A GAME
OF LOVE
AND OBSESSION
Chapter 6&7
Desmond was very disappointed on hearing the new development. He thought that he might be lucky this time to win the love of Sandra. But, that didn’t happen. He had tried everything in his power to make Sandra his own.
He had put his life on hold for almost four years all to wait for that moment Sandra will accept him. He left Sandra’s house very heartbroken although he told her he was okay. He was far from being okay. His hope had been deferred and he felt like he had wasted four years of his life.
Meanwhile, Jasmine was snooping around the hall when Jesse went out for the drink. She chanced upon the portrait Jesse had hung on the wall leading to the kitchen. She was perplexed as to why Jesse would still be keeping a portrait of a girl who broke his heart. She looked at the portrait for sometime and went to sit in the sofa because she heard the footsteps of Jesse.
Jesse returned with a glas-s of fruit jui-ce and some pastries. “Jasmine, this is the only processed food I have in my fridge. Please manage it for now till you are done cooking,” Jesse said as he served the drink to Jasmine. “Thank you, Jesse,” Jasmine said in appreciation.
Now, Jesse could perceive the mood change on Jasmine’s face. Her gestures towards him had changed totally. She seemed to be worried about something. “Jasmine, is anything the matter?” Jesse asked. “No… Yes! What is Theodora’s portrait doing on your wall?” Jasmine answered and asked.
” I am sorry, Jasmine. I didn’t mean for you to see that. I will take it down. It is about time I move on. I can’t hold on to the past. In fact, I am going to take it down now,” Jesse said and got up from the sofa.
Jesse walked straight to the portrait and brou-ght it down while Jasmine looked on with smiles and a sense of accomplishment. “Well done, dear. I am so proud of you,” said Jasmine. “You are my future now, Jasmine. I nee-d to keep that in mind,” Jesse said and smiled at Jasmine.
With that, Jasmine moved to where Jesse was standing, hu-gged him and went to the kitchen to cook. They ate the food together. Jesse escorted Jasmine to her car after they were done eating. Indeed, Jesse’s face had begun to glow with happiness. He was no longer gloomy as before.
“Jasmine! Where are you? I have been trying to reach you for the past six hours.” A voice inquired the whereabouts of Jasmine on phone as she was driving home. “Madam, don’t be angry. I mistakenly tou-ched the airplane mode on my phone. I just discovered it and turned the network back on. I am really sorry,” Jasmine lied.
“I see. Anyway let us forget about that. I have a new as-signment for you and I nee-d you in my house right now. Leave whatever you are doing and drive straight to my apartment right now!” the woman said authoritatively. “Okay, madam. I will be right there,” Jasmine responded.
Jasmine arrived at Madam Diaz’s house. She drove in a rush, got down and hurried into the house. “Madam Diaz, what is the problem? It seemed so important,” Jasmine asked immediately she saw Madam Diaz.
“Yes, dear. It’s very important. One of our top clas-s customers called. He said he nee-ds ladies now and he specifically named you. So I had to call you immediately. You are leaving for Paris right now. He has his private jet In Nigeria. You will pick a flight to Nigeria and meet him there to board the jet. Don’t worry, I have bought your ticket and have packed your bags already,” said Madam Diaz.
Jasmine was taken by surprise. She knew Madam Diaz was unpredictable, but she caught her off-guard this time around. Since she was introduced to this job, all she had known is emptiness. She had intimacy with men she felt nothing for. In order to stay focused, she was introduced to drugs which further deteriorated her state.
She only entered into the business to pay her fees, but it seemed there were many things involved she wasn’t made aware of. Now, she had made a covenant with the pimp, Madam Diaz which had made it difficult for her to stop the business. She finally thought that happiness had come into her life when she met Jesse. She knew Jesse adored her and was happy to meet him single. Now, with this new business deal to Paris, how was she going to explain things to Jesse.
They sort of came together not long ago and leaving to Paris was not the best. But, what could she do? She had sown an oath to Madam Diaz and wouldn’t dare to say no to her. She knew the consequences that came along with such froward attitudes. She decided to remove her sim card from her phone.
“Madam, this is so sudden. At least you should pre-informed me yesterday so I could get some stuffs from my house,” Jasmine lamented. “Come on, Jasmine. Don’t talk like an amateur. You know how this business is. When a customer calls, we have to be there to satisfy their nee-ds. Remember, it is all about the money. Don’t worry about whatever you are going to pick from the house. This customer is very wealthy. He will buy anything you nee-d. Now, get going or else you might miss your flight to Nigeria,” said Madam Diaz.
