Please Break My Heart – Episode 13

Please Break My Heart – Episode 13
By Tomi Adesina

“Good morning Darlene.” Bola, my secretary said, flashing a smile at me.

“Hi Bola. Hope you had a nice rest.” I called back.

I dropped my handbag beside my chair and lifted the Dailies from the table. I w¡dened my eyes as I lifted another paper; all the headlines read the same news.

“HEIR TO MARTIN-OJE DYNASTY, JACOB MARTIN-OJE IN A BRAWL AT 11:45 CLUB”

‘Magnificent way for Jake to announce his arrival’ I thought as I grabbed my phone. There was a light tap on the door. “Please come in.”

“Good morning Darlene.”

“Good morning Dare” I stared at his wrapped fist. “Did you break a bone?”

He smiled. “Daniel is a wh0le lot, his face broke my bone.” He took his seat. “How are you doing?”

“I am fine. I appreciate what you did for me with Daniel.” I said, staring at his fist.

He shrugged. “It was nothing. I hope you have Friday under control.”

“Yes, I do.”

Dare rose to his feet. “I will be in my office.” He replied, and left. I dialled Jake’s phone, but he didn’t answer it. ‘Maybe cooling off at the Police Station’ I thought. Jake must have been tipsy and gotten into an unreasonable fight. I concluded my thoughts and wrapped up my speech for Friday. I started rehearsing my speech. I stuttered over a few lines, but I had a conviction that I would still do fine on Friday.

“Knock knock,” Toni said, as she walked in.

“Good morning Mrs Small.” I said, rising to my feet. “Please sit,” I said, pointing at a seat.

“Already feeling like an office owner,” Toni said, taking her seat. “Anyways, Case 1, I heard you were arrested, along with Dare. That’s rom-ntic, did you share a cell?” she asked clapping her hands with glee.

“Sorry to disappoint you, we were locked up for only thirty minutes, and also, we had separate cells.”

Toni laughed. “Case 2, Have you seen the papers this morning? Your Jake is such a wonder. He was reported to have gotten into a fight at 11:45 last night; the papers said he was tipsy.”

“Tipsy? Oh, come on, Jake does whatever he likes.” I said, sounding uninterested. I still felt hurt by Jake not telling me about taking Paul to the Bahamas. “He will be alright; the highest punishment he will get will be a fine for causing an upset in a public place.”

Toni shrugged. “How do you plan to take care of your so-called stalker, I heard about the man.”

“I have no idea of what to make of the wh0le thing now. He claims not to be a stalker, but I cannot trust him totally. He is everywhere.”

“Maybe coincidental meetings, but just to be safe, get a restraining order on him. That won’t hurt.”

I nodded. “I am processing that. I hope I can have it as soon as possible.” Toni stared at me for a while, as though she had something to say. She then swallowed. “What is it Toni?”

“Nothing.” She rose to her feet. “I’ll see you tomorrow; I have a case this evening.” She replied and left.

Jake’s phone was unreachable. ‘Must be having a nice time with the police’ I thought. The Police won’t miss on the opportunity to arrest a celebrity’s kid, especially one who can dish out enough money for his bail, but by the look of things, it seemed like Jake didn’t want to pay any bail, as his phone was unreachable.

There was a knock on the door. “Please come in.”

“Excuse me Darlene. Dare said that you should get ready to accompany him to the City Mall.” Bola said.

“Thank you.”

We arrived at the City mall an hour later. Dare walked briskly into the building and I followed without asking any questions. I started getting used to the idea that Dare might just want me to be anywhere he was. What could I do to stop that? He is the boss!

“Darlene, meet Carl Frampton from London, he is going to be helping you with your first practise session.”

“Hello Mr. Frampton.” I greeted courteously, exchanging pecks. I stared at Dare without a clue. He didn’t tell me that he had org-nised a meeting for me.

“I guess you will be fine. Let’s see you battle out the initials in the courtroom. The first session is always a surprise.”

I walked into a room that had some audience and a top Lagos Activist as the Judge. ‘Dare wants me roasted’ I thought. The Clerk went through the formalities and he called the case.

“The State Vs Mr Jacob Martin-Oje.” He called.

I turned round and watched my best friend walk in guarded by a police. He flashed a smile at me.

“It’s your first test, but if you do well, he will be free to go home with you, if not, your friend will start community service tomorrow.” Carl whispered into my ears.

I smiled back at Jake, and I could not wait to defend my best friend, of which I knew nothing about his actions.

