Me, You, and Them: Book 1

A Romantic Suspense Story



The tick tock sound from her watch sounded loud as she sat in the quiet room, starring at a muted TV. She wiped off the tears from her face with the back of her hand, and continued changing channels on the TV. Something caught her attention on screen and she quickly turned off the mute button on the TV. She lost interest after 5 minutes and switched off the Television set.
“I’m rich. I’m supposed to be happy.” She said out loud before breaking into a sobbing session. Judith cried uncontrollable, and her whole body vibrated from where she sat on the king sized bed. This was meant to be a vacation to help her feel better, but it seemed being alone in the retreat had made her feel worse.


She flipped her braids to the back and got off the bed. Looking at her reflection in the mirror attached to the wardrobe made her feel a little better. Her flat tummy made her breasts appear bigger than they actually were under the tight fitting white t shirt she had on. And her jeans brought out the curves of her lower body. She spun her 5ft7 slim frame around, and a smile appeared on her face as she did so. Judith was referred to as The Last of the Mohicans by a lot of Bloggers and TV presenters because she was one of the few female celebrities left in the country that hadn’t bleached her skin. The brown skin beauty was the envy of all, and her fan-base kept rising with each passing year. Although it appeared from the outside looking in that she had it all, she had spent many nights crying alone in her mansion.


After an obsessive amount of time spent admiring herself in the mirror, Judith grabbed her car keys from the bedside stool and walked out the room.

Chapter 2
The fire from the camp gas cylinder went from blue, to a mix of blue and yellow flames, to flickering blue and yellow flames appearing here and there, and then the fire finally died out. Tony sat on the small stool, with his eyes on the pot, but his mind was a million miles away. After it finally dawned on him that his last hope of a meal was gone, he got up from where he was seated and opened the pot. He felt deflated when he noticed the water wasn’t even hot enough to cook the noodles. In a frustrating state, he flung the pot cover he had in his hand towards the kitchen entrance, kicked the kitchen cabinet, and punched the wall.


A few seconds later when the pain set in, he sat on the floor and bowed his head. He stayed in that position for several minutes, wishing he would cry. He had always believed If he could bring himself to cry, things would start to get better after that because it would mean he had reached rock bottom. But, all the while, from all his gravely depressed states, he could never bring himself to shed tears.


After a couple of minutes of hopelessness, he picked his lanky 6 ft 1 self up and walked over to the pot. Time in water had loosened up the noodles a little bit. He picked up the pot from its shaky handle and moved over to the sink. As he emptied the water in the pot, he felt a little better. At least I was sure of one last meal before he went into oblivion, he thought to himself.


In the past, he had had many session of going days without food and he was somehow hoping this wasn’t going to be yet another of those times. He tasted the noodles sauce before emptying in into the pot; an act he had been practicing for more than ten years now. Even when he heard it could cause cancer, he still couldn’t bring himself to stop the habit.


After devouring his half-cooked meal directly from the pot, he sat on the floor and stared through space as the thoughts of suicide slowly crept into his mind. He had thought of it many times but couldn’t figure out the best way to exit this world. He thought poisoning himself would be a good idea, but then he would leave a lot of work for the people that would get his body down to the mortuary, and he wouldn’t like that. He occasionally thought of jumping off the Third Mainland Bridge. That would be a very easy way to die, because he never learnt how to swim. And after drowning, the Lagos State Government would probably pull out his body from the lagoon and deposit it in the morgue. But then, the news of his death would be all over the local news and social media sites, and he sure didn’t want to leave his family with the kind of lasting stigma that would bring, so he crossed out that option from his mind. He was left with the option of traveling to a foreign land to kill himself, but that would also be bad for his family. Because they would be searching for him for many years, not knowing he was dead.
He sighed and let his hands drop to the floor so that they made a slapping sound as his palms hit the tiled floor. Tony was tired of life but couldn’t exit this world without leaving a lot of people in misery. The reality of that made him feel more hopeless.


As the last generator set in his compound went dead, and everywhere became quiet, he heard the sound of his phone. That part of him that still wanted to live sprang up and he rushed out of the kitchen. The phone had stopped ringing by the time he made it to his room. On the screen was a notification showing he had 9 missed calls and one text message. As he navigated through his phone, he saw it was Ayo that had been calling. His emotions went from excitement to panic. The last time they had spoken, Ayo had been very angry that he hadn’t paid back the hundred thousand Tony had borrowed from him earlier on in the year. “Tony, I know we are friends, but you need to get me that money whichever way you can.” he remembered Ayo saying.