With that, Jasmine went to pick the things Madam Diaz had put together for her. Although she was sad leaving the country without telling Jesse, there was nothing she could do. She will pick up from where she left off when she comes back from Paris. There was no way she was going to let Jesse go. Although she was into prostitution, she nee-ded a man to call her own. Someone she could always go back to after her rendezvouses.
Meanwhile, Jesse was trying to reach Jasmine on phone, but her line wasn’t going throu-gh. Her phone had been switched off. He was happy that his broken emotions were being healed gradually.
He had nostalgia about his time with Jasmine. He smiled to himself occasionally, but was becoming worried about his inability to reach Jasmine. After several failed attempts to reach Jasmine on phone, he gave up and slept.
Jesse was in his office when he saw a familiar face approaching. “Hello, Jesse, it has been quite sometime. Where have you been,” Sandra asked Jesse. “I have been home,” Jesse responded sharply. “I have not been seeing you at the stop lately,” Sandra said trying to ignore Jesse’s sarcasm. “Oh that, I have been picking taxi of late to work. The bus always makes me get to work late. But, if I may ask, what are you doing here?” Jesse asked.
“Hey, Jesse, I believe you have met, Sandra? I can see you guys are getting along,” a voice from behind said. Jesse turned and realized it was his boss. “Yes, Sir,” Jesse answered.
“That is very good. She is from Silicon International and you will be working on the meager with her. She heads the account department in her company. You guys will be working on the accounts of the two companies together ahead of the meager,” the boss said.
“Yes, please,” Jesse responded politely. “That is good, Jesse. Now, let me leave you guys alone to work,” the boss said and left Jesse’s office.
Jesse was surprised about the latest development, but Sandra didn’t feel the same. She was very excited to be working on the meager with Jesse. It was like a dream come true for her. Just when she nee-ded to get close to Jesse, an opportunity had presented itself.
This could be the opportunity to know more about Jesse because they would be seeing each other often and would even be working together if the meager should go throu-gh. The more she thought about it, the more thrilled she became
***
Jesse was surprised about the latest development, but Sandra didn’t feel same. She was very excited to be working on the meager with Jesse. It was like a dream come true for her. Just when she nee-ded to get close to Jesse, an opportunity had presented itself.
This could be the opportunity to know more about Jesse because they would be seeing each other often and would even be working together if the meager should go throu-gh. The more she thought about it, the more thrilled she became.
Meanwhile, Desmond was in serious thoughts about what took place at Sandra’s house. He realized that he was growing in age and nee-ded someone to settle with. He came to the conclusion that the “Sandra project” was a façade and a lost cause.
He nee-ded to be realistic and accept the situation on the ground. “I have to find another person to love who would reciprocate my affections. It is clear that Sandra would never enter into a relationship with me. She sees me as a brother and that will remain. But, who am I going to approach since I have practically made all those girls lost interest? Think… Think boy… Think!!! Yeah, let me try Bella,” Desmond said and took his phone to search for Bella’s contact.
He was finally able to find Bella’s number on his phone. He immediately called her. “I can’t believe who is calling,” was Bella’s response when she received the call. “Why do you say that, Bella?” Desmond asked.
“I can’t remember the last time you called me and even if I call, you don’t pick my calls,” Bella lamented. “I am sorry about that, Bella. Everything is going to change from today,” Desmond said. “Really?” Bella blurted out.
“Yeah! In fact to proof to you that I am serious, I will like to take you out for dinner. That is if you will love to go with me,” said Desmond hoping Bella would agree to the dinner. “Err… Err… I have a ti-ght schedule this week, but I will reschedule to make time. When do you want us to go?” Bella asked.
“A day after tomorrow,” Desmond responded immediately. “Okay, Desmond. I will make time for it,” Bella responded. “Thank you very much, Bella. I will call you,” Desmond said. “Really? There is no nee-d to thank me for that. In fact, was waiting for a day like this. I will be expecting your call,” Bella responded.
Now, Desmond took out his wallet from his pocket and took the pas-sport-sized photograph of Sandra. He looked at it for sometime, folded it into two parts and placed it in the che-st pocket of his shirt. He was done with Sandra for good. It was now time to start a new life with Bella. He closed his wallet and sli-pped it into his back pocket.
Meanwhile, Jesse and Sandra were enjoying each pas-sing moment they were spending together. Jesse had tried severally to reach Jasmine, but all to no avail. The only available person around was Sandra and he was gradually getting acquainted with her.
