by Kiru Taye
Ike sighed. He was supposed to have a meeting. But he wouldn’t leave Lara in this condition.
“Okay. Thanks, Jocelyn. I appreciate your help.”
“You’re welcome. Bye,” she said before hanging up.
He cut the line and dialled another number.
“Henry!” He didn’t give him the chance to speak when he picked up. “Something’s come up. I’m not going to make the meeting. Please extend my apologies to the commissioner.”
“Sure. I’ll handle things over here,” his friend said. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I’ll talk to you later.”
They both said their goodbyes and hung up.
Returning to the living room, he sat on the sofa and scrubbed a hand over his face. He had to wait. He didn’t know if Lara lived with anyone else but he knew from the layout that this apartment would have two bedrooms. So she could be sharing the place with someone else, at least.
Then again, she could be living with her boyfriend, fiancé, or even husband.
His breath caught and his gaze went to her fingers. She didn’t have any rings on. He exhaled in relief and then caught himself.
What was he doing? Surely, he wasn’t interested in picking up from where they’d left off as she’d accused him. What they’d had was in the past. It had only brought trouble for both of them. They had both moved on. He had a good life now, the reckless nature of his past abandoned. He didn’t want to go back to complicating it.
No. He was only here now because he was concerned with her behaviour. Not because he actually felt anything more for her.
Liar. You know better than to lie to yourself.
Okay. He still felt something for her. But he would have to suppress those feelings like he’d done for years. It was just that seeing her again had left him out of sorts.
A moan came from her and he jerked upright and stood. She blinked a few times and uncurled her body, stretching out. Slowly, she pulled herself to an upright position.
“Lara?” He didn’t want to get any closer to her in case he seemed intimidating to her.
She looked up at him and blinked a few times. “Mr. Thomas? What are you doing here?”
He frowned at her question.
“You invited me in to talk,” he replied.
She stared at him as if he had two heads.
“Remember, we were arguing and then I snatched your cigarette away,” he said in the hopes of prompting her memory.
“Oh, that.” She turned away and pushed off the sofa to stand.
Shifting his stance, he swallowed. “Is that all you have to say? You were unresponsive for over an hour. I couldn’t get you to do anything.”
Staring at the floor tiles, she shrugged, dismissing his concerned words as if they meant nothing. “I’m fine.”
“You’re not.” His words were sharp.
She lifted her head and glared at him. If eyes could kill...
He rubbed his hand on the back of his neck and sucked in a calming breath. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to raise my voice. I’m just concerned about you. I’ve never seen anybody do what you did. Has it happened before?”
She grabbed her bag and walked out, her footsteps unsteady.
Great. He rolled his eyes upwards. She was back to ignoring him. He followed her into the kitchen. She opened the fridge and took out a bottle of water.
“You didn’t answer me. Has it happened before?” he persisted. One way or the other, she would talk to him.
“Yes,” she snapped, and pulled out a small plastic pill bottle from her bag. “You can go now. I’m fine. I’m not going to collapse and die on you, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
She poured water into a glass and took out a pill.
He wasn’t so sure she wasn’t about to keel over considering how unsteady she seemed on her feet.
“What’s in the bottle?” he asked, his concern spiking.
“None of your business,” she replied, before chasing the pill down with the water.
“Tell me,” he insisted.
“It’s just Valium. It helps me sleep.” She didn’t look at him as she went about replacing the bottle in the fridge.
“So you have problems sleeping?”
She shrugged. “Sometimes. I haven’t slept properly for the past two weeks.”
“Why?”
“Why do you want to know? And don’t tell me it’s because you care. We both know that’s not true.”
He took a step towards her. “I do care about you.”
She made a sound in the back of her throat that sounded like she thought his words were a pile of crap.
He resisted moving close to her for more than one reason. Any closer and he wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off her, if only to shake her to get answers. Once upon a time, she hadn’t been this unreceptive to his words.
He scrubbed his face and puffed out a frustrated breath. “Okay. Let’s agree to disagree on that one. Just tell me why you haven’t been sleeping properly the past few weeks.”
“Why do you think?”
“If I knew, I wouldn’t ask you.” He couldn’t hide his aggravation.
She sucked in a deep breath and puffed it out. “I haven’t slept properly since I got the confirmation of my interview at Thomas International. I’ve been having nightmares about the past.”
He jerked back. She might as well have slapped him. Her words had the same effect. She was having nightmares triggered by the thought of seeing him again. Even he could figure that out.
More than anything else, he needed to know what had happened the night he’d seen her last five years ago.
She grabbed her bag and walked around him to head out the door.
For a few heartbeats, he didn’t move. Then he went in search of her and found her in a room down the corridor. The room was a mix of cream walls, pastel beddings, and tawny wood furniture.
Lara stood in the middle undoing her shirt, her fingers working buttons through each hole in a slow, methodical manner.
