False Pretenses 27

Ise was worried, he’d not seen or heard from Kite as he’d woken up that morning to an empty space beside him on the bed. She had left without a word and he’d been trying her number all morning but it had been unavailable. He hoped she was okay, he would have advised she took the day off work to settle down a bit.

---

He was presently on his private elevator on his way up to his office, it was almost noon now and had been ensconced in a meeting with a client all morning where he’d struggled to focus on the issues they’d been talking about.

It had felt good airing his heart out to her last night and sleeping with her by his side had been so wonderful, he couldn’t recall when last he’d had such a wonderful rest. He was keeping his fingers crossed and seriously hoping she would give a favourable answer to his proposal.

The elevator doors opened and Princess was waiting to give him his , messages and appointments for the day. He was only half listening, as he passed by Kite’s desk, noticing it was tidy like she hadn’t shown up all day.

“That’s all, Sir,” Princess was saying.

“Alright thanks.” He said

“Are you alright, Sir? You seem ….distracted.”

“Am good, thankyou.” He told her dismissively.

They were at his door now and he was about opening it when she called him back.

“Sir?” She said.

He turned to look at her well for the first time that morning “Yes Princess?” Their eyes met and she looked away.

“ummm, never mind Sir,” She said and turned to leave.

He frowned “Are you sure?” He asked calling her back.

She nodded “Yes, nothing really,” she said as she walked back to her office.

‘hmmmm’, now what had that been about? He thought but he couldn’t think about it for long, Kite was the real issue occupying his mind, where in the world had she disappeared to and why, for crying out loud, wasn’t she picking her phone? He really did hope she was fine, maybe she just needed some time alone to sort things out. Walking to his desk he decided to shift those thoughts aside and focus on work instead but he’d not even sat down when he heard a knock on the door.

“Yeah?” He called, probably Princess, he thought but as the door opened he saw it was Kite who peeked in.

His eyes widened in surprise.

“Hi.” She said uncertainly as she smiled that hundred watt smile that made his heart do jumping jacks, “ummm, can I come in?”

“Yeah, sure. I’ve been calling your line is switched off.” He told her, seeing that she seemed fine, not like he’d feared.

“yes,” She nodded, “I’m avoiding calls from you know who.” She replied as she approached his desk.

He watched her, she seemed really okay on the outside. “You left so quietly this morning and I just saw your desk cleared like you’d not come in today.”

“I’ve been at technical since I stepped in, the VILDE group project you wanted me to work on with the engineer, its almost concluded now and feedback from VILDE is good so far. He was filling me in on how it was going and since I wasn’t busy up here, I was with him for a while.” She explained then flashed him another bright smile “So, I guess you slept well, when I woke up, you were so deep into it I decided not to disturb you, so I crept out quietly.”

She was now standing quite close to him, he smiled raising a hand to brush her cheek, he couldn’t help himself “I cant remember ever sleeping so well.”

She put her hand on his, rubbing his hand gently “Then maybe you should get a refund for your mattress and sheets because they are not doing their job right.”

He chuckled as he shook his head at her wonderingly, she took a step closer to him, he was aware of the invisible energy between them. They were holding each others gazes.

“Thanks for last night,” She told him looking deep into his eyes.

He shrugged “Anytime.” He replied.

He dropped his hand from her cheek but she held on to it, still holding his eyes “I thought about your proposal.”

He raised a brow, as his heart suddenly began racing “Really?”

She nodded as she smiled, her hand tightening on his hand, she took a step closer to him “Yes.” She said

He frowned “And?”

“Yes.” She said again.

“Yes, what?”

She raised a brow “You want me to sing it?”

He laughed “You could if you have a nice voice.”

“I have a better idea.” She said and before he could respond she grabbed on to the lapel of his suit pulling him toward her and planted her lips on his. Ise’s hands naturally found her waist pulling her to him as their lips met.

She broke away smiling “That should be enough for now.”

“hmmmm,” He groaned “That was too short, I’m not satisfied yet.” He told her pulling her closer again but she put her hands on his chest and pushed slightly.

“Slow down, Oliver twist, we are at work, you know?”

“Work can go to hell,” he said, still holding her to himself “ You finally decided you go with the winning team?” He joked.

She laughed “Yes, but slowly please. You know I’m still you know……reeling from my heart shattering relationship?”

“I promise, I’ll go slower than a snail.” He said drawing another laugh from her. “you’ll be moving in with me, right?”

