IT'S BEEN SIX MONTHS- Chronicles of Imade ( part 4)

"Tania!!! how have you been? Imade squealed upon seeing the high arrogant young lady who had thought she would outsmart every one at the job interview. She had run into Tania at an eatery while she was on her lunch break 
"hey..." Tania smiled faintly


"i got the Job, the company preferred and inexperienced lawyer after-all..."she mocked

"well, their loss! I got a better job with The Brandon's enterprise"

"really?"

"yes...they had an open position and i filled it"

"oh that's great!"

"you see, i guess, Charles solicitors was too small for me. God saw that coming and he shielded me from getting the job...." Tania smiled

"that's so great. I wish you a great stay at the Brandon's....send my regards to Kunle and the others..."

"you know him?"

"yes i do"

"how?"

"i used to work for the Brandon's"

"really?" Tania was confused...this girl was a newbie yet she had worked with the best hands in town while she had had to mortgage her body countless times in exchange for a job at the Brandon's
"You mean i filled the position you left?" Tania was nauseated. This young chap shouldn't be way ahead of her.... 

"yea... the position came up because i left for the job at Charles solicitors"

" That's awesome, we should stick together Ima...?"

"Imade...or you can call me Sabrina"

"no don't worry, i'm half Benin... i can pronounce the name"

"good!  I'll see you around Tania"

"Oh wait imade, here's my number..."

Imade exchanged phone numbers with the girl who couldn't shut her mouth from the new revelation. She had no penchant for People who thought so highly of themselves 

"maybe we could go out on a date together, you and me...." Tonia grinned

"okay...call me when you arrange that"

Imade knew this was not a good friend. She had a kind heart but unlike her sister, she would not be blinded by good looks and a hoax smile. This girl had something about her that was off, her demeanor reminded her of Ade-  the girl who almost ruined her sister's life. This relationship may only cure her boredom..."i can't have anything real with this girl... never!"

**************

Tony yawned tiredly. Consulting for a federal hospital was time consuming. It seemed everyone suffered from dental caries, as all the clients he saw today were diagnosed of the ailment.
"yemisi please get my lunch" he said to the receptionist over the intercom

Yemisi walked in briskly. Working with Tony for a few months taught her the rudiments of prompt answers to his request.

"sir, your lunch please...." she said as she placed the meal on his table

"yemisi, i don't think i'll be seeing any more patients today... send them to the other dental clinics within the hospital"

'Okay sir...."

Tony picked his cutlery after saying his prayers. "beans, fried fish and plantain..." he muttered. Yemisi was prim and proper. She knew what he liked-beans had been his favorite meal and he liked to keep it local. As a doctor and a fitness instructor, he knew that Besides the filling nature of the meal, it's health benefits could not be undermined. 
Taking a spoonful of the meal, he turned to pick his ringing phone. The call was from an unknown number, maybe it was SHE. He had expected the young lady- Imade to call him. This was the third day since their coincidental meeting and she still hadn't called yet. His bad; If only he had known she wouldn't keep to her promise, he would have gotten her number instead. Sighing, he took the call hoping this would be her

"Tony why aren't you taking my calls? A fierce voice drifted over the line

Dear Lord, this woman had to call him with an unknown number after avoiding her several calls "errrmmm, Tania, i'm so sorry I've been really busy" he lied

"you and i know you are lying, i hate it when men lie, you know that right?"

"how many times have i told you to stop generalizing when you talk to me?"

"aren't you a man? you belong to the male clan hence i can generalize."

"whatever! why have you been calling madam T?" 

"well, i was going to tell you i had gotten a new job"

"same one you were interviewed for?"

"no...a better one." she cleared her throat. "The Brandon's enterprise; I now work for them in the legal unit"

"wow! that's huge"

"i know right? and you won't believe i was here lamenting over that tiny law firm"

"Charles solicitors isn't tiny Tania, They are one of the fastest growing law firm in town"

"Hello! i'm the lawyer here"

Tony sighed, he knew he was in for it...she would go on and on about her profession. Tania was a direct descendant of the people who suffered from arrogance- if there was any like that

"i know what's best for me" Tania continued. "If i had gotten the job at the law firm i probably would have regretted it. This enterprise is so big it's such an honor to say i work in the legal department. I even got so many benefits from the job"

"oh really?" Tony had to say something, he was already bored with the conversation but almighty Tania had to be heard.

"yes... i'm entitled to a driver and an official car"

"That means you now have another car?"

"well, i may not be allowed to take this car else where besides official duties, plus i won't be driving myself." she laughed. "Can you beat that?"

Tony sighed yet again. Tania could go on for several hours talking about herself. To her, she was the best thing that happened to anyone or anything around her

"Tania, Tania, Tania...can i at least get back to work?"

