Chapter 7 THINGS REVEALED

Eve

How is it possible that I've got mixed feelings all of a sudden?

I shouldn't feel this tug of sadness and joy, both at the same time. It's not like I can continue lecturing them just so I don't get to miss them.

Crazy, right?

As I stand and stare at them, I notice their eyes are fixed solidly on me. So I clear my throat, give them an awkward smile and begin the speech that I've been struggling to formulate since last night.

Yup! I'll definitely miss them. I've come to that realisation.

"I had an awesome time with you all and I must say, that I will miss coming to Deuce. I will send you the mock question papers via your emails so that you can start testing yourselves. Be sure to let me know when you're ready to write the exams so I can connect you to the centres in Lagos. Good luck and I wish you all the best." I start packing up my things.

Today marks the end of the whole training of the staff at Deuce Manufacturing company. While I'm happy that it has come to an end so I can have some free time on my hands, I'm also sad because the people I encountered here have become like friends to me and I realise I wouldn't see their faces again. It's something of a bitter - sweet feeling for me.

I muse to myself as I make my way to the lift, ready to go to floor 10. A lady I recognise as one of the staff in the manufacturing section is already inside, inspecting her nails and humming quietly to herself.

I continue my musings as I think about how much patience Mr. Faseun has. It's been over three months since I've been coming here and in all that time, I've given several excuses to him for not going on a dinner date, but I know I can't run anymore. No more excuses for me!

We had done a little talking in his office and I'd gotten to know he's divorced, with a male child. That child is now an adult, he had said, hmm! He told me to put my fears to rest and jokingly added that I won't be going on a date with a married man.

Well, that's a relief!

I adjust my handbag and laptop bag on my shoulders and hold unto the metal bar. Suddenly, Beyonce's sonorous voice fills the small enclosure. I smile apologetically at the other occupant as I wrestle to take out my phone, but my laptop bag keeps sliding down my shoulder. Finally, it stabilises and I'm able to bring out my phone. I don't check who's calling. In my haste, I press the answer button and put it to my ear.

"Hey, mama." I feel myself tense up immediately.

"Hey," I reply, suddenly unhappy.

"You don't sound too happy to hear from me."

I don't give any reply to that, I just remain silent.

"So how have you been?"

"Fine," I reply disinterestingly.

He sighs dramatically, but Dee has always been one for drama.

"I've just been very busy sweetheart, don't hold it against me please. I'll make it up to you, I promise." I say nothing in reply.

"Can I swing by your house this evening, say in about an hour or two? I have missed seeing my baby's face."

"Alright." I finally reply, already resigning myself to his visit. We say our good bye's as I end the call.

I look up to see the lady looking at me with a pitiful smile on her face. "Men! They're all the same; can't live with them, can't live without them." She shrugs and goes back to her humming.

Seriously! Who asked for her opinion?

Why did Dee have to call me now? I'm supposed to go on a date with Mr. Faseun. Well he has stood me up many times, I think it's time I do same to him.

One bad turn deserves another! The lift opens up on floor seven and the lady walks out and I'm left alone with my thoughts.

After what seems like ages, the lift fnally opens up on floor ten and I come out, heading straight for Mr. Faseun's office. Before I get to the door, I see it's slightly open and snatches of conversation filters out.

"... shouldn't have fired her."

"..... choice did I have?"

".... been more lenient."

There is some silence, and the conversation continues.

I unconsciously inch closer. This time, I'm able to hear everything clearly.

"You know full well you've had a thing with some of the female staff here before, so you must try to act decent." That's Mr. Faseun's voice, but he's talking to someone else.

"Let me guess - Bode told you that I slept with her, right? And you believe him?" That voice... it's Batman's.

Someone sighs. I hear shuffling of papers and then Mr. Faseun continues talking.

"Look, you've worked with me for seven years and counting. I just need you to be more careful. You're absolutely brilliant at your job, I wouldn't want to see your career go down the drain because of a hot piece of ass."

I'm really taken aback by Mr. Faseun's choice of words. I'm still pondering on them, knowing fully well eavesdropping is terribly wrong. My thoughts are suddenly forgotten when I hear footsteps approaching the door from inside his office.

