Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn
The
sun was full in its glory. It burnt its heat fervently on the earth. There were
packs of men sitting under a makeshift shade, chatting. Many of them had run
away from the scorch. On the other side, there were men laboriously moving
building materials back and forth under the heat.
Paul
wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeves that were rolled up to his
elbow. He had a protective helmet on his head.
“This
structure is massive.” Arthur spoke matching Paul in his stride.
“Hello
Arthur. Yeah, tell me about it.” Paul replied.
Arthur
was a civil engineer working with Paul on the reconstruction of a building.
Many people in this circle found it difficult to work with Arthur because he
was popular for being a meddler. He always thought himself to be good at
everything; he often wanted a piece of everybody’s business.
“I
heard the initial budget was 12 billion naira. Imagine?”
“Seriously?”
Paul said with surprise on his face.
“Yeah.
The project stopped when the contractors began to complain of delayed payments
and all that. So I guess the construction was capped for some financial
reasons…”
“Nevertheless,
some money has been spent on this work to say the least.”
“Give
or take, at least 5 billion has been sunk on the construction.” Arthur
asserted.
“Yeah.
Roughly, give or take...”
“Money
dey this country I tell you…”
“That
is no news my brother.”
“Congratulations
in advance by the way…” Arthur said with his eyes cocked.
“What
for?” Paul asked.
“I
overhead from a bird that you will be getting promoted soon.”
Paul
cocked his eyes to match his friend. “When you begin follow fowl talk? Or you
don begin speak fowlin. Abeg jhoor. No dey take me play”
Arthur
grinned. “I’m serious. My source is credible. But no be me tell you sha.”
“I
pray that this is true ooo. I’d be so grateful to God.”
“Cool.
Just keep doing what you do.” Arthur walked up the flight of stairs by the
sidewalk.
Paul
watched him as he heaved himself over on the high platform that led to the
entrance. Arthur sounded convinced about
what he said. Paul began to think. This
would be really good.
Paul turned
back the other way leading to the lower terrace overlaid with gravel. He was
taking a site observation and feasibility check.
*
* *
Jennifer
walked into the office, pushing the personal assistant out of the way. She
walked into Kojo’s office.
“KJ,
why have you not been picking my calls?” She spoke out with anger in her voice.
Kojo
looked up at her through his glasses that sat on his nose. It often does when
he was reading. Then he returned his focus back to his work.
“KJ,
I know you can hear me…”
“Look
young woman, I have told you not to come to my office again. Are you insane?
How can you walk into my office uninvited and you start lashing out at me in
such a tone. Is something wrong with you?” His voice had no notion that he was
angry but it was unsympathetic.
Jennifer
ignored him. She went to the small guest room that had a sitting guest sofa.
She sat down.
“You
men end up all being the same. When you were dating me you forgot that you had
a wife, right? Now all of a sudden you just remembered that you have a happy
family and you don’t want anything to ruin that for you?” She spoke out,
albeit, gently this time.
Kojo
didn’t bulge. He continued steadily at his work.
“You
know I am coming to see your wife by myself…”
Then
Kojo looked up with an angry face. He said, “You dare not try that.” He warned.
“Oh
really? And why shouldn’t I? Tell me KJ.” She said.
“See
Jennifer, I have told you many times that this affair between us is over. Is
that something so hard to understand? I thought I was clear on it the last time
we spoke.” He was on his feet now.
She
stood up from the chair and walked towards him. She started to fondle with his
tie.
“KJ,
what happened all of a sudden? Have you found someone else? Or I’m I growing
old too soon? Or what is it? At least give me a very good reason why you have
decided to break our relationship. Just like that” She made a gesture with her
hand as if to tap her fingers.
He
pushed her hand away from his tie and brushed away from her.
“Jennifer,
please sit down.” He said calmly. He had thought things over and decided he had
more to lose than she did.
She
took the seat opposite him. She had to know what was eating him up. At least
they say, the eye is the window to the soul.
