Chapter 23 Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

'Beware of gifts from the Devil. It may contain your most wanted desires but avoid it.  The devil's gift is seductive, attractive and tempting but you must never accept it.  He will take more than he's given when the time comes and you'll be ruined'

************

Mid July.

Lekki,

Lagos.

Amanda.

"You know you really should learn how to control that temper of yours" Davina said, she sounded annoyed and very irritated.

Amanda shot her a nasty look. "Are you serious right now? You're really going to blame me for the sequence of events today. Wow, way to go Davina.  Criticize me for fighting for my business" Amanda hissed.

Davina rolled her eyes "I'm not criticizing you,  we could have done this the civil way. We could have avoided all these, if we had done things the civil way" Davina insisted.

Amanda hissed "Civil what, what rubbish civil way?" she asked angrily.

Davina groaned "I mean we should have gone to their office, we should have spoken to the chairman and come to an agreement" Davina said.

Amanda rolled her eyes "I know my rights, I also know those men were trying to intimidate me.  Just wait till I get out of here, I'm going to deal with them. I'm not backing down" She said vehemently.

Davina threw her arms above her head frustrated. "This is what I hate about you, you never accept when you've made a mistake. We're in the police station because of you. Do you know we're lucky they left us in this room? What if they'd thrown us into one of those disease infested cells" Davina said.

Amanda bit the inside of her cheek to refrain from replying.

"Do you even realize that the same building you claim you're fighting for could be demolished by now? We could have stopped that if we'd taken the sensible step" Davina continued.

Amanda hissed "Whatever, just stop nagging. It's my business and I'll handle my business my way" Amanda said.

Davina scoffed but said nothing more,  Amanda did whatever she liked anyway.

Amanda ran her fingers through her hair. What was taking Denola so long?

Mercie hadn't been arrested so she'd been sent to get Denola to get them out.

Their wristwatches and phones had been confiscated when they were brought into the station so she couldn't tell time but she was guessing  they'd been here for almost two hours.

She paced about the room and groaned at intervals. Her movements aggravated Davina who couldn't hold back anymore, the tension in the room was escalating.

"Could you sit down and stop pacing around. You're making me tense" Davina said.

Amanda hissed but didn't stop. "Ugh! Today is just the worst" Amanda said aloud.

"Yeah thanks to Mrs Angry bird" Davina hissed.

Amanda was about to respond to her insult when the door came open.

"Madams, dem don kon bail una o" one of the officers announced as he entered the room.

Amanda let out a breath of relief and walked out of the room,  Davina followed suit.

"Our oga wan see una before una go, una mata still dey ground" the officer informed leading the way to the DPO's office.

"What matter, didn't you just say we were free to go?" Amanda questioned.

Davina rolled her eyes "He only said we've been bailed. Can we just go to the DPO's office in peace or would you rather they throw us in a cell this time?" Davina asked irritated.

Amanda narrowed her eyes at Davina.  "I don't know what your problem is but you're starting to piss me off" She said.

Davina stared back at her angrily "No, you are starting to piss me off with this your charming behavior" Davina hissed

Amanda held in her breath and decided it would be best to ignore Davina before they exchanged words they couldn't take back.

Nothing prepared her for the person she saw as she walked into the DPO's office.

Atalia sat opposite the DPO and was laughing and talking with him as if they were old friends.

There was an elderly man dressed in an Agbada sitting beside Atalia, he too had a smile on his face as if he was enjoying the conversation.

"Ahhh...here she is" Atalia said when she saw Amanda walk into the room with Davina just behind her.

The officer who escorted them left immediately.

"What are you doing here?" Amanda asked confused.

"Chief, Dare, this is my daughter in-law, the other woman is her friend. Amanda meet the DPO and Chief Olusegun Okunola, he is the local government chairman" Atalia introduced.

Amanda stared at her in disbelief. What in the world was Atalia doing here?

"What's going on here?" Amanda asked.

"Your mother in-law came here to bail you,  I had the mind to keep you two ladies here overnight. You not only insulted government officials but you disrespected the chairman of this vicinity. Fortunately for you two, he's willing to look past the insult" The DPO supplied.

"Thank you very much Chief" Atalia Mayfair said.

The said Chief simply smiled. "You're welcome Mrs Mayfair"

Amanda mentally rolled her eyes, she wanted to leave immediately and not deal with all these people but she didn't have a choice.