Sandra on the other hand was glad that she was now able to pene-trate the wall Jesse had built around himself. To her advantage, the work they did together always brou-ght them together. She now spent most of her time in Jesse’s office. They sometimes go home together when they close from work.
To Jesse, Sandra was just a colleague from work. Little did he know he was growing fond of her. In the absence of Jasmine, Sandra had begun to take over. “Jesse, don’t you think it is about time I got to know your house?” Sandra asked one day after work. “Oh, that is no problem. We can go there from here. I was even thinking about that,” Jesse responded.
With that, they both took off to Jesse’s house. Jesse led the way to his house when they got down from the bus. Sandra was surprised that his house very close to hers. “Jesse, I never knew you lived here. Do you ever come out?” Sandra asked.
“I don’t like going out, Sandra. I am an indoor person,” Jesse responded. “Are you sure about that? I think you are an outdoor person trying to be an indoor person. This can only happen when people have had an unpleasant experience and want to protect themselves. Are you trying to protect yourself from something?” Sandra asked.
Jesse looked at her in surprise. “Welcome to my house, Sandra. Make yourself at home. We still have some work to do. We nee-d to finish the review before tomorrow,” Jesse said to change the subject. He didn’t want to answer the question because his mood always changed when he did.
But, it seemed Sandra wouldn’t back down until she received her answer. She repeated the question and Jesse had no other choice than to answer.
“Yeah, I am protecting myself. I haven’t been lucky when it comes to my love life. I have suffered a lot of breakups in my love life. So it is difficult for me to trust again. A lady I was planning to get married to surprised me with her wedding invitation card. It has taken me several months to overcome that shock. That was the reason for my behavior when we first met,” Jesse explained.
“Oh, I see. I now un-derstand you. I am sorry to hear that,” Sandra said to console Jesse.
“So are you in any relationship now, “ Sandra asked.
“Not necessarily. I mean it is complicated. I met a friend of mine few days ago at the supermarket. Actually, she was my crush back in school days. I proposed to her and she rejected my proposal for a sugar daddy. It was as a result of that hurt I entered into a relationship with the lady that left me to marry another guy. We came here after we met at the supermarket. Indeed, we had a nice time together. She said she wanted us to enter into a relationship. She said she had changed and had learned her lessons. So I decided to give us a chance. It is strange though that I haven’t heard from her since she left my house that day. I don’t know what has happened to her and that makes me worried,” Jesse said.
Sandra was sad when she heard of a new lady in Jesse’s life. She would have loved it if she was the only lady in his life. Sandra was very surprised as to why she had grown so fond of Jesse in such a short time. No time in her life had she been so quickly attra-cted to someone.
Jesse had something that kept drawing her to him. She just wished everything will go on well. For the meantime, she had to give her support since the new girl wasn’t around. She just hoped in her heart she wouldn’t return. So that she could have Jesse all to herself. Apparently, she knew that wasn’t possible.
“I am sorry, Jesse for all that you have been throu-gh. I am proud of you for staying strong. Many people do silly things when confronted with such situations. They are deceived into thinking that their world is over. Little did they know that there is someone waiting for them at another junction in their life. They allow their present situation to rule their thinking and do unimaginable things. Very sad! You really handled the situation well, Jesse,” Sandra said.
“ Thank you, Sandra. No one had ever spoken to me in such a manner before. Thank you for the encouragement,” said Jesse thankfully.
Sandra looked at the time and realized it was getting late. “Jesse, we have been doing this review for almost three hours. Aren’t you hungry?” Sandra asked. “I began to feel hungry once you mentioned it. I was enjoying your company so much that I totally forgot about food,” Jesse confessed.
“That is so flattering. In that case, let me get to the kitchen and fix something for us to eat. I am hungry as well. I hope you have groceries?” Sandra asked. “Yeah, I bought some from the supermarket. They are in the refrigerator,” Jesse answered.
Sandra got up and made her way to the kitchen to cook while Jesse continued with the office work. There was a knock at the door and Jesse got up to see who was at the door. He was surprised to see Jasmine. She was appearing and disappearing like a ghost.
“Would you just stand there? I thought you have missed me?” Jasmine asked. “I am shocked. Where have you been? I have tried to reach your line severally since you left here the other time. What happened to your phone?” Jesse asked. “Please let us go inside, Jesse. I will explain everything to you,” Jasmine said and entered the house.
TBc..