“Jennifer,
I know you deserve a better explanation than I have given you but the truth is,
I do not have any more explanation to give than I have already given. I got
carried away and I’m so sorry I got you in this mess…”
“Wait
KJ. You have not given me any explanation at all. You are a respectable lawyer
and I believe as a lawyer you know a lot about given reasons or is it evidence
you call it. If I have done something really wrong, tell me. I have loved you
with all my heart and I have been faithful to you. Why now? What happened to
you?” She pushed her hair off her face with a rather quick brush of her hand.
Kojo
leaned back on the seat. He removed his reading glasses and placed it on the
table.
“Put
yourself in my wife’s shoes for a minute. Would you be happy to know your
husband is cheating on you?”
“No.
Absolutely not. But you should have thought about all this before you engaged
me in this affair.”
“Listen
Jennifer, I made a mistake and I don’t want to continue this relationship. I
really love my wife and I always feel terrible whenever I think about what I
have done. I’m sorry I got you involved in all this mess…”
“KJ,
you love your wife? Is that it? I’m not even competing with your wife in the
first place. I have never thought about that. Not even for a moment and you
know me very well. Something must have happened that changed you. At least you
might want to let me know that much. I think I deserve to know why I am been
discarded like…”
“Jennifer,
you are not been discarded like anything. I just think it’s wrong to betray
trust. I know it’s difficult to explain but I could lose the trust my wife has
had for me for so many years in just one day. I can’t afford that…”
Jennifer
looked at him with a smirk on her face.
“You
just changed like that. I don’t believe most of what you just said to me
honestly. We looked like everything was perfect…” She felt for something in her
bag.
“I
don’t want us going back and forth about this. This relationship is over and
that’s all you are going to get from me.” Kojo said. This time his voice was unsympathetic
and austere.
“Really…?”
Jennifer felt jumpy. Kojo looked like he could rip off her head.
Kojo
stood up from his chair and walked to the door. He pulled the door open and
made a gesture for her to leave.
Jennifer
stood up and reached for her bag. When she got close to him that he could hear
her, she said, “KJ, I’m going to make sure you regret this. I’ll make sure of
that.” Then she stepped out of the office. Kojo closed the door after her and
went back to his desk.
His
wife walked in almost immediately he opened the book he was reading.
“Hey
honey, what’s up?” Tadeke called closing the door behind her as she walked in.
Kojo
looked up at his wife. There was a sign of shock on his face. “Wooow, Tadeke,
you shocked me.”
He
walked towards her with his arms opened to give her a hug. He then placed a
gentle kiss on her forehead. She always expected that. She grew to love him do
it. She smiled and looked up at her husband.
“I
wanted to surprise you. I was almost going to call but I figured why not drop
in without a warning.” She smiled again.
“Babe,
I envy this leave of yours. Look at you all fresh and beautiful as ever…” Kojo
said walking back to his seat.
“Really?
Thanks honey.” She replied helping herself to one of the seats in the large
office.
“Yeah.
You look great babe.”
“You
know what? I saw one lady walk out of the office. She had this funny expression
on her face. She looked at me with this look that you give someone when you are
disgusted. Is she one of your unhappy clients?” Tadeke asked.
Kojo
heart almost froze at her question.
Tadeke saw Jennifer walk
out his office? Trouble finally caught up.
“Well,
maybe a client of one of the partners here.”
“She
looked really angry…” Tadeke said. She was looking at her husband. He shrugged.
“I
don’t know how to answer but maybe she did not get what she came for.”
“Maybe.
And she is a very pretty one…” Tadeke allowed her words to trail.
Kojo
looked at his wife trying to figure out if there was some meaning to that
statement.
“Am
I supposed to read a meaning to that?”
She
shrugged.
She often commented like
that. But there was something about it this time that did not seem right. He thought.
“Really?”
She
got to her feet and started for his book closet.
“Yeah.
And I feel like I’ve seen her before I’m just not sure where...”
Kojo
looked at her with his left eye brow lifted. “What about her?”
“Well,
she looked like someone I know… Anyway, I love what you have done with this
place. It’s looking great.” She was looking around his office.
“Yeah?”
He was glad she changed the subject of discussion.
“Yeah.
It’s really tasteful. I see even some offices of the senior partners have been
revamped. I checked on Mrs. Dejo before coming to your office. Pretty cool. You
guys consider an office for me sometime… ” She smiled.
