AMBER ROMANCE

WHEN THE HEART KNOWS


 CHAPTER ONE

Nma woke up slowly, stretched and yawned, casting her eyes about, she gasped delightfully and watched in growing wonder as a spectrum of orange and red cast its rays into her room. In joyful wonder she noticed the beautiful sunrise coming from the window and sighed happily and sat up. She loved it when the day began like this; it brought promises of a terrific day ahead. She looked around her room and smiled, it was a beautiful room and every morning she woke up in it, she looked at it like she was seeing it for the first time. The walls were done in sparkling white and the floor was covered in a rich chocolate tiles. Her ivory carved dressing mirror was at one corner while some white leather couches were at another and her bed spread matched her floor. She got up from the bed and stretched again breathing in the sweet fresh air, exhaling slowly and lingeringly.
“This is what it feels like to be young, independent and successful”. She sighed happily. She was only twenty six and already had her own thriving business, a clothe line that was gaining popularity by the day. She moved to the window as if the sunrise called out to her, she wanted a closer look of the beautiful orange bloom, to her it was one of those nature’s unique gift and most people took it for granted but not Nma. She often wondered why some people never stopped to admire it and exclaim in awe again and again the majesty of our God. Suddenly through the well manicured izora flowers which also served as a demarcation between her and the next house, she saw her neighbor, a married woman whom she had never learnt to get along with give her a disapproving look and drew up cottons hastily. Nma looked at herself in wonder and realized she was still in her lacy knickers and matching top, she hastily used the drapes to cover herself laughing as she breathed in lingeringly once more the freshness of the new day.
The negligee was one of her latest design and she was just trying it out. She was not only a very good and highly creative designer; she was also an accomplished tailor.
She had learnt to sew on her father’s lap. She never knew her mother; the woman left when she was still a baby. Her father was a good tailor, he started the NMA collections but he died before he could see it become successful, she sighed unhappily at the thought. She wasn’t going to allow herself  dwell on that particular thought today, not with the day whispering delightful promises. She pushed the bitter memories from her mind as she pushed herself away from the window and picked up her small watering can and went to water her plant. She had bought the green plant thinking she could start a garden but the demands of her work didn’t allow her the time for such luxury. As she watered it she noticed the single rose standing in a glass jar next to the plant. Dropping the kettle she picked up the rose and carried it to the mirror.
The rose was given to her by one of her numerous admirers. But this one stood out from the rest. He was a successful banker, handsome and humorous, kind and generous from what she had seen so far from their numerous dates still she just couldn’t bring herself to make the commitment necessary to solidify the relationship. At twenty six she still had time to get into a well meaning relationship, she thought ruefully. Now was the time to take her career further and higher, the sky was her beginning.
She was going to create designs that would put her clothe line on the world’s map and she was going to diversify into other credible ventures.
Designing was her life; she had been designing since she was a kid. Her father allowed her to practice with brown paper while he worked. From there she graduated  to pieces of cloths, by the time she was ten, her father would allow her to cut the material for him and also allow her to sew the simple styles.
“Oh Dad, How do I come to terms that you are no more even after ten years?” She cried silently as she put the rose back into the jar. “If you were here I would have asked you what to do about Ken and his persistence for a commitment” she said aloud bitterly.
How was she even going marry him when he believed she was  going to be twenty nine on her next birth day, she murmured and moved to run a bath for herself.
The man was just totally blind without his double lens. On their first date when he had asked her how old she was, she had playfully asked him to guess and to her greatest astonishment he had said twenty nine. She was so taken aback that she refused to correct him, Not that she blamed him, it was rare to see a twenty six year old who was as successful or as ambitious as she was. So she didn’t really blame him. She climbed into the oval shaped bath tub; she didn’t think a brief shower would satisfy her today. She sighed with satisfaction as she breathed in the scent of the bath gel. It is a sweet smelling herbal mixture recommended to soothe the nerve and tone the body as well as complexion.

Few moments later, she was drying her body and applying her moisturizing lotion. She rummaged through her drawer for some underwear. Then she went to stand in front of the mirror to examine herself. She wasn’t totally vain but she loved her body. She looked at her tiny waist and flat stomach, her waist looked like someone has carved out a U at both her sides and this enhanced her well rounded her hips. She was not very tall but she made up for that in other areas because she thought she was too tiny for her well endowed busts. She smiled at the thought but she has got the perfect face to carry it. Her face was small and oval with large slanted eyes the color of hazel. People usually thought she wore contact lens. Her nose was small and pointed and her lips were full and luscious. Someone actually told her they always looked like she has just been thoroughly kissed. She shook head at the thought and sighed ruefully, people always saw a pretty woman when they looked at her but she knew she was more than a pretty face. People told her that her best assets were her eyes; others believed her figure was her flag bearer but they were all wrong because she knew perfectly well what her best assets were and they were her brains, but her father thought her best asset were her kind and gentle manner. She thought as she sat on her stool to apply her make up. Her face didn’t really need much make-up, but she liked to indulge herself sometimes. Her foundation, mascara and lip gloss were all she needed on her face. Sometimes she had gone without make up and Ken even preferred her face that way but she was not the type to live by another person’s preference. That was the power being independent and having your own money gave you.
When she was done, she stood up and walked into her vast and very rich closet and put her hands on her hips, trying to make up her mind on what to wear. Her father had often wondered why and how she could spend eternity making up her mind on what to wear alone. She smiled and extracted body con skirt, wore it with a blue camisole and topped it with black jacket sewn in a wrap round style. She wore black high heel shoes and bags. The dress was one of her latest designs. She matched to the mirror to get another look at her appearance. She ran her hands through her blond colored braids which matched her eyes perfectly and decided to let them run free. The braids were long and tiny and they stopped at her waist. She did a full turn in front of her mirror, feeling every inch the designer.
Nma came out of her room and walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. The kitchen was not what you would see in a mansion but it was every single independent woman’s dream come true. The tiles on the wall were brown and white. The combination made you think of delicious meals. She had all the latest gadgets a kitchen should boost of. She had taken her time in doing up the kitchen not because cooking was her hobby but because when she cooked, she liked to indulge herself. She also liked the comfort the machines gave her, they made her work easy. She poured herself a large amount of orange juice and placed some fruits in a plate. She wasn’t the type that got fat easily but she hadn’t touched anything fattening since her sixteenth birthday. Then she was so obsessed with becoming a run way model but her height had discouraged her, she wasn’t just tall enough. As a result she didn’t keep fattening food in house. She couldn’t be short and fat at the same time she had thought then.
Nma came out of her kitchen and picked her car keys in the living room. Her car was a brand new Honda accord. It was one of those extravagant purchases made to keep up appearances especially with her clients and sponsors. But this was one extravagant purchase she never regretted. She reversed swiftly left the bungalow behind.

