AMBER ROMANCE

WHEN THE HEART KNOWS


CHAPTER TWO




Nma stared at him unbelievably. She couldn’t believe it, it was as if the man was following her deliberately, that or fate was calling a tune for them to dance willingly or not. She thought momentarily.
“Hello” she smiled coolly. “In what way may I help you?” she asked in a businesslike manner.
“Actually I need a tux”
“Well that’s no problem, but how did you know I work here, I could have been a customer” asked Nma suspiciously
She saw the man’s smile broaden knowingly. “I have learnt to trust my instincts, and it rarely fails me”
Nma was held spellbound by his smile. It was such a nice smile that brought out dimples on his cheeks it did things to her insides she couldn’t begin to describe.
“Very well then, I’ll just drop these” she said, gesturing at the bag she was carrying.
He watched her walk away and admiring the sway of her hips. He watched her open the door and caught a glimpse of Felix and before he knew what he was doing he followed her. He was going to find out what the man meant to her and who he was to her. How many boyfriends could one girl have? He asked himself hardly trying to get a hold on his fast rising temper.
Nma walked briskly back to Felix’s office, all the time being aware that the man was looking at her, watching her every movement, thereby making her nervous and conscious..
She was thankful when she got to Felix’s office. She opened the door and found Felix and his wife in each other’s arms.
“Oh don’t mind me, you can go ahead and kiss” she smiled at them, going over the table to drop her bag.
“Did you decide against taking that home?” Felix asked.
“No, I didn’t but someone needs my help to choose a tuxedo” she answered.
“Hmm! That person must have a very good taste for choosing you among the entire sales girl he saw there” Tessy commented
“I’ll give you three guesses” Nma said to Felix
“Right now my mind is too muddled to think straight” Felix said. Nma laughed, if she was ever going to get married, she would make sure the man loved her like Felix did Tessy. The couple only had to look at each other to want to be in each other’s arms even after years of marriage.
“Ok, I will help you out, the gentleman who was standing around this morning” she laughed
“Run along and help him, I just hope he buys this time.”
“I wonder why you are in such a hurry to see me leave this room” Nma said knowingly.
“Would you please get out of here and let me kiss my husband” Tessy said, smiling.
Nma laughed and started towards the door, as she opened it and stepped out, she bumped into the stranger. Hastily, she closed the door, before looking up into his eyes.
She saw in his eyes the disapproval of what he saw going on inside Felix’s office and she resented him for that, wondering what business of his it was.
“This way” she muttered. Trying to smile, after all he was a customer, and if she played her cards well, he could become a lucrative one.
“Are those your workers?” he asked as he followed her
“Felix works here, and Tessy is his wife” she answered, before she realized what he asked.
“My workers?” she asked.
“I hope my instinct didn’t let me down for the first time” he asked.
Nma gave him a hard stare and started to move
“So do you allow that sort of thing in your working environment?”
“What sort of thing do you mean?”
“Cuddling and necking in the office during office hours”
“Look” Nma began stiffly; “It is none of your business alright, your only business here is to buy if you want to and pay” she said and regretted it immediately, what was wrong with her? She would have fired any sales girl who dared to talk to her customers this way and now she was doing it. It wasn’t her fault that the man was infuriating, she rationalized. Who did he think he was, what right had he to question her about her work ethics. Calm down she warned herself.
“Touché, the perfect business woman, is this how you talk to all your customers, haven’t you ever heard the slogan that customers are always right”
“Felix and Tessy are family and they love each other very well” she answered mildly, trying to make up for her earlier outburst.
“They have other places more convenient to show that to each other”
“What exactly did you come here for, to buy a jacket or to lecture me on how to handle my workers?” Nma asked furiously. She could feel her temper returning.
“So far on office ethics, now to buy a tux”
“What type exactly do you have in mind?” Nma asked switching back to her business tone.
 “It is my sister’s engagement party, she wants everything formal” he almost whined.
 Nma looked at him, staring at his suit. How could someone who wore suit so naturally prefer not to like it?
The man caught her looking at his suit and explained. “Actually, I have to confess I’m dying to get it off.”
“You can’t possibly be a police man?” Nma asked jokingly. “You know policemen are rather known for their poor taste for formal wears”
The man laughed. It was a pleasing throaty sound she wondered why she was noticing
“No I’m not”
“We better get a suit then”
Nma walked to the rack and pushed through the suits. She brought out a tux which she was sure was going to do magic on his chocolate complexion, at first she thought he was dark, but being near him, she was sure, he was a bit fair.