"I sent for Denola" Amanda said lifting her chin defiantly.

"And Denola cannot leave work to attend to petty matters. He's running a company, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Sit down, we have a lot to discuss" Atalia said ignoring the look she was getting from Amanda.

"Petty? this matter is hardly petty. My job, my business is at stake here" Amanda argued.

"Sit down and let me finish!" Atalia said strongly.

Amanda sighed before sitting down, she'd take the insult for Denola's sake.

Davina sat down and crossed her arms against her chest. What now?

"So you're the owner of that building ehn?" Chief Olusegun questioned.

"Beeni,  Chief I'm really sorry for the disturbance and the insult. You know children these days don't understand the concept of respect. I apologize on behalf of my daughter in-law. Nothing of such nature will happen again" Atalia answered on behalf of Amanda.

Amanda felt like a little girl, she wanted to yell at the Chief, wanted to tell him to go to hell. She wanted to tell Atalia to shut up that she could speak for herself but she kept herself in check.

Time would come for that, for now she'd hear the nonsense they had to say.

"No problem, no problem. You see.... that entire area is owned by my family, from the beginning to the end. Everything is mine,  I sold a few lands and people came to build properties there. There was no problem all along, but recently we've been getting too many reports. All those thugs, agbero. They've been disturbing that area, especially that building. Didn't you get involved with some cultists some time ago?" Chief Olusegun asked.

"That was a long time ago and it was handled.....I don't see how that's a prob..." Amanda was saying when Chief cut her off.

"Handled ke? Nothing has been handled. They've been terrorizing people, robbing and assaulting people" Chief Olusegun said.

"I haven't heard anything from them since that day, there has been no disturbance but even if...what has that got to do with you demolishing the properties there?" Amanda asked.

Chief straightened up and stared at her pointedly. "Everything o, you don't know those boys. Those companies in the estate, your properties amongst others has attracted their attention. Robbery and terrorism has increased in that area and now they're attacking not only the companies but the neighboring houses there. Residents are complaining, things weren't like that before. We've decided to curb it by demolishing those properties and turning that place into a modern market for all those road side traders that are clustered about the road. You will be compensated, I'm very sorry but there's nothing else I can do to help you" Chief Olusegun said.

Bullshit! That was all Amanda had heard.

Whatever the Chief said didn't make any sense, how could he blame her for cult clashes in the neighborhood.

What nonsense?!

"It's fine Chief you've done enough thank you. We'll find a way to deal with this matter and we'll be in touch" Atalia said.

Amanda bit her tongue to stop herself from cursing everyone in the room.

"Amanda take your friend to the car. I'll join you shortly" Atalia said dismissing Amanda and Davina.

Davina stood up immediately and waited for Amanda to stand.

"Stay out of trouble young lady, I don't want to see you here again" The DPO warned lightly.

Amanda nodded and stood up. "Goodbye" she said and walked out of the room.

Atalia waited for a few minutes before turning back to her allies. "Thank you very much for today, you two can count on me if you need anything. I'm solidly behind you" Atalia said.

Chief nodded. "You know I'm always at your service" He sent her a toothy grin.

"Of course" Atalia chuckled.

"I have to ask though, do you think she bought it. What if she doesn't back down and digs deep into the matter. Won't she find out the truth?" The DPO asked.

Amanda waved a dismissive hand. "Oh please, you've done your part. Leave the rest to me" She said confidently.

She would handle Amanda just fine,  her plan was to crush her. Destroy her supply and make her totally dependent on them.

Then finish her once and for all.

************

"Everything smells fishy Amanda, I mean did you hear that guy? Something is not right?" Davina said the minute they stepped out of the police station.

"Of course something isn't.....this has Atalia written all over it. I just know, I'm no fool.  I know her plan,  she wants me to fight back. She's setting me up I know. I won't give her a chance to paint me dirty in the eyes of Denola. I'll let her win this round, but eventually I'll be back on feet and I will deal with her" Amanda swore.

Davina shook her head in disbelief "How do you know it's her, I mean what does she even stand to gain?" Davina asked.

"I know it's her, I've dealt with people like her before. Atalia wants me out of Denola's life but she won't succeed" Amanda responded.