“Yeah,
we try to make things look better. The firm has been doing incredibly well in
last couple of months and we thought we should revamp the office.”
“And
a good job you’ve done with the place.”
“Thank
you.”
“Honey,
this is actually what brought me here to be honest, I would love to go shopping
with my friends tomorrow.”
“You
guys went for shopping only 2weeks ago. What are you shopping for again? You
ladies just never get tired of shopping.”
“Yes,
Titi said she made contact with a new supplier in Dubai who had loads of
fabrics. She wanted us to go see him together but I figured it could also be an
opportunity to shop as well.”
“That’s
good news. How’s her business anyway? You know I have not asked after her in a
while.”
“Well,
she’s been doing very well. She has opened units in South Africa, Ghana,
Zimbabwe and she’s working on opening another outlet in Kenya as we speak.”
“That
woman should have come as a man.” Kojo said with his hands on his waist.
“I
tell you. She’s so much a man than a woman in everything. Very enterprising.”
“Babe
lets go for lunch together. I’m hungry.” Kojo said almost immediately.
“That
sounds good. I have something I’d like to discuss with you.”
Kojo
felt a surge in his stomach. The rumbling had a very unsettling feel to it. “Oh
really?”
“Yeah.”
She said picking up her overcoat.
Kojo
picked up his phone from the table.
He
dialed on the receiver. “Hey, I’d be going for a lunch with my wife. If
anything comes up that needs my attention push the call to my mobile line. Only
important calls ok?”
He
dropped the receiver and joined his wife as she stepped out of the office.
*
* *
Bola
brought the food she had prepared for Wole. He looked at her as she went back
to the kitchen to bring him water. He thought to himself; Lord is Bola the one for me? She has everything any man in this world
would die for. She is neat, beautiful, very charming and godfearing. A good
cook. She would make a great wife and a wonderful mother. Almost
immediately his mind also went back to Fatima. He remembered that she took the
effort to dry clean all his clothes. She had prepared his favorite meal for him
only two days ago. He sat at the table looking at the food watching the steam
as it rose above the hot meal.
“Wole,
what’s wrong?” Bola said.
He
almost knocked the meal off the table at her voice. “Oh, I’m so sorry. This new
project is consuming my mind.” He lied.
“I’ve
often told you, try as much as you can not to bring work burdens when we are
together. You are often so distracted. Whenever we are together, let us be
together. I understand the burden of your work but it will be good if you
sometimes just lean back and forget about work.”
“Yeah…”
He finally managed to say.
“Well…
Is that a yes? And look your food is getting cold.”
Wole
looked up at her. “Babe, you are a jewel and I dare say you would make me a
happy man.”
She
smiled. She loved him a lot. “Your food is cold at this time. I would have to
take it to the microwave now.”
“No.
Its ok.” He returned to his meal. He prayed a quick prayer and started to eat.
Bola
watched him as he devoured the meal in delight. At different times, he would
look up and blow her a kiss. She would return it. She looked at him with
admiration. He had on a fresh haircut. He was sporting a pale yellow polo shirt
and a pair of black jeans. He often made an effort to look good. But she had to know his mind today, she
thought. It was not easy to find a good
man these days. Men were often afraid of commitment. Wole seem not to be
deterred by it. He was very caring and committed. Sometimes, she thought if he
might be pretending. Or just maybe he was one good Christian. She had a couple
of suitors recently but they were always about sex. You could read in between
their lines when you had a conversation with them and you read how shallow
minded they were. They always assumed every girl they meet must be gullible. It
seems everyman out there thinks the ladies are meant to satisfy their sexual
desires and that’s all they are meant for. So when you found one man who is
different, you want to keep him. Wole was different.
She
adjusted in her chair trying to get his attention as he devoured her delicious
meal.
“Uuuuuuummmmmmm”
He giggled.
“Tastes
good?” She asked.
“Tastes
great. Come here take a lovely peck” Bola leaned over as he kissed her on the
cheek.
“You
are welcome.”
Wole
drank the filled glass of water. Then he adjusted his belt loosening it as he
felt it tightening up after the meal.