“Ms Williams, you are the defendant to Jacob Martin-Oje, it should be a mere test case, but if you score even a 79 point by my rating, Mr Martin-Oje will start community service. You need 80 points to get him discharged and acquitted.” The judge announced.

Jake stuck his tongue out at me as I rose to my feet. I smiled. ‘Community service won’t be a bad idea.’ I thought smiling at him. He frowned at me.

“Ms Williams and Mr Martin-Oje, this is no circus. Do proceed.” The judge ordered.

I had a good knowledge of the basics from Law school, so I went through it swiftly and then defended Jake based on being ‘drunk and provoked to anger’. Jake, when asked of his weekly alcohol intake replied:

“I am sober Judge; I don’t know who told my incompetent lawyer that I was drunk.”

The courtroom let out a laugh, including the Judge and myself. I shook my head. ‘Jake had just ruined his chance of getting free. Community service for sure!’ I thought.

“This court is aware of the relationsh¡p between Mr Martin-Oje and Ms Williams outside this courtroom and so I won’t drag the case any further,” the judge started. “Darlene, you did well using those points in his defence even though he rubbished them. We ensured that you couldn’t communicate to know anything from him, but I am pleased with your work, good job girl.” He said.

“Bravo.” Carl said to me.

The judge cleared his throat. “Nevertheless, it is community service for Jacob Martin-Oje”

The Clerk called. “Court! Arise”

We all rose to our feet until the Judge left the room. I rushed at Jake. “You nit-wit!” I said, jabbing his shoulders.

He swirled me round and round. “I missed you love.”

“Me too.” We locked in a tight embrace. “Community service for you tomorrow.’ I said, releasing myself from the hug. Now I was the one sticking my tongue out.

“Whatever. It will be fun.” He replied.

Dare and Carl joined us. “Good job Darlene, you are good.” Dare said.

“Thanks Dare.” I replied.

“See you in the office.” he replied and left with Carl.

I winked at Jake. “You are dropping me at work, right?”

“Seriously? I came in a police truck.” He replied, laughing.

____

“Jake, come on…do you think that I am ready to be driven round the city in a police van?”

Jake laughed. “It’s not a big deal, and this won’t be your first time. You were arrested with your boss, remember?”

“Oh…so you have gotten the gist already? Who told you?”

“It doesn’t matter. The police station is still reeling with excitement from the arrest of two of the most powerful people in the city. Just take it as, you are a celebrated villain.”

I smiled. “I have a stalker problem.”

Jake stuck his tongue out. “That’s what you get for leading people on.” He said, adjusting his sunglasses.

I yanked the sunglasses off his face that he let out a cry. “Lead? I did not even know the dude until I met him at my driving school. He followed me around ever since.” I protested.

“Okay.” He replied, forcefully taking his sunglasses. “This cost much, they are royal.” He said k-ssing the frame of the sunglass. “I could care less about your stalker problem; all you need is a restraining order. But if my sunglasses got damaged, I can’t get it fixed.”

Jake is back! Everything had to be fun for him. I smiled as I stared at the way he car-ssed the sunglasses. ‘Much ado about nothing!’ Jake made silly things count. An example was the car he had inherited from his grandfather before getting a new one.

“How do you intend getting back to the office?” he asked, as a police officer approached us.

“I will go with you as far as Broad Street.” I replied.

The Police officer stood before us. “Hello” he said quietly.

“He is my supervisor for the community service; just to ensure that I am a good boy.” Jake said.

“My name is Philip.” He replied.

“Hi Philip.” I said, as we exchanged handshake.

Jake cleared his throat. “Philip, I would love if we could drop this pretty little miss at Ade-Cole firm before we return to the Station.”

“Anything for a beautiful woman,” he smiled at me. “I will be by the Truck.” He said, taking his leave.

Jake nudged me. “Officer Philip on your radar now…ha-ha”

“Oh Please Jacob, did I even smile back?”

“Whatever! He is cute Policeman; he is tall, athletic and handsome. You should consider him.”

The Policeman had all the qualities that Jake said, but how could he think of a Policeman and me? “Jake, you should date a Policewoman. Let’s go”

“Thanks for the ride Philip.” I said as I got off the Truck.

“Anytime Miss. Just come to my division.” He called back.

Jake winked at me. “Bye Love”

“Later…”

Bola held out a note at me as soon as I got back. “It came from the Court.”

“Thank you.”

I read the letter and sighed. The Court was requesting my presence to follow up the restraining order I requested for on Daniel. I turned to Dare’s office.

“Welcome back.” He said, as I walked in.

“Thank you.”