What do I do?

If I'm seen here, it would be disastrous, never mind that, it would be catastrophic. I would be seen as a snoopy female, one without scruples. I wouldn't want to see the disappointed look on Batman, nor Mr. Faseun's face either. I suddenly dock behind the door of Mr. Faseun's office, missing Batman by a hair's inch. He strides away, not once seeing me perched behind the door.

Do I walk in and act like I didn't hear anything?

I come out from my hiding place and stand in the corridor. My heart is beating like it wants to escape it's cage. I'm still debating on whether to say something to Mr. Faseun or not, when the door opens wide once again, and out walks Mr. Faseun.

I'm barely able to dock behind the door this time. He lets go of the door and it swings outwards, hitting me squarely on the head.

Oof!

The pain is indescribable. I let out a strangled cry, but get myself under control and stifle the scream threatening to spill from my lips by pressing my knuckles into my mouth.

Mr. Faseun stops and looks back, a suspicious look on his face. I suddenly wish I were a fly - an insignificant fly that can't be seen. Luckily, the door hides me completely. He shakes his head and continues walking towards the direction of the reception.

I come out of my hiding place and walk on shaky legs into his office, all the while touching my sore forehead, wincing at the shooting pain. I'm not sure I can go out on any date now. I'm still standing in the middle of his office, bemoaning my fate, when Mr. Faseun comes back in.

"Fancy seeing you here." He comes close and looks at me. "What happened to your head?"

I'm not good at lying at all, so I just shake my head and close my eyes. When I open them he's looking at me with grave pity. "You poor dear! You obviously must be in pain. Don't worry, we can always do dinner some other time. Now what you need is some painkillers and a good night's rest. I assure you, you'll be up and running by tommorow." I don't want to be up and running, I want to tell him, I just want to sleep, probably for three straight days.

Instead, I nod and keep quiet.

"Come, I'll take you home." He picks up his car keys from his big desk and holding me by the hand, walks me out to the corridor.

"I drove over here," I say, weakly. The pain on my forehead has increased to a throbbing pitch.

"Not to worry, my driver will take your car back, he'll follow us behind. I definitely can't allow you to drive back home in this condition." I nod against his chest. He has me firmly ensconced against his body, but I don't want to be rude and tell him not to get so close - after all he's just trying to comfort me. So I suck it up and allow him to lead us to the lift.

The ride down is fraught with nervous silence. My laptop bag and hand bag are both held by him. Under normal circumstances I would have giggled my head off because he actually looks funny carrying them, but with my forehead throbbing, I can't seem to summon up any form of humour at this moment.

When we get to the ground floor, the front desk officer is already packing up, ready to go home. A man sits on one of the plush chairs, rifling through some magazines. He snaps to attention when he sees us.

"Bring the car around." Mr. Faseun tells him in clipped tones. The man replies with a yes sir, and walks away.

Mr. Faseun is still holding me tightly. I'm terribly embarrassed! How would you expect to see a woman who just came here one morning three months ago, introduce herself as a trainer and after awhile, see her ensconced in the arms of your boss; the owner of the company.

The front desk officer looks at us, her eyes lingering on Mr. Faseun's hands round me and I can't meet her eyes, I just can't! I'm suddenly very pleased that today is my last day of the training and coming to Deuce Manufacturing company. It's not fun being the recipient of office gossip. I hear her bidding us good night as we walk out the door. Still, I don't look up.

Finally, the driver brings the car round and goes back to get mine after I give him my car key. Mr. Faseun treats me like a baby, almost carrying me inside the front seat. After placing my bags on the back seat, he turns to me with a concerned look.

There's a dull ache in my head and I feel strangely relaxed. Must be all the pampering and special treatment from Mr. Faseun.

"How are you feeling?" He asks. I nod and give him a tired smile.

His car is a sleek black BMW M5 - The latest series. This car is a machine, smooth on wheels and terribly expensive. I've always admired it from afar, be sure I obviously can't begin to imagine where I'd cough up such amount of money to buy one.

