Chapter 9 Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

"Jealousy and Envy makes people hell bent on destroying the happiness of others"

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

Lekki,

Lagos.

Mid April.

Jadesola.

Jadesola walked into the VIP section with one sole intention, to find an ally.  She knew she could trust Hakeem,  he was the one friend who cared about Denola and she knew she couldn't count on him.

As usual Hakeem was found in the midst of 'gold digging desperate women' as Jadesola always addressed them, all of the women were clawing for his attention as expected. How else were they going to get money from him?

"Ahem! " she cleared her throat to get his attention.

Hakeem looked up and saw the look of disgust on the wild red head.  "Jadesola" he sat up immediately eyeing her appearance. She was putting on a skimpy white dress that revealed more than it concealed, her outfit was paired with her signature killer heels. Jadesola had not changed one bit, well asides the new tattoos that were decorating her skin, she kept adding more to her collection.

"Miss me?" she asked kicking his legs.

Hakeem turned to the woman beside him. "Take your friends downstairs, I'll come get you in a few minutes" He instructed.

"Alright sugar" The woman said kissing his lips lightly. She glared at Jadesola for ruining her fun before getting up, her friends followed her lead and left the duo alone.

"I see you haven't stopped slaying slüts,  nothing has changed" she said sitting beside him.

Hakeem frowned "And how many times will I tell you to stop coming here you crazy girl?" Hakeem asked. He hated dealing with Jadesola. She was the mischievous, cunning girl who had gotten him in trouble with the Mayfair plenty of times.

The last time she'd visited his club, she'd overdosed on hard substance with her friends in the bathroom, her mother Atalia Mayfair had blamed him for it.

"So are you going to kick me out then?" Jadesola asked.  "No I won't, but you need to leave" Hakeem said sternly.

"Look I could have gone to any other bar to get my fix, I didn't come here for that. I came for you"Jadesola said batting her fake lashes at him.

Hakeem rolled her eyes, he was aware that Jadesola had been crushing on him big time before she left for college but he'd made it known to her that he wouldn't see her as anything other than a little sister.

He wasn't surprise that she wasn't ready to give up on him despite his marital status.

"I'm not sleeping with you Jade, I'm not interested" Hakeem stated.

Jadesola laughed mockingly "Please, I'm so over you. Besides I know you're married to a nun, I don't go after men with baggage" Jadesola mocked Hakeem.

"What do you want then?" Hakeem asked getting slightly annoyed. Jadesola smirked "Amanda Arinze, ring a bell?"Jadesola asked.

Hakeem shook his head, he wasn't about to go into Denola's business with his crazy little sister.

"Come on, you know I'm concerned about Denola. I know he has brought her here,  he likes showing off his new toys" Jadesola hissed.

Hakeem shook his head at the venom leaving her lips.  "Amanda is Denola's friend, you should respect that. Stop being a bïtch" Hakeem said.

"Listen to me Hakeem if you love my brother you'll support me and get that trashy girl out of his life. She's a gold digger, she's a bîtch,  I don't trust her and I want her gone" Jadesola said.

Hakeem shook his head "Amanda is a nice girl, don't play games with her. Your brother cares a lot about her" Hakeem warned.

"Hakeem he doesn't just care about her, he loves her.  I don't trust her, would you want him to get hurt again?" Jadesola asked.

"No, but it doesn't matter. Amanda is safe, she won't hurt him. Denola is happy that's all that matters" Hakeem said.

"I couldn't find any record of an Amanda Arinze, I hired a detective to track her movements and some other things. Amanda Arinze doesn't exist. Doesn't that tell you something?" Jadesola asked.

"You're having her followed, you investigated her privately, are you nuts? Jade, should your brother find out...." Hakeem began when Jadesola cut him off.

"He won't, this is our secret right?" Jadesola said looking him square in the eyes.

"I want to know everything about the stranger hanging around my brother and I need your help" Jadesola said her eyes not leaving his for a second.

Hakeem sighed, he didn't want to get into his friend's business but he was really concerned about Denola. Who exactly was Amanda Arinze?

*

It was Amanda who answered the door, her smile fell when she saw Jadesola.  "So you live here, interesting. What else should I expect?" Jadesola asked taking in the casual outfit she was wearing, Denola's hoodie and baggy shorts.

"Denola is out, you should come back later"  Amanda said. "Actually since you're here, there's something I should tell you. I've been wanting to see you. " Jadesola said.