“Babe,
you are something with those fingers of yours. Mehn! That was some meal.” Bola
smiled as she cleared the table.
Wole
stood up walked up to the large sofa and sat on it. He switched on the TV. He
could hear the clanging of the dish. Bola was washing the plates.
Five minutes later, Bola showed up.
“If
the saying is true that the way to a man’s heart is through his belly, then I
guess I’ve given your heart a visit?”
Wole
smiled. “You don’t visit my heart babe. You have a home in there.”
“Really?”
“Yeah
babe. With this kind of meal, you are guaranteed a home in here.” He said
pointing to his chest.
She
sat beside him.
“Give me a thirty minutes so the meal can digest
before we jump out again.”
“Yeah sure.” She replied.
“We have not seen each other for over three weeks now.
I presume there are lots to catch up on?”
“Well… I don’t know if there’s anything about me you
don’t already know. You already know I just got promoted at work. You also know
my elder sister deliver her baby last week. You also know I miss you a lot. So
what else do you want to know you don’t know already know?”
“Ok. The last part of you missed me is not exactly
clear you know?”
“What do you mean?” Bola asked shifting her attention
from off the TV to him.
“How much do you really miss me?”
“Don’t let it get to your head. I miss you that’s
all.”
“That’s gotten my head swollen already…”
“Yeah right. Wole, I have wanted to ask you a question
but it’s hard to spill…”
“Now that’s serious. You mean you have something to
ask me and it’s difficult to ask? Why is that?”
Bola looked down at her fingers.
“Are you pregnant?”
They both laughed.
“I was just thinking we have carried on with this
relationship for over two years now…”
“Oh I know where this is going.”
Bola looked at his face. She wanted to get his
reaction.
“Wole, please understand I am not trying to put you
under any kind of pressure but you know …”
“Bola, you are my one and only. I want to settle this
project this year and we then move on from there. You don’t want to marry a man
who would not be around for the first eight months of our marriage. I
understand the pressure you are under. But if you can just give me the next six
months…”
“Six months? I thought you said eight months of
absence?”
“Yeah, I can get two months of leave for us to be
together.”
Bola nodded. “Ok, I understand.”
“So babe, you have a home in my heart.”
“You got the whole of my heart not just a home.” Bola
replied.
Wole’s phone began to ring. He pulled it out of his
pocket and it registered B2. It was the name he used to save Fatima on his
phone.
“Not today.” Wole spoke.
“Work?” Bola asked.
“What else?” He lied.
“Now wait a second, do you guys work on Saturdays now?
I thought that was cancelled last year?”
“Yeah. We don’t work on Saturdays, this must just be
something very important. I rarely get calls from the office on Saturdays.”
“So why don’t you call back to find out if it’s
something you must attend to.” Bola was curious.
“If I call back it might be something that would take
me away. I want to spend this weekend with you and I mean it.”
“Yeah Wole. I appreciate that but I would feel very
bad if I find out that it would develop into a ‘fracas’ with your boss at
work.” She said making a gesture of quote. “Call back and if it’s something
very important then I would let you go. I would not let you miss an opportunity
like this for me. I understand. Just call back.”
Wole could not read any suspicion on her face. It was
all laden with sincerity. But he figured she suspected something.
His phone rang again. He knew if he didn’t pick the
call, it would only make her aver her suspicion. He looked at her face and
smiled. “I guess I have to do this. Hope you’d forgive me for this? I’d make it
up to you.”
Bola nodded. “I understand.”
“Hey B2. What’s up?”
B2?
Is that a colleague’s
name or is that me just been suspicious? Bola thought.
“Really? No I’m not home now. I’m not sure when I’d be
back. Is it really important...? No… Ok, I’d let you know… No common… ” Then
the call ended. Wole turned to meet Bola’s eyes. She was looking at him. Her
suspicion was obvious.
“Who was that?” She asked.
“Lord look at your face Bola. It was a colleague for
crying out loud.”
“B2? You have a colleague called B2?”
“Bola now what’s all this? Are you suggesting…?”
“No. Wole I’m not suggesting anything. I just want you
to be honest with me.”