“hmmm, Now I’m not sure about that, we just started this thing and then there’s your mom- who scares me and your sister, what in the world are people going to think?”

“Kite, this is between me and you, I really don’t give a hoot what anyone thinks, I want you with me please, I want your presence around me , I just want to wake up and the first face I see should be yours, that’s the way you affect me for real.” He said and he thought he saw an uncertain look cross her face “Kite? Okay, if you’re not sure then let’s do it temporarily until you can find your own place? I promised not to rush you so lets do it your way, shall we?”

She seemed to consider it “Okay, I think that sounds much better, and separate rooms.” She stated.

“Why?” He protested.

“Moving slowly, remember?”

“mmm,” He grunted “I’m beginning to rethink this slowly thing.”

“Too late.” She replied “I have to get back to work now.”

“Okay, just give me a kiss before you leave.” He told her pulling her to him again, enjoying the fragrance she was wearing so immensely.

“I should add no kisses in the office to that list.” She said but not pulling away.

“That won’t work.” He said going in for another kiss when his door opened and Princess came in with Jeje and Vicky following behind.

There was a second’s pause as their eyes all registered one another’s presence. Jeje and Vicky were the ones more hit with surprise.

What happened to knockin? Ise wondered suspecting Princess had done this on purpose. He let Kite from his embrace but still made sure to hold on to her hand for everyone’s viewing, he needed them to see that he had nothing to hide.

“I’ll see you later, Kitty.” He told her and she nodded, her complexion having turned slightly red with embarrassment, he then turned on Princess with a serious look “Has knocking been abolished, Princess?”

“I’m sorry, Sir.” She apologised not meeting his eyes, “I thought you were alone since you just came in.”

Ise couldn’t tell if she was lying or not so he just let it slide, waving her out of the office before he turned to his sister and Victoria “Hi, to what do I owe this impromptu visit?” He pointed them to the seats facing him as he took his own seat, wondering wat Vicki was doing there that afternoon.

“Ummm…Jeje can you give Ise and I sometime alone?” Vicki asked his sister.

“uh, Ye…..Yeah, its okay….. I’m really here to see Tolly- I mean Tola in finance.” She stuttered as she took her leave hurriedly, all but running out of the office as if she’d sensed the growing tension in the room.

“Well, well,” She started as she took a seat opposite him “ I would never have pictured you as someone who frolicked with staff?” She said giving him some kind of look that Ise guessed was meant to make him feel guilty.

Guilty about what? He wondered, all they’d had was a lunch together, it wasn’t like he’d proposed to her so why she acting like he owed her an apology.

“How can I help you, Vicki? I wasn’t aware you were coming in to see me?”

“I need to make an appointment before coming to see you?” She asked back

“It will be better you do that next time.” He said sternly, he didn’t know what she thought she was to him but whatever it was, he had to set her straight.

She gasped “Oh, so I’ve been shifted into the business zone now?”

“What do you mean?”

“I thought we were getting somewhere, especially after lunch yesterday? I had so much fun and I thought you did too?”

“Yeah, I was until I found out you held back the part where you’d been married twice already?” he fired and it got her quiet, as realisation dawned on her.

“I..” She sat back in her seat as she thought of what to say “I didn’t tell you because its not exactly conversation for a first date.”

“Oh please! That’s not true, you deliberately held it back, I wonder why anyway, if you don’t have anything to hide?” He asked.

“I don’t.” She replied.

“You know what, let’s not bother going there, that’s a closed deal now.” He said firmly not wanting to be dragged into irrelevant issues “Lets move on to better things, namely the hospital project, I went over the proposal and business plan, I’m considering investing but I’ll need to have a discussion with the board first, they’ll be the ones to sign off on it. Is that good?” He asked as he watched her expression.

She was pissed and she didn’t hide it. Jeez! Just because of one lunch date, did she think she owned him or what?

She shrugged like it didn’t matter to her if the board agreed or not. “I came here to see if we could do lunch today but you obviously are very busy rolling in the hay with your employees.” She told him getting up, shaking her head as she got up “Maybe I misread you; I took you as someone who would be a lot more responsible.”

He got up after her, if she wanted to be like this and leave, it was fine with him, he didn’t owe her an explanation “At least I didn’t lie.”

“I never lied to you about anything.”

“You lied by omission.”