He looked up at his wall clock and the time was 12:47 am. He didn’t understand why his friend would be calling him this late at night. Just as he was about to check the message notification that was blinking on his phone, Ayo’s phone call came on again. He picked up and said “Hello! What’s up?”
“Are you home?” The voice on the other end said.
“Yes I am. What’s up?”
“Thank God.”

Chapter 3

As Tony led her into the bungalow, she kept repeating the same thing, “Do you want to build a snowman?” It was like a song she was singing, but it appeared she couldn’t remember the other lines of the song, so she repeated the first line over and over. He was glad he didn’t have to carry her. “What’s this place?” She said in an American accent as she entered Tony’s apartment, and staggered along behind him. He sat her down on his room bed and she immediately fell sideways on the bed. He removed her shoes, and put her legs on the bed. With her eyes closed, she grabbed the pillow and made herself comfortable in bed. He laughed a little before reaching out to remove the small bag she had hung to her shoulder. She mumbled some words Tony couldn’t make out as he lifted up her upper body to remove the bag. He put the bag on the floor, and as he moved her weave-on to the back of her head, she opened her eyes for a few seconds before falling asleep again. “She’s a real beauty, right?” Ayo said from behind him.

He gasped before speaking. “So, what are we going to do now?”
“Don’t worry. She will be alright in the morning.” He said as he reached into the pockets of his jeans. “You can give her this for cab fare.” From the look of the wad of five hundred Naira notes, Tony could tell the total money was about ten thousand.
He collected the money before saying “You are not sticking around?”
“Dude, my wife has been calling my phone non-stop. I got to bounce.”
“But…”
“Please, just do this for me.” He said as he reached into his back pocket to hand Tony a bunch of rumpled up one thousand Naira notes. “Dude, I got to go like right now. I’ll call in the morning.” He said as he headed out of the room.
After watching Ayo’s Kia Cerato zoom off, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the money his friend had given him. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; he counted the one thousand Naira notes in his hand as a smile appeared on his face. He breathed a sigh of relief before walking back into the house. I sure can afford to give my new guest some comfort, Tony thought to himself as he headed to the backyard where his generator set was.

………………..

He felt someone in front of him, and when he opened his eyes, he saw the girl standing there naked, looking disoriented. He couldn’t remember the last time he saw a nude woman, and he was transfixed by her beautifully shaped breast and flat tummy. He rushed to catch her as her body collapsed to the floor.

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Chapter 4

He kept his eyes on her as he waited for Ayo to pick up. Her chest heaved up and down under the blanket he used to cover her naked body, but her eyes were shot. His heart beat so fast he thought he was going to have a heart attack. After the click sound, he shouted into the receiver, “What the Bleep did you give the girl?”
With a low voice Ayo replied “What are you talking about? What…”
“She just passed out in my living room.”
“Tony, I can’t talk right now. I’m in a meeting.”
“I don’t think you heard what I just said.”
“Tony, calm down. Let her sleep some more, she’ll be okay in a couple of…” He stopped for a couple of minutes like he wanted to get somewhere quieter then he continued. “In a couple of hours, she’ll be okay. We had a couple of mollies with our drink yesterday. Just let her rest and give her food when she wakes up again.” When Tony didn’t say anything, he continued talking. “Look, sorry I had to put you through this. The girl made me believe she had taken the drug before.”
“She’ll be okay?” Tony said in a low voice.
“Of cos. Just let her rest. And don’t forget to give her food when she wakes up.”
“Okay.”
“Just relax Tony, she’ll be okay.” Ayo said and was quiet for a while before adding. “No matter what happens, do not call the police.” After that, the phone went dead.
Tony knew right away that his friend had been downplaying the whole thing all the while. He placed his phone in his pocket and looked at the girl. He noticed she was moaning or trying to say something. He got on his knees and leaned in a little and all of a sudden, her eyes were opened. It startled him and he leaned back. Her eyes were focused now, staring at Tony, and then came the loud scream. “AAAAH!”

………………..

“Hope I didn’t give you too much trouble yesterday?” She said with an American accent as she went through the spaghetti and meat Tony had gotten her from the restaurant down his street.

“Not really. But…I’m surprised my neighbors haven’t come knocking.” He said, scratching his head from where he sat across from her in the living room. She stopped eating and her eyes grew bigger. “Your scream.” Tony said with a smile on his face.