"Does this mean Mandy's glam is over? What are we going to do? Setting up another office will take some time but with enough cash we'll be able to get it done in weeks. Between you and I we don't have a lot of money in the company's account" Davina said.

Amanda chuckled "I suppose she wants me to need her help or Denola's.  Mandy's Glam isn't over, for now we'll work online while we wait for our compensation. After that we will move forward" Amanda said.

Davina nodded "But you do know, we'll lose some clients" She said.

"Then we lose them, just don't worry Davina.  I'll handle this. Contact Mercie when you get to the house, set up a meeting with the staff tomorrow at your house. Sometime around twelve, we have to discuss the way forward." Amanda said.

"Alright, I will" Davina replied right before Atalia walked out of the station.

If Atalia wanted to play dirty, then so be it.  She would play filthy too.

*

"I am very sorry about your company, look I tried my best but you know these government officials and how they behave" Atalia said right after they dropped off Davina.

Amanda pursed her lips and said nothing. She knew within herself that Atalia was happy because she'd lost something very precious today but she was going to pay Atalia back by taking something precious from her,  her son.

"It's really for the best you know, You should relax. We can take care of all your problems, you don't need to work. I think you should settle into your role as a wife and start taking care of your duties" Atalia continued.

Amanda's phone rang,  she checked the caller ID but didn't answer the call.

"On that note, there are lots of things you have to learn from the Dame and I. We Mayfair women have traditions, important roles to play. There are circles you need to be part of,  functions you need to attend, parties to host,  friends and associates you need to entertain. The men in the family might do all the work at the office to bring in money but we the women also have a role to play. We do the networking and bring in contacts. You need to learn all these, there's a lot you have to do as the wife of Denola Mayfair...." Atalia was saying when Amanda's phone rang out again.

"Aren't you going to take that?" Atalia asked when Amanda made no attempt to answer the phone.

"It's nothing important" Amanda said dismissively.

Atalia simply hummed "Tomorrow we must start preparing for our usual end of the month party, I've added you to the planning committee" Atalia said.

Amanda rolled her eyes as her phone vibrated. She looked at the screen and saw it was a text.

'Please call me back, it's urgent!'

She sighed and turned off the phone, she would deal with that later.

"Is everything alright?" Atalia asked.

"Everything is fine, just some clients I need to attend to" Amanda replied.

Atalia nodded before dipping her hand into her bag.  She pulled out a large sized brown envelope and handed it to Amanda.

"What is this?" Amanda asked taking the envelope.

"It contains your new bank card and your new account details" Atalia responded.

"New Account?" Amanda asked confused. Denola hadn't told her anything about it.

"It's a gift from the family, a Mayfair account. Money will be deposited into the account monthly. Like I said you don't have to work for anything, just sit back and enjoy" Atalia said.

"Thanks" Amanda said with a bitter sweet smile.

She didn't know what to make of the gift yet but she couldn't reject it. That will infuriate the Mayfairs and upset Denola. She would hold on to the gift for now but she wasn't going to touch a penny in the account not until she figured out Atalia's motives.

*

Denola got back from work late again, Amanda had looked at the clock the minute he walked into the room. It was past nine already, ever since his grandfather's death he'd been working late hours.

It pissed Amanda off that he was always home late and barely had time for her but she never showed her displeasure.

She was still trying to get back into his good graces after all and she knew work was being hard on him so she simply sympathized with him.

"Hey baby" Denola said dumping his blazer on the dresser.

"Hey" Amanda grinned at him and stretched out her arm for him. He chuckled and joined her on the bed.

Wrapping his arms around her he nuzzled closer. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you today, I was very busy dealing with some important client. Did Mom settle everything?" Denola asked concerned.

Amanda sighed "Not really" she muttered.

"What's up? Talk to me, what happened?" Denola asked.

"Baby just go have a shower, I'll get your dinner arranged and then we can talk after you eat" Amanda said.

"Okay" Denola said pecking her lips.  He got out of bed and headed towards the walk in closet.

Amanda picked up her phone and decided to reply the text she'd gotten earlier.

'I'll call you tomorrow, hope you're safe?' She texted.

Her phone pinged minutes later and she checked the new message.

'Please we have to talk, it's important. Don't fail to call tomorrow, I don't think we're safe anymore'

Her heart skipped a beat, more problems? Would her problems ever stop.