A very pretty girl smartly dressed in navy blue trouser suit walked into a very well furnished masculine bedroom. She folded her hands across her chest and smiled with relief. The relief slowly turned to mischief as she looked at the hunk of a man sleeping soundly in the center of a wide bed. The man looked quite peaceful in his sleep. One of his bulging muscular hands was beneath his head while the other one lay across his well muscled stomach. The man possessed a very unique face, dark and handsome. No wonder women fell over themselves to get him to notice them. The girl smiled wearily. It didn’t help that he was Uche Okoha, a billionaire and the richest bachelor in town. She watched him sleep quietly and she knew that many women wished to see him this way and many she guessed have gotten the privilege. The man was quite a playboy, changing women like they were Kleenex. Not that she believed all she had read on the tabloids.  Identical things had been written about her and they were not all true. She smiled and then she remembered her reason for coming to see him; The man had kept her in suspense, if she had not discovered him this morning; she would still be wondering if he was yet back from his trip to attend her party tonight. His presence was especially important to her because she was getting married to one of his best friend and it had taken him a lot of time to come terms that she, his little sister was getting married to his friend. He had nearly killed Charles when had learnt of their romance earlier in the year; it was a tough battle to convince him otherwise. Now that she was certain that he was home and would be attending the engagement party, there was another thing she wanted for him. She wanted her brother to be as happy she was and that meant finding a way to make him stop seeing the spoilt rich brat Angela. She had her plans and she was sure it would be successful. She smiled and uncrossed her hands and walked up to him. She leaned forward and kissed him on the lips briefly and smiled as he woke up confused. No wonder women cried for days when he dumped them. What woman wouldn’t want the monopoly of watching him wake up every morning?  She waited for him to see her.

Uche opened his eyes slowly; he was a bit confused, he was sure he went to bed alone last night. Of course he did, his jet didn’t touch down till the early hours of the morning and he was so tired that all he thought of then was bed and sleep. The kiss was not the kiss of any woman he knew, it was devoid of all passion. It was more affectionate than passionate and he didn’t think he knew any woman who could kiss him with such pure love devoid of lust, except his mother and probably his sister. His sister, he dawned on him then. She had always been a constant nag since she was born and she had gotten worse ever since he accepted and blessed her marriage to one of his closest friend. She was so scared that he was still too bitter and might boycott her engagement party. He stretched and smiled so like her to come and find out first hand if he was really trying to avoid her party. He opened one of his eyes and saw her and smiled
“How do you get any work done if it takes you this long to wake up” she said and let out a screech as he dragged her down on the bed and tickled her. She laughed and begged him to stop. He stopped and she scrambled away from him.
“What are you doing here brat?” he asked lying back down to catch his breath
“To see if you would dare miss my party”
“I already gave my promise. You know how good my word is”
“I was a little worried you might change your mind considering the…” she trailed
“I have totally forgiven Charles for loving you and I have come to realize that he is actually the best man for you. I am very happy for you” he smiled at her and got up from the bed, he was wearing deep blue short boxers which showed his athletic thighs. Uju looked at her brother and sighed. It wasn’t as if this was the first time she was seeing her brother’s naked chest but being in love with a man she totally idolized, she now understood the predicament of all those girls who pined for him.
‘I thought you slept in the nude” she teased him
“Aren’t we lucky that I was too tired last night to shed all my decency?”
“Well you are lucky it was just me, it could have been any of your girlfriends”
“And which of the companies do you think a man would prefer this early in the morning, his sister’s or girlfriend?
She threw him a pillow which he expertly caught.
“Even if the woman is Angela?” she asked because she wanted an opening for her mission.
“So tell me apart from making sure I would come to your betrothal party, what else brought you here?”
“How well you know me, I came to tell you that I want you to bring a woman other than Angela to my party”
He raised is eyebrow at her. “Really and why do you suppose I would be bringing her?”
“She told me so and I won’t have it Uche. You and I know what kind of a person she is; she is not the kind of woman you should be thinking seriously about”
“I am thinking seriously about her? It amazes me when you seem to know more of what goes on in my mind than I do” he said heatedly
“She has become your permanent escort for months now. You attend every function with her” she complained
“You told me rightly not so long ago that your private life is none of my business and they say respect is reciprocal” he told her angrily
“Except that this is my party and I don’t want to get angry for one second and I seem to grow angry every time I see Angela”
“And if I insist on bringing her?”
“Then I would know that contrary to what you say, you have not forgiven Charles and I and you are bringing Angela as a form as revenge”
Uche couldn’t believe her reasoning it was too ridiculous and he began to laugh while she stood up. “Sometimes Uju you make me wonder, I am glad that Charles has taken you and your troubles out of my hands”
“It is Eva and not Uju; I will see you at the party with a new date?”
“Do you by any chance know how and where I might come up with one at such a short notice?”
Eva turned and looked at him and smiled mischievously. “You are Uche Okoha”
She closed the door after her.
Uche heaved a sigh of relief and began to march towards the bathroom, thinking which of the many girls he knew who could serve as his date tonight. Then suddenly he saw her face, the hazel eyed beauty who had been hunting his dream ever since he had the misfortune of setting his eyes on her not once and each time he did, she was escorted by a different man. The only thing common in all the men he had seen her with was that they were all besotted with her. He smiled ruefully; he didn’t want to become a victim of a scheming beautiful woman. Was he not trying to escape Angela? But something inside him believed that the hazel eyed goddess was different and probably it was time he found out how different.

