89: Silence and angry faces.

KIKI.

When Giovanni had asked me to show the guests out, I had decided to do just that without saying anything at all to them but as soon as the doors to the elevator closed on us, Claire opened her foul mouth to speak as I had expected.

“You know, for someone like you who’s always acting so righteous talking about how you can never use your body to get money for any reason at all, I’m quite surprised that you’re at this position right now even without your own merit. I'm even more flabbergasted at the fact that you even dared to take it when it was obvious that you aren’t deserving of it.” She started.

“Oh, she didn’t use her body, baby. She used her mouth, she sucks his dick as amazingly as possible. She has something called vaginismus, remember?” Julian chipped in, in the most sarcastic tone ever.

I decided to ignore them both even though I was practically boiling deep withing me, the scores I still had to settle with those two was etched on my heart and it still caused me so much pain that I wish I could inflict on them.

“Yeah right? You know that this bitch always rubs it in my face every now and then whenever I was stripping, right? She’d make me feel like I was so bad and wrong for the job I had chosen to do, now look who’s doing something similar in the most degrading way even. At least, for me, I do my shit with pride without hiding under the good girl umbrella, for her? It’s pure hypocrisy. She’s typical type of person who abuses what they do secretly and gets annoyed with people who does theirs proudly and publicly.” Claire threw subtly.

“I never made fun of your job and you know that, Claire. I never made fun of anything at all!” I finally surrender to the urge to speak and I regretted it, almost immediately.

“Oh shut up! I can’t count the amount of times that you called me a golddigger for wanting good things in my life and here you are trying to dig for that same gold here. Karma is a bitch, isn't it?"

“It definitely is, Claire, but one thing you should know here is that there’s nothing like karma in this one cos I’ve done absolutely nothing wrong at all. But then, you can belive anything you want of course, I know how hard it’ll be for you to believe that a fellow female didn’t need to use her body to get to this place that she is at and honestly, I don’t have any point to prove to you. You don’t matter, not anymore.”

“Oh, I don’t matter yet here I am with the man that was yours just because you didn’t care enough to own him properly and take care of him. Next time you get a man in your palms, Kiki, learn to keep him properly or another sharp female will come snatching him again." Claire said as she laughed in my face.

“Oh, I’m glad you got the man that you would need to baby all day of your life, I don’t want it. And no one can snatch a real man, they aren’t objects or toys, only a man who wants to be snatched can be snatched and I also don’t want one of those. A man that you can’t even trust to keep their legs closed should you decide to leave him alone for more than a day. Keep him, he belongs to the streets, I’m actually glad that you got him cos I deserve better.” I simply said with the calmest demeanour that I didn’t even think I had in me.

“You can keep telling yourself that but we both know how you truly feel, you can take my advice or be stupid twice. Your choice.” She responded.

The elevator doors opened up as we finally got to the car park. I watched as they both towards a luxurious car, and after throwing me an egoistic wink, they both got into the car while Julian pressed on the horn as loudly as he could before speeding right past me. And it was obvious that they were trying to tell me that they were living that luxurious life that I was obviously missing out on now.

I scoffed before turning and attempting to go back to work but then I was immediately shoved against the nearest wall by two men which I immediately recognized without even trying too hard.

The sharkloners.

The same people I had tried so hard to avoid for months now, the same people that had threatened to have me trafficked if I didn’t have their money the next time they set their eyes on me. And I was staring right at them at this moment.

“We found you! Finally! Did you think you could hide from us for so long? Uh! Did you really think you could escape us? You bitch!” The short one of them who happened to be the more violent one said with his mouth so dangerously close to mine as his foul breathe that smelled like a mixture of Urine and cigarette poured into my nostrils.

“I… I’m sorry, Jack. I wasn’t trying to hide from you and I’m honestly gathering your money already.” I said, maintaining my confident stand even though I was very scared inwardly.

“Kiki, Kiki, Kiki. You beautiful thang. Why do you keep running from us, hon? We would not do any harm to you, did you think we wouldn’t know that you got promoted to the position of an Exceutive assistant in a big brand like Callisto? It’s a popular story already, my darling. A sales associate suddenly gets promoted to the position of an EA even without the right qualifications, person in question has been spotted in compromising positions with her boss a lot of times. Is this another sex in exchange for climbing the corporate ladder?” The well built and huge one , who also happens to be the calm one said in an animated tone.

Now even if the huge one was calmer than Jack, he had this creepy voice that scares me to the bones, he seemed like those kinda people who would speak sweetly to you just to stab or cut your head off afterwards, the psychotic kind of killers. And so, I sometimes find myself preferring Jack over him.

Better to know their next move than to be taken by surprise.

“Uhm, I honestly plan on paying you guys this month, Enoch. Believe me, please.” I pleaded but then I was suddenly being choked by Enoch as he spoke angrily, “believe you? Are you out of your mind? Do you not see where trusting you has gotten us to? Your dad died years ago and you kept paying us in small bits and till now, you’re yet to finish up, are we supposed to keep believing you till we get old and die off? Do we look dumb? Am I dumb to you, Bitch?! Am I?” He said as he raised his other hands to strike me on my face.

I flinched and had my eyes closed waiting for the harsh contact on my skin but it never came as I was instead released from the chokehold that I was in and as soon as I opened my eyes, they came in contact with a man’s form as he held Enoch’s huge hands up there, thus stopping him from hitting me.

And when I looked properly, I discovered that my saviour was Luca.

89. Hair clips and confessions

KIKI.

I was presently seated at a Café with Luca and I kept looking at everywhere in the space but him. After he succeeded in calming the sharkloners down and possibly deceiving them with promising to get back to them himself, they reluctantly left me alone, but only after threatening to be back again and do much worse if I didn’t get back to them in my own and earlier even.