He gestured to a chair. “Please sit.” I complied. “I hope you didn’t come here to tear me apart about your Practise session.” He said, smiling.

“Not at all, on the contrary, I am very grateful.”

“You are welcome.”

I smiled. “I am to appear at Court tomorrow over Daniel’s restraining order.”

“Okay. I got the letter also to be a witness,” he said looking at his wrapped fist.

“Does it still hurt?” I asked, looking concerned.

I nodded. “I am not going to lie about that, it bloody hurts. His face is so hærd”

I chuckled. “I think you are the one with the lazy bones. Jake would tear anyone apart and his hands would still be intact. He is as fit as fiddle”

“You should have called Jake that night, you know.”

“Aww…I am not ridiculing your efforts, I am just saying that maybe you are paying too much attention to the fist and that’s why it won’t heal.”

He smiled. “Okay,” he replied, taking off the bandage. “Maybe if I stretch the fist a bit, it will get better.”

“You don’t have to remove it.”

“I’ll be fine.” He replied. “I don’t want to appear with it on Friday before my father.”

I rose to my feet. “If you say so, I have to return to my office. I have a few paper works to tidy.”

“See you later.” He replied.

I got an e-mail from Dora that read:

“I have gotten more information on Paul. You cannot guess. See U at home.”

‘Now what’s new about Paul?’ I thought. I typed back; “Thanks”

“Knock Knock” Toni said, as she walked in.

I smiled at her. “You sly! Why didn’t you tell me about my practise session? Now I why you stuttered before leaving my office.”

“But I heard that you did fine. You can blame me, those are office secrets.”

“Or secrets between Dare and you?”

Toni smiled. “He told me not to tell you, I am sorry.” She walked over to the window. “If you ever get bored, just stare through this window, and it will bubble you back to life. Reina never took her eyes off this place.”

“Toni, if you miss Reina so much, you can phone her or just mail her.” I said, sharply.

“I was just teasing.” She replied.

I raised my eyebrows. “Teasing? I think you were in awe of Reina. You have to forget her, you know, and if you can’t, limit it around me, thanks.”

“I have known Reina all my life, and she always made me miserable because of my size. You know what she tagged me at high school? She called me a ‘Balloon’! I could never like her.”

I grinned. “I think you should work out during the weekends.”

“I have regular sit ups, but I can’t diet to look like a strand of spaghetti like you. Do you even eat at all?”

I laughed. “Of course, I do. You will shocked by my consumption rate.”

“Please don’t make me laugh. If you eat well, it will show honey.”

“You can believe whatever you like, but I eat well.”

Toni flipped through a magazine on my table. “Friday is only two days away, what are going to wear?” she asked.

“I haven’t really given it a thought. It’s a dinner, so I will take time off in the morning to get to the store, that is if my wardrobe is devoid of evening wears, but I don’t think it will come to that.”

Toni pointed at a gown in the magazine. “This goes for twenty thousand naira, we can buy it online and it will be delivered tomorrow.” She said, going through the details. “Oh, it is M&S”

“Let me see.” I said, collecting the magazine. I have a rich taste for English dresses, so I was willing to check out the dress. “Should we browse it?”

“Oh yes,” Toni said as she leaned over the table. “What is this?”

I laughed. “The gown goes for #21,000 naira. A thousand must go for delivery service.” I replied.

“Why didn’t they place that in the magazine? Rogues! Always trying to exploit people.”

I smiled. “It’s just normal that you pay a delivery fee for your goods. They have to make some profits.” Toni shrugged. “I know that they should have been honest with the actual price, but what can they do?”

“Whatever, are you still going to buy?”

I grinned. “I will just check my wardrobe when I get home. If I am not comfortable, I will place the order.”

“Okay. See you at closing hour; I have to put a few things together for the Friday dinner.”

“See you.”

I joined the staff bus after work.

“What’s new about Paul?” I asked as soon as I walked in.

“Hi Dora, how was your day? I think that is a better way to ask your question” she replied, as she watered the flowers.

I sighed. “I must have lost my manners. Good evening.”

“That’s better.” She replied, with a smile. She continued with the watering of the flowers. ‘Damn Dora!’ I thought. She knew that I was dying to know what she had found out about Paul, yet she was not saying a word. I raised my eyebrows at her, hoping to gain her attention. It worked. “Oh that…about Paul, right? She asked smiling.

At that moment, I wished that I could force the gist out of her mouth. A horrid grin lurked around her l-ips as she tried to conceal something that I was too interested in, she ended the smile and stared at me sternly.

“Spill it!” I ordered.

…to be continued