Nma arrived at her studio plus a boutique. It was a one story building in a very high profile part of the town. She parked her car and glanced at her building, the top floor showed female clothing of assorted type, from smart working clothing to enchanting evening attires. There were about three wedding gowns and some sexy lacy under wears on display while the down floor showed off male clothing. The top floor was already showing her latest design in evening gowns and office clothes.  She walked into the building, first of all stopping at the men’s floor to see how things were going. There were already customers as she expected, today being the beginning of the weekend and also a public holiday. As she entered, eyes followed her. She knew her customers couldn’t believe it as her workers called greetings to her. She smiled and nodded at them and walked into an office.
Felix was her manager, accountant, friend, brother and every other thing in between and he was also the only one she had closest to a family, him and his wife Tessy. She smiled as remembered when she was sixteen and had a huge crush on him. That was before her father died.
“Morning babe” he greeted.
“Good morning Felix, I can see it is really a good morning. Do you have any idea what brought these people out this early” she asked jokingly
“I guess they saw you and followed you to this place, every hot blooded man would” he said laughing.
“Were they so anxious to see me that they got here before me? Oh Felix don’t believe all you hear, I don’t attract them like that” she smiled
“I don’t listen or believe what I hear, I know what I see” he told her “You are beautiful; it is only natural that you should attract them. Moreover it brings them here and when they come, they buy.”
“Anyway I hope they are buying and not just looking around”
“If that happens, you could hang yourself there and we will make billions today”
She laughed “My father would turn in his grave if I do that” she said quietly.
“Yes your good father would definitely turn in his grave if you did that” he added solemnly. “Anyway the only one who seems to be looking around is that gentleman over there” Felix said livening up once more and pointing at a tall handsome man.
Nma turned to look at the man and her breath caught in her throat, she stared at him astonished at the man for some reason she couldn’t understand, she had to blink severally to drag her eyes away from him. “Oh! But he is cute Felix” Nma murmured still looking at the man through the glass door. Good thing that the man couldn’t see her ogling. The glass was designed to reflect not see through. The man was tall and handsome, and his business suit fit him squarely on his broad shoulders. Everything about him spoke confidence and wealth.
“He is not merely looking around; it seems as if he cannot make up his mind on what he wants” Nma said
“Maybe he needs help” she turned to Felix
“I am sure he would be glad to have you as a guide” Felix told her
Nma was instantly thrilled by the idea of speaking to the very handsome man but she dared not, because at the same time, there was something abnormally unsettling about the man.
“Felix, my office is upstairs, you take care of things here not me” she smiled at him sweetly
“But I am sure you would be a better guide and moreover he would want to impress you”
She turned and stared at the man and knew that Felix was right, but somehow it didn’t feel right to go out there and overwhelm the man with her beauty so he could part with his money. No way, she didn’t want to cheapen herself, not with this man. She turned to Felix and smiled.
“Do your job darling and I would do mine”
Felix sighed and squared his shoulder ready to meet the man.
As Felix went to meet the man, she stood there eating up every delicious part of the man with the eyes of a designer. She couldn’t quite tell why she refused to go and meet the man; she knew she would have been more successful in persuading him to buy. But there was something about the man that was arresting and at the same time frightening. It was like the same feeling you get when you are about to fall.

Uche looked around for the hazel eye beauty, somehow reluctant to ask of her from all the sales girls hovering around. He knew the girl owned the place but somehow for the first time in his life, he was unsure of how to approach a woman. Then he saw one of the men he had seen escorting her at several events.  He felt his anger rise and with the anger came the fear that the man could actually be the girl’s husband. That should explain what he was doing here by this time of the morning. Yet that was a reality he wasn’t ready to face or accept. Husband or not, he was going to put an end to this madness the only way he knew. He couldn’t let the girl invade his thoughts the way she had been doing. In his mind there could only be one cure to lust. To his surprise, the man was walking towards him; he was indeed coming to speak to him. The man had mistaken him to be a customer, what surprise lay in store for him when he found out that he was actually here to steal his woman. He squared his shoulders, ready to intimidate the man.