They had threatened me using Jojo this time around as they said they would have trafficked to be used as a maid in another country or possible have his organs harvested.

That was nothing short of scary for me such that immediately I had confirmed that they had left, I called his school and warned them not to let any strange person other than Grace and Rose to pick my brother up for any reason at all.

“Are you okay?” Luca finally spoke to me after we’ve sat down in silence for minutes. I liked the fact that he noticed that I was spooked at first and probably didn’t want to talk so he gave me that little space and time needed.

“Uh… I honestly don’t know. I don’t think I am.” I replied, still refusing to look at him. The cappuccino and snack I had before me suddenly seemed so interesting as I stared so much at it like it was a specimen I was to study and write observations about in a biology class.

“I’m so sorry about what had happened to you… nobody deserves that.” He said.

“And I’m so glad that you had showed up at exactly that time, I mean, who knows what would have happened if you hadn’t shown up. I would probably have to show up at work with brusies all over my face. So yea, I’m very grateful for your help, what were you at Callisto for, by the way?” I questioned, trying to deviate the conversation from what had just happened.

“I was actually there to see you, I wanted to give you this…” He let out as he held my hands and put a hair clip in my hands. I noticed that it was one that I had worn to the executive assistants party the previous day.

And I actually cherished that particular hairpin a lot, it was a gift from my dad, I wonder why I hadn’t even noticed it missing yet.

I took the clip before looking back up at him, “You really came to give me this? Thank you so much, it’s actually a pricey possession of mine.” I said to him.

“Yea, I figured, that’s why I knew I had to give it back when I found it. Now, that asides, Kiki, do you want to tell me what that was about?” He asked, looking very concerned.

I decided to feign naivety at his question first, “what was what about?” I asked.

“That? The thing with the sharkloners? How did you even get entangled with them? They are not people to be taken lightly, Kiki, they don’t makes jokes, neither do they make empty threats? Why are you involved with such people? Why borrow from them when you could have asked for advance payments from your boss instead?” He questioned, going on and on.

“Oh, no. The sharkloners are way before Callisto, I’ve been entangled with them for years, it’s a miracle that I haven’t even died by their hands yet. My dad had an accident before he could pay them their money back and when he died, they focused on me to pay the loan. I tried as much as possible to keep to the arranged dates that I was to pay little by little but it started to become very difficult.” I explained.

“Oh, wow, I’m so sorry about your dad…” He started and I quickly waved him off, “oh no, it’s fine. I’m past that stage already.” I replied to him before he then continued.

“How much is this money though? Shouldn’t your wages at Callisto fund it fully?”

“Oh, no. It won’t, these people increase the interest by ten percent each time I fail to deliver and right now, the interest is way more than the money borrowed itself. If I’m correct, I’m sure I’m already done paying the money borrowed and only the interest is the problem as it just keeps increasing.” I said.

“What? Is that even legal?”

“Borrowing from sharkloners isn’t really ideal and legal in the first place so… plus it’s an agreement and my dad went into it without even thinking through properly so I can’t even fault them.” I responded with a shrug.

There was an awkward silence after that and just when I thought I might have to find a way to tell him that I would like to take my leave now, he finally spoke, “I have an offer for you, Kiki.”

My head shot up to look at him, “an offer? What would the be, Luca?” I questioned with a raised brow.

“I can help you pay off this debt, Kiki…” He started and I immediately interrupted, “what? Why would you do that? I can’t allow you do that, I’m sorry.”

“No, listen to me, Kiki. You don’t have to be scared because you think It’s too much of a favor, so how about we do it this way, I’ll pay this debt of yours and in return, you come work with me. Listen, this a good deal for you because you’ll get paid more than you get at Callisto and what’s even more is that you get that respect you deserve at Arts brand. I know how you’re practically outcasted at Callisto and how your boss isn’t even paying attention to it nor trying to make it a safe work environment for you and honestly, I think you deserve better than that. You’re good at what you do and no one should make you feel like that, you deserve that position and even higher. If you work with me, Kiki, you even get to enjoy the privilege of going to college while you work…”

At this point, I spoke, genuinely interrupted, “What? How?” I questioned with a curious look on my face.

“Yes, Kiki. I can introduce you to schools where you’ll take evening and weekend classes and then you can get your degree afterwards, which means you get to earn and at the same time learn, I’ll give that chance, time and space to you. I don’t over work my workers like Giovanni does so you don’t even have to worry about your work too much.”

If I said I wanted considering everything he had inferred at this point, then it would be a total lie, I’ve always wanted to go to college, I’ve always fantasized about wearing a college graduating gown and getting my degree, this was like offering me gold for virtually nothing in return, at the end of the day, it was suspicious offer to make.

“Why would you do all these for me though? You won’t be getting nothing in return, it’s not normal to just try to help people like this unless there’s something you want?” I said.

He laughed heartily before speaking, “I know what you mean, Kiki and I would be lying if I said I didn’t want anything anything from you but I honestly won’t force anything.”

“Force anything? What exactly do you want?”

“I like you, Kiki. I really do, I’ve liked you since I set my eyes on you at that bidding, you’re so confident, intelligent and reserved. I was immediately attracted to you, I knew that I would always offer a helping hand whenever you need it cos I would never let you go through hardships. Now, even though I like you, I’m never going to force anything, if it happens, fine. If it doesn’t, I’m cool with it too, just let me help you, Kiki, please.” He concluded as he reached for my hand on the table and held it.

I looked at him critically, Giovanni hated this guy and had told me to steer clear of him, and to be honest, something just feels off about him and I didn’t trust him, I was about to speak when a masculine voice interrupted us.

“Get up, Kiki.”