“Are you okay?” It was Eddie. So he was awake. She blinked as the lights became brighter and fuller. He was still sitting on the couch, looking a little groggy, holding the remote for the light switch.
In that moment, she could have killed him.
“No. I am not okay,” She said, her voice, strangely calm.
He looked alarmed. “What’s the matter?”
“What did you do in Abuja?” She asked calmly. “Who did you talk to about me? What did you say?”
His frown deepened. “What are you talking about?”
“Did you say anything about me to a publisher called Dele Solanke?”
His face cleared as realization hit. “Not about you per se.” He said. “I asked him about publishing a book like yours.” He shrugged. “He is married to one of my sister’s friends so I know him a little, and he has a reputation as a great publisher. I just wanted to get an idea of what it would take to get your book started.”
“Why?” She asked.
He looked puzzled. “Why not?”
Ada breathed. “Did you tell him you would pay for the publishing?”
He sighed. “Yes I told him I wouldn’t mind bankrolling someone who was obviously talented.”
“Like me.” She stated.
“Yes like you.” He replied. “I don’t understand. Did he just call you?”
“Yes he did.” Ada said. “He called to tell me that my ‘boyfriend’ had offered to pay for publishing my book!” She flung the words at him.
Eddie remained calm. “How do you know him?” He asked.
Ada sighed. “He is a publisher. I approached him about my book.”
“And?”
“And nothing.”
“Are you seeing him?” Eddie asked.
“What?”
“Why do you care so much what he thinks?” Eddie said. “Are you seeing him?”
“How dare you?” Ada almost shouted. “How dare you even suggest such a thing?” She paused. “You had no right to talk to him about me. You had no right. Have I done anything to make you feel that I want your money, that I would take your money?”
“Hold on a minute.” He started.
“No, you hold on a minute.” She cut him off furiously, she knew most of the anger she was taking out on him should have been for Dele Solanke, but she didn’t care, in that moment she hated them both almost equally for making her seem like chattel, or an item that could be bought or paid for. “I can get my book published by myself. I don’t need you, your connections, or your blood money to help me do it.”
He was silent for a few moments. In fact, the whole world seemed to have gone silent. Uncertainly, Ada wondered if she had gone too far.
“My blood money?” He stated in a quiet voice.
She didn’t reply, but she didn’t back down either, defiantly she kept her head up and her eyes on his face.
“What do you mean my blood money?” She had never heard his voice so cold.
It would probably have been best for her to keep quiet, but she was too angry, too furious. “Oh please Eddie,” She scoffed. “Everybody knows where your family money comes from. If Nigeria wasn’t such a corrupt country your grandfather would have spent three lifetimes in jail for all the money he stole.”
He flinched, as if she had hit him, for a moment she felt regret stir in her heart, but then she reminded herself why she was angry and continued.
“People like you, you think you can walk into everybody’s life and take control just because you have money.” She spat. “Well you can’t take control of my life because I can earn my own way.”
He was looking at her as if he didn’t even know her, as if what she had said had shocked him so much he didn’t recognize her any more. “So that’s why you dislike me so much,” He said finally, “Because my family has got some money?”
She shrugged. Amongst other things, she added silently.
“Do you dislike everybody who has money then?” He asked. “Or is it only the ones who made their money in government that you can’t stand, or their relatives, like me?”
Was he mocking her? “Well it’s the stolen money that enables you to live the life you live.” She threw at him.
“I can live the life I live because I have worked every day of my life.” He fired back. “But people like you can’t see that because you are so blinded by your prejudices.”
“Now I am blinded by my prejudices?” Ada laughed, “You are unbelievable! You know what? I don’t care what you say. I am going home.” She paused. “I can’t even think why I let myself be drawn into getting this close to you in the first place.” She threw at him. “I should have known something like this would happen.”
He watched her, his face impassive as she gathered her things, purse, shoes, and travel bag.
“Just so you’re sure, I am not some chattel that you should think you are allowed to pay my way through life. I am not your friend either, people like you and people like me, we aren’t meant to be friends, so please shelve your concern and don’t ever, ever presume to approach anyone for my sake ever again.”
She stormed away from the living room and made for the front door. He was there before her, however, and opened the door for her. She could see the tight lines of anger on his face, but he didn’t say a word. She had probably said too much, she thought, but what did it matter, at least he knew now what she really thought of him and his money and his so-called pedigree.
She started for the gate.
“Where are you going?” He asked tightly.
“Home.”
“Please get in the car.” He said without emotion. “I’m taking you.”
Ada didn’t want anything more to do with him, much less a couple of minutes in his car.
“I will walk.” She said,
“Don’t be silly Ada.” He said patiently. “It is late. If anything happens to you it would be one more thing my type and I would have done to ruin this country.”
“I said I will…”
“Get in the car.” He interrupted. It was an order.
She frowned, and then decided against a long argument. He had already unlocked the car. She went to sit in the front passenger seat, her mind still boiling.