"You've been wanting to see me, why?" Amanda asked  trying to keep her annoyance in check.  She didn't want to offend Denola by insulting or worse attacking his little sister.

"We started on a wrong note, I didn't come to apologize. I just want to say that there's a possibility that I was wrong about you" Jadesola said.

Amanda cocked a brow at her. "Which part, the part about me being a slut or a gold digger?" Amanda asked.

Jadesola sighed "Well you don't look like a slut and you own your own business so you're probably not a gold digger" Jadesola smirked.

Amanda scoffed in disbelief, the nerve of this brat, she thought to herself.

"Fine, are you leaving now?" Amanda asked impatiently.

"Wow... kicking me out of my brother's house, already the woman of the house I see" Jadesola rolled her eyes.

"I'm not kicking you out!" Amanda snapped.  "What are you doing then?" Jadesola asked.

"I'm done listening to you, look I've had a shïtty day and I just want to go to bed now" Amanda said.

"Listen to me, my parents hate you. They won't ever like you, you can keep up this 'I don't care' personality but I know that you actually do care. And trust me, you don't want all the Mayfairs angry and mad at you at the same time. That never ends well." Jadesola said.

"You're suggesting that we should be friends?" Amanda asked.

Jadesola made a face "Now why would I be friends with you?  I don't even like you. Let's be Frenemies" Jadesola asked.

"Frenemies?" Amanda asked in disbelief.

Jadesola smirked "Unless you'd rather remain an enemy" Jadesola said.

"I don't trust you, you called me names while I was being nice to you" Amanda stated.

Jadesola rolled her eyes "I don't trust you too,  guess we have something in common then. I'll see you some other time, tell my brother I visited" Jadesola said.

Amanda sighed "Denola is my best friend and I care about him.  I don't care what you think, and by the way you have an attitude problem" Amanda hissed.

Jadesola faked a smile "So I've been told" she said before walking away. Amanda gaped at her in disbelief.

How was Denola related to this girl, Amanda glared at her before going back into the house, Denola's sister was a big bîtch but she knew how to handle crazy girls like that.

She too had lived with a lot of crazy people.

•••

"The heart wants what it wants but the heart isn't the only organ in the body. The head often makes decisions for the rest"

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

Mayfair Towers

Lagos

Late April.

Denola

'Boss, Atalia Mayfair is here to see you' his secretary said over the phone. "Why didn't you tell her I wasn't around, I said I didn't want to see anyone today" Denola complained.

'I'm sorry boss, I didn't think it applied to your mother....' His secretary was saying when the double doors flew open.  Atalia Mayfair had an angry expression on her face when she saw him.

"Denola David Mayfair, do you have no respect for me anymore?!" She yelled as she came into the office. Denola mentally groaned wishing he'd left the office earlier.

"Good afternoon mother" Denola faked a smile in her direction. "I've been ringing you all morning and you didn't even have the decency to call me back, what nonsense! I raised you better than that" Atalia Mayfair continued furiously.

"Mum,  I've been busy. I was going to return your calls after work" Denola said trying to pacify her.

"You should have sent a message instead! I've taught you these things, I suppose hanging out with that uncultured girl has blown everything to the wind" Atalia Mayfair sneered before sitting on a plush cushion opposite him.

Denola rolled his eyes "Not again mother please" Denola begged. Atalia Mayfair rolled her eyes.  "Jadesola told me she lives with you, isn't it wrong for a single woman to live with a single man who has no intentions of marrying her in the same house. I said it,  that girl is ill bred" Atalia continued.

Denola sucked in a breath, ever since his sister returned, she'd made herself a thorn on his side. His mother on the other hand had also been a bother ever since he went to the Mayfair estate with Amanda.

"Mum...stop.  I don't have the strength to deal with this, I'm working" Denola complained.

"Oh so now you don't have time for your mother but you have the time to take that girl to work every morning" Atalia huffed.

Denola frowned now.  "Are you having me followed mum?" Denola asked angrily.

"I have eyes and ears all over Lagos, I was told that you've been driving that girl all over town like a common cab driver. How could you?!" Atalia asked equally angrily.

"Whatever I do is my business mum, I'm a grown man" Denola said eyeing her. "A grown man! So you think you're free to act anyhow at the detriment of the Mayfair reputation. It's not just your business Denola, it's our business" Atalia said.

Denola groaned.  "Mum, why are you here?" Denola asked.

