Thorn between episode 72
TITLE: TORN BETWEEN
WRITTEN BY OGECHI ALABI
URENNA’S NARRATION 9
On my next day off, I did not tell Stanley about it. I dressed to kill and went to his office. He wasn’t expecting me when I walked in. He was in a meeting with his brother, Kennedy, and Collins. I excused myself and waited with the secretary. He came out to meet me.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” he asked.
“I came to see you, can’t I do that?”
“You can, but we spoke this morning and I wasn’t expecting you. I had made other plans.”
“That’s good, I will wait for my sister’s driver to pick me up for lunch from here then.”
Stanley looked at me strangely and went back to his meeting. I sat there catching up with social media and chatting with my other siblings. Chinemerem had been trying to hook me up with a Nigerian-born American so I could relocate and join her in America. I hadn’t met the guy and wanted me to meet him when he came home. She sent me pictures of the guy; he was fine but was not my type. He looked like a musician with so much bling, gold teeth and rings. It was a chain, ring and gold tooth but to me, it was still too much.
Stanley, Kennedy and Collins watched me from their office. I could see them but ignored them and concentrated on my chats with my sisters. I was glad I was having such a good time while waiting. I was not waiting for Dumebi’s driver to go to lunch with her but to have a nice lunch alone and go back to my lodge. I wanted him to sweat it out. I intended to visit again unannounced in two days. He needed to feel the heat.
When I felt I had dealt with him enough, I stood up and tapped on his glass. I signed to him that I was leaving and he came out. He wanted to see me but I refused.
“Don’t bother,” I said to him and pointed to his office, “Go back to work. I can let myself out. After lunch, I am going to sleep.”
“Are you going back to the lodge?” he asked me.
“Come to think of it, I don’t need to. I could stay at Dumebi’s for the night. I have a change of clothes there. I will stay there.”
“Can I see you after work? I don’t have her address, maybe you can send it.”
“No. My brother-in-law would ask questions I can’t answer. Call me and I will meet you up.”
Stanley looked at me and shook his head. “You are acting strange? What’s going on? You have never come to the office on your own before, why are you here?”
“I came to surprise you, was that wrong?”
“Call me before you come. I want to have time for you.”
“I won’t. Seeing you is enough.”
He gave me an envelope and pecked me before I left. As I got downstairs, I had to wait at the reception for the driver. He was close to me.
Collins came down from the lift and walked up to me. “I’m glad I caught you before you left. Where are you headed?”
“I am going to have lunch before heading home.”
“Can I buy you lunch?” he asked me.
I showed him the envelope in my hand and said, “Stanley has paid for lunch already.”
“You are a good girl. Most girls would jump at the opportunity.”
“I am not most girls and my ride is here.”
“Let’s have lunch at Sivvers, do you know the place?”
“I don’t think so.”
His driver drove out and we followed behind them. Lunch was nice, I enjoyed the food and the company too. We talked about different things; he was an interesting guy with weird ideas. Our conversation switched to girls. Some ladies came into the restaurant and they stared at us. Him, because he was clean, had nice skin, designer clothes and accessories and smelt nice. You would notice him. They looked at me because of my height, skin and nice outfit. He told me he could go home with of of the girls in the restaurant at that moment. I doubted him. He asked me to choose someone and he would prove it to me. I looked around. I saw a lady sitting on her own and looked like she was waiting for someone. She looked put together and mature. I chose her. Collins called the waiter, wrote a note behind his card and showed me. It read: Hey beautiful. Would you like to spend the evening with me? Call or chat me up to arrange it. That was all he wrote. I expected her to be offended by the message but she read it and looked at him. He winked at her and she looked away. I felt good. Before I could say a word, he gave me his phone to see her message. I was surprised. She didn’t look his way meanwhile she was making plans for the evening with him. I shook my head in disbelief.
“You can’t blame her. She sees a guy in expensive clothes, wearing a Rolex watch and looking peng, she stands no chance. She wants him. Just like most guys would want you.”
“Collins I am not available.”
“Because of Stanley? Why did you come to the office unannounced today? You ruffled him up and he was uncomfortable.”
“Was he? I didn’t get that vibe.”