He stilled at the threshold, hesitant to cross the invisible line both physically and mentally. Compelled, he couldn’t look away, each of her actions mesmerising. She removed her shirt and tossed it on the bed, revealing the sexy black balconette bra. Moving her hands to her back, she undid the zip to her skirt.
The sound had his heart rate escalating, the rush of blood thundering in his ears.
He’d seen her bare skin before although he’d never seen her fully naked. He shouldn’t be looking at her. Any decent man would’ve turned his back to her or even returned to the living room. He did neither.
Her skirt slid down her hips, past a black lace thong that presented her bum cheeks to him as she leaned over to pull the skirt from her legs.
All the blood in his body rushed south and his dick hardened. Painfully.
She straightened and turned around. He’d never seen her this bare before. His breath caught. She was beautiful. Slimmer than he remembered, but still beautiful.
“You’re still here,” she said as she walked over to the wardrobe.
Her tone held no surprise. In fact, the corner of her mouth curled in a teasing smile as if she’d known he watched her all along.
His cheeks heated. A lump lodged in his throat so he coughed. “I’m sorry but I couldn’t look away.”
“I don’t mind. I like you watching me.” She pushed the left bra strap down her arm, then repeated the action with the right one. Then she reached behind and unclipped it. It hung loose down her arms and midriff, revealing full, firm breasts, areoles like discs and nipples as hard as bullets.
“You do?” He made a conscious effort to look away from temptation before him, up to her face.
“Yes.” She flung the bra over a chair and hooked her thumbs into the tiny straps of her thong. “I think you’re a very sexy man. I’ve always thought so. Always wanted you.”
She slipped the thong down her legs and flung it aside, too.
/> “You have...” He lost his train of thought as he stared at her naked body. As if he wasn’t painfully hard before. He swelled again.
He met her gaze once more. No shyness there. She wasn’t ashamed of her nakedness. She sat on the bed and pushed back until her head lay on the pillow. Then, her thighs fell apart, showing her glistening pussy.
“Can you see how much I want you?” she said in a low voice.
He swallowed and nodded.
She stroked her breasts with one hand while the other travelled down and parted her swollen labia lips.
He suppressed a groan as she gathered her juice from where it dripped and stroked around her clit. She bit her bottom lip as she caressed her pussy from slit to clit again and again, her hips jerking up and down in rhythm.
It took all of his willpower to remain where he stood instead of crossing the floor and joining her on the bed to give her pleasure himself.
“Do you like what I’m doing?”
He swallowed several times but didn’t say anything.
“I’m imagining that it’s you touching me, preparing my body so you can fuck me hard.” She drove her fingers into her channel a few times, pumping in and out repeatedly while her hips jerked. Then she cried out, her body shaking and then stilling.
After a while, she looked up at him with a sleepy smile. “Thank you.”
“For what?” He hadn’t done anything except watch, and that wasn’t a good thing.
“For making sure I was okay earlier and for watching me now.”
For the first time since he’d walked into her apartment, he smiled. “You are welcome.”
“Will you stay with me until I sleep?” she asked, suddenly looking vulnerable.
Gone was the abrasive woman of earlier. In its place was some of the girl he used to know.
Something clutched his heart. “Yes, of course.”
She turned to her side and reached down to pull the top sheet from under her body.
He moved, walking into the room to help. He pulled the light sheet up. “Do you usually sleep naked?”
The thought kicked up his libido again.
“No. Please get my sleep shirt. It’s in the top drawer.” She pointed at the chest.
He nodded and strode over. This was safer territory. If he treated her as someone who needed his help, they could both stay on different sides of the invisible line. It didn’t matter that he’d just watched her pleasure herself.
Well, it did, but if it never happened again, then that was okay, wasn’t it?
He took the shirt out and helped her put it on. Then he tucked the top sheet around her and sat on the edge of the bed.
“Do you live alone?”
“No. I can’t afford this place by myself. I live with Ada Obi. You’ll remember her from Hillcrest.”
He smiled. “I remember her. You two are still close friends?”
“Yes.” She returned the smile. “We went to the same university. Shared digs. It made sense to move in together since we both live in Lagos now.”
She yawned and covered her mouth with her hand.
“Are you in touch with anyone else from Hillcrest?”
She shook her head.
“Just Ada.” She yawned again. “Mr. Thomas...”
“You know you can use my first name.”
“Are we like friends now?” Her words were slurred. Her eyes drifted shut.
“Of course. We’ve always been friends.”
“No. Friends don’t abandon each other.” She sighed and turned to her side.
“What do you mean?”
She didn’t answer. He heard her gently snore.
He watched her for a minute, stood up, and walked to the door. Then, he went back, brushed his lips against her smooth, soft cheek, and whispered, “I won’t abandon you again.”
He straightened and walked out of the apartment, shutting the door behind him.
Chapter Twelve
On Monday morning, an empty feeling sat in Lara’s belly as she walked from the bus stop towards TI Tower.