“Oh, I’m really sorry.” She said and laughed a little. Tony’s bed sheet that was wrapped around her body loosened as she laughed, and she quickly re-adjusted it. She looked at him and he averted his eyes. “Sorry. The way I am feeling…I would feel better this way.” She said and Tony nodded. She took a couple of gulps from the bottle of water Tony had gotten her, and then went back to devouring the spaghetti. “My name is Shade, by the way.”
“Cool. I’m Tony.”
“Yea, you told me earlier.”
“Oh, I did?”
“Yes. When I was screaming my head off earlier” She said and almost chocked on the food she was eating. She took a few more gulps water, waited for a couple of seconds, and continued laughing. “That sure was like a scene from a movie or something.”
She continued to eat in silence, and then she looked up all of a sudden. “Where are we anyway?”
“We are in Idimu.” He said and her eyes popped out. “Don’t worry, we are still in Lagos.”
“Okay.” She said as she placed the empty plate on the floor and readjusted the clothe that covered her naked body.
“Yea, there is a link between here and Ajao Estate that Ayo passes through when…No need to bother you with all that.”
Shade’s eyes traveled round the parlor when the room got quiet again. Her eyes fell on the little fireman truck that was on the wooden center table. She leaned forward and picked up the toy.
“It’s for my little nephew.” Tony said as he cracked his knuckles. “He insisted I always have it in the parlor. He said it would keep me safe from any form of danger.” It made Shade laugh a little, and then she looked up at Tony, and their eyes locked. Tony looked away after a few seconds.
She got off her seat and started heading towards the room. “I think I better get going.” Tony walked up behind her. “How far is Palm Avenue from here?” She said and suddenly turned around, causing a collision between them. Tony found himself holding her waist from stopping her fall. He gently removed his hands.
“I’m sorry.” Tony said and took some few inches back.
“No. I am sorry.” She said and closed her eyes.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes I am. I am okay. I am very okay.” She said without opening her eyes. “I took something yesterday that is making me…it is making me…” She was saying and stopped to take some deep breaths. “Please forgive me.” She said and Tony watched in shock as she let the bed sheet fall to the floor, and moved in on him with a kiss.

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Chapter 5

Judith was sitting by the pool with sunshades on, but still people recognized her. That’s what happens when majority have Internet and Cable Network in their homes. She didn’t come with any friends or assistance because this was meant to be a soul searching vacation, and she didn’t want anyone taking pictures and selling to the bloggers. She knew some of her friends did that as a side hustle but had always been okay with it.

As she sat there, looking around, she couldn’t help but wonder if Linda Ikeji had gotten her pictures from this very vacation and put it on her blog already.
“Oh my God!” She heard someone shout out from the other side of the pool. She sat up and removed her shades to see what was going on. “It’s really you.” The busty girl said before screaming and running off. Judith was startled; as big a star as she was, she could not remember ever getting this kind of reaction from a fan before. She watched the girl run pass the outside shower area to the changing rooming, and after a few seconds, she re-emerged with two other girls and they started walking hurriedly towards Judith. Is there some sort of boobs competition going on here, Judith thought to herself as the voluptuous yellow beauties walked towards her. When they got close enough to see her properly, they all shouted in unison and ran off towards where they had appeared from earlier. Judith grabbed her purse and phones and walked off quickly towards the hotel lobby. She could understand why the girls would be shocked to see her in her little village, Aguleri, and would have loved to stick around, but attention was the last thing she needed right now.

