False Pretenses 11

Kite was pissed. Pissed and getting really angry. Her patience had worn thin and was now hanging by a

slim thread to the last shred of her self control, just a little provocation now would definitely tip her over

the edge. She kept repeating to herself that she was in the respectable offices of Mr. Williams, she really

shouldn’t cause a scene here even though his P.A was acting like a bitch. Infact, she was a bitch, if only

she could see her, she would teach her a lesson on handling visitors who wanted to see her boss

whether they had appointments or not. By the time she was through with her she wouldn’t ask whether

a visitor had an appointment or not.

The bloody P.A had been receiving other so called important visitors because they had appointments but

had kept Kite waiting for over three hours.

This morning, she’d promised herself and her friends, Lucky and Di that she’d be on her very best

behaviour. She’d even borrowed Di’s best skirt suit for the occasion, the thing was a bit snug and short as

Di didn’t possess as much hip and behind and wasn’t also as tall but a beggar had no choice. She had to

make do with it, she was more of a casual person and couldn’t boast of a single suit.

“Mr Thomas, you can go in now.” The receptionist called out as she dropped the phone.

Kite’s eyes came up as she looked from the ‘Mr Thomas’ who had arrived not too long ago to the

receptionist who gave her an apologetic smile.

Kite got up and approached her desk. She knew the young lady wasn’t to blame, she took her orders

from the P.A whom Kite was sure was in the next office. “Could you please remind the P.A, that a miss

Kite Omoh is here to see Mr. Williams? I’ve been waiting for three hours now, even if I don’t have an

appointment or he isn’t expecting me, I’m positive he wouldn’t mind seeing me and I’ll be as brief as

possible.”

The lady smiled apologetic “I’m sorry but this isn’t my call, the P.A only receives people without

appointments when Mr. Williams is done with his business appointments and since you’re here on

personal business, I’m afraid that’s why she’s delaying you this way but please exercise a little more

patience, there’s no one else after Mr. Thomas, so I’m quite sure there’ll be no choice but to let you in.”

“Okay.” Kite was going to hang on to that for now, she was going in next whether the P.A liked it or not.

She would even like to see the woman or lady in the next room who’d kept her waiting all morning till

now.

Her tummy was even growling already, it was a good thing no one else was sitting beside her in the

waiting room or they’d have definitely heard it. It was one p.m and she’d not had breakfast thinking

she’d have that after seeing Williams but thanks to the mad woman in the next office, she was still here,

getting really hungry and waiting.

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She was sure Mr. Williams wouldn’t mind seeing her, he was such a cool person. So different from what

she’d thought he would be. It was easy to read him as arrogant and proud because he had a sort of air

about him and then he was rich as sin but then hanging out with him the day before she’d seen

someone else.

He was really okay, had cared for her making sure she’d been a lot better before he’d had a driver of his

drop her off at her place.

Breakfast had been something else at his place, she’d expected a simple meal but instead the dinning

table had been laid to feed not less than ten people with a variety of breakfast dishes, some Kite hadn’t

even thought existed. Like oats with fresh fruit and raisins or the cold meat sandwiches, what in the

world was that?

Her idea of a great breakfast was bread, eggs and a cup of beverage but the omelette she’d eaten had

made her eggs look poor. She’d never seen eggs garnished with so much vegetables, some of which she

couldn’t name. The best of it all were the pancakes, so light, buttery and milky, really sweet and then the

syrup she’d poured over it had tasted wonderful. She’d never known pancakes were eaten that way,

she’d seen him pouring the syrup over it and had copied him, gosh the thought of food was making her

belly protest uncomfortably.

How could he eat that way and still possess such a great body. She’d admired how trim and lean his body

looked in the T shirt he’d worn that morning. If she ate like that for a week, she was sure her hips would

triple in size, for some reason that was where the fat in her body chose to reside, people said it was sexy

but she was self conscious of it and tried to watch what she ate. She didn’t want to become another

Nicky Minaj, although she could make do with J-Lo.

Williams was a God send, he’d been there for her to lean on even though he hadn’t known her and after

all the trouble she’d made around him. He was a really good guy. Pity he didn’t have a girlfriend, the girl

who stole his heart would be overwhelmed by his love for her, she was quite sure.