He slides in a CD and Anita Baker's strong soothing voice fills the interior of the car. This is just what I need right now - soothing music. I give him directions and he puts it on Google map. The roads are free as he navigates the street of Victoria Island. Checking the time on the car's dashboard, I see it's 8pm, little wonder! Traffic rush is definitely over so all I need to do is relax as we won't stay long on the road.

The mixture of Anita Baker's voice and the plush leather chair lull me to sleep in no time. Next when I wake, we are on the third mainland bridge. Lights twinkle on the ocean from nearby billboards, lending it a very picturesque look. I gaze at it, eye lids still heavy. I'm feeling very peaceful and I'm lulled back into sleep again.

The next thing I know, someone is gently tapping my shoulder and calling my name - it's Mr. Faseun. "Eve, we've gotten to your street. Mind directing me a bit."

I sit up, looking around me, feeling a bit dazed as I rub the sleep from my face. Hope I didn't dribble while I was asleep. I groggily direct him, one finger indicating a left turn. Soon, he's stopping in front of the house. I notice the lights in my parent's room is still on - This means they are still awake, probably worried about me. I come down from the car first and get my things from the back seat.

Mr. Faseun puts the car engine off and comes down too. Don't make this anymore awkward, please just go home. I silently plead. So before he's able to strike up any further conversation, I thank him in a quiet, but firm voice. He smiles at me and says it's nothing, he'll call me tommorow. The driver pulls up with my car and parks it, hands me the key and goes to wait for his boss in the car.

"Go on now," Mr. Faseun smiles at me, so I walk off towards the front door. But just as I get to it, it opens and my mum's worried face pops out.

"Oh thank God you're back, I've been so worried. You weren't picking your calls." I remembered putting it on silence before getting out of the lift, I didn't want anymore surprise calls from Dee. But before I can reply her, she looks at me and gasps.

"What's this? What happened to your head?"

"Mum, can you at least allow me entry?" I protest.

She moves aside and bustles around me, taking my bags. She gets some pain killers that she keeps in the kitchen for emergencies such as this and orders me to drink it with a glass of water she proffers. Then she gets some ice from the freezer, puts some inside a serviette and hands it to me.

"Keep the pressure on your head," and she takes my bags up to my bedroom.

So I sit on one of the chairs in the dining room and the door bell suddenly rings.

Tell me that's not Mr. Faseun still hanging around.

I get up, keeping the ice on my head - it feels so good because it cools the stinging. Funny, but I'm yet to check out my forehead in the mirror.

I'm still lost in thought when, without even asking who it is, I open the door. Shoot! I had forgotten all about him. Once upon a time, I thought Dee was God's gift to women, until he showed me his true, faded colours. I can feel the cockiness oozing out of him as he stands there looking at me.

"Hi baby," he croons. One hand is on the door while the other is in his pocket.

Does he actually think this pose is sexy?

"What happened to your head? It's almost the size of my knee." He chuckles as if he just cracked an exceedingly funny joke. I still haven't seen how bad my forehead looks. I don't say anything, I just walk off, leaving him standing there with the door open. I take a short walk upstairs to where a full mirror is situated on the landing.

When I stare at my reflection, I don't recognise myself - It looks like I grew an external brain, albeit a much smaller one. To make matters worse, the bump looks red and ripe, like a tomato. No wonder Mr. Faseun couldn't stand to go out to dinner with me. This is the price I pay for eavesdropping.

When I get to the sitting room, I notice Dee has already made himself comfortable in one of the chairs.

"What do you want?" I ask, dropping the serviette on the table as I put one hand on my waist for emphasis.

"Oh don't be like this. I already told you I was sorry. Let's go back to how we were, hmm." He gets up and comes close to me but I put a hand up to stall him.

"Obviously, you can see I need my beauty rest. So call me sometime," I say, dismissing him.

"But... " His protest is caught off by my phone ringing, Beyonce once more making her debut about being drunk in love.

My mum must have removed it from my bag. When I see it's Ebere, I cheer up instantly. I turn my back to Dee and answer the call as her chirpy voice instantly fills my ears.

"Babe, why you no pick your call since, (why didn't you pick your call). I've been calling for some time," she lies. The phone only just started ringing, I'm sure mum removed it from silence so I don't miss any more calls.

