The unthinkable

I stared at him in amazement as he brought a box out of his denim pockets;going on one knee in the process.
''If there's one thing i am doing and damn sure im right about....''
 He began.
'' Its this''.
''What are you doing?'' i said, almost inaudibly. He opened the case. His hands still covering the item in the box.  A cold shiver ran down my spine as i saw the a part of the box. The silk black lining with which they lined the case was crested cartier.
He took his hands off the box revealing the prettiest engagement ring i had ever seen.
''Marry me Alex... marry me ''.
My hands trembled as he took the ring out of its case. Tears streaming down my face , he slid the ring down my finger.
''I'll take that as a yes.'' He said, kissing my tears as he patted my hair.
He lifted me in his arms..leading to the bed he had prepared for the evening. We made love that night. I guess the excitement of having seemingly found himself a wife made him oblivious of my absent mindedness as his thrusts went in and out of me.
He was wrong. It wasnt a YES.
I totally understood the consequences of my action. I left Lanre's suite that night. Back to the ritz. He was totally spent from our lovemaking and hadnt realized even as i moved my things.
Of course- i left with the ring. It was a gift afterall.
Lanre sent endless emails which i didnt read until i got back to the country.  I knew we would still meet again. I just didnt think it would be this soon.
***************************************************

'' I hope you'll like it here''. He said finally. '' I promise it will be a pure business relationship.... for now''.
I said nothing. i had resigned at Lexxon and certainly wouldnt want Tesho to know about my ''sexcapades'' in Paris; a trip that cost him a fortune just to make me happy.
''Err...Lanre... can you please not let Tesh know about this? or that i even know you?''
He gave me a very venegful stare. i had never seen Lanre that angry or dissapointed.
He smiled. ''Seriously???Tesh.... is that what you call him? You were seeing him at the time i met you. Right? Bitch!! Thats the only word that can describe you in my head right now''.
He walked away.
I sank into my seat. Covering my hand with my right hand as i tried to unravel the misery i had brought upon myself. I hadnt noticed my phone ringing immediately..missed call....from Tesho.
I made to redial when it rang again..
He wanted to suprise me at work and was at Lanre's office.


......To be continued......

who is Deji Haastrup?

''Alexandra''.. he called.. walking  towards me as i got my crossed  legs off the table.
''Lanre......'' i said ,still staring at him in disbelief... my lips trembling as i spoke
''What are you doing here?''
He hugged me tightly, holding my waist in one hand and running his hands into my hair with the other.I could hear him breathing vigourously.
''I should ask you what you are doing here. I own this company''.
''Im told a Deji Haastrup owns this place. Now im confused.''
''Now thats true. The Lanre you know is also Deji Haastrup.''
I smiled cynically. Shaking my head in disbelief. This was going to be my most dangerous game yet.
''You are still beautiful.'' he said, holding my chin up against his face and staring at me straight in the eyes. I looked away.
''You disappeared. Why?'' He querried softly....
''I had to. Can we not talk about this?''
''What do you mean by that Alex? you brought me out of misery, spent forty five passionate nights with me in Paris. you cooked for me..made sweet love to me these nights.  I gave you my world. I fell in love with you...then you left without a trace. what kind of person does that???''
''That was four years ago!'' i yelled out of nowhere. Holding my head like it was gonna explode.
'' I know its been four years but i havent gotten over it. My love life is in shreds. you are the only one who taught me how to love.''
''Do you realise who referred me here?''
''My former boss and friend- Tesho . what's up with that?''
''Well...im his msitress''
He looked hard at me. ''Isnt Tesho married?''
'' Well, he is. what can i do about that?''
'' Leave him. He isnt gonna marry you anyway.''
''Im not marrying him either''.
Not that i didnt understand what Lanre talked about, i couldnt come to terms with it. Lanre being MD of cynosure Incorporated, his sudden ''proposal''..... too much was happening in one day already.
   I met Lanre during my first visit to France. i was attending a two months training at an institute in Paris. Tesho heard about a training in home automation and thought i should give it a shot. He then arranged for my two months vacation to be spent there. I stayed at The Ritz in Paris,. some place i learnt the famous designer; Coco Channel spent most of her life. I spent two weeks at The Ritz but had to leave for le meridein which was a lot cheaper. Tesho visited for two days in between though.
At the lobby of the new hotel  i relocated to, i met Lanre or Deji as i now know him.
He was apparently on his way from the gym.....tall, light skinned and had his head totally shaven.
He had huge biceps and had his Tshirt all smeared with sweat. I gasped as he walked towards my direction; nearly spilling the glass of Martini i had in my hands.
I wasnt sure if he had noticed my discomfiture. But he walked up to me.
'Are you okay?''.  He querried.
''Im fine. Thanks''. I said, taking the last sip from the glass. I made to get my tote bag with which i shopped in the swarovski store three blocks from the hotel. I slipped again.
''Are you sure you dont want me to get that for you?'' He stretched his arm, aiming for my bag. I refrained, pulling my top which had hung almost below my bra.
He eventually saw me to my room where i realised he was six suites away from me.
 Briton by birth but of Nigerian descent which you could tell from his accent since he lived and studied there. We had a long talk through the night as we discussed our goals, passion and all of what made our lives worth while. we both were 'single'- or so i said.
It was 2am and i had begun yawning endlessly. I walked him to the door and Lanre planted ''the kiss of life'' on my lips.
That sealed off our six weeks of hot, passionate romance......
I returned from one of our external workshops in The American University Of Paris. we had almost completed our training session. i was excited and enthusiastic about my return to Nigeria. Lanre on the other hand still had three months to go with  his MBA programme.  I had shopped vigorously in the past few days, preparing for my trip back. i felt a sense of uneasiness with the way Lanre stalked me endlessly that fateful day. Saying how he couldnt wait to see me at every opportunity he had. At this time, i had moved in with him in his suite to earn me some extra cash for my extravagancies. I got into the suite...knackered and trying to make my way in with my paper bags.
Lanre got off the white couch on which he sat.
 The room exuded cigarette,  cool air-conditioning and his narciso rodriguez cologne... this was my favourite elixir and aphrodisiac. I shook my head mischievously. White and red rose petals lined from the door to the bedroom. I peeped into the bedroom from where i stood,watching him as he walked towards me; handingme  a red rose stem. My tearful eyes brimmed with the joy of his thoughtfulness..........then he did the unthinkable...............