“This I believe will work magic on your body” She told him, extracting the jacket from the rack. Without shame and to Nma embarrassment, the man began to remove his jacket.
“We have a changing room, you know” she told him mockingly.
“I know” he smiled. “I wasn’t going to remove everything and stand natural in front of you. Only the jacket, I need a second opinion. Besides this place is hidden from the rest of the room” He explained.
“There is a mirror in the changing room and you can always change there and come out in it for my opinion” she told him exasperated. Before she could finish what she was saying the jacket was off, his fitted shirt clung to his muscular body and assaulting her senses with big and broad shoulders, wide and muscled chest, flat and hard stomach that would make any A list actor very jealous. Knowing that people could come upon them, she dragged him and matched towards the changing room.
In a hurry to get the man inside the room, she found herself inside with him. The place was built to accommodate at least two people but not with someone his size, she thought as she tried to leave. But the infuriating man caught hold of her arm. Uche smiled as he held her, he had accomplished what he set out to do, rattling her. Now she was not going to forget him in a hurry. That sounded so conceited but he didn’t mind as long as the end justified the means. He looked her over and felt the jolt of electricity he didn’t expect and he stared her at astonished.
“This was exactly what I’m trying to explain to you, this place is too small for two people, He said mockingly, releasing her.
Nma staggered out of the room. The man was stark raving mad, she thought. He was just a cave man in suit, no wonder he didn’t feel comfortable in it.  She knew right from the first moment she saw him that there was something roguish about him. She was sure it was that same thing that gave him a feeling of recklessness when he was confined, especially in a suit and maybe a changing room, she thought restlessly as she waited for him to come out. “But he was so big” she exclaimed inwardly, and muscular too. She wondered what he did for a living. Maybe he was an athlete or something similar, she couldn’t just picture him behind a desk. He would find the confinement too much for his sanity, she thought. Then shocked at what she was thinking. What was wrong with her, how could she be mooning over a man she barely knew, she thought trying to banish him from her mind.
What business of hers was it, if he was a mountain climber? She scolded herself. She looked around, looking for another thing to occupy her mind before he came out. Then she realized how quite closeted they were from the others in the boutique. The room was L shaped and they were at the tail end. And the huge pillar in the centre of the room didn’t help matters. The room was divided into several compartments for different kinds of clothing. The casuals were the first thing you would see when come in, she also had traditional wears of all kinds. The evening attires were the last of all. She smiled proud for what she had accomplished so far and by the grace of God she was going to accomplish more. She looked around for the man and wondered what was delaying him? She had a mind of going to find out but her body reacted excitedly at that thought and that stopped her short. She looked at herself like she was seeing herself for the first time. She didn’t know she was capable of such wicked thoughts. She could feel fear and excitement and hated herself for it.  She saw him coming out and waited for him with a plastic smile on her face.
“So?” she raised her eyebrow at him.
“It is okay, it’s not my party, and I don’t have to steal the shine from my brother in law to be”
“You are going to, even without trying” she said silently.
“Is there some other thing you want?” she smiled sweetly, the business woman again.
“We have real good silk business suit and morning suit, I’m sure they’ll look good on you”
“Actually there is one more thing I need, to be completely ready for tonight” he started.
“What would that be? There is a nice bola hat that goes nicely with that tux” she offered.
He smiled at her and shook his head negatively at her offer “What I need is date” he said firmly
Nma was caught off guard and speechless. “A date?” she asked. Now she was sure, the man was stark raving mad. How in this world did he think she ran that kind of agency?
“Yes, a date. I was given an ultimatum to bring a date tonight”
“I’m sure that wont be a problem, you can just go to dear old diary or phone book and look up an old friend” she laughed
“I don’t have anything like that, where I write down names of women I could hook up with anytime” he said.
“Well, I don’t think I can help you, we don’t run that kind of agency here” she said. Then it dawned on her that this could be his way of asking her out, she hissed silently, she would have to be a mad woman to agree to go on a date with him, she thought. This man wasn’t her kind and no matter how tempting he was, she was not going anywhere with him. Meanwhile her heart jumped in anticipation. She wondered if she was right about what she was thinking he had in mind.
