k-ss me one more night – Episode 11

k-ss Me One More Night – Episode 11
© Rosemary Okafor

“Good Morin Oga ”

Mr Ogungbeso could not place the voice that greeted him, he had dialed Imelda’s number and has requested for tea to be brought to his office immediately, he lifted his face from his phone to see who was standing there; a middle aged short, round woman with a face as rumpled as that of a bull dog, and her teeth were all exposed in a wide smile as if the teeth were desperate to escape from the mouth. She had on her the dress of an old maid, an apron and a chef’s long cap, in her hands was a tray with his tea on it.

“Ehm… who are you and what are you doing in my office?” Mr Ogungbeso asked in confusion

“Ah! Oga!, na onle you wey no kno me o, Na me be the mama general for Isokoro, way dey give boys them beta tea for area, my tea dey scatter their brain, na him make them dey call me ‘ Tea Mama ’” she answered, laughing and nodding her head in confirmation.

Mr. Ogungbeso has never been more confused in his life, he couldn’t make anything out of what this woman was saying, he looked around him to make sure he was still in his office and not dreaming,

“Woman…”

“Call me Tea Mama” the woman corrected

“Whatever you call yourself, what are you doing in my office, who opened the gate for you into this org-nization, and where is Imelda for crying out loud!.” He was already losing his patience

Mary ran into the is office to save the poor woman, they had envisaged this, and they were ready for him,

“Sir what is the problem, I heard your voice from the hall!” she asked pretending to be ignorant

“Can somebody explain to me what this … this… clown is doing in my office with my tea cup!?” he pointed at the confused woman, also emphasizing on ‘my tea cup’

“Oh Oga, sorry we did not introduce her to you properly” Mary said apologetically

“Ah! How could Grace forget the Introduction part?” Mary said hitting her forehead with her palm

“You see this woman here eh, she is the best tea and coffee maker in Lagos, if you drink her tea eh, you will never drink from any other fountain” Mary was explaining with a dramatic smile plastered on her face, while ‘ Tea Mama ’ Nods in agreement, saying ‘ ehn…hm… na me bi this…’ at every little space in between Mary’s introductory speech.

“Mary, you have not told me what this Woman is doing in my office…” Mr. Ogungbeso pointed out to Mary

“… and you… will you shut up?” he shouted to the woman

“Ok sir, She is your new Tea and coffee woman” Mary said, ceasing her breath in anticipation for his outburst.

Mr. Ogungbeso paused for a moment, looked at the woman in question from her toe to her head in a slow motion, his mouth hung open. Apart from the woman nodding and grinning, every action in the room was at a standstill, the room was silent aside the humming sound if the Air Conditioner, then;

“Whose Idea is this?” Mr. Ogungbeso asked

“Grace and I thought it would be okay to get you a staff whose main job is to make your tea every morning among other things, since your PA Mrs. Martin is not allowed to make your tea, and Imelda has been having difficulties, attending to you and also concentrating on her work”

“You mean Grace is in this with you?” Mr. Ogungbeso asked

“Yes sir… No sir… not directly … you see…” Mary stammered

Like a sudden volcanic eruption, Mr. Ogungbeso stormed out his office, Pushing both the woman and Mary aside, spilling the tea on the well polished mahogany wooden floor. He stormed into Graces office without any formality, he met Imelda Bent and looking at her Madam’s Desktop, Grace was pointing out something to her; both looked up in shock as he entered

“What is this stunt you are trying to pull this morning” He asked, fuming

“Good morning sir, sorry I don’t Understand” Grace said pretending to be surprised

“Who is that deranged woman in my office right now, claiming to be employed by YOU! To serve me tea?” He asked again

“Sir I felt you would need someone who would be at your beck and call, she would serve your breakfast, arrange for your lunch and run your other errands if you so wish…” Grace explained

“And when did I discuss that with you?” He asked

“You didn’t actually, but I noticed that Imelda practically serves you from morning till we close, sometimes she doesn’t finish her task here as my PA, so I have to get that woman for you to enable Imelda concentrate…”

“I don’t need anyone, not that buffalo in my office, whatever happened to Mrs. Martins, my Own PA?” he asked

“Oh, I should be asking you sir, the poor woman said you instructed her not to be serving you breakfast anymore, and I wonder why” Grace said, looking at her boss in the eyes, challenging him

“Get that woman out of my office… out of my firm!” was all he said.

‘Tea Mama’ was standing at the hall with the tea waiting to impress ‘Oga boss ’ into allowing her to stay, extra fifteen thousand naira per month would help her with her boy’s school fees,

“Oga, Make I bring the tea now” she offered, following him as he stumped his feet while walking back into his office

“Get out!!! Out!!!” he bellowed

Mary rushed in,side Graces office, both busted out laughing, while giving each other a clap high

“Ma, am scared, are you sure he would not fire me for this?” she asked

“No dear, I will handle this, I know how to keep him in his place” Grace replied

“Madam, me nkor? him go pursue me? I no wan loose this money o” ‘Tea Mama’ asked she walked in few minutes ago

“I will settle you Mama” Grace assured

“Thank you Ma, thank you for everything, am sorry I left your place without waiting for you to come back, I don’t …”Imelda pleaded

“Imelda, we will talk about that later, as for now, let us arrange on getting Boss off your back for good.

*

“I don dey like Oga Ken, I mean am” Chinyeaka confided in her friend Zara

“O girl, that man don marry o” Zara told her

“Which Marry? I hear say him wife leave am run” Chinyeaka said

“Ah ah! Babe, where you hear that one?”

“Na my sister tell me, in short she talk say him wife dey barren, say she no fit born pikin for am, my sister even talk say na shame make her run commot, say Ken Mama wan make in pikin give am gran pikin” Chinyeaka said

“Eyaa… poor woman, but that in wife fine o, beta woman way dey greet everybody when she come for this line, life harsh o,” Zara said

“Why you dey piti her? If Ken na your brother, you go allow am marry girl way no go give am pikin? Mtchewww…” Chinyeaka rebuked her friend

“Ehm… na only four year na, god fit bless them with children, and she read book well well” Zara said

“All the book way she read no fit give her pikin, abeg leave that thing, my own be say she don go, me I wan enter, I like that Man” Chinyeaka said

She had sneaked out of her Oga’s shop to sort for advice from the only person she felt could help her. Zara was a sales girl also but she was about getting married to her boss, it was rumored that she had washed her honey-pot and had used the water to prepare food for her Boss, who had a fiancee in the University of Lagos. The boss had slept with her and got her pregnant, Uchenna had cancelled his engagement with his undergraduate fiancee and became inseparable from Zara.

No one knows how true the story was, and neither Zara nor her Oga had giving observers reason to doubt the story.

“Oga Ken no even see you sef” Zara told her friend

“But Oga Uchenna see you na, abeg tell me another thing biko” Chinyeaka gave Zara a sting eye

“Na watin you wan make I do for you na” Zara asked her friend

“Make you help me, tell me watin you do, I wan make this man see me like a matured woman, in short I wan make him marry me”

“Carry Bele for am na” Zara suggested

“No be person way don enter well go get bele? The Man no dey even look my side eh” Chinyeaka lamented

Zara looked at her for a moment, they have been friends for just few weeks, now she understood why chinyeaka started coming close to her, everything happened so fast that she did not have the time to think whether to accept her hand of friendsh¡p or not. She saw the desperation on her friend, she knew Chinyeaka came to her because of what she heard about her,  she did not know how to help her but she knew who would help.

“I go call you for phone” she told Chinyeaka

To be continued

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