Wole pretended to be shocked. “Now, are you been
suspicious? You are often suspicious of me everytime and I thought we agreed
you would not do this again?”
“No. Wole I’m not suspecting you. The name just
sounded a little strange that’s all.”
“Do you want me to call the person and you speak to
him?” He acted like he meant what he said.
“No. Wole its alright. I don’t want us fussing over
something like this. I trust you and I’m sorry.”
Wole stood from the chair adjusting his t-shirt.
“Are you mad at me now?” Bola asked looking at him.
“Should I be? Let me think about it for a minute… Yes,
I am mad at you. How would you feel if I said the same thing to you when you
made a call?”
“Wole, I said I am sorry.”
He rejoined her on the sofa. “Now do you want to tell
me why this came up?”
“I’m sorry. I guess I’m just a little too jealous.”
“Hmmm. Jealous? That’s a woman thing?”
“What do you mean woman thing. You guys are more
jealous. I have seen a guy beat up a girl simply because he called her brother
dear…”
They both laughed.
“No I don’t think that’s the whole story. And are you
sure that other guy was her brother?”
“Yeah. I know the family and the girl was my friend. That’s
not the only one. I have also seen a guy go on and on about his girlfriend
hanging out with too many guys and always smiling when she’s around them. Can
you imagine that?”
“Would you like to see me hanging out with a lot of
ladies and at the same time always smiling with them?”
“No. But I believe there are better ways to handle
such situations. Not just blabbing all over the place about it. Or worse,
beating the person up for it.”
“Like?”
“Well, I would communicate my feelings to you
politely. I would try to make you see how I perceive such relationship with
your female friends.”
“Ok, let’s say you came to my office on many occasions
and you saw me in a flirting stance with my female colleagues, how would you
communicate your feelings to me?”
“When the time comes I’d know how to deal with it
then. But I know you are not that kind of guy.”
Wole smiled. He pulled her close to him and kissed her
on the head. He could smell the light and sweet smell of her shampoo. He held
her for a sometime before he finally released her and said, “I’m not that kind
of guy. I’m glad you know me that much.”
She looked up into his eyes. It was brown hazel. She
wanted to reach into his soul from his eyes. Then she took her gaze away. “I
love you,” she said finally.
“I love you too.” Wole replied quietly.
*
* *
Morris looked at his wristwatch for the sixteenth
time.
He had waited at the same spot for almost two hours.
He was getting uneasy. He wondered to himself what Jide would have told the
girl. He had watched her for the past four days. Now, he knew how she ran her
schedule. She gets back from work early on Fridays. He knows she arrives
between 5pm and 5:30pm. His wristwatch registered 7:15pm and he had not seen
any sign of her. He looked again through his rearview mirror. Then he turned
down the volume of the music in his car. It had kept him company for the whole
time but now it was getting noisy. He was getting uneasy. He was not popular
for his patience.
There was a car coming but it was some distance away
from where he had parked his car. From his rearview mirror, the car looked like
deep blue from the distance. Then as it came closer, he could make out the red
Rav4 Toyota jeep pull around the corner. He adjusted in his seat so he could
watch as the car came closer. He could see the driver of the car was a woman.
He looked at his reflection in the mirror. He looked great he thought. He could
see her as the car pulled past him. Seeing her come this close made some
adrenalin pump in his belly. She turned her head as she drove past him. He was
not sure if she saw him or she was looking at him but the glare seemed to have
skimmed past him as she drove by.
He had a plan he had waited this long to execute but
somehow, at that very moment, it seemed like a dull plan. He thought about it
again. It still looked lame. So he discarded it.
Adora drove to her gate and honked. Then the gate
began to open when she felt a bump on her car from behind. She turned to look
and she saw the car that ran into her rare.
The driver pulled over and came down. He walked up to
her car as she opened her door and stepped out. At first, her instinct told her
to get back and drive inside. It might be an arm robbery attempt or kidnap. But
she dislodged the warnings. She was pissed. And it wasn’t completely dark yet.
Her neighborhood was not also the extremely quiet one.
When the driver finally came around, he looked at
where he had hit the car. There was a little scratch. Just like he had wanted
it.
“I’m so sorry” He spoke.
