34

IT’S been up to an hour since Carrie turned up at work the next day, and yet there wasn’t any sign of her boss, or even a part of him, at work.
She had called his lines and his house line, they weren’t picked up, and this has gotten her worried sick.
It was unlike him not to show up at work without a prior notice, and he wasn’t used to coming late either, except for the days he was gonna show up late either because of some other work stuff or something like that, and even at that, he must keep down a prior notice.
Still worried sick, she picked up her phone again and decided to ring Nathan, his personal guard.
She rang him, and he didn’t still pick.
“What the hell is going on?”, she asked and banged her right fist on her desk.
After few minutes, she got up and walked out of her office, locking up properly, then she headed for the ground floor and from there, to the garage.
As soon as entered her car, she drove out of the company’s premises and straight for her boss’ mansion.
She got to her destination minutes later and honked loudly at the gate. The securities opened and she hurriedly drove in and straight to the garage, where she parked.
Immediately, she came down from the car, a guard rushed up to her. He got to her and bowed slightly.
“Good morning ma’am”, he greeted.
She crumpled her face.
“Where is Nathan? I been calling. And how is your boss, I hope he is inside?”, she rushed her questions and the guard sighed. Which was he gonna reply first?
“Ma’am, Nathan is yet to be out for the morning, he is in the bedroom…”, he was cut short.
“Still in the bedroom doing what? You mean he hasn’t resumed work today?”, she asked surprisingly.
The guard nodded.
“Yes ma’am”, he replied.
“And your boss? He is probably still in bed too”, she said and stretched out her hands.
The guard waved his head sideways.
“He is inside as well, can’t tell if he is still sleeping, but he is not out for the day”, he replied.
Carrie sighed and turned to look at the mansion, staring for a while. Then she sighed again and turned away to her car, properly locked up the door, then began walking away. The guard followed her.
“You can go, I know my way around here”, she said to him, still walking into the house.
“Alright ma’am”, he replied and turned to leave.
Carrie then walked up to the door, the guards by it bowed and one of them opened the door and she sauntered in.
“Mm, really been a while here”, she said as the sweet smell in the living room greeted her nostrils. It was a nice smell of a mixture of lemon and rose.
Slowly she walked further into the living room, staring around at everything she could lay her eyes on, and smiling knowingly.
Just then a maid walked pass her.
“Good morning ma’am”, she greeted and was about walking pass when Carrie called her back.
“Yes ma’am”, she genuflected.
“Is your boss still in the bedroom?”, she asked and the maid nodded.
“Yeah, he is”, she replied.
Carrie smiled sheepishly and dismissed the maid with a wave of her right hand.
“You may go”, she said and the maid genuflected, then walked into the kitchen.
Immediately Carrie swung into action, she took the stairs leading to the upstairs room and began heading for his room.
As she did, she hoped he had left the door open, for it needed his finger print to be open if it was locked.
She finally got to his door and sighed deeply, then lifted up her right hand to knock.
Knock… knock, on the door, there wasn’t a reply. She knocked again and still, there wasn’t any reply.
“Jeez! What am I gonna do now?”, she asked. Then decided to try the door knob.
Slowly and hesitatingly, she raised up her right hand and placed on the door knob, then she turned it, and phew, it opened.
“Wow!”, she exclaimed much to her surprise and astonishment.
With her face full of smiles, she pushed open the door a little and ducked her head in, then glanced through the room in search of him.
There on the bed was Jeremy, sleeping peacefully.
“Huh!”, she mouthed and fully entered the room.
“What the hell! Still sleeping”, she exclaimed closing the door behind her, then she walked further into the room, and up to the bed.
She got to the bed and became reluctant to wake him up, instead, she just stood beside the bed and admired his handsome face as he slept.
Jeremy had arrived the previous night so late after the party, he had arrived so tired and exhausted, that he couldn’t even eat the dinner the maids had prepared.
He had only staggered into his room, leaving the door opened, walked into the bathroom and had a warm bath.
Immediately after the bath, he had sluggishly crawled into his pyjamas and flopped down on the bed, and at the instant his head hit the pillow, he dozed off.
This was the sole reason he had left his door opened.
Still staring at him, she slowly squatted beside him and made to wake him up, she raised up her right hand to tap on his shoulder. He stirred and she withdrew her hand instantly.
“Jeez! I need to be more courageous”, she said and got up, then looked around the room again, carefully this time, and she saw his clothes on the couch, and some other things scattered around the room.
The room was practically messy and unkept.
She sighed and got up, then walked up to the couch. She picked up the clothes on the couch and studied them, it was a tuxedo, well tailored tuxedo, and trousers.