She slipped on her shades as she walked into the hotel lobby and unconsciously started a cat-walk towards the elevator. She had walked through this same lobby many times in the last couple of days, and was wondering what had changed as everyone had their eyes on her. Then she remembered she was still in her very revealing swimsuit. “Oh shit!” she cursed under her breath and froze. She didn’t know if to continue her journey to the elevator or walk back to the pool. Just then, her phone rang. The caller ID displayed ‘Ayo Ojo’ on the phone screen. She remembered she was meant to attend a party her brand manager was organizing in Lagos tonight. She had totally forgotten that she was booked for the 3p.m flight to Lagos later in the day. Judith muted the call, and continued her walk towards the elevator. The elevator doors opened as she got to it, and a little boy of about 6 years old ran out. People’s attention shifted from her to the boy, and she quickly made her way into the elevator. She pressed 7 on the floors bottom, and pulled out her Kaftan from her beg. After she wore it, she wondered why she bothered, since most hotel corridors are mostly empty anyway. Her phone started ringing again and she hurriedly went through her bag to get it out. She picked it up on the second ringing session. “Hello.”
“Hey, my sweet Judith.” A very masculine voice said on the other side of the line. “What’s my wonder woman doing this lovely morning?”
“Mr. Ojo, I’m fine.” She said and straightened out a part of her dress that was hanging on to her hand bag. “I’m just relaxing, getting fresh for your party tonight.”
“Great. I thought you would have forgotten.”
“Come on! I…” She paused for a second when the red light showing that she had reached her floor blinked. “Damn! These things are so fast.” She said as she walked out of the elevator.
“What?”
“Oops! Sorry. That wasn’t for you.”
“Oh! Okay.”
“Yea. Hey, Ayo, I just remembered something we need to discuss.”
“Okay.” He said and waited for her to continue.
“Not now. I have to see you in person. I need you to do something for my image.”
“Hmm! Like?”
“Like…It is hard to explain on the phone.” She swiped her keycard, and as she made her way into her room she caught the glimpse of a couple kissing down the hallway. “It’s something personal.”
“Okay.”
“Do you think we can see this evening before the party?”
“Well…”
“Ayo, I won’t take too much of your time. I just really need to talk to someone.”
“Okay; anything for you sweet cakes.”
Judith laughed a little before saying “Don’t let your wife hear you say that.”
“Haha! She’s right with me.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yep! Hold on.” Without permission, he handed the phone over to his wife.
“Hello, this is Bukkie, Ayo’s…sorry, Mr. Ojo’s wife.”
“Oh, hi.”
“I’m a big fan of yours.”
“You know your husband has played a big part in my success, so I am a big fan of you too.” She said and the two ladies laughed.
There was silence for a few seconds and then Mrs. Ojo said “I know you are a busy woman, so I would let you go. See you tonight”
“Yea! See you tonight.”
“Bye!”
“Bye!” Judith said before disconnecting the line. She pulled off the white Kaftan she had on, threw it in the room wardrobe, and jumped on the bed.
She was about dozing off when she remembered she had to be at the airport in a few hours. She went over to the chair and table near the window, and switched on her laptop. As the windows sign came up on the screen, she went off to her bag and came back with a little bottle of Red Label whisky. She uncapped the drink as she sat at the table and took a quick swig from the bottle. She squeezed up her face as she typed in google.com into the web address space at the top of the web page she had opened. Then she performed her daily ritual of running the search of her name on Google. Judith scanned throw the results, skipping the ones she had seen the day before. Her Wikipedia page was at the top of the list, then an old story of her AMVA wins. She scanned through the usual suspects, till her eyes caught a new one. The heading read, ‘Top Ten Single Nollywood Actresses.’ She snapped the laptop shot.

Chummypinky:
thank u,keep it flowing dnt worry pepo will start commentin soon

Thanks for the motivation.

Chapter 6


Bukkie lay lazily in bed as her husband went from the room to the bathroom many times. She wondered why he was so uneasy. She thought it could be about the success of the celebrity party he was throwing, or because of the girls he was going to meet there tonight. She had always known of Ayo’s promiscuous ways even before she married him, but he was such a great person asides from that weakness, so she decided to give life with him a shot. She always believed no relationship or marriage was perfect and she at least was happy she knew of her husband’s vice and the length he was able to go with it.


Ayo came on the bed and tickled her. “Hey woman, this is the night…our night.” He said and started moving to an imaginary beat. She laughed and hit him on the head with a pillow.
“I’m so happy you could make it happen.” She said but he was up on his feet heading to the bathroom again. She sat up in bed and looked at the standing mirror as she pulled her braids to the back. She pulled off a band from her right hand and put the braids in a bundle behind her. Then she stood up and walked towards the mirror. Standing at 5ft3, in a large white t shirt, and with the tiny braids fixed on her head, she looked like a teenager fresh out of secondary school. She tied the right side of the t shirt into a knot, and it brought out her coke bottle figure.
“Boo!” Ayo shouted from behind her and it made her jump. “My baby is checking out her bum, bum. My baby is checking out her bum, bum” He sang as he lifted her off the ground, and had her in a tight bear hug. “I love you baby.”
“I know. But please, let me go, I can’t breathe.” She said, out of breath.
“Oh, sorry.” He said and gently dropped her to the floor. He was heading out of the room and quickly returned like he had forgotten something. “We have to pick up Tony on our way to the party, so we might have to leave home a little earlier than planned.” He said and went off to the bathroom. Bukkie’s expression went from a smile to a frown within a split second. The mention of that name drained all the energy in her. She had never met the guy before, but all the stories she had heard about him were all negative. Ayo walked back into the room slowly combing his hair, and his eyes fell on her. “What? What’s wrong?” He asked and went to block her view at the mirror.
“Nothing.” She said before sitting on the bed.
“You just don’t like him sha!” She didn’t say anything and he continued. “You haven’t even met him”
“I don’t need to meet him. The stories I hear are enough for me to guess the kind of guy he is.”
Ayo laughed a little before speaking. “Like what? What have you heard about him?”Bukkie turned her face away from her husband. “You heard some weird stories that he is a devil worshiper?” Ayo said and Bukky looked at him in approval. “Because someone is an atheist doesn’t make him a devil worshiper. Come on! Bukkie, you know better.”
“What of the fact that you claim he is your best friend, but he didn’t come for our wedding.”
“You know what happened. You know why he couldn’t make it.”
“Yea, he got drunk at your Bach-Eve and lost his wallet and phone.” Bukkie said and rolled her eyes.
“It’s not like he wouldn’t have if he could.”
“Ayo, this guy is an alcoholic, a jobless man, and he doesn’t believe in God.”
“So?”
“So, I don’t want my husband hanging around a guy like that!” Bukkie said out loud. Ayo’s facial expression changed instantly and he started heading out of the room. Bukkie instinctively reached out and held his hand. They didn’t say anything, but there was an understanding in the silence.