“Oh! I think you can, I’m asking you to be my date tonight”
Nma wasn’t shocked; she had known that was where he was going all along, but the shocking part was how she felt about it. She was trying to calm her jumping heart that had already said yes. And was already imagining what it would be like to spend real time with this exciting man. She had to scold herself before she could answer him.
“Sorry I can’t possibly accept, I’m sure finding a date wouldn’t pose a big problem. As you are driving out, look for pretty girls waiting to have fun, if you become that desperate” she said.
“Getting a date is not a problem for me”
“I can imagine” she said silently. Not with a body and face like that and she was very sure the man was rich by all indication.
“But the girl I want to accompany me tonight is you” he said charmingly.
“I’m sorry to disappoint you again, but I just can’t go out with you.” she said firmly. She could hear her heart calling her a thousand different names for trying to deprive it of the company of this man.
“You do have other plans already?” he asked.
“You are right, I do” she answered dismissively, walking away.
He caught her by the arm and turned her to face him. “Cancel it, he is not worth it, even me from afar could see that”
She became real upset at his arrogance. She was trying desperately to calm her temper and she was failing miserably  “what makes you think that…, or just because most woman might give their right hand to go out with you doesn’t mean this woman would, and for your information nosey, Ken is worth hundred times more than you do” Nma said heatedly.
“Then why are you scared, or are you afraid that some hours in my company would make you see how much he is lacking.” He said coolly.
“You are impossible. I’m not going anywhere with you, just get that into your brain”
“Do you think I’m asking you out to start a whirl wind romance? Now I know where you are mistaken but going out with me is for your own good, you are good in what you do and accompanying me to the party would give you connections you won’t get in a decade. It will be a free advertisement for you”
“Just who do you think you are?” Nma asked icily
“Uche Okoha.” He said with pride and arrogance.
Okoha! She thought. Why would any Okoha be wearing Nma, where are the Armani and Valentino’s of this world she thought frantically. Okay he was right, his mother owned one of the first class boutiques in the world, and just imagine Nma sold alongside Dior… but that chance was gone, she had already spoilt it, there was no way she was going to turn around now and say yes, not after all she had said, she thought regretfully.
Not letting her inner turmoil show on her face as her father taught her. She looked up at him to find him looking at her rather strangely, not with satisfaction as she had thought he would.
“I guessed as much” she murmured. “I am not going anywhere with you, Okoha or not. I have a trailer load of work to do at home” she said firmly.
“I’m a busy man too, but sometime you’ve got to take a deep breathe and enjoy what you’ve accomplished” he said smiling.
He too was confused, he expected her to change her mind and say yes at the mention of his surname and the opportunity his mother’s boutique could offer her. Did he judge her wrongly? He asked himself, the girl he had been watching for a while would do anything to climb the next step in the ladder. She could be pretending, he thought and wondered why the thought seemed to annoy him.
“Come on, I promise you’ll enjoy it, I may even come in and help if the work is too much” he joked.
Nma couldn’t resist laughing, she imagined him with scissors, cutting or sewing a material in her small studio, that was if the place could take his size.
“So it is a yes, I’ll pick you up by eight o” clock prompt, no African time” he said patting her shoulder
He was gone before she had the chance to tell him again that she was not going anywhere with him. “I’m not going anywhere with this arrogant pig headed man” she willed herself to say.
She walked back into Felix’s office feeling incompetent; first she wasn’t able to convince ken she was not going to ever marry him. Again she wasn’t able to convince a complete stranger that she was not going out with him, she thought. She wondered if she was really shrewd enough for business.
She opened Felix office and found him alone.
“I was beginning to think you gave him a tour of the boutique instead” he joked.
“The man turned out to be an enigma, he was very difficult” she waved it aside. “Has Tessy gone?” she asked picking up her bag.
“You look unwell or did he upset you?” Felix asked
“He is Uche Okoha and I’m wondering why he decided to shop at Nma” Nma said.
“You have to give yourself some credit, Nma is very reputable and probably the best in the country”
“He asked me to accompany him to his sister’s engagement party” Nma pointed out, hoping Felix would see the connection she was making.
“Whoa, that is an opportunity you know, his mother is, well owns one of the best boutiques around. You could get an introduction”
“I wasn’t thinking of going, I have a lot of work to do”
“Better for you go, you have thought of ways to move Nma higher, this is an opportunity, not to talk of the guests who might start shopping here” Felix admonished.
“Well, it is an opportunity, I agree but…”
she didn’t finish it, but there was something about the man that made her want to turn tails and start running for her dear life, or in this case her dear heart. That brought her down to earth, as she scolded her recently wandering mind.