Nma found that she could not stop watching the man; she concluded that she was curious to know how Felix fared with the man. The reason why that should matter to her was lost to her but still she stood looking at the man. Suddenly the man dipped his hands into his trouser pocket and brought out his cell phone, he spoke in it for a little time and turned abruptly and left just as Felix was walking towards him. She almost laughed as Felix stopped; looking amazed and frowned at the man’s retreating form. She could imagine a thousand different curses Felix was silently giving the man. Nma used the back door not wanting Felix to discover she was still watching the cute man.
She walked into her tiny office and sat down looking at a list of things to do and people to see, she had never been comfortable behind a desk. She was more comfortable bent over a table with a material spread on it or with pins in her mouth pinching in and holding a dress. But she just had to do the paperwork and talk to those boring sponsors, if she was really going to have her exhibition. Having worked on so many designs and colors, she wondered in amazement if she still had more designs to show. Talented she was, she had to agree with people. Somehow those designs kept coming into her mind just like that, especially when she picked up her pencil and sketch pad. Her last show was successful, the most successful ever since they started Nma collections. That was the name her father had chosen for their label and boutique. Nma was fast becoming a household name and she was still wondering how. Nma put her mind at rest and concentrated on the job at hand, feeling that she had lost so much time already. But no sooner had she done that did her thoughts take another turn. It returned to mystery man. What was his mission in her boutique this morning? It was obvious he wasn’t there to shop, and whatever he came for, he didn’t get. That left a niggling thought in her mind that the man might come back. Her heart lurched at the thought. Whatever was wrong with her she scolded herself, what if he came back, what business of hers was it? He was a stranger and that was all he was going to be. A very fine stranger, probably the finest thing on two feet but a stranger all the same and her heart should know that and stop doing a jig in her chest. She shook her head trying to calm her mind and clear off the thoughts of one strange man. She picked up the pen which she had dropped as her mind wandered and turned back to her computer, frowning with concentration.

Uche opened the door to his massive office and closed it firmly behind him. He was calling himself a thousand different kinds of fool for what had transpired this morning. He had behaved like a teenager having his first crush. Where was his finesse? He sighed, what would the tabloid say if they saw him this morning. Billionaire playboy tongue tied over a woman. He shook his head in self disgust and wondered for the hundredth time what was wrong with him? It was not as if she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Yes she was indeed beautiful with a very perfect figure that would have every hot blooded man aching at very uncomfortable places. But that was not an excuse to follow her to her work place. He was loosing it, he thought. He moved behind his massive executive table and sat down.  Nma was going to have to wait for another day when he had better reason to seek her out. But he didn’t like that one bit; he was surprised at the fierce wave disappointment that washed over him. He closed his eyes briefly trying to block out the face of one very enchanting woman. He was going to have her, he thought but it wasn’t today. He looked up as a slight knock came to his door and his personal assistant entered. As always his eyes widened with appreciation of the woman. Star was one of the finest women he had ever known. She was tall and very shapely and she possessed such charisma that intimidated others around her and he had employed her for that singular reason. The other reason being that she was also very intelligent and he was impressed with the way she was climbing both the corporate and social ladder.  There was a time when she first came to work for him they could have had an affair because he was quite attracted to her and she to him but common sense had prevailed. They worked well together and they found out that they wanted that more than their canal feelings for each other and a deep bond had developed afterwards. Today she was looking exceptional in maroon red short skirt suit. He smiled because he knew that Star dressed on purpose and she knew exactly what her legs did to a man’s libido. He looked at her remembering then that it was an urgent call from her that had saved him from making a total fool of him this morning.