They didn’t say a word to each other throughout the short drive to her house.
As soon as he stopped the car by her gate, she opened the door and climbed out, throwing back a barely audible goodnight as she did.
She expected him to zoom off with a screech of tires, that would have made a spectacular climax to their fight, but he didn’t, he sat there waiting until she was safely inside, the gate closed behind her, before he drove off.
Chapter Eight
Ada started to miss him from the next morning, when he wasn’t waiting outside her gate to take her to the office, as he had done throughout the week before. She was also a little relieved, how could she face him after all the things she had said? After a sleepless night of thinking about their fight, she was no longer so sure that she had any right to say the things she had said.
She wondered fretfully if the fight would somehow affect her job. She knew he wasn’t the type to put pressure on Sophie to fire her, even as Sophie wasn’t the type who would surrender to such pressure, but she fretted anyway.
Nothing happened throughout that day. The adverts for the new positions were sent out, Oliver and Fadeke did a little dance around the office when they were told of their promotions, while Ada and Sophie watched and laughed.
She had become so used to Eddie calling her, that the absence of any kind of communication from him was almost bewildering. She went through the motions of doing her work, but her mind replayed every single moment of the day before. She was still angry about the fact that he has spoken to Dele Solanke about her, but now she had enough presence of mind to direct most of her anger toward Dele and not Eddie.
He had just wanted to help, and was curious about how to go about it. She could see that now. It was his natur
e after all. Probably he had even seen a profit in it, in which case he hadn’t even been doing her a favor for favor’s sake, but actually investing in her career. Was it so bad that he would want to invest in her? She asked herself now.
Well at least he would leave her alone now. There was no reason for him to keep being nice to her after she had insulted him in his home. She told herself that it was exactly what she wanted, for him to leave her alone, but it rang hollow even in her own head.
After the whole week passed in a blur of work, with no word at all from Eddie, Ada started to feel sick at heart. She hadn’t realized how much she had gotten used to him. Now every time her phone rang, every time there was a knock on her door, she expected, no wanted it to be him, and was always disappointed when it was not.
It was five days before he called, Ada had been counting. It was Friday, and after a long series of interviews, she had finally hired a new assistant. His name was Clive, he was twenty two and had exceptional graphic design skills. The new receptionist had also been selected. She was a professional looking woman in her mid-thirties, called Lola Balogun. Ada found herself wondering if they wouldn’t all seem like children to her.
She had been working late, not very eager to home to her empty flat, which lately seemed to remind her of Eddie all the time. In fact, everything seemed to remind her of Eddie lately. So she buried herself in her work, she had already finished tasks she had no need of doing for at least two weeks, but it was easier to work all the time, than to be idle and think of Eddie.
When her phone rang, she wasn’t expecting it to be him, she had given up on him ever calling her again, so when she saw his name on the caller ID, her stomach immediately went hollow. She panicked. Did she really want to talk to him? She wondered wildly, could she?
The phone stopped ringing and her heart started to calm, maybe it had been a mistake, maybe he hadn’t really meant to call her at all. She realized she had been holding her breath and let it out slowly.
She jumped as the phone started to ring again. She sighed. It definitely couldn’t be a mistake twice in a row. Slowly she picked it up and said a tentative “Hello.”
“Hello.” He replied. His voice still had the power to turn her heart to mush. The sound alone made her remember how much she had missed hearing it. Suddenly she felt crushingly sad. It was silly, but she had an overwhelming urge to cry.
“Are you still at the office?” He asked.
She nodded, and then realized he couldn’t see her. “Yes.” She said. “I am.”
“Can I come over to pick you?” He asked. “I’m on my way home now.”
She didn’t even think about it. “Yes.” She breathed.
He paused. “Okay.” He said, he sounded relieved. “I’m outside your office.”
She started in surprise. “Okay.” She told him. “I’ll be right down.”
Her hands were shaking as she hastily gathered her things. He was already outside? Waiting for her? What did he want?
He was standing beside his car in the parking lot. It was already getting dark and the security lights were not yet on, but she would know that form anywhere. He looked like a tall, dark shadow, silhouetted against the darkening sky, or like an avenging angel, she thought, almost hysterically.
She walked up to him, trying hard to push aside the trepidation that was building in her heart. Even in the evening light, he looked gorgeous and graceful.
He didn’t smile when he saw her. He just opened the car door.
She gasped. Whether it was shock, alarm, joy at seeing him, or annoyance that he would assume that she would go with him even without him giving her the courtesy of a simple ‘good evening’, she wasn’t sure.
“You haven’t asked me if I need a ride.” She said, stubbornness kicking in. Even though the sight of him had reduced her to a wreck, she still felt a little confrontational, and attack was often the best form of defense, she had learned.
“I’d like for us to talk.” He said tiredly. “If it’s fine by you, there are some things I feel I should explain to you and try to make you understand.”
She bristled a little, but got into the car. What did he want to try to ‘make her understand’? How was he planning to explain away the fact that he had assumed that he had the right to approach someone as sleazy as Dele Solanke about her book, or the fact that he’d benefited from stolen money.