....to be continued

a mistress' wishlist

I lay on my bed smiling, happy about my new promotion as AGM. This was my third year at Cynosure Incorporated and yes; a very political environment. I had been recommended by Tesho - my boss at Lexxon energy.
 One would wonder why he did that but it was just between us. After several battles from his wife who was head of human resources at the time, he was left with no choice other than getting me another job.

‘Alex’. He said to me at the time. ‘ The war at home is getting stronger. Ronke threatens to kill me all the time. I know she loves me and I don’t want her to make that a reality. Cut me some slack here. I want you to resign.’

I sat ,staring at him. I was in the first place screwing Tesho to keep this job. I wanted to get off the bed and hurl deep insults at him but something in me kept it cool.

‘what do you want Tesho?’

‘’Loves.....’’ he began.’ Im talking to my friend at cynosure Incorporated. Deji Haastrup will take you in as Head corporate branding and strategy. I have also arranged for a 3 bedroom service apartment for you at Glover road, Ikoyi.

' Does that suffice?’

I wore a straight look. Swallowed hard to say what I had to. He  pressed me harder against his chest, running his hands through my hair.

‘If I’m going to leave such a promising career for your marriage, I want The Mercedes Benz c-300 I have always wanted and $100,000. With the incentives you mentioned of course.

Tesho smiled cynically; staring at me as if to decide whether to oblige me or not. This ‘transfer’ was going to set him back by at least twenty five million naira but then; whose fault was that?

‘ok’. He said. cupping my boobs in his hands as I leaned my back on his chest, squeezing them hard. I knew what this meant. Being this man’s mistress for three years made me conscious of this act and what it meant. He wanted sex. I refrained from his grip.. for the first time, I had doubts about Tesho’s promise.

‘No sex until you fulfil your promises dude.’ I said, turning my bum against him. I could feel the warm bulge

between his legs.

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

So I resumed at Cynosure incorporated as expected. 

My second day was going quite well. There was no 

interview. I was just supposed to resume in my own office though I had not met the CEO who was Tesho’s friend. I had snipped around a little by acquainting the receptionist. She said he was a young man- just like Tesho was, but was a bachelor and took work quite seriously. I waited in anticipation to meeting my new boss.

Unlike where I was coming from, cynosure was a business network club for high net worth individuals. They had partnership arrangements with some of the best hotels and resorts in the world. Cynosure’s responsibility primarily is to cater to its clients’ basic travel, leisure and arrange business opportunities and privileges between members. Basically, you had to be one of the top five in any corporation you worked or better still, owned!

I read through the pages again …. My role was to manage the profile of each member and constantly devote to their needs. I crossed dripping legs gallantly; smiling as I digested my new role. From what I understood, this was my new heaven- a chance to meet with the most powerful men in the country.

My excitement made me unaware of the presence before me.

‘Alexandra’…….  He said………….               

 To be continued………..