Her first day at work. She glanced at her wristwatch. 8.32am. She’d been told to arrive at 9am, and had calculated it would take her ten minutes to walk from the stop to the building, giving her plenty of time.
The sky was a clear blue and the morning sunshine heated the air around her. Pedestrians and cars jostled for space on the pavement and road as people headed to their morning destinations. This street was a crucial part of the business district, packed with businesses, banks, hotels, and shopping malls.
The job offer had been processed quickly and Mr. Soneye had wanted her to start as soon as possible. Since she didn’t have any other job to give notice to, she’d been able to start the week after the interview.
Once she’d walked through the security at the gates, she took in a calming breath and puffed it out. Then she strolled into the building.
This time, the receptionist, Mary Ekpo, was courteous, probably taken aback that Lara was now a TI employee, although her attitude was still off.
Jane met her in the reception lobby and took her upstairs, showing Lara to her desk and introducing her to some of the people on the floor she would work on. She was on the top floor, which apparently housed some of the directors and the MD.
Apart from the directors’ offices and meeting rooms, the rest of the space was open-planned. Lara was glad her desk was at the other end of the hall from Ike’s office. Everything she needed to start her job was available and ready for her when she arrived at her desk.
She couldn’t help but admire the efficiency of the team up here and how everything seemed to work smoothly. The people she met seemed to love working here and Jane had plenty of good things to say about the boss.
In the past few days since her encounter with Ike, she had managed to keep thoughts of him at bay for most of the days, but there were moments when her guard was down and thoughts of him would creep in and invade her mind. Worse when she sat in her living room—his inscrutable image always seemed to loom large in that space.
A few things had been set up for her to do on the first day, one of which consisted of going over to the TI Medical Centre. Jane described how to get there and Lara took the lift back downstairs.
At the clinic, she was giving a questionnaire to complete in the waiting room. Once she’d completed it and handed it back to the receptionist, she waited until she was called.
“Lara Johnson?” The woman spoke with friendly American accent.
“Yes,” she replied as she stepped into the doctor’s office.
“I’m Doctor Jocelyn Okoro, a member of the TI medical team. Please sit down.”
She settled in the chair beside the desk to the doctor’s right hand.
“I’m sure you read this already in your contract of employment. Thomas International offers comprehensive health care insurance for its employees. As part of this, each employee undergoes a health check when they start work with the company.”
“Yes, I read that.”
“Good. We are going to give you a physical as well as psychological examination. There’s nothing to worry about. If you have any questions about the process, feel free to ask them.”
Her stomach quivered and a chill spread down her arms. She always felt uneasy about doctors ever since she’d had to spend time in hospital. Since then, she only saw them when absolutely necessary and they never gave anything more than perfunctory observations, anyway. She always told herself there was nothing wrong. If she kept her mind blank and projected well-being, they picked it up and it’d all be over soon. “Okay. Thank you.”
“First, I’ll get you to see the nurse who will collect blood samples and a urine sample. Then, you’ll come back to me and I’ll carry out the physical examination.”
The doctor directed her to the room where the nurse gave her a pot to pee in and then drew blood into different vials. She measured her height and weight. Then Lara returned to the doctor’s office, went on the exa
mination table, and after the physical, she had to complete two sets of questionnaires.
Afterwards, the doctor started asking her questions. Most of them were easy to answer.
But when she started questions about Lara’s family, she got uncomfortable.
“Do you have a large family?” Doctor Jocelyn asked when Lara had returned the completed questionnaire to her.
“No. There are only two of us. My younger sister and me. My parents are dead.”
“I’m sorry for your loss. Did you parents die recently?”
Lara shifted in her seat. “No. It’s been a while.”
“Do you have other family? Uncles, Aunts, Cousins.”
“We are close to my mother’s sister. She took us in when my parents died. There are other relatives, but we’re not in touch with them.”
“What about friends? You must keep in touch with your friends from University or high school.”
“I don’t really have that many friends. Yes, I know people on social media, but they are more acquaintances than friends. I only have one close friend. I prefer it that way.”
“Makes sense.” Jocelyn scribbled something on her notepad. “Do you get on very well with your sister and aunty?”
“Yes, they are the only family I’ve got.”
“Did you have any problems with them when you all lived together?”
Lara hesitated and swallowed, her mouth dry. Eventually, she shrugged. “Things were okay.”
“Good. Do you have a boyfriend?”
It’s just a question. Don’t think anything about it. She frowned. “Why do you need to know?”
“It’s part of a routine set of question. You don’t have to answer it if you prefer not to.”
“It’s fine. I don’t have a boyfriend.”
Jocelyn scribbled on her notepad again. “We offer contraceptives to women who want them. Here is a leaflet. There are also free packs of condom available from reception.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
“Okay. That’s everything for today. If you have any concerns about your health, don’t hesitate to contact me or any one of the team.” Jocelyn handed her a leaflet. “There’s a twenty-four-hour phone line that you can call in case of an emergency.