“I told you that’s not a first date-“

“Says who, Vicki? I told you about my failed engagement; maybe around that time you could have let me know something about yours too? I even introduced you two when we ran into her, I had nothing to hide and clearly I’ve moved past that relationship but maybe you haven’t and it’s best we leave it at that. If you want to be friends, I’m cool with it. “

“You can shove your friendship some where else, Williams! I don’t need this.” She said as she walked out of his office.

Ise raised a brow, what was with some women these days, he wasn’t interested, was it now by force? Apart from the fact that she’d held information from him, he didn’t plan on being with a woman who’d been in two marriages where both men had ended up dead. That was so eerie.

His phone buzzed and he answered as he sat down, putting it on speaker.

“Yeeup, Princess?”

“ Yoav Efrait from TANOIL, TelAviv on the line, Sir.”

He raised a brow, back to business now, he thought shoving the women problems behind “Patch him through, thanks.”

*********

Kenny looked up from his laptop as Princess barged into his office looking really angry and frustrated. He frowned at her but still noticed the cleavage revealing shirt and clingy pencil skirt she wore. Her face told another tale entirely, she was hardly ever smiling but this was something else.

“Hey P-babe. What’s got your panties in a bunch?” He asked smiling at his own joke.

“Could you be serious for once in your life, kehinde?” Princess asked him

“I’m serious, you’re looking like someone stole or misplaced your pack of condoms or something.”

Princess gave up with kenny and dropped into the seat opposite his “Its this new chick, Kite abi Kitty…the chick is harder than I estimated. she’s got Ise all over her, I don’t know the jazz she’s using. You should have seen them smooching in his office this afternoon.”

“You walked in on them smooching?” Kenny’s eyes were open with surprise. He would never have thought Ise had it in him to engage in anything other than work in the office. This was a first.

She shrugged, “I had a feeling I would catch them in a compromising position, so when Jeje came in with some other lady I’m sure is also into him, I took them into the office without knocking. You should have seen the shock on all our faces when we walked in.”

Kenny burst into laughter “and what did Ise say?”

She shrugged “he acted cool, like he wasn’t doing anything wrong, even held her hand in our presence and gave her a smile as she left. Kenny, it’s worse than I thought, he might actually be serious with this chick. As in Izy’s kind of serious. We have to act fast!”

“Whoa, whoa, Kenny sat up, what do you mean we?”

“Me and you ofcourse.” She said pointing at the both of them

“No, no, count me out, you’re on your own on this one, P-babe.” He told her.

“Come on K-K, you owe me a lot of favours and you know.”

Kenny rolled his eyes, she was right. “Why even bother, I’m sure its a fling, she’s hot but they have nothing in common. Besides his mom will never agree to it. So don’t work yourself up over nothing.”

Princess shook her head “I’m telling you this thing looks serious, besides you know how hard headed he can be, he doesn’t listen to anyone, not his mom or his father. When he’s got something he wants to do, he follows it through damning consequences.”

Kenny had to agree, Ise rolled with his gut instincts. “So what do you propose I do?”

“Take her out, like we did Izy.”

Kenny shook his head as he remembered vividly his last encounter with the chick at Ola’s party. “No way, that one is not as naïve as Izy. It won’t work.”

“How do you know, have you tried her already?” Princess asked him narrowing her eyes.

Kenny didn’t feel like narrating his embarrassing encounter with the chick to Princess so he said “just take my word for it. I know her type, they are not swayed so easily.”

“Wow, I never thought a day would come that even the grand commander of federal republic of Nigeria on intimate matters would shy away from a female. Wow, this day should go down in history.” She mocked.

Kenny pursed his lips “yeah, says the chick who’s been getting her boss to notice her for four years now without success. You should just give up already, I’m here for you or don’t I rock your world whenever we get down?”

“Oh please Kenny, you’re just booty call, you know that. I need something serious and with someone who matters, and that’s something Ise can give me.”

Kenny shook his head “I wonder why you won’t give it up already, if he hasn’t noticed you in four years, honey, he never will!”

“Spare me your counselling session, kenny, please! Let’s get back to why I’m here. Are you going to help, if you’re not just let me know.”

“Hmmmm, P-babe, I really do not want to get caught up in your girl fight issues-”

“Ohhh? You want me to go to Ise with the activities you are up to behind his back? The embe….”