“What happened?” Adora almost squealed.
“I’m so sorry. I thought I had cleared well” Morris
looked at her, pleading. She looked
better than Jide had described.
“But looking at where you came from, there was enough
room. There is no reason why you left the road and ran into my car…”
“Honestly, I’m so sorry. My stirring went stiff all of
a sudden. Terribly sorry. I’d fix that scratch.” Morris was looking at
her and not the car.
Adora walked to the spot where he had hit her. The
scratch wasn’t obvious but if you were keen, you could see it.
“That’s ok. Don’t worry about the fix. You need
to go and get that checked. You might have injured someone with that.”
“Well, I’m grateful I didn’t.”
The gatekeeper was now with them. He was looking at
Morris with disdain written on his face.
“Madam welcome. Na so una go dey drive like craze
person. You wan tell me say you no see road? Abi na your brake fail? Na so una
dey take thief person moto…” The gatekeeper said with anger in his voice.
“Its alright Musa.” Adora said trying to control the
gatekeeper.
Morris did not look in the gatekeeper’s direction at
all. His gaze was entirely on Adora.
He finally turned to the gatekeeper, “Oga Musa abeg no
vex. I no know wetin do my moto…”
“You no suppose carry am go see mekanic before you
drive am comot for house?”
“Nothing do the car.”
“Its ok. Musa, please come and open the gate very well
let me drive in.”
“Yes madam.” He finished and ran back inside.
Morris walked close to her window. She noticed him but
did not turn in his direction. He knocked on the glass as he saw the gate
opening wider. She drove in without saying anything to him.
Morris watched as the car drove into the large
compound. It did not go as he had thought.
Well, at least she saw his face. When he finally gets her to like him, he would
definitely remind her of this scene. He smiled as he walked back to his
car.
*
* *
“No. Its not possible.”
“Why do you say it is not possible?”
“Pastor Fredrick cannot do that. I know the man. Where
did you get all this information? You are talking like you were there and you
actually saw him steal from the Church’s treasury?”
“Rev. Tunji, I know you hold us all in high esteem but
do you think I would boldly come before you with this kind of accusations
without having done my research first?”
Rev. Tunji looked at the faces of the two men sitting
with him in the conference room.
“You mean Pastor Frederick is stealing from the
Church?” Rev. Tunji asked again.
“Yes Rev.” Pastor Ndukwe said affirming with a nod.
“What I gathered was that, he had been stealing for
some time now.” Pastor Doyin averred.
“But from where did you gather this information?”
“I promised my source I would keep his identity a
secret.”
The Reverend stood from his seat and walked towards
the back of the room while the two men watched him. Then he suddenly turned and
said, “How genuine is this information and is the source trustworthy? I can’t
base my decision on false accusations. It’s a sin before God and also unfair to
the innocent man.”
“I can say without a doubt that the information is
true. My source is a born again Christian and a committed member of the church.
He is also a close friend of mine.”
“Is that so?” The Reverend looked at them with his
eyes cocked.
The two men exchanged glances and returned their
attention to the Reverend with some form of uneasiness.
“Reverend, I can bet my faith on this,” Pastor Doyin
finally said, “nobody would go to such length with the intention to soil a
man’s name like that.”
Reverend Tunji leaned on the large brownish-black
glass table.
He could see his reflection on the smooth shiny
surface staring back at him. “I hope you know what this would cost us if
this information is false?”
“Yes Reverend. We would not come this far without
haven weighed the consequences…”
“It’s interesting though. Pastor Frederick was with me
when this ministry started and he has been faithful. But the sudden change is a
big concern for me. I will talk to him personally.”
“I think you should do that sir.” Pastor Doyin said.
Reverend Tunji looked at each man. Their faces were
glued to him and he could sense their expectation. He looked back at his
reflection. He drew a circle around the reflection of his face with his finger.
