to her?"
"My phone, Efe," Raymond demanded again, his hand still outstretched.
Again, Efe ignored him. "She's only using you. You know that, right?"
Raymond retracted his hand, slightly annoyed. He snapped, "Well, that's my problem now. Isn't it?"
Efe gave him a look that could only be interpreted as disappointed. "You can't be serious. Are you still in love with her, even after everything she's done to you? Is that what this is about?"
"Don't be ridiculous," Raymond chided. "I'm just helping her with some family issues."
"Family issues that she's been having for years which coincidentally always involve money, am I right?"
Raymond chose not to refute or deny it. "You won't get it."
"If you're referring to how you're just allowing her make a fool of you, then trust me, I get it, even more so than you," Efe retorted.
Raymond's phone started ringing again and he raised his brows at his friend, extending his hand once more. Efe shook his head and grudgingly gave the phone back to Raymond.
Raymond took the phone and picked up. "Hello?"
"Hi Ray, how are you?" Sophie's voice called from the other end of the phone.
"I'm good, Soph. How are you? And the baby?"
"I'm fine and Ella is doing great. I'm just calling to remind you of dinner this Sunday. It's been a while since you last attended."
"Yeah, I've been really swamped lately but I'll be there this time though," Raymond replied. He didn't want to admit he had completely forgotten about it.
"Oh, that's good then. See you on Sunday. I'll call later to remind you, alright?"
"That's not necessary, Soph. I'll be there, really."
"Alright, talk to you later. Bye."
"Bye," Ray replied a second before the line went off.
"Let me guess, Sunday night rites?" Efe asked.
"Yeah, I've not been in a while," Raymond answered. Shortly after Alex and Sophie had gotten married and Raymond had moved out of the house, they had fallen into a routine of having dinner together every Sunday.
"It'll be the first since Ella joined the family," Efe observed.
Raymond felt a smile coming on at the mention of his niece. He hadn't thought about it but he realized it was true. "Yeah. All done, are we still going out to this fun place?"
Efe tilted his head like he was contemplating something then he slowly nodded, standing up. "Sure. Let's go teach you how the big boys roll. After you, princess."
Raymond scoffed but didn't argue. He stood up, packed his stuff and made his way out of the office with Efe on his tail. He hoped whatever Efe had planned would indeed be able to alleviate his stress.
• ~ • ~ •
Who else likes Efe already? I know I do ;)
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