“Shhhhh!” Kenny hushed her up quickly, ” reduce your voice will you? Do you want someone to hear? Look! Don’t act like I don’t give you your share! You’re in deep with me, if you rat me out, we’ll both go down together. That’s a promise!”

“Okay, okay,” Princess raised her hands trying to calm him down “let’s not go too far, I just need your help, okay?”

Kenny sighed giving in, he had no choice here “alright, let’s brainstorm and see if we can come up with something.”

*****

Izu was still very angry. Angry at himself, Kite but most especially Brenda! She’d brought this on him. She wanted to play games did she, well he would join her to play.

He’d done a lot of thinking after Kite had left and he knew he had to fight back. Who was Brenda to come call the shots on him?

He’d just parked in front of the house he guessed Brenda was staying in gwarimpa. It was a detached duplex, he wondered who she was staying with in the huge place, possibly one of her chairmen.

The time was ten p.m, he was sure she’d be in. He dialled her number.

“Izu. Do you have my money ready?” She asked as she picked up his call.

“Even better,” he replied “I’m at your gate.”

“My gate?” The surprise was apparent in her voice.

“Yeah, the address you texted me sometime back.” He told her.

“Oh? Why?” She asked.

He rolled his eyes, tempted to tell her it was because he felt like staring at the building but said calmly instead “I came to see you.”

“Izu, there’s no point, there’s nothing you can say, I’m not…”

“I have another proposal for you.” He told her and she kept quiet “can you come out?”

He heard her sigh “sure, but it better be good!”

“You’ll love it.” He said hanging up.

A few minutes later, the gate was being opened. He got out of the car, locking it with the security lock as he walked to the gate.

Brenda appeared behind it in jean cutoffs and a low necked tank, showing off the tatoo on the top of her left bosom.

Her hands were crossed under her generously endowed burst which his eyes were lustfully drawn to. He didn’t feel guilty looking at her that way, he had no obligations to Kite anymore and Brenda was a wh’ore so there was nothing wrong if he ogled her.

“You’ve wasted your time coming here.” She told him

“You’ve not heard my proposal yet.” He replied.

“Does that Mother Theresa girlfriend of yours know you are here?” She asked as she led him into the house.

“What girlfriend?” He asked. They’d gotten into the house now and before she could reply, he pulled her back into him.

“Izu.” She was surprised at first, ten resisted a little but half heartedly. Izu knew how he affected her, besides the girl was easy. He began nuzzling the curve of her neck as one hand cupped one of her soft full bosoms. He felt himself going hard down in his jeans.

“So, your girlfriend dumps you and you come running back to me?” She asked. “I really don’t like being second place to your dear girlfriend.”

“Stop acting like you’re not elated that I’m here right now…doing this to you.” He nibbled on her ear lobe and felt her smile.

“I’m happy,” she told him “but you’re still going to get me my thirty million bucks.” She told him as she turned aroundn and wrapped her hands around his neck. “You hurt me real deep going back to Kite like that after all I did for you.”

He tried his best to look repentant as he looked down at her “I thought she was the one I really wanted to be with, turns out I was wrong. She’s no different from any other who’re out there.”

“What did she do?”

“Jumped into bed with her boss, the guy is a billionaire or something..anyway, lets not go there, I’m her because I want us to be partners.”

Brenda’s eyebrows shot up “What do you mean?”

“I want to turn all this on Kite, er new boyfriend is a billionaire, I make her get the money from him and we split it.”

Brenda took her hands off his neck “No, no, no. I want my thirty million.”

“Oh, be realistic Bee, you don’t really think I could give you five million, talk more of thirty. Look, if you don’t accept my deal, I still get the thirty million, I disappear and trust me honey, you won’t ever find me no matter how hard you look. So what do you say?”

She smiled as she thought about it, wrapping her arms around his neck again “So, you and I, partners? Not a bad idea, how far is this partnership going, by the way?”

He had to smile knowing he had her attention now, “How far do you want it to go?”

She smiled at him “You are so bloody sexy, I would give up a billionaire to be with you.”

‘yea, right!’ Izu thought to himself “Like the one that owns this place?”

She smiled, “You like it? Belongs to one ‘Honourable’ I know. He’s letting me borrow it, its awesome, isn’t it?”

Izu nodded still staring at her, girls like Brenda never learnt, he’d used her before, how was she sure he wasn’t using her again. “How awesome is the bedroom?” He asked.

She laughed as she took his hand “Come and see for yourself.”