“What was so urgent that could not wait?” Uche asked assuming the boss’s role.
“I thought I should let you know, Steve has been distressed, there has been some disturbances at the Niger delta”
“And that is supposed to be news?”
“Not when it involved our company”
“What happened?”
“Steve thinks you might want to come to Port Harcourt because the locals are stirring up again…”
“You know I can’t, I have Uju’s engagement party this night”
“This one is also important, we have been lucky because the locals think we are different from other oil companies, because of all we have given back to the community but Steve believes that someone is stirring them up and a visit from you would calm them down”
Uche thought about it for a while.
There was no way he was going to miss Eva’s party without his family thinking he was still angry with Charles. At the same time, he couldn’t afford any kind of upheaval with his pipelines. He heaved a sigh and looked at Star.
“You go” he said to Star and she gasped
“Why not they know you as well as they know me and you can do it as well as I can and even better, you can charm them with your alluring smile”
“I don’t think… it is you they want”
“Why do I pay you a six figure sum if you cannot fix something like this” he glared at her. “I pay you what I pay you because I believe you can easily step into my shoes when I am not there and I don’t want to hear I was wrong”
“You are an expert manipulator Uche; I will go so I can at least justify my pay”
He smiled at her. “I expect that and more, you leave tonight”
“Lucky I don’t have a man in my life, the way you drive me, he would turn tails”
Uche laughed as she left and he shook his head, he knew he could have easily gone had he wanted to, truth be told he hadn’t wanted to and at the back of his mind it wasn’t because of his sister’s party, he could very well see the hazel eyed beauty. He sighed and turned on his Laptop.
“Oh! One more thing Uche” Star turned around and he looked up. “My regards to Eva and Charles” she smiled mischievously at him.
“I take it you knew about the visit this morning” he had forgotten that she was one of her sister’s closest friends and that was how they had met.
“She called me to find out if you were back”
“How is a man supposed to survive when his sister and personal assistant team up against him” he said exasperated.
Star laughed, even her laugh sounded like she had practiced long at it. She would have done well as an eighteen century English lady.
“And the very evil she warned you against about is about to…” she didn’t finish because just at that instant, Angela walked in looking very beautiful in a floral short gown that did nothing to hide her perfect figure. Uche shook his head. He was going to do something about beholding a woman first thing in the morning. This was the fourth beautiful woman to distract him today.
“Hi” Star greeted very cautiously
“I know you hate it that I am here so cut the pretense” Angela retorted holding the door for Star. Star turned and whispered to Uche, “good luck” she left.
Angela closed the door and turned to Uche with a smile. She walked up and threw herself on him; Uche had to catch her to stop her from knocking him over. Now what, he thought?
“When did you get back honey?” Angela asked giving him long kiss. Uche managed to put her away from him.
“May I remind you Angela that this is a working environment?”
She smiled at him “I know but you are the boss” she smiled sweetly at him “I was only showing you how much I have missed you. I came to buy you lunch”
“It is hardly lunch time”
“I know but I couldn’t wait. We can do brunch. Moreover we haven’t talked about Eva’s party coming up this night, what time are we going?”
Uche shook his head irritated, and cursing his sister and the hazel eyed witch for putting him in this mess. He wasn’t in the mood for Angela’s volatile temper but there was no help for it. It was high time he ended this madness with Angela anyway. She was not the one for him. As far back as he could remember Angela had been after him but two months ago he had given in to her demands and had taken her out on one date. He thought then that they were both adults and could handle an affair but the unfortunate thing was that same night he had set his eyes on the hazel eyed witch. And she bewitched him good and proper. Since then anytime he thought about taking Angela to his bed, he saw only her, the woman he had come to know as Nma. He had tried to fight this intrusion, this sudden yearning for a strange woman but the fight was one he had finally accepted he was not going to win. And it would not be fair to Angela if he took her to his bed while thinking of another woman.  The only right thing to do was to tell her so. Since then, he had been looking for ways to do so but the girl was like a leech never giving him a breathing space. Even though for the past two months he had done nothing to show he was serious about her except taking her out once in while, yet she had maintained an iron grip on him. He couldn’t go on with it, he was going to buy her that lunch and quietly dismiss her. He looked up as he heard her speaking again.
“And Uche, it’s been two months since we started going steady. Now that your nosy sister is finally becoming busy with her own life I think we should take our relationship to another level of commitment” she said smiling at him boldly
“Really” that was all he could say
“I am not going to allow you drop me at my house with a chaste kiss, I am coming home with you this night”
“Angela please”  he chuckled as he gently put her away and stood up, walked to the window. He needed to collect his thoughts; he knew he was threading a sensitive ground now. He turned to face her. “I can’t believe you came all the way here to let me know you are going to have your wicked way with me tonight” he smiled at her.
Way to go Uche, he said to himself in disgust, you couldn’t have given her more blatant green light.
“Normally you should be the one demanding for this Uche, what’s wrong?”
He heaved a sigh “about that lunch, I am about ready to go”
“No we are not going anywhere till we trash this out, so tell me, is it another girl, I don’t interest you enough or what, I know what passion you are capable of Uche, when you kiss me, I can feel the restrain you put on yourself. So tell me why I am the one demanding this and why you are being reluctant?” her eyes were blazing with anger
“You want the truth, yes there is another girl Angela and I am taking her to the party this night” he wanted to kick himself so hard for being such a jerk and he expected her to rant and rave like she use to but she stared up at him and smiled.
Okay that was a new one Uche thought, telling himself that Angela’s calmness was a sign volcanic eruption.
“How long is this one going to last, is she some kind of passing fancy or…”
“Are you telling me you are willing to accommodate my passing fancy?” Uche please, he cautioned himself, do yourself a favor and shut up.
“About that lunch, I am ready to go Uche, it is Eva, isn’t it, and she has asked you not to bring me to her party”
“It is not Eva, and Nma is not a passing fancy” by then nothing he did to compound this situation would surprise him.
“I have watched you go through many women Uche, at the rate you do, I am not afraid for one second” she picked up her hand bag and faced with him an icy smile “Shall we?”
“Definitely” he led her out of the office. He prayed for time to fly.

A knock on her door brought her head up; Nma wondered who else it could be? She thought she had attended to everybody that needed her attention and she was just about going off to her studio. “Come in” she called mildly, after getting a hold on her emotions. She watched as the door opened and Ken stepped in
“Still working” Ken asked jovially.
Nma was about to ask him what brought him, when she remembered that they were supposed to have lunch together this afternoon.
“I can see you forgot our date” Ken asked stiffly
“Of course, I didn’t” she laughed, and how correct he was, she forgot. She was so engrossed in her work and didn’t notice that time was flying. She stood up and hung her shoulder bag. “I was just trying to finish up writing these before I go to powder my nose and wait for you” she lied smiling sweetly to him.
“I hope you’ve forgiven me enough to spare me a few minutes to powder my nose in the ladies?” She asked him, putting on her best smile.
“Yes of course, but only a few minutes” he said.
Nma walked into the ladies, though she didn’t really need to go into the ladies to do this, she just wanted sometime alone to think about what she was going to tell him today. Just seeing his face had unsettled her. She didn’t want to hurt anybody, at the same time she didn’t want to hurt both of them by pretending she was feeling something she wasn’t feeling. So today she was going to tell him to look for someone else, someone who deserved him better, she thought ruefully as she hastily freshened up, placing a nice smile on her face she walked back to her office and on to her lunch date.