lolz no prob followin bumper too bumper....ghudevennin ad thanks for d update but am kindah confused oo,is it d xam ayo dat brought shade to tony,is he d one talkin too judith?

Chummypinky:
lolz no prob followin bumper too bumper....ghudevennin ad thanks for d update but am kindah confused oo,is it d xam ayo dat brought shade to tony,is he d one talkin too judith?

Yes. He is. Everything would make sense as you go on reading.

Chapter 7

It was funny to her that Tony’s house happened to be on a street she passed through whenever she didn’t take her car to work. I must have passed by him a couple of times, she thought to herself. Bukkie reclined the seat of the Kia Cerato and put the A/C on full blast. For some reason, she was nervous. She didn’t know if the guy would be able to read the hatred she had for him on her face. She just didn’t understand the bond Ayo had with him and it often made her jealous.

Voices outside the car made her sit up, and in the instant she saw Tony, all the hate she had for him varnished. He didn’t even look like a bad person. He waved at her. She noticed she had the glass wound up, and quickly pressed down the power window button. “Yea, Bukkie, this is the legendary Mr. Tony Montana.” Ayo said and chuckled as he leaned on her side of the car. She smiled up at him, understanding the joke.
“It’s nice to finally meet you.” She said to Tony with an outstretched hand.
He had a warm smile on his face as he shook her hand. “It’s nice to meet you too.” He was about opening the back seat when Bukkie quickly got out of the car.
“Let me go to the back seat.” She said with a smile as she opened the back seat door.
“Tony, you know Judith Ndulue is going to be at the party, right?” Ayo said as he fastened his seat belt.
“Judith what? Is that someone from our department back in school?” Tony said and it made Bukkie and Ayo laugh.
“I told you he could be funny.” Ayo said as he turned around to look at his wife.
“Wait, I don’t get it.” Tony said with a puzzled look on his face.
Ayo looked at him as he drove off. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No. Am I meant to know her?”
Bukkie was trying her best not to laugh and her husband just shook his head. “Hmm! You really have always been a weird guy.”

………………..

People clustered here and there. Some people danced when their favorite songs came on, but sat down afterwards. Smoke from the grill went up in the air and could be seen from miles away. The DJ played music from the usual suspects: Wizkid, Davido, and Lil Kesh. The men were dressed in jeans and polo tops, while the ladies were mostly in simple cotton gowns. Judith had a bottle of Smirnoff Ice in her hand as she floated through the place, making sure not to stay in one place for too long. She had very little friends amongst her colleagues. The mystique surrounding her had always been her greatest power, and she was ready to keep that going for as long as possible. The meeting she was meant to have with her brand manager, Ayo Ojo couldn’t hold as she had not gotten into Lagos early enough. Now she had to wait around for him to be a little less busy so they could discuss business. It was her life, but his business. He had always been a creative genius when it came to managing her brand in the past, and she was sure he would come up with a solution to the problem she was currently having.
Elsewhere at the same venue, Bukkie sat at the elevated car garage, overlooking the whole party. She was with two of her usual friends at gathering like this. Bukkie wasn’t sure exactly what they did, but she usually met them at every celebrity party her husband took her to. Lilly, the slim tall one was going on and on about the Prada bag she had just gotten, and how it was the same bag Kim Kardashian was carrying at the Oscars. Ngozi, the robust lady nodded occasionally, but it was obvious she was not interested in the stories her friend was sharing. Bukkie sat next to Ngozi on a bench while Lilly hovered around the place. “Well, well, if it isn’t Gaylord himself.” Lillian said as she stood at akimbo and looked towards the party.
Ngozi laughed a little before speaking. “Because he didn’t want to sleep with you doesn’t make him gay, Lillian.” A frown appeared on Lillian’s face and Bukkie followed her gaze and noticed they were talking about Tony.
“Well, he sure is weird, bringing a Bible to a party.” Lillian said after a while.
“That’s not a Bible. That’s the 48 Laws of Power.” Bukkie said between laughs.
“Hmm! Are you sure?”
“Yes I am sure Lillian, cos he got the book from the back seat of my husband’s car.”
“Bukkie, don’t mind Lillian. She has a personal vendetta against the gentleman.” Ngozi said and looked up at her tall friend from where she was sitting. “Not everyone falls for your evil seduction, Lilly.”
“Whatever!”
“I actually find the young man attractive myself.” Ngozi looked at Tony as he leaned on wall and had his face buried in the big book he had in his hand. “I have a thing for quiet guys.”
“Yea, silent queer guys, right?”
Ngozi laughed before saying “There really is a thin line between love and hate.”