“Hmph, where had he been to yesterday?”, she asked and looked away, racking her brain.
Then she got it and her eyes widened, the clothes in her hands fell off, back to the couch.
“Oh my! Stupid me, he had been at the party, I should have known”, she said and turned to him.
She had seen the interview at the entrance of the hall, and then their grand entry into the hall on the net the previous night.
She had immediately gone peeved, so angry that he didn’t deem it fit to tell her he was going for a party that evening.
“Eish, he must have been so exhausted, and that explains why he is still in bed”, she said making a face, and then sank into the couch.
“Hmph, what am I gonna do now? Since I can’t wake him up”, she muttered to herself thinking, then a thought came to her and her face brightened up, she smiled broadly.
She swung into action immediately. She took off her jacket and carefully placed it on the couch, she was now only in a singlet.
Then she walked up to his closet and took out a shirt, and she put it on. She took off her trousers and placed it on the couch too, went back to his closet and selected out a shorts, and she put them on as well.
Having done that, she picked up the tuxedo and other clothings scattered around, and began filling them in the laundry basket.
After that, she began arranging other things in the room, arranging and keeping the room tidy.
“All Amelia do is just to gallivant about and portray as his fiancee, she can’t even keep his room neat”, she said and hissed under her breath.
All the while she did this, she tried to be quiet and not to disturb his sleep, and truly, he didn’t even wake up till she was done.
Having done all that, she quietly walked out of the room, still in his clothes. She walked straight down to the kitchen and met the maids as expected, preparing breakfast.
“Good morning ma’am”, they greeted one after the other.
They knew her to be their boss’ assistant, so they weren’t surprised seeing her, and in his clothes.
She nodded to their greetings in reply, looking at what they were doing.
“What you doing?”, she asked, pretending like she wasn’t aware.
“Making breakfast ma’am”, one of them replied.
Carrie frowned.
“Making what?”, she blurted.
Huh! They were taken aback, and were lost for words.
“Breakfast”, the same maid replied again.
“What breakfast?”, Carrie asked.
“Um ma’am, we are following the timetable”, she replied.
“And what does the timetable says?”, she asked.
“It’s stewed rice, fried plantain chips and chicken”, the maid replied.
And the next thing Carrie bursted into laughter, startling them.
“You guys are funny”, she said still laughing and they glanced at themselves.
“Someone that is so heavy right now, tired to the bones, you wanna feed him with heavy meals huh”, she said, now with a straight face.
The spokesmaid tried to speak up.
“Ma’am…”.
“Hey, hold it”, she hushed her raising her right hand, and the maid went mute.
“You guys should put off the electric cooker, leave whatever you are doing and leave this kitchen this minute”, she ordered and immediately, they scurried out of the kitchen.
They left and she went down to prepare another meal, according to her, a light meal.
It was bacon and scrambled eggs, with some samosa.
It wasn’t up to forty minutes she started, the bacon and samosa was ready, she was bringing out the eggs from the pan when Jeremy sauntered in.
He halted in his tracks at the instant his eyes fell on her, she was backing him and busy with her stuffs, cooking in his kitchen, he was shocked to see her.
The fact that she was putting on his clothes, shocked him the more. What the hell was she doing here, in his kitchen? When she was supposed to be at work? He grunted aloud and went further into the kitchen.
Hearing him grunt, Carrie abruptly turned to behold Jeremy at the door, finally awake. He was shirtless, and this made her swallow hard.
“Oh! Sir…”, she immediately turned to put off the cooker, then turned back to him, “good morning Sir”, she greeted, smiling.
He nodded, walking up slowly to her.
“Morning Carrie, why are you here?”, he asked.
Ugh, Carrie frowned. What kinda question was that?
“I had been calling since I got to work…”.
“You should have remained and carry on with your damn job”, he said, his eyes glistening.
Ahh! Carrie frowned the more.
“Sir, your well being means a lot more than the job”, she replied, now smiling.
He sighed and walked up to the refrigerator.
“Carrie, I am not a child. You should have stayed back at work, that’s my stance”, he said and closed the refrigerator, a bottle of chilled soda in his hands.
Carrie smiled and moved to the sink, put on the tap and began washing her hands.
“Like I said, your well being means a lot, just like it does to grandma”, she added.
He nodded knowingly, now sipping the soda. He knew where she was heading to now, bringing Old Maria into this.
“I hope she is good?”, he asked, digressing.
“Very well”, she nodded and began drying her hands with a napkin, “only that, she has been wanting to see you, you know it’s been long”, she said lowly.
He snorted.
“Who asked you to make breakfast? Are the maids sick?”, he asked and she laughed.
“Those ones? You wouldn’t believe what they were making for you, in this condition of yours”, she said still laughing.