To her surprise, Ken chose a nice, exclusive restaurant. It was not as if they hadn’t eaten in exclusive restaurants before, but all the other times it had been dinner. To her lunch was something you could get anywhere.
“What are we celebrating?” She asked as they entered the tastefully furnished restaurant.
“You will soon find out” he answered, smiling contentedly.
A waiter showed them to their table and in a daze Nma took in all of these, still wondering what he had formulated in that brain of his.
“I see I have succeeded in rattling you” Ken announced in open contentment.
Nma almost laughed, as he openly congratulated himself on this one achievement.
“I’m just impatient to see or hear the rest” she answered, not trying to kill his obvious joy by telling him she was not that rattled.
“Lets order first, shall we” he asked, indicating the menu. Nma picked up her menu and glanced through it. “Nice” she murmured. She decided to indulge him by choosing a hearty meal of coconut rice with vegetable salad and stewed beef. Ken never liked the way she ate; he said she didn’t eat enough to sustain a bird.
“That’s better” Ken murmured, ordering edikakong with pounded yam and an expensive bottle of wine.
Nma slightly raised an eyebrow at this wondering what exactly was happening or going to happen, and she could tell that Ken was so impatient to tell her
“How was work today?” Ken surprised her by asking.
Nma looked at him, “Fine” I got there today and found plenty of customers hovering around and demanding the attention of the cashier” she smiled proudly at him.
“And that’s only all you care for isn’t it” ken asked.
Nma was taken aback, the way he said it angrily, as if she would sell her soul to the devil to have this morning repeat itself. She decided not to let him see that he had hurt her. “I’m a business woman Ken and every business person would care for a continuous repetition of this morning very much and I guess you too would enjoy and care about it too”
“I have other priorities other than making money, like I think about what I’ll be in the next twenty years”
“That far?” she chuckled. Most people would probably think of what they would become in the next two or maybe five years but not Ken his sense of reasoning was something she didn’t bother about at all. The man was weird and she was not going to waste her time figuring him out. She looked up and smiled at him. “So let’s hear it Ken, what will you be  twenty years from now” Nma asked offhand, hating the way he was talking.
“A proud father of an eighteen year old boy at least and husband, with a nice business” he told her seriously, adjusting his double lens.
All right she thought, fine dream but she didn’t want to satisfy his arrogance by telling him, she craved for the same thing or At least the child part.
“So your turn, where do you see yourself in the next twenty years” Ken asked her. She was growing angrier by the minute; there was something about the tone of his voice that was very infuriatingly. And she decided to give him as good as she was getting.  “Twenty years is a long time for Nma to be recognized all over the world, imagine Nma rubbing shoulders with Versace, Gucci, Armani etcetera” she said, dreamingly putting on her best acting ability.
Whatever he was going to say was interrupted by the waiter, as he placed their food on their table for them.
“Don’t you think about marriage at all? Ken asked her, as he started eating.
She was about to answer when someone familiar came in, and she immediately recognized him as the cute man in her boutique that morning. She felt a stirring in her heart, something she had never experienced before, the fact that he wasn’t alone sent a feeling of resentment down her body. She was shocked at her feeling and with all her will power dragged her eyes from him. She tried to remember what ken had asked, but found out that her brain wasn’t finished with the man a few tables away with the elegant woman by his side.
“Don’t you ever think of marriage?” Ken asked again
“Of course I think of marriage” she answered dreamily.  The image that readily came to her mind was that of the man a few tables away. Mad at herself and her imagination, she tore her eyes from the man and concentrated on her partner.
“Well I’m happy to hear that” Ken said smiling.
Nma wondered if he was going to ask her to marry him
“Marriage is important in ones life, especially for a girl as successful as you are. You need a man to help you handle the success; it could get to the head sometimes”.
Nma laughed quietly but inside she was fuming with anger. “Success can never get to my head, and I don’t believe I will ever need a husband on those terms”
“On what terms would you need a husband?” he asked seriously.
“Love” she answered.
“You know I love you Nma, surely you must know that by now” Ken said quietly.
Nma made the mistake of glancing at the man a few tables away. She felt her nerves jump in anticipation; he was so very handsome and showed off an aura of self confidence, respect and wealth plus there was this roguish thing about him to add to her already interested heart. Suddenly the man looked back at her held her gaze.

Uche couldn’t believe the fierce wave of resentment he felt when he saw her yet with another man. Today looked like a special occasion for them. Who was this particular one, he asked silently, he had already concluded that the man in her office might be the one in her life. This proves he was not. He couldn’t tell how that made him feel, good or bad? As he held her gaze, he knew he had attracted her attention for first time and she couldn’t look away from him, he smiled at the thought. Her unusual eyes sparkled and he wanted nothing more than to feast on those luscious lips of hers. Lust, he thought was as powerful as love and he wasn’t going to deny that what he was feeling was lust and he was going to have his fill of her till he sated this lust. He didn’t see that as a problem, from what he had seen so far, she seemed like a woman who enjoyed men. But if it was just lust why did he feel like shooting every other man he had seen her with especially the book worm sitting with her. The answer to that he thought was lost to him. But then he had always been a territorial man, if he was going to have her, he was not going to share her with any of her numerous male friends till he was tired of her.
“You are not listening to me” Angela said cutting into his thought. He took one last look at the Nma and turned to Angela.
“I am sorry what were you saying?”
“What will you have, the waiter is waiting?”
Uche turned to the waiter.