She’d had a good time the morning before, talking with him over breakfast, nothing really serious. She’d

asked who made the meals and he’d said the kitchen staff in the main house. They’d talked about the

estate and she found out that it was run like a hotel with not less than twenty staff catering to the needs

to just the three of them. His mother, him and his sister.

She’d had a brief run in with his mother, that had been the only damper in the morning. She’d come in

asking why Ise hadn’t come over to her side for breakfast and had found him entertaining. The woman

had looked her over and surmised she was of no importance. Kite had said some sort of greeting which

she couldn’t remember, as she’d held the woman’s cold stare behind her glasses. She’d murmured some

reply before walking out of the room.

It didn’t take too much to know that the woman hadn’t liked her, Williams had been too busy checking

out the spicy sausages to notice anything. The stare she’d given Kite had left her cold, good thing she’d

only been passing through, she didn’t want to be left in a room with the woman. She could keep her son

because she wasn’t the least bit interested in him. He wasn’t exactly her type, too posh, she preferred a

down to earth person she could relate with on the same level.

He was a great person though, really a nice guy when you got to look past the ‘posh-ness’ and airs. He’d

insisted that she kept the diamond set when Kite had asked for how to return it since he knew she

needed the money but on getting home, she’d changed her mind on pawning it. The guy had paid a

million bucks for it, it was only fair he got it back and did whatever he wanted with it, the thing was his

and he’d had done so much for her already.

Unknown to her he’d also dropped a cheque of three hundred thousand in her handbag with a note that

it was for her mother’s surgery and she shouldn’t spend it on her hair and other frivolities this time.

She’d smiled when she’d seen the note but she couldn’t accept it. She was too proud, she wasn’t a

charity case and she wasn’t a beggar. He had to take it back, she would prefer he offered her a job

instead.

That was why she was here, to ask for a job. She was a graduate of business management, although it

had been about two years since she her last job which had been in a small organisation, the pay hadn’t

been great but she’d managed until her boss’s harassment had gone too far. She’d had to leave but not

40

 

before Izu had taught the idiot some sense.

She smiled thinly as she remembered her ex boyfriend again. She couldn’t help the thoughts about him

that kept cropping up once in a while even though she told herself she hated him and didn’t want to

remember him. He’d been her all, they’d had each others backs all the time, or so she’d thought, right

from hundred level at the university. He was Ibo and she was urhobo but that hadn’t mattered.

She’d been so into him and could swear that he’d loved her with all his heart, so it had been a shock

when he’d disappeared without a word or explanation.

All she’d been able to gather was that the job he and his two closest buddies had been planning had

gone wrong and they’d disappeared. The police were still after them, she’d been taken in for questioning

but Izu had kept her out of most of the guys’ affairs saying she was safer not knowing. They’d needed her

help sometimes for a few minor jobs, mainly to cause a little distraction but that was all he let her do. He

hadn’t wanted to endanger her by involving her in their schemes.

Now that she thought about it, she’d lived a reckless life, she’d been playing Bonnie to his Clyde at the

time, sticking to her boyfriend not caring that he’d been involved in shady schemes. All what had been in

her head had been her love for him. When ever they were broke, she shoplifted or stole to keep them

going until they had another shady job. She’d been foolish in her supposed wisdom. It had been fun but

really foolish.

Maybe it was a good thing Izu was gone, she’d had to turn to Lucky and Di, her friends from the

University for help and they’d made her promise to be clean before putting her up in their one bedroom

apartment. Kite slept on the couch since there was no extra room but it was fine by her, it beat sleeping

on the streets.

She’d updated the girls on the happenings of the weekend and it had been Di’s idea that she ask him for

a job. Kite had been sceptical but there was no harm in trying. A job was sustainable, and since he’d

been so nice to her so far and knew the predicament she was in, he just might find her something.

Kite was still lost in her thoughts when she saw Mr Thomas coming out.

‘Oh great!’ She thought, finally I’ll be going in but just then a well dressed female walked into the

reception, her heels clicking on the floor.

Kite watched stunned as the lady, carrying a brief case like that of a man’s strolled into the next room like

she owned the place, without so much as an acknowledgment to the receptionist.

‘Oh no, she didn’t!’ Kite was next, she’ll be damned if she was going to sit by idly while the whole city

walked into his office.

She got up, she would have a word with that P.A, by the time she was through with her, she was sure she

would begin to do her job better.

****