"What's up?" I know she's got some new gossip to give me.

"Babe, one of my colleagues is getting married, but that's not the issue. The main issue is they're loaded and very influential. I hear senators and state governors will attend her wedding. She has invited everyone in the office and I want you to come too."

"Okay," I reply, disinterestingly.

"Why you dey sound like this now? (Why do you sound this way?) You should be pleased o. You fit find better husband wey go marry you." I hold my forehead in consternation, because it has begun to throb once more, on hearing her last words.

"Ebere.... Please." I say pleadingly.

"Please what na, abi I lie? (Did I lie?) Not just you alone o, for me too." Ebere is a very lucky girl - she has a boyfriend already, a man who dotes on her hand and foot, yet she treats him like trash. Some people are just lucky.

She keeps chattering on, so I agree to go to the wedding with her, if only just to shut her up.

"Ehen... You never even gist me. Wetin happen with you and that hot guy wey carry you comot for club that day?" (You're yet to tell me what happened with you and the hot guy that took you out of the club that day).

Shoot!

I had totally forgotten to inform her about it, and we had talked since then, but some other things had cropped up necessitating us not bringing it up.

As I'm about to speak, I suddenly remember that Dee is present and can hear all my conversation, so out of respect for him, I walk to the kitchen to spill the news to Ebere.

"Oya talk na, I'm still waiting." (Hurry up and talk). So now that I'm safely in the kitchen, I turn round and begin telling her everything that happened, from when Batman and I left the club, to where we went to drink coffee, but as usual, she interrupts me with her questions.

"Wait, wait abeg! (Hold on) So you mean to tell me that you guys didn't do anything?"

"Anything, like?' I query, suddenly confused.

"Haba, you wan make I spell am out? (Do you want me to say it out?) Okay, so you guys didn't have sex? And he didn't even make a move?"

"Well, he did. He... we..... " I stammer, trying to put it into words.

"Talk na, wetin happen?" (Talk, what happened?)

"If you would let me finish, then I can get around to telling you," I say to her, exasperatedly. She's always so impatient.

"We kissed," I finally let out. I can't very well tell her how he almost pinned me against the wall, or how his kisses had scalded my very soul, nor can I tell her how alive I had felt just by being in his presence. These things are better left unsaid. I still have a scar on my back - a testament to the rough, but oh so sweet action in the coffee shop.

I shake my head - Batman wouldn't be the death of me.

Will I see him again?

Ebere's scream bring me back to the conversation at hand. It echoes into my brain and reverberates, making me cringe. I put the phone away from my ear as I shake my head and that's when I see movement from the corner of my eye.

When I turn around, Dee is standing at the entrance to the kitchen with his hands folded, one on top of each other against his chest. He doesn't look too happy. By the set of his jaw, I know he's quite angry.

"What?" I'm kind of offended, because he obviously had been standing there eavesdropping on my conversation, and you know what they say about them - they never hear good of themselves.

He doesn't say anything, just stalks off. Seconds later, I hear him opening the door and the banging that follows it is ear shattering.

And that's what you get when you eavesdrop.

"What was that noise?" Ebere pipes up into the phone.

"It's Dee. I think he must have heard what I said to you about the club incidence."

"Thank goodness! He can go to hell for all we care. I never liked him and I told you so. He treated you like crap when you refused to sleep with him. All he wants is to get into your pants. Make im waka, abeg." She yawns very loudly.

"Abeg I want to sleep. Babe, remember o, the wedding is next week Saturday. We have to go shopping for wetin we go wear." Ebere loves to shop like crazy. It's a past time of her's. The only problem is she likes wearing trashy things. It's a regular struggle. I'll just have to keep a keen eye out for what she buys, or tries to make me buy.

"Alright dear, I too am tired, we'll talk tommorow." We say our good bye's.

As I walk back into the sitting room, I'm secretly happy that Dee heard my conversation with Ebere. That man needs a wakeup call, he needs to know that he can't just walk in and out of my life whenever he likes. I yawn, as I put off all the lights and walk upstairs.

I just need to sleep for 3 days straight!