“You did and you enjoyed it. He confessed he did the same thing and this was payback. Stanley is a nice guy, but he is not mature. You need a man who can stand as one and act like one. Someone you can respect and look up to. Stanley is not, I am sorry to say so. He likes you a lot but he can’t handle you.” I laughed at his suggestion and tried to change the subject but he wouldn’t. “I know you want to end things with Stanley that is why you came here today. You wanted a good reason to do it. Check the car park, you might see the reason.”
“Car park? What am I checking for?”
“You will know when you see it. I am ready to be committed to you. I will be faithful and loyal to you until death do us part. I’m being truthful here. I was waiting for him to make a mistake and you end things with him before I show interest. He has already shot himself in the foot. You are being nosy and when you seek, you shall find.”
“I wish I knew what you are talking about. What do I see that I would find? I have said my bit, I am thirty-three years old, I have sown my wild oats and now I seriously want to settle down with a girl who knows what she wants and has value for herself and her decisions. You are my type of girl because such girls are rare. That’s why I took a liking to you. And you are so much fun and adventurous. Stanley won’t know how to handle your antics.”
“Sounds all good but I will pass, I have a man and a career.”
“Suit yourself. When you finally break up, I will be at your hospital to see you and make my offer. I am offering marriage immediately and I won’t change a thing about you. We will have fun together.”
It sounded all good but Collins was a smooth talker and I was not falling for it at all. He was strategic and that was interesting. He wasn’t vulgar or made sexual advances towards me, he never did. He knew how to bid his time and was patient.
I was back two later. This time I wore a short dress (it was slightly above the knee) but I had my legs on display. The dress I wore hugged my figure, it was not something I wore often but Dumebi gave it to me. Someone gifted it to her and it was long for her. She wore short or very long clothes nothing mid. I tried it on and it was perfect because I was taller than her. I knew it would shock Stanley and leave him dumbfounded. I wanted to see the look on his face when he saw me and I still would not go anywhere with him.
As I walked into the office, everyone stared at me. I loved my heels because I was taller than usual. Stanley saw me through the glass and I achieved my aim, he was speechless. This time he came out to meet me. “You have made your point and I have gotten the message. How did you get here? Let’s go out and talk, we do need to talk.”
I followed him out of the office building. We walked together into the parking lot so we could enter his car when I spotted a black Xterra parked aside. I recognised it. I opened my phone to compare the plate number. I looked at it and compared them, it was a 100% match. There was no way he could deny it. I waited for him to walk up to me and then I asked, “Who owns this vehicle?”
“It is the company’s vehicle, why?”
“Because you were in this vehicle three weeks ago with Peace. When you saw me you took off, had an accident and still drove off. Are you denying it?”
“What are you talking about?”
I stayed close to the vehicle and took pictures with the vehicle. I turned and walked out of the car park. Stanley came after me and asked what the matter was. I replied to him, “You are a liar and a cheat. You believed I was a girl you could sweet talk but I am not. I have nothing to discuss with you. Please don’t call me or come to my room. For old times’ sake, I want to avoid embarrassing you. Stay away from me.”
“Is it because of Paschal you are treating this way? The guy is wretched. He is from a poor family and went to school on scholarship. He has eight siblings, is that who you want to be with? He has nothing to offer you, that I can assure you.”
I didn’t answer him while I walked away. He couldn’t embarrass himself by coming after me. I felt vindicated when I left his office. I chartered a taxi to go back home. In the taxi, I called Dumebi to share with her but she promised to call back. My phone rang, I didn’t have the number. I suspected it was Stanley but he had called me with his line too. Finally, I picked up the call and it was Collins.
“I heard you walked out on our man today, you are smart. Where are you headed? Let us have lunch together, I want to hear the entire story. Please, turn back and come to Sivvers.”
I had nothing better to do so I joined him there. I did not talk about Stanley for the three hours we talked. We had nice conversations and arguments. He told me I studied the wrong profession, I was supposed to be a lawyer. He did not ask me what happened because he knew. He saw how much Stanley called me on the phone.
“Pick up, allow him to explain himself.”
I laughed and said, “It is over. No matter the apology, I won’t go back to him. The disrespect cannot be explained away. I will be leaving soon.”
“Let me drop you off, please. When you are no longer angry, allow him to apologise, but there is no guarantee he will stop. Stanley behaved like a child, and it was not necessary.”
Tbc