Pastor Ndukwe stood up. “Reverend Tunji, I know how
much Pastor Frederick means to you but if this action is not curbed it might
get to the wrong ears and we don’t want rumors about us going around has men
without integrity and the fear of God. Pastor Frederick is also a good friend
and that’s why it makes me wonder why he would do such a thing. If he had any
financial problem, he should have at least spoken to anyone of us…”
“I appreciate your concerns and I must say it’s a
great privilege God has given me to work with men like you. I would see to this
matter as soon as possible. In the meantime, I would crave your indulgence to
continue to stretch your hand of fellowship to him. He is one of us and no
matter what it is, we would find out and I believe that the Lord would deliver
him.”
Pastor Doyin and Pastor Ndukwe exchange glances.
“So Reverend, I dragged Pastor Doyin from his family.
I’m sure they would be waiting for him.”
“Yes. Thank you men of God. May the good Lord favor
and continue to multiply His grace upon you.”
“Amen.” They chorused and left the room afterwards.
The Reverend was left with his thoughts.
*
* *
Patience could see the concern on her husband’s face.
“Honey, what’s wrong?”
Paul stared at his wife for a moment and then looked
away.
She asked again, “honey talk to me, what is wrong?
Whatever it is, it is written all over your face.”
He took her hand and squeezed it gently. Something he
was accustomed to. Somehow he always found solace with that.
“Honey?” Patience said again.
He looked at her and said, “Someone in the office is
trying to implicate me…”
“Implicate you? How? Why? Who?” She looked at him more
intently.
“I can’t completely say how or who but I just have a
strong feeling about it.”
“I don’t understand. A feeling?”
“It’s somehow complicated.”
“But what gave you this impression?”
He sat up from the position he was leaning. “I got a
call from Mr Venson this morning to come into his office. I went into his
office and there were three other people with him. They had this plan on the
table which was one of my work. Somehow when I entered, I got this very cold
stare from the other men in the room. Somewhere inside my heart I began to fret
a little. Then I was told that the plan I made was not originally done by me…”
“Wait. Wait. Wait. I don’t understand.” She stood up
from her seat.
“Sit down dear. Like I said it’s a little
complicated.”
“How so?”
“The thing is, the plan was done by me but there were
some piece in the plan that I had seen on a website at one time. I did not copy
it verbatim so to say but I made some modifications so I won’t be held for
propriety theft. But this is something else…”
“Ok. Now what you are trying to say is somebody is
suing you for propriety theft?”
“Something in that line.”
“But you did not steal anything now?”
“The question is how did they find out in the first
place? It’s very difficult to decipher the correlation between my design and
that on the website I saw but somehow someone got to know about it and maybe
contacted the website plan owners or something like that.”
“Who did you tell about your modifications?”
“I have not told anybody.”
“So I guess they found it out themselves?”
“That’s very impossible. Even Mr. Venson thought it
was ridiculous when they accosted him. That was why I was summoned.”
“So what did you say?”
“Well I told them the truth. Wole said I should have
lied but would I throw away my faith because of that?”
“Honey, it is a good thing you told them the truth. So
what now?”
“They said they would pursue legal actions if we
continue the project.”
“And what is your company saying about that?”
“I have not heard from Mr. Venson since then. But I
think it would generate a lot of heat. Our competitors are looking for every
avenue to unleash their wrath. You know we won the project on a thin breadth.
Now this…” He put his head in his hands.
Patience rubbed his back, “Honey, God would vindicate
you for telling the truth.”
“Babie, I know. But I hope He does it very soon. I’m
worried on how this would turn out. God! I thought i did the right thing. Now…”
“Paul honey, you are an honest man and you have proven
that many times. Even if they would pursue legal actions against your company,
you have done the right thing and somehow God would show up.”
“Babie I need God’s grace right now. Please pray for
me.” He held her hands firmly. He had worry written all over his face.
“You can count on that.”
“Somebody must have seen my design and traced it
somehow. I wish I knew who it was.”
“Well knowing who it was won’t take it away. We would
call on our Father and He would come through.”
Paul kissed his wife on the back of her hands. Her
hands were warm and comforting. She was a reliable companion at all
times. Then he left the living room and went upstairs to his room to sleep.
“Honey, don’t sleep off on me.”
“I would try.” He called back.
Patience watched him as he walked up the stairs. He
turned back on his way up and smiled at her.
She smiled back.
Reassuringly.
****************************************
CHAPTER 5 Coming Soon
****************************************
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