“I’ll think about it though” she added.
“There is nothing to think about, this is an opportunity we cannot pass by, and unless it’s the man you are accompanying that is bothering you”
Nma hastily denied that the man was bothering her, knowing Felix he would be adding two and two and getting five.
“I’ll see you in the evening tomorrow if I go, I’ll use the whole of the next day making up for what ever time I loose tonight” she said, going towards the door.
“Wear something breathtaking, it will do the magic, even if no one introduces you” Felix advised laughing.
“Trust me to knock ‘em all out” she beamed at him as she closed the door.

She found it difficult concentrating as she drove home. She could not make up her mind about the man. Common sense told her to go but she couldn’t bring herself to accept. She could take it as a working night, she decided and considered it. And use the night to do some serious networking with the rich. The Okohas have been rated as the richest in the ccontinent and Uche Okoha sat at the head of the rich vast empire since his father retired. So everyone who would be at the party could be useful to her. If they don’t end up as customers, they could end up as sponsors. She made up her mind to go. It was a good business move.  Yet her heart was beating frantically and she didn’t know if it was from fear or excitement. But didn’t they say fear is a form of excitement. Most girls would give their right hand to be with him, to be seen with him. He was every girl’s dream come true, how she wished she was one of those girls who thought looks and money were all they needed. She has been brought up to believe that self respect was better. Had she not worked hard at being independent so she would not depend on men? But this was different she thought, she was not running after the man, neither was she going out with him for his money or looks, rather she was going to use this opportunity to get to know the right people for her business. Mrs. Okoha was one of such people and she hoped she would impress the woman tonight. Happy that she had resolved the problem, she was going to the party to impress the mother and not the son she turned her mind to more practical matters. What was she going to wear? Now that was another dilemma. She had a closet full enchanting clothes but choosing the right one would be a big problem she thought, seeing no way to resolve this she decided to wait till she got home.

Uche relaxed at his balcony overlooking the beach, he has been working steadily for a couple of hours so he guessed he deserved a little reprieve to stretch his legs and look at the wonderful view. A smile of satisfaction was playing at the corners of his mouth. He didn’t even deny that the fact that he was going to have his first date with Hazel eyes was responsible for his satisfaction. He glanced at his Rolex and saw that he had little time to get ready for his first date with the witch. He turned around to get a quick shower but stopped. Did he stare longer at the bed or was it his imagination. He shook his head in self pity. He hadn’t gotten the girl yet and he was picturing the two of them between the sheets. He laughed and pulled the T shirt off his head. He wasn’t going to deny that he was going out of mind wanting her, and if it was possible tonight, he scolded himself at the thought. When did he become this shallow? Behaving like a teenager who had just had his first promise of the forbidden. He laughed and walked into the bathroom. Well at least Eva would be happy, she was getting what she wanted, she wanted a new girl in his life and she had gotten it. The problem still remained, what was he going to do with Angela? The girl acted like a psycho, was she possessed? She conveniently forgot that he didn’t make any promises to her. He thanked his lucky stars she was not going to be there tonight.

Meanwhile back in her house Nma went to the studio first and dropped her baggage. She glanced at her watch and realized she had barely an hour and half to get ready, she thought as she headed to the bathroom. As she turned the knob she remembered that she didn’t give him her address nor did he demand for it. He acted like he already knew her place very well, she thought shocked as she opened her door and collapsed on the bed. The thing was he acted like he knew a lot about her, her name, her work and even about Ken. “How come” she asked herself? Had he been monitoring her or asking questions about her, but why? She reasoned. She didn’t mean anything to him at all; she didn’t know anything about him but was written in magazines and newspapers.
Okoha was a name she saw in the dailies or magazine or heard over the radio and TV. He didn’t mean anything to her. So why would he waste his time digging about her. Surely Uche Okoha, the heir to the vast empire wouldn’t waste time doing all that, she thought. And surely wouldn’t waste time asking any woman out like he did her. Women were always swimming around him, falling over themselves to get his attention. Was he really Uche Okoha or any Okoha for that matter, or was this just a trap? She asked herself tentatively. She would have been a fool if she didn’t consider that fact, there were crooks was everywhere and the most annoying of them all were the local ones who beguiled innocent people and defrauded of them of their money. Well if the man was after her money, he was in for a terrible disappointment. But she doubted the man would be a fraudster. He didn’t have the look of it. The man looked wealthy enough to be Uche Okoha and he certainly looked handsome enough. She was probably the only girl on earth who wouldn’t recognize Uche Okoha. She never really cared until now, now that the man was confronting her. If this was confrontation she thought, she wasn’t complaining. She only wished that he would turn out to be who said he was and not some fraudster after her money.