Only when he turned back to his partner and broke off the connection did she stop looking at him. Who was the man and why did he have such effects on her? What was wrong with her, when did she become such a giddy teenager getting a man’s full attention for the first time? Blast the man she fumed, why did he have to hold her gaze when there was another beautiful girl before him? Given, the man was handsome and probably rich but that was no excuse for his behavior, he must think she was cheap, lusting after him when she was with another man.
“Your mind is preoccupied or don’t you believe I love you?” Ken said.
“I know you love me” she answered and cursed her mind  for not concentrating, now she had gone and given Ken the opening he needed to pop the question.
“Then marry me Nma” he said, “What else do we need to talk about?” he asked smiling.
Nma was so furious at his ignorance that she gave him a hard stare. “What about how I feel?” she asked coolly.
“I know about your feeling and I’m alright with it” he answered.
Speechless Nma stared at him; she didn’t know how to put into words what she wanted to tell him. To add to her shock, he brought out a ring and grabbed her left hand. Nma resisted and was about to take her hands back when she looked at the handsome stranger. She saw his face harden; it was as if he was angry at what was going on in her table. She wondered if he felt that the chance to have her was being taken away from him. That angered her more and she wondered what made him think she could be had”

Uche frowned he knew this was a special occasion but it was even more than he expected, the bastard was asking her to marry him. Was the guy right in the head at all, he couldn’t believe how furious he was. There was no way he was going to let her marry another man not when he had just found her. With growing anger he watched what was happening on their table. And he was glad to see that the girl wasn’t over the moon with the proposal in fact she was saying no. Angela cut into his thoughts again
“Is she someone I know?” she asked
“Who?”
“The girl you are taking to the party”
He heaved a silent sigh of relief, for just the tiniest moment he thought Angela could read minds.
“Oh the girl, I very much doubt you do” he said instead.
“Are you sleeping with her?”
“Not yet”
“But you are going to, this night possibly”
“Angela! It is not proper to discuss this with you”
“I was eight when I fell in love with you, and I have stayed in love with you all these while and you tell me what’s proper?”
“Stop it, you sound like a martyr, you know very well that I never made any promise to you, you knew it was just an affair”
“Except that it never quite reached that stage, did it? We are more like friends”
“Some relationships are like that; maybe it is because I have known you almost all my life”
“Don’t give me that, I am not your sister! And you have never kissed me like a brother. It is something else, and I refuse to believe it is another girl or are you trying to tell me that all those stuff written by the tabloids are lies and…”
“Are you deliberately trying to annoy me?
“ Alright Uche, you might not know it now but I am the only one for you and I know that after this fancy passes, you would come back to me, you always do anyway”
Uche wasn’t paying attention; his attention was on the other table where the limbless bastard was still trying to persuade the girl to say yes to his proposal. He began to frown again. What was wrong with the man, couldn’t he see that the girl wasn’t interested and take no for an answer.

Nma could feel the man’s gaze on their table and she wondered what was going through his mind but she didn’t have time to dwell on that because the next minute Ken was again demanding her full attention and that was what she needed if she was going to convince him that she wasn’t going to marry him.
“Come on Nma, you know you will never regret marrying me” Ken said bringing her back to earth.
“I’m sorry Ken, but I can’t possibly marry you. you see, em… you said you know my feelings and that you’re content with it, but my feelings matters a lot to me and if I don’t feel like you do,  there is no way I can marry you” explained Nma.
“What is it exactly you don’t feel for me?” Ken asked
“I don’t love you Ken, it is important that I love the man I’ll marry. I can’t marry a man I don’t love; I’d only end up torturing him and myself”
“You love me Nma, only you have not realized it, it took me time to realize that what I was feeling for you is love, and that I want to spend the rest of my life with you” Ken reasoned cleverly.
“You don’t understand Ken, I don’t love you now and I don’t….”
“Alright!” Ken said, cutting her off. “why don’t you take time and think about it, really think about it, pray about it if you wish, you don’t have to answer me now” he told her.
Nma was going to protest again but she made the mistake of looking at the formidable man and his disapproving gaze. Who did he think he was to make her feel like she was incompetent by the way she was handling Ken? It was none of his business and she decided she was going to show him to mind his business. Probably if she gave the impression that she was not available, the man would leave her alone. A niggling thought in mind told her that the man couldn’t leave her alone because he had not said a word to her before and hadn’t done anything to indicate he wanted her except gaze at her…it was all in her head, she mused silently. Moreover, she rationalized; this would give her the opportunity to let Ken see for himself what she was talking about.
“And while you are thinking about it, if you come to realize that I speak the truth, wear it. You don’t have to say anything but if not, I will accept it and I wouldn’t have to repeat this embarrassment, I’ll just know” Ken said, looking hurt.
Nma accepted it, seeing it as an opportunity not to explain her actions whenever she gave it back to him. As she accepted the ring she could feel the stranger’s eyes burning into hers, it took all her will power not to look back at him.
Ken opened the wine, and poured for her and for him.
“Actually I bought this wine so we can toast and celebrate, but we can still drink it in good cheer” he said moodily.
“Better than that, we could still toast to good health and life” she toasted, clicking her glass with his
Shortly they stood up to leave, as they walked out, Nma could feel the stranger’s eye follow them. She walked with her head held high, willing herself not to look at him.

Uche watched her leave with growing annoyance. How could she accept the ring? Yes maybe she didn’t agree to marry him because she didn’t wear the ring. Plus she didn’t look besotted but accepting the ring meant she was going to think about it real good and might probably say yes. That would be over his dead body he vowed violently. He was going to have his fill of her first and he wasn’t going to share till his lust is sated.