Okay. Time to sleep. I'll post more chapters later today.

keep it rollin......mornin

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nyc one..... following your story

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nyc one.....
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Chummypinky:
keep it rollin......mornin

Chapter 8


Apart from having sex with one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen, nothing had changed in his life. He was still broke with no immediate means of getting cash. And he was going to be homeless in a matter of days. He sat in his parlor, staring at the ceiling, and the thought of suicide felt so comforting to him at the moment. Not like anyone would really miss me, he thought to himself. He was ready to end the suffering and go back to his original spiritual state. From the corner of his eye, he saw his phone vibrating and sliding off the table. He picked it up and saw it was Ayo calling him. He answered the call immediately. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Great. I have a life changing job for you.” Ayo said and Tony immediately stood up from where he was seated. His friend’s words made him dumbfounded as his mind raced, trying to come to terms with what he just heard. “It’s a very unconventional job, but it is something I know you can do.” Ayo continued when his friend hadn’t said anything.
“Unconventional?”
“Yes. Umm! How many books have you written so far?”
Tony was silent for a while before saying “5…no, 6.”
“Okay. That’s great. Can you meet me at the rooftop bar in about…in about an hour.”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. I’ll brief you then. See you in an hour.”
“Okay.”
“Wait. Tony, put on your best shirt, you might meet your client tonight.” Ayo said before the line went dead.

………………..

Twenty minutes had barely gone since Ayo’s call, and Tony had showered, dressed up, and was heading out the door. His mind kept racing and he thought of what his friend actually meant by the term ‘unconventional.’ He knew if it was just about getting him a deal with a big company, Ayo won’t have said he had gotten him a job. He would have said he had gotten him a deal.

He saw people from PHCN on his street as he stepped out his gate. They had their ladder with them, and were moving from house to house. He was happy he had paid two thousand out of the five thousand Naira he owed the power company; at least that should stall them off for a couple of weeks, or months.

He raced back inside the house to get the photocopied receipt of payment. He kept checking his watch as he went through the small white box he kept all his documents. “Gotya!” He said when he saw the receipt. He picked up the sellotape from his bed-side stool and rushed out of the house. He went to the side of the house that had his meter, and pasted the photocopied receipt under the meter, before rushing out of the house. A petite looking lady in a black skirt suit had just walked pass his house as he opened the gate, and he found himself admiring her behind. And like she felt his stare on her, she turned around. “Oh, hello?” She said as she walked towards Tony.
“My receipt is pasted on the wall over there.” He said and opened one side of the gate for her to enter. The lady looked surprised at first, and then she burst out laughing.

Chapter 9

She walked up to him, still smiling, and he thought she looked really familiar. He was sure he had seen her somewhere quite recently, but right now, his brain couldn’t figure out who she was. “I’m Ayo’s wife.” She said and waved at him.
“Oh my God! Oh my…” Tony was saying as he gave her a hug. “I am so sorry. I’m terrible with faces.”
“It’s alright.”
“Oh my!”
“It’s okay. I pass by your street some times when I am not with my car.”
“Oh, seriously?”
“Yea, this is like a shortcut to where I work. I’m a teacher at Mountain Top High.” She said and pointed down the road.
“Wow! That’s pretty close.” Tony said and unconsciously checked the time.
“I should get going. I actually rushed out to get something.” She said and started walking backward.
“I’m actually…” Tony was saying and quickly stopped himself. He didn’t know if he would get his friend in trouble by telling his wife he was going to meet him at a bar at 2 in afternoon. “I’m actually rushing somewhere myself.” He said with a smile.
“Okay. Have a lovely day.” She said before she turned around and walked off towards where she was initially heading to.
“You too.” Tony said and headed off in the opposite direction. He walked hurriedly at first, and then broke into a slow jog.



………………..