He didn’t say anything throughout the drive. The silence was oppressive. He didn’t even bother to play any music. She shifted uncomfortably in the seat, her mind in turmoil. Well, he was the one who wanted to talk, she thought stubbornly, so she didn’t say a word either.
There was a little traffic leaving the island, so it was more than an hour before he drove into her street, in all that time they hadn’t said a word to each other.
She started to open the door as soon as he parked in front of the gate.
“Wait.” He said tersely. Then he chuckled, though there was no amusement in it. “Just wait okay?”
She stopped and sat back on the seat. “It didn’t seem like you wanted to talk anymore.” She said pointedly.
He nodded. A short silence followed, Ada started to wonder if he was going to say anything at all.
“I was seated on the same table at Dele Solanke at the wedding in Abuja.” He started abruptly. “I know him as the husband of a very good friend of my sister’s and as a publisher of some repute.”
His fingers were tapping a silent rhythm on the steering wheel as he spoke, his voice low and soft. Ada looked away from him. Outside the car, the streetlights were coming on. Did she really want to hear his explanation? So that what? So she would forgive him and they would continue their unexplainable companionship? It was tempting. The memory of him holding her hand at his house the weekend before was still enough to send shivers up her spine, and yes, she wanted more, more time with him. However, she realized that it would be far safer for her, in the long run if she stayed angry with him, whether he deserved it or not. That way she could easily retreat into the life she had before he started his campaign to make her ‘like’ him. That life had been good, there had been no stress, no issues, no wanting and no problems.
“I confess I had been thinking about a way to get your book published for a while,” He continued, “and not just because I like you, or because I can, but because I think it’s a good commodity that should be given a chance in the market.”
He paused and she turned from her contemplation of the street outside to look at him. “I didn’t mention your name, I only told him that you did some work with one of my old projects.”
“Living Lagos,” Ada interjected, “and I am the only professional photographer with Living Lagos.”
“I didn’t realize that everybody knew that. “ He said wryly. “Or that you knew him so well.”
“I don’t know him so well.” Ada said, her temper flaring. “I’ve already told you I approached him to publish my book. He said I had to raise the money myself.”
“And he called you to tell you I had been asking about financing it.”
She nodded.
“What did he say to you?”
She frowned, remembering Dele’s slurred insults. “That’s none of your business.” She stated.
He chuckled. “And you want me to believe that you’re not seeing him.”
She would have struck him then, it was a reflex, her hand swung out before she could control herself, but he caught it, and didn’t let go.
“Let go of me.” She whispered.
He released his hold on her abruptly, as if her skin had suddenly burned him.
She took a deep breath. “Believe what you want, but I’m not dating a married man.” She said tersely, “Not that it’s any of your business.” She paused. “Well you should know that now he thinks I’m your girlfriend or whore, maybe, that’s why you’re so interested in publishing my book.”
“But you know better,” He shrugged, “Who cares what he thinks?”
Good question, Ada thought. Really, why did she care so much? She had no answer.
“Did he come on to you?” Eddie asked.
Ada nodded. “Can I go in now?” She asked. “Because I really don’t see why I have to tell you all this, It’s my personal life, and I don’t have to share it with you.”
He nodded. “You’re right.” He said. “It’s not my business.” He paused. “I said I wanted to try to make you understand something.”
She nodded. “Okay?”
“Those things you said about my grandfather, they were true.” His voice was quiet. “He did embezzle money. Nothing I say or do will excuse that fact.”
She stayed silent.
“He belonged to a system that was corrupt,” Eddie continued. “I’m not excusing him, but he did what everyone was doing at the time.” He stopped, and sighed. For a moment, Ada pitied him. This was obviously an argument he had gone through before, with himself maybe. “I would have preferred for him to be a hero.” He continued. “To have been the man who stood up against corruption and fought for what was right, but he wasn’t that man,” He turned to look at Ada. “That doesn’t mean that he is no longer my family.”
Ada didn’t say anything. What could she say anyway?
He sighed. “Maybe you would prefer for people like me to fall on our swords and die, but in real life it doesn’t work like that. For God’s sake we’re fighting about someone who has been dead for more than twenty years.”
“We’re fighting about money he stole, which you still have.” Ada retorted. “If you were such a good person, if your family had any conscience they would return it.”
He laughed. “Don’t be naive.” He said. “You’re talking about money that has been multiplied a thousand times over.” At her stubborn expression, he continued. “My father did try to return some money to the government when he was young and idealistic. He ended up enriching a couple of government officials, while they called him a fool as soon as his back was turned. That’s what happens you know. The country hasn’t changed for the better, even though my grandfather is dead.”
He wasn’t lying, Ada realized. It was still a corrupt country. But that didn’t change anything, it certainly didn’t change the fact that he had tried to interfere in her life without her permission.
Hidden Currents (Lagos Romance Series) Page 8