“So, what did you make?”, he asked, deliberately avoiding the maids saga.
She smiled.
“Bacon and eggs”, she replied and he grinned.
“Add me coffee”, he said and walked away into the dining.
“Okay”, she replied and happily went down to work, more happy that he didn’t ask anything about his clothes she was wearing.
***
The events of the party the previous night was showing on the television set programme the next morning, Jasira was sitted on her bed, with her phone, her eyes moved from the phone to the gigantic TV set on the wall at intervals.
*** “So tell me power couple, this rumour going on that you guys are no longer together, does your appearance tonight tells us that that rumour was really actually a rumour, or there is more to it? I’m sure your fans would like to know”, she heard the easy going lady reporter asked, and she snapped her head up to the television.
She saw Amelia laughing and trying hard to let the world think she was happy, but she (Jasira) knew that she wasn’t.
“Hmph”, she mouthed making a face, and looked away, back to her phone.
Throughout the night after they had returned, she had done nothing else than reminisce and reminisce over the happening at the restroom.
The way with which he had held her pinned to the wall, and was almost as if he was gonna kiss her, she really wasn’t sure but she knew they had been a sensation, a feeling at that moment. She was only fighting it.
That little chit chat was indeed a happy moment, not until it was interrupted by Zoey.
Talking of Zoey, jeez! She hopes she hasn’t spilled it yet to her best friend. Well, she doubts she hasn’t, because if she hasn’t, then that means she is a bad friend.
She was still thinking when her phone rang, and she looked at the caller, it was Tarmah, what a relief. She instantly answered the call.
“Hey girlie”, she was the first to speak.
Tarmah laughed.
“Boss J”, she hailed.
Jasira smiled.
“How are you Tarmah?”, she asked.
“I’m good sis. So spill it, how was the party yester night?”, she asked.
Jasira rolled her eyes.
“Gist lover, I knew you were gonna ask”, she laughed.
“Why not?”.
“Infact I knew that is the sole reason you called this morning”.
Tarmah laughed.
“No sis, don’t say that. I called to know how you are fairing, you know, since yesterday”, she said.
“Oh please, spare me those. I know you dearie”, Jasira said waving her left hand.
“Alright, I give up. You know me too well, I called to know how the party went”, she admitted.
“I know. Well, it went fine. Jeremy was at the party, gee! I didn’t know he was gonna be there”.
“I know right”, she laughed.
“Yeah, he was there, and guess what? We had a dance”, she spilled the beans.
Tarmah gasped.
“You what?”, she asked unbelievably.
“Had a dance dear. Somehow, we danced, he didn’t even know I was the lady he had grabbed after the master of ceremony had requested for a change of dance partner. It was later on that he found out, and he just couldn’t let me go afterwards”, she sighed and splayed her left fingers on her forehead.
“My gee! Seriously? It’s unbelievable!”, Tarmah exclaimed.
“I know right”, she sighed again.
“And what next happened?”, Tarmah continued with the questions.
“Nothing Tarmah, nothing”, she said flatly making a firm expression on her face, and Tarmah cackled.
“Come on sis”, she said.
“Well nothing. I am only just worried and concerned about one thing. Zoey had ran into us, Jeremy and I, at the restroom”, she said.
“Ugh! I… I don’t get, come again”.
Jasira rolled her eyes and sighed.
“Zoey, she ran into Jeremy and I. Jeremy, I don’t know, I think that guy is stubborn, just like you, something happened and we found ourselves in the ladies, and Zoey caught us in a suspicious position”.
“Oh no!”, Tarmah exclaimed.
“I just hope Zoey wouldn’t tell it to Amelia, that means another problem if she does”, she said.
Tarmah laughed lowly, surprising Jasira.
“Come on, this isn’t a laughing matter, what’s up?”, she asked and exhaled deeply.
“Zoey wouldn’t”, Tarmah said.
Jasira gasped.
“Huh? What do you mean?”.
“I know she wouldn’t. Immediately she left the toilet and entered the hall that yesterday, a waitress had offered her a drink which she accepted, and that drink wasn’t just a drink. It was induced with some hormones to make her forget all that happened within that few minutes”, Tarmah explained confidently.
Jasira sat up, what the hell was she talking about? Was she at the party?
“How did you know? Were you at the party?”, she asked and Tarmah cackled.
“I’m no fool sis, I been learning a lot from you”, she said in a sneer and Jasira’s eyelids flickered, she was shocked.
“Tarmah, what have you done?”, she asked.
Tarmah cackled again.
“Oh yeah! Yes sis, I was at the party, and I was the waitress”, she spilled the beans.
“What! Tarmah?”, Jasira called.