"I want you to stop seeing that girl,  I want her to move out of your house.  Son, she will ruin your life. I know her type,  I told you the exact same thing about Teniola. You refused to listen, now look where that  landed you!" Atalia yelled.

"You need to trust your mother's judgement. Amanda is no good for you, listen to me you stubborn boy" Atalia continued.

"Who is good then? Joke the spoilt brat of the Oba or What's her face the minister's daughter who doesn't even know the difference between a continent and a country. You want me hanging around those kind of women?" Denola asked furiously.

"Joke is not a spoiled brat. Watch your tongue son, she's a princess. A woman like Joke will take the Mayfair empire very far, with her father's connection and power and our wealth, we'll be an unstoppable force in Lagos. Would you throw that away for a common girl?" Atalia Mayfair asked.

"I love Amanda, she's not just my friend. She's someone I want in my future. Amanda is not a gold digger, she's independent. She's not royalty but she's a very noble woman. She's loyal,  she's strong, she's industrious, she's intelligent. She's everything a real woman should be, she's everything I want" Denola said.

"Your grandfather has decided that you should be with Joke, would you defy him?" Atalia asked almost gently.

"Grandfather shouldn't have a say in my relationships, I run his business. That's all he should be concerned about" Denola said.

Atalia Mayfair smiled, "Since you've refused to do the right thing, as your family....we'll take matters into our own hands" Atalia said before getting up.

"What do you mean?" Denola asked confused. "You'll see,  you know better than to go against rules" Atalia said before walking away.

Denola sighed, he couldn't help but feel like he'd made everything worse.

*

"I'd like us to expand, I think we should take contracts outside Lagos. Well for now we should cover only the western states around us" Amanda said to her assistant.

"Going interstate, will cost more money. We'll have to hire more employees, get new vans and a lot of other things. I don't think we're ready for that,  we'll be losing a lot of money because we'll be spending a lot" Mercie her assistant said.

"Mercie to get money you have to spend money, remember the parable of the  talents, what happened to the servant who did nothing with his.  The same applies to business, you have to give it up in order to progress. In business we won't always win,  we'll lose sometimes. Let's do some promotion to get more clients, hire about three more workers and a new van" Amanda suggested.

"If at the end of the day we get nothing out of this, we'll be putting a huge dent in our finance. How will you pay the workers, pay back the loan and meet up with other demands?" Mercie asked.

"Stop being pessimistic Mercie" Amanda frowned. "I'm being realistic baby" Mercie grinned right before Toyin the receptionist ran into the office.

"Toyin, slow down. What's the matter, most importantly who is chasing you?" Amanda asked  alarmed.

"Boss some street guys are having a riot right outside. They're requesting for you,  they've destroyed a few vans at the garage. They broke the windows and deflated the tyres" Toyin panicked.

Amanda and Mercy rushed out immediately. The men had removed the tyres from the vans and they were making a fire right in the office compound.  Amanda looked around and saw that the security guard was already bruised up and lying almost lifeless on the ground.

"What's going on here?" Amanda asked authoritatively.  "Na you be the madam for here?" One of the men growled at her.

"Yes..." Amanda shivered a little as the ferocious man towered over her.

"Na our territory be dis, any fück up I go end your hustle.  Anything I say make you do, you no gree, I go finish you" he threatened crudely.

Amanda looked at Mercie confused. "Did we offend you,  what's the cause of this...today?" Amanda asked. The man shoved her backward violently.

"I dey watch you, make you no dey form oga for anoda man land" He hissed before turning to his goons.

"Scatter this place!" he shouted. His goons complied immediately entering into the building. Minutes later they came out and walked over to their boss.

Some were holding furnitures, they'd all taken bits and bits out of the building. "I give you one week to pack commot from our territory or I go pack you myself!" the crude man spat in her direction before walking away.

Mercie gasped as she took in the damages, she turned to Amanda who looked near to tears. "Everything I've worked for..." she kept on muttering as she looked around.

"Mercie... Please take victor to the hospital. Foot the bills and see that he gets immediate treatment, Toyin see if you can salvage anything from the damage.  Call the rest of our staffs and tell them to take a week off from work.  I'll head to the police station, I need to report this" Amanda said.

"Are you sure you'll be fine on your own?" Toyin asked. "What if those men are out there, I'm scared" She whispered.

"If they come back, lock yourself in and do not open the door for any reason" Amanda said. Toyin nodded.

Amanda looked around, her shoulders dropped. Where was she going to start from again? Everytime she succeeded, she got kicked to the ground again.

.