"are you trying to say i'm not as important as your work? our parents set us up together the least you could do is respect their wish. You should come have dinner at mine tonight

"errmmm, i might be busy tonight." he lied

"well, clear whatever it is on your table and come have dinner with me. Enjoy the rest of your day" she hung up

How on earth would he love this kind of woman? his mother wanted him to marry mostly because he was an only son- though Sabrina had been adopted, his mother liked to think of her as theirs. Haven lost his father to the cold hands of death five years ago, he had become the husband, brother son and partner in crime to his mother. Right now all that mattered to Mama was getting married but Marrying Tania would mean his death, he knew that. How else can someone die so quickly? Tania thought of herself as the best thing since colored TV! No one else did it better...Whatever it was his mum and her parents were brewing could wait- he would explore other possibilities...he had to


***********


Tania dropped the call and hissed. This man didn't even know what he would lose if he kept acting this way. She wasn't one to beg a man, there were too many men on this planet earth. Tony was too lackadaisical about this relationship. Their parents had paired them both and she was the only one toiling hard to make it work. If Tony wouldn't be part of this, he had better spell it out early enough she had too many suitors on the queue for her.

"hey girl..." kunle breezed into the office

"hi..." Tania smiled; she liked this young man. 

"heard you stepped out for lunch...i checked for you at the canteen but i didn't see you there"

"oh yea, true. I don't like eating at the canteen...too many staff go there to eat and i also feel the food sold in that place isn't good enough"

"that's not true babe, the canteen is famous for the best recipes"

"well, i don't agree. Besides i also feel the canteen is there to cater for those who can't afford to buy good meals in other eateries"

"babe, the canteen's meal may be subsidized, but even our big shots eat there. The current chairman used to eat at the canteen before he got married"

"Mr Dave?" she rolled her eyes

"yes, he's very humble, he only stopped eating there when his wife started bringing him home made meals"

"only a full time house wife would have time for such"

"clearly you aren't well informed. I don't blame you though you just got here, there are few things you need to know about this enterprise. The highest stake holder is Mrs Dave, she's also a board member and owns other business lines"

"hmmmm maybe because she has different domestic staff, no woman can combine home making with her career"

"Ese is different trust me, she's a good home maker and a hardworking career lady. She does well in both fields"

"now you sound so personal, more like you knew her"

"yes, she was a friend, she's really hardworking"

"she worked here too?"

"yes"

"and i'm sure the boss also met her here"

"he did"

"oh no wonder she rose to the highest point in her career"

"no, she even helped build the Brandon's- In less than a year of working here, she had hit several major oil deals and months after marriage, this enterprise went global courtesy her good work. she's a hard worker"

"well, that's enough for one-day, her life her business. Tania was beginning to get jealous, she didn't like the turn of this discussion. Ese could achieve all she did because, she got lucky not hardwork. She Tania, was the hardworker, the fireball

"well, that's by the way am i seeing you tonight?" Kunle smiled lustfully

"that's not bad; although i might be having a failed dinner date with someone. I really don't know if he would make it to mine, if he doesn't i'll call you she said curling her toes"

"see you then"

"oh wait! Kunle, i met someone today she asked after you"

"who's that?"

"Imade... she also said she worked here before "

"yes, yes....oh such an amazing soul"

"oh so you had her too?" she eyed him annoyingly

"no....imade was more like a sister to me"

" Kunle you are Yoruba and she's Benin how can she be your sister?"

"she was Ese's younger sister"

"which Ese?"

"Mrs Ayodele, the executive director"

"wow! you would never know...maybe that's how she got the job"

"what job?" Kunle was confused

"errrmm....never mind" she cleared her throat. "You were saying?"

"she's Ese's sister" Kunle continued

"oh that's how she got the job here... i knew she wasn't fit to work here"

"on the contrary she was, we haven't had anyone like her and everyone really misses her"

"well, i'm here now" 

"don't be too high-headed you are still on probation besides, you got this job because i spoke so highly of you. The HR team weren't too impressed at your interview"

"but i'm good too....."

"prove it then"

"i will..."

"see you later T" Kunle walked out of the office shaking his head. This was another Ade... in some areas, Ade was even better. On a lighter note, Tomorrow was  Ade's visiting day and he would go see her in prison.

Tania was lost in her thoughts. No one will ever think that girl had smelled wealth talk more of her sister being the executive director of this firm. She was so cool and calm. well, she must have been poor... maybe they were both poor and out of sheer luck the sister married into wealth. However, she would wipe her memory from the minds of all those who worked here and as far as she remained here, no one would be able to compare both of them in terms of their achievement.

She knew kunle was into her. The wide grin he gave couldn't have been as a result of their platonic relationship like he claimed. Guys lied a lot about these things and she knew he was lying. Imade or whatever her name was, can't have the attention of a man she liked and also buy the hearts of so many as regards her work here. Charles solicitor might have rejected her, but she was going to work here for a while and print her name in the sands of time while she gunned for  that job in the other law firm. There was no stopping her and If Imade came in her way, she would crush her.

to be continued...............