Back at work, she went straight into her studio; she worked relentlessly trying to get one strange man out of her mind. It was a surprise that all she could think about was the strange man instead of Ken’s proposal. In fact she had even forgotten Ken’s plea that she give a good thought to marrying him. She thought shockingly.
“This man doesn’t mean anything to me” she willed herself to say. Still she couldn’t get him out of her mind, the way he talked or the way he walked, the way he held his drink while eyeing her. But every time her thoughts carried her mind to his partner she felt a jolt of resentment. This was ridiculous she told herself.
“Am I going insane? How could I be fantasizing over a man I don’t know, I may never see the man again” she told herself firmly.
She glanced at her wrist watch. She could go home. Take this work home and finish it there. She always worked better at home. Taking a deep breathe she found a shopping bag printed Nma in bold red, used to packaging items for the female customers only and stuffed the material she was working on inside the bag. She brought out her compact and freshened up her make up, removing the hair band she had used in holding her hair together while she worked and in a jerky frustrating movements she started towards the door. She didn’t know the source of her anger, probably because she wasn’t able to convince Ken that she didn’t love him and never would. That what she felt for him was something she would feel for a dear friend or the stranger who kept imposing her mind and her obvious weakness in banishing him from it. She couldn’t understand why her body and mind were betraying her where the man was concerned, she thought bitterly. It was his fault that she wasn’t able to convince Ken that she was never going to marry him once and for all. Had he not been sitting there, staring and daring her, she wouldn’t have accepted the ring now in her handbag at all nor would she had tried to goad him into jealousy, because she was also jealous of his partner.
“Goodness no!” she exclaimed violently. Being jealous meant love and she didn’t in any way harbor an iota of love for the infuriating man. As she got to the ground floor she decided to go and see Felix to cool her already heated mind.
Felix was an old dear and she had known him almost all her life. He came to work for her father in his early twenties and her father trusted him much with the financial side of the business and so did she too. Now that her father was no more, Felix was almost like one to her, but more on the big brother side. He had called her little madam at first, when those times she would come back from school and rush into her father’s studio to help him cut or sew whatever was available for her. It took her all her wit to stop him from calling her madam when she got to her teens. By then she was having a mountainous crush on him and desperately wanted him to see her as a grown up. At her sixteenth birthday, he abruptly crushed her crush on him when he announced he was getting married.
Now thinking back made her laugh at her stupidity. How she had dressed in a gown specially designed for her birthday party by her father. That day she had planned on letting Felix know of her feelings, planning her speech so very well. She walked up to him and opened the dance floor with him, it had felt really great being in his arms, and she had looked at him with her heart in her eyes. After the dance he still held her and led her to where her father was standing with an elegant woman, there Felix introduced her to his fiancée, there and then, her fantasy was crushed. Her only savior was her father, and he had taught her to always maintain a cool composure no matter how shattered she was inside.
“Are you not going to congratulate him sweetie pie?” her father had asked knowingly. It took her all of her wit to bring out her hand and congratulate him. She laughed as she opened Felix’s door and found him not alone but with his wife.
“Nma I was just asking about you” his wife said jovially.
Nma smiled at Felix’s wife, she had come to like Tessy very much. It was very easy to love a woman as guileless as Tessy.
“Oh, she was out with that no good banker” Felix murmured his disapproval.
“Come on Felix, leave the girl to enjoy herself, she deserves it”
“That no good banker asked me to marry him” she told them.
“I hope you said no because he is not right for you” Felix asked seriously
“Don’t mind Felix dear, if you love the guy, go for him, after all you can only really love one man” Tessy said dearly.
“Anyway I didn’t say yes and I didn’t say no either, I agreed to think about it and he insisted I kept his ring”
“Oh dear” Tessy exclaimed slowly “May I see his ring, it could tell a lot about him”
“What is there to think about, you don’t love him so you can’t marry him? The coward probably knows this and he is using your gentle soul to get you to say yes by emotional blackmail?” Felix disclosed.
“Felix!” Tessy called warningly, “You should allow Nma to make up her own mind” she said.
“Thank you Tessy, and to be truthful, I could have fixed him for thinking he could make up my mind for me”
“Oh, you are free I’ve been waiting for someone to do it all along having no heart to do it myself”
“Thanks for the permission” said Nma smiling
“So this is how you betray me” Felix said, in a pretended shock.
“You are becoming bossy all of a sudden honey, and we need to tame you considering that we are the ones you boss around.” Tessy told him jovially
“That’s right, perfectly so” Nma said, hanging her shoulder bag.
“I’ll see you tomorrow Felix.” She announced
“You are going home early, please don’t tell me you’re meeting that limbless banker” he pleaded jokingly.
“No I’m not, I’m going to meet someone exciting for a change after enduring Ken’s company this afternoon it is not more than I deserve” she announced, winking at Tessy as she started towards the door.
“I hope you will tell me about it tomorrow” Felix suggested.
“That is how we spoil you, by letting you know everything that goes on in our lives” Tessy said, nudging her husband with her shoulders
“Nma always tells me and besides she needs my brotherly advice, right Nma?” Felix said
“Only when you are not castigating them” Nma said, shooting out of the room before the loving couple could delay her any longer.
She could not believe how fast her anger and frustration disappeared. Felix was always the medicine for her bad mood and Tessy was too good to be real.
She looked up shaking her head and then stopped abruptly. Standing in front of her and backing her was a tall man in suit and there was only one man she knew who looked like his suits were heavenly made for his body. She thought in anticipation.
As if on cue, the man turned. Nma was taken aback, surprised and somehow transfixed on the spot. This was actually the stranger she’s been thinking about. The man walked up to her smiling.
“Hello, but I need your help” he announced in deep baritone voice.

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Winks!
Chioma