“This is ridiculous” she told herself, standing up to undress. When did she become such a coward? This was a challenge, she told herself and she thrived on challenges. This was an opportunity to take Nma higher and that had always been her prime goal. She was more than willing to risk tonight for that purpose. She might not now understand his interest in her.  He said he was not asking her out to start an affair with her, which meant he was not interested in her as a woman. The thought met with a little disappointment. This was the first time in her entire life a man didn’t find her interesting enough. Men were always after her, she had never for once lacked date or an admirer, they were always there, if not interested in her then they would be in her business? She almost laughed her head off. What interest would Uche Okoha have in a business as meager as hers? Compared to his vast empire hers was a little anthill. Getting hold of her thoughts, she marched into the closet to scan for what to wear.
In her closet hung many enchanting evening gowns, She pushed through them one by one deciding against most of them, then she got to the last gown and stopped.
“No” she muttered, I can’t possibly wear this” she protested, already she had extracted the gown and was inspecting it. “This is too much” she said. But she had never won any battle against wearing a beautiful dress. Nma carried the dress to the mirror and placed it in front of her. it was a green Grecian gown with wide neck and short puff sleeves, the gown clung to her upper body emphasizing her very tiny waist then fished out at her ankles “This is overdressing, come on I’m not the celebrant” she told herself in another attempt to keep the exquisite dress down. Running her fingers through the soft and smooth material, she couldn’t put it back, not when she was already thinking of how she would look in it. This gown she had designed for herself for a friend’s party, but she had found it too dressy for the occasion and had decided against wearing it. But tonight she was going to wear it and knock all those rich ladies out of their minds that they would start screaming Nma the next day, she dreamed. And Uche Okoha, she thought.  He asked for a date right? Well tonight he had bitten more than he can chew. She thought, making up her mind to wear the gown and damn the consequences. She laid the dress on the bed and went into the bathroom to have a shower. She would have loved to soak herself in the scented water, but there was no time for that. A glance at her watch told her she was running late, so she settled for a quick shower. Nma sat on the stool in front of her mirror and applied her makeup carefully not wanting any flaw tonight. Then she got into the dress and stood in front of her mirror and zipped the dress, it clung to her waist, emphasizing how tiny her waist was. She did a twirl in front of the mirror and held her breathe as her dress whirled around her, swaying at her ankles. She then braided her hair and piled it up in a perfect chignon, slipping her slender feet into high heel sandals. She took another look at herself in the mirror before going to her drawer to find a white glove that will fit the exquisite gown. Then she walked majestically into the living room to await her handsome stranger. This must be was exactly how Cinderella must have felt when she met her prince charming, she thought. Only that she was not about to meet her prince charming, though he could be described as that judging from his looks only. At few minutes to eight, she was sitting in her living room waiting for him to come while her mind jostled between his coming or not. She wondered how it would feel like if he didn’t come, she would just walk back into her bedroom feeling dejected. Maybe he had found someone else to accompany him, like the elegant woman he had lunch with this afternoon. Why didn’t he ask the woman instead, the thought occurred to her? Anyway he didn’t say he couldn’t find anybody to ask out, but he did say the woman he wanted was her. That should answer her question, she assured herself. Again she wondered if the woman would be at the party. She hoped she was not the type that could create ugly scenes, the thought alarmed her. Anyway there might not be anything serious between them since he asked her out. She thought.
At eight o” clock she went back into the room to check herself in the mirror once again. She looked at her bare neck and considered wearing something; she wore no jewel on it. Her only jewels were her gold and diamond stud earring that was given to her by Ken for Christmas.
Deciding against any other jewelry, she left the room, as she entered the living room she heard a knock on the door and her heart skipped a beat in anticipation but stilling her emotions she went to open the door for him.


PLZ DONT JUST READ AND GO, IF U ENJOYED THIS STORY, PLS FOLLOW OR SUBSCRIBE TO THE BLOG.

PLZ SHARE WITH FRIENDS, FAMILY AND ALL AND ON SOCIAL MEDIA.