Book/Writing

Mope was in much of a lighter mood than she had been in the last couple of weeks. She was just too glad to have gotten this job as rotten and as below her as the job was, a whole college graduate. She had been down to her last couple of naira and worried about how she was going to make her share of rent at the one bedroom unit she shared with Stella Marcus at Alhaji’s face-me-I-face-you set of units.

She had no doubt that this time alhaji was going to insist on his payment in “kind” rather than giving her the usual couple of extra days, as he had warned her the last time in his annoying Yoruba accent “no more estra dazzs after this month, after this time, you will use ya sef to pay d money fine girl like you.”

Just the thought of Alhaji made her cringe. There was no way she could even allow the man to touch her. Alhaji could always be found in the balcony of his building next door regardless of the time of day; Mope always wondered if the man had anything else in his life to do. In the mornings one could see him without a shirt and a wrapper wrapped around his beer-drinking potbelly chewing his chewing stick and spitting right out regardless of who was standing down at the bottom. He watched everyone one going in and coming out of the units like a hawk looking for preys. Constantly making insulting or not so funny comments to one person or the other and trying to sweet talk a young girl to come up to him.

Mope had been so busy in her thoughts she did not realize that someone else had entered the office. She was taken aback for a minute by the sheer handsomeness of the figure standing by the file cabinet inspecting a file. He was dressed up in something she figured could not be less than a custom made suit made only to fit that beautiful frame. She was still regaling in his handsomeness when he looked up from the file he was holding…

“good afternoon to you too, and thanks for the compliment” Mope looked down embarrassed at the fact that she had been caught in the act of stirring.

She curtsied, “I’m sorry sir, good afternoon, but what compliment sir?"

“the one your eyes were giving me.” Tega said, looking her up from head to toe, with eyes that looked like they could see through layers of clothes until they got to the barest of skins.

Mope was appalled and irriated quickly; she could tell he was arrogant and egotistical…

“emm, excuse me but just because you’re in a suit that looks good on you does not mean that you should look at me like I’m less human in what I have on”

“ahh… so you do agree I look good? Tega said with a dragging rich laugh. I’ve not seen you around here before, what’s your name?”

“that’s because I’m new, and I didn’t say you look good either, but I’ll get out of your way right about now, I was told to start cleaning this office as it was currently empty, by the way, what are you doing in here as well? I was told the MD and only a few other executive staff members are allowed to be in this room, I hope you’re not trespassing because I’ll be quick to report it because if anything goes missing, I won’t be blamed. And besides I can’t afford to loose this job now."

“Don’t worry, I’ll report myself if anything gets missing, I got permission to look over some documents. By the way, you still have not told me your name."

"Why are you so concerned about my name, I’ll just be right out of your way Mope said walking out of the office."