He saw Ayo’s black Kia Cerato outside the rooftop bar as he dropped from the motorcycle that had brought him there. He looked up at the rooftop as he waited for his change. The place looked really different in the afternoon without the disco lights.
He took the stairs two at a time on the way up. The place was a two storey hotel building with a bar at the top. It had been Ayo and Tony’s regular night time spot for years.


He met Ayo on the phone as he walked into the bar and took a seat opposite where his front was seated. “He just walked in.” Ayo said into the phone as he looked up at Tony. He laughed a little before adding, “don’t worry; I’ll call you after briefing him.” And then he ended the call. “What’s up?” He said to Tony with a big smile on his face as they shook hands.
“I’m meant to be asking you that. The suspense is killing me.”
Ayo laughed out loud before saying “Moshood, please give this man one bottle of big stout, asap!” He had a bottle of water and a pack of Benson & Hedges cigarette in front of him and he closed his eyes for a while, like he was thinking of how to say what he wanted to say. The waiter dropped the brown bottle on the table and had the opener on the bottle cap, waiting for the go ahead to open the beer. Tony nodded at him. “You once told me you have your books on Amazon?” Ayo said, breaking the silence.
“Yes. I published them independently. But, it is not like it automatically equals sales.”
“Okay.” Ayo said and pulled out a stick of cigarette. “For what we are planning to work, we need to get one of your books trending.”
“Okay…” Ayo said and waited for his friend to give up more of his mysterious plan.
“Do you know how many sales would guarantee your book in the top 10 best selling books list on Amazon?”
“In the genre I write? It would take a lot.”
“Like how many?” Ayo said as he blew smoke in the air.
Tony took some time to think before saying “I write in romance genre, and I think I would need about 5,000 book sales a day to crack the top 10 in that category.” He said and took a gulp from his cup of beer.
“Okay.” Ayo said and did some mental calculation before adding, “I have a guy that can arrange it to look legit that a couple of thousands of people are buying your book for a few days.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Your client has money to buy thousands of any of your books. The plan is to get the book buzzing, and when we stop buying, it would already be popular and then natural people would start buying.”
“But that’s like rigging the system.”
“Bullshit! American music executives do it all the time. Besides, you are a great writer. You need to be heard.”
“And my mysterious client; what’s in it for him?”
“It’s not a ‘he,’ it’s a ‘she.’
“Are you serious? Why would any woman want to spend that much money on me?” Tony asked, but his friend was busy scribbling something down on a piece of paper. “Do you know the money will amount to a couple of millions of Naira.” Tony continued.
“You will sell 5,000 copies the first day, then 2,000 the following day, and then 1,500, and then 500 copies before we stop.” Ayo said with his head bowed down, still scribbling away. “By that time, the natural book buyers would already be buying, so the sudden stop won’t cause your book sales to totally dry up.” Then he looked up. “By my calculations, you would have made an equivalent of 10.8 million Naira in that time frame; not counting the natural sales that could come after.”
The realization of what that would mean to his life hit him, and Tony slouched in his seat. His mind wondered on to how his life would dramatically change in such a short while. He thought of all the things he could buy and how popular he would become. And then a little voice in his head said ‘Tony, nothing goes for nothing.’ And then he sat up. “So, what do I have to give? What do I have to do?”
Ayo killed the cigarette in the ashtray and clasped his hands together with his eyes focused on his friend. “Tony, nothing good comes easy in life; but trust me, this is a sweet deal.”
“Just tell me what I have to do.”
“Okay, here goes. Just know if you agree to it, you will get an advance payment of one million Naira transferred to your account tonight.”
Tony’s eyes popped out at the sound of the amount his friend just called out. And then his heart started beating fast. At this point in his life, he was willing to do just about anything to turn things around, but it had to be legitimate. “Just tell me.” Tony said with a straight face.
“You are going to have to pretend to be Judith Ndulue’s boyfriend for 6 months.”

