Saturn101:
Ride on.

kweensheba:


‘Thanks, but no,’ I said. 

She laughed shortly again and brought a twenty-dollar bill from her bag. ‘Take this money, buy yourself cold bottle of water and think over what I said.’

Barbara would not stop confounding me. ‘Barbara, you are going crazy. How could you give me twenty dollars to buy water?’

But she knew what she was doing. It was a bait. I knew it was, and it was becoming difficult for me to resist.

‘I want good things for you, Queen. Aren’t you tired of the crumbs I’m giving you? Rather than giving you fish, don’t you want to learn how to catch fish by yourself?’

I was thoughtful.

‘This is your chance, Queen. This is a good opportunity to break into the big league. Or do you want to work for Madam Rose forever?’

‘See,’ she went on. ‘I don’t enjoy sex with men, but I pretend I do. I moan and wiggle my body to let them believe they’re the best givers of
pleasure on earth, even when they were terribly boring and sickening. And at the end of the day, I make my money. That’s cool, isn’t it?’

I nodded in affirmation. ‘Yeah, that’s cool.’

She grinned knowingly at me. ‘So, what’re you waiting for?’

I sighed. ‘Okay. I’ll do it this once. Don’t be disappointed if I stop after this.’

She came to kiss me fully on the lips. ‘That’s my baby.’ She sat next to me. ‘We need to plan it. Since the two of us cannot be absent from our
place of work at the same time, I’ll go on Friday. You’ll do the work for the whole day, then, you’ll go on Saturday. What d’you think?’

‘It’s a perfect idea,’ I said.

That was the way we hatched our plan. On Friday, I worked from early morning till late night. And as it was, there were so many customers that
Friday. I was at least happy that Customer Relation was good and we were making profits for Roses Hotel. It was about ten o’clock on Saturday morning when Barbara came.

‘I’m sorry I couldn’t come early. He did not want to release me,’ she said.

I had already dressed up and was set. Barbara gave me the address and the contact of who I was to meet. That morning, the man said he would be at the Polo Club in Ikoyi. I took a cab and by eleven, I got to the place. At the large reception hall of the elitist club, I asked to see Steve
Renoya. 

‘What’s the name, please?’ the very courteous lady asked.

‘The name is Queen.’

‘Please, sit down while I contact him.’

‘Thank you.’ I went to sit on one of the well-padded sofas. I waited for only a couple of minutes when the lady beckoned at me. I walked smartly to her. A young guy stood by the desk.

‘He will take you to meet Mr. Renoya,’ she informed.

I thanked her and keenly followed the young guy. We went through a passageway to an inner hall that looked like a private club. The guy took
me to a man that sat a bit aloof from others.

‘Here is your guest, sir,’ the guy told the important-looking man in jeans and Ralph Lauren polo shirt.

‘Ah, you are Queen, right?’ the man asked.

‘Yes, sir.’

His face brightened up. ‘You are welcome. Please, sit down.’

‘Thank you, sir.’ I sat on a chair away from him.

He should be in his early or mid-forties. Dark-skinned, medium height and stocky, he looked successful and confident.   

‘So, what d’you want? Feel at home and relax. I’ve heard that you are shy, but don’t be shy with me.’

I grinned briefly. Whoever gave that description of me did not do a bad job.

‘Any cool, soft drinks,’ I said.

He nodded in affirmation and ordered for red wine and barbecue.

‘Tell me about yourself, Queen,’ he prodded.

Really? Did he really care to know about me, or was he saying that to while away time? I grinned and briefly told him about my education and past times.

‘What do you currently do?’

I told him and he nodded in affirmation.  He seemed to be impressed.

‘Well, let me properly introduce myself too. I’m Steve Renoya, Chief Executive Officer of RenOil Oil and Gas. We’re mainly into the marketing of
petroleum products. You can call me De Gov’nor. It’s a pleasure to have you here.’

‘The pleasure is mine,’ I said.

De Gov’nor was obviously a well-known person there. Many of These ones men around hailed him while some came to greet him. It appeared
the name De Gov’nor would easily win an election in that place. 

We took the wine and took the barbecue till I wanted no more. When it was about few minutes to eleven, he said we should leave the place for
a place that offered exclusive privacy.

We went in his Mercedes jeep to a hotel at Awolowo Road, Ikoyi. The way he was attended to showed that he was a very known face. He had
already booked a suite there. We took the elevator to the third bed. The hotel was much bigger and much attractive than Roses Hotel, but
everything there reminded me about where I worked.

It was ironic that I, who once berated Barbara for agreeing to sleep with a stranger at the suite in Roses Hotel, would be doing the same thing
with a stranger in another hotel suite.

 De Gov’nor was all smiles as we sat in the living-room of the suite.

‘What d’you say to lunch? What will you have?’

 What else would I have other than my favorite, fried rice and chicken? I grinned. ‘Fried rice and chicken will be okay.’

He grinned and nodded in affirmation. ‘I’ll rather have pounded yam and egusi soup.’ He picked the intercom and ordered for the room service.

A trolley was used to bring the sumptuous meal. I wasn’t a heavy eater, so the fried rice he ordered for me was much too much for what I could finish. Of course, he ate pounded yam. The impeccable of my food made me to be proud of Roses Hotel. Though the size and splendor could
not be rated on the same level with this one, the food offered here was not better than the food Roses offered.



Lady of the Pack: https://m.okadabooks.com/book/about/lady_of_the_pack_18/38532