Chapter 10

Tony was quiet for an awfully long time before he spoke. “She’s the actress you spoke about the other day?”
“Yes. She’s the biggest in the industry right now.” Ayo said enthusiastically.
“Wait, do they make that much money in Nollywood? How can she afford to…”
“Tony, I manage her.” Ayo said, cutting his friend off. “Between her endorsement deals and her production company, this spending won’t shake her at all.”
“Ayo, are you sure this would work?”
“Come on man! Don’t be a pessimist right now.”
“Okay. But she hasn’t seen me. What if she changes her mind when she does see me?”
“Oh, she has seen you alright.” Ayo said and pulled out another cigarette from his cigarette pack. “She was at the party I took you to last week.”
“Oh, yea, you said so, but…”
“It is so sweet how everything aligned. She asked me who you were, and while I was telling her about you, the whole idea popped into my head.”
“I don’t understand.” Tony said, looking lost.
“You see, she had just told me to do something new for her brand.” Ayo said and paused to exhale smoke through his nostrils. “She…” He was saying then stopped to cough before continuing. “She’s been having an issue with being single, and had asked for my help with that.” He took a few gulps of water straight from the bottle and then continued. “I had thought of maybe hooking her up with a rich entrepreneur or something, but then when she asked about you, the idea came to me.”
“So, am I going to actually date her?”
“No. You just have to pretend to be dating her. You go to public places together, and take pictures together and all that.”
“And she would be cool with this?”
“Tony, she’s an actress; trust me, it would be a walk it the park for her.”
“I still find it hard to believe someone would go through all this trouble just to make people believe she was not single.”
“This is the showbiz world my friend. Her brand is going to shoot to the roof if this is done well. And I think it would also give her some inner peace for a while.”
“Hmm!”
“So what do you say?” Ayo said, wide-eyed, staring at his friend.
“I…Okay, I’ll do it.”
“Yes!” Ayo shouted out and punched the air. “You will not regret this. Your life is going to change forever my friend.”


………………..



The air conditioning in the room was freezing, but still his palms got sweaty and he wiped off the sweat with his white handkerchief every now and then. They were seated at the restaurant section of The Royale hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos. Even with the heads up Ayo had given him on dressing, Tony still felt underdressed for the place. It was quite luxurious; marble floors, high ceilings, glass walls, tables and chairs all in pristine condition.
“She’s here. Don’t turn around.” Ayo said. Tony swallowed saliva and took a deep breath. A smile appeared on Ayo’s face before he got off his seat. “You look gorgeous.” he said as he hugged her. She turned around with a smile on her face and extended a hand in greeting at Tony. He took her hand smiled back. He was tongue tied and didn’t say anything. She was dressed in a plain white body fitting mini gown, and her left hand clutched unto a similar white colored bag. The heels she had on made her look six feet tall. “Take a seat.” Ayo said and drew back a chair for her. They were now in a triangular sitting position, and she looked from Ayo on her left to Tony on her right, and then burst out laughing. Ayo and Tony joined her.
“I know this still sounds funny, right?” She said, looking Tony dead in the eye.
“Yea; very funny. But as they say- truth is stranger than fiction.” Tony said.
“Yep! That’s very true.” Judith said, still looking straight at Tony. “Ayo told me you don’t know who I am.”
“Yea, but you know, I am very weird.” Tony said and adjusted in his seat. “I don’t watch TV at all, so that must be why I don’t know you.”
“Tony, you don’t know your girlfriend?” Ayo said and they all laughed again.
“So what do you write about?” Judith asked Tony when the room got quiet.
“Romance; I write romantic suspense stories.”
“Oh! How romantic. Maybe you should just write a romance story about me and you and we can act out the script.”
“Hmm! That would be a great idea.” Tony said in a more relaxed mood now. “I can actually do that.” He looked at her, and he couldn’t help but wonder whether there was something else behind her smile. It didn’t look like an ordinary smile to him. It was like she was trying to pass a message.
“Tony, you still don’t know who I am?” Judith said and the two men had puzzling looks on their faces. “I’m Ikenna’s sister.”
Tony squinted as he stared at her. “Chinelo!!?” He said out loud and she nodded, as the smile on her face grew bigger.


End of book 1

Go here for book 2 https://www.nairaland.com/3322331/me-book-2-romance-novelette

whu zzz chinelo....nyc waiting for part 2

Chummypinky:
whu zzz chinelo....nyc waiting for part 2

You will find out in part 2.

FOLLOWING BOMBER TO BUMBER, WITH MY GLASS OF JUICE RIGHT INSIDE MY OFFICE. U ARE DOING A GOOD JOB DEAR. DON'T BE DISCOURAGE WITH THE FEW COMMENT, TRUST ME U GOING TO GET TIRED SOON AS IT WILL BE TOO MUCH. RIDE ON.

QueenEKAMMA:
FOLLOWING BOMBER TO BUMBER, WITH MY GLASS OF JUICE RIGHT INSIDE MY OFFICE. U ARE DOING A GOOD JOB DEAR. DON'T BE DISCOURAGE WITH THE FEW COMMENT, TRUST ME U GOING TO GET TIRED SOON AS IT WILL BE TOO MUCH. RIDE ON.

Thanks a lot.

You can continue reading book 2 here- https://www.nairaland.com/3322331/me-book-2-romance-novelette#49157352

Guys, this is the link to book 2- https://www.nairaland.com/3322331/me-book-2-romance-novelette#49157352

Interesting thumbs up.

Missmossy:
Interesting thumbs up.

Thanks.