CONTRACT MARRIAGE
Episode 21
By GranAmah’s Heart
Ife walked into her office and sat on the table facing her.
“ Hey love…. How are you doing?” He asked with a smile, his gaze focused on her.
Omar looked up at him and chuckled.
“This one you are coming to my office every ten minutes Ife…. I hope all is well?”
He folded his hands and smiled broadly.
“ It’s actually an interval of one hour Mrs Mike Davis.” He said coyly.
She bit her lower lip, loving the way he pronounced her titled name.
“ hmmm!…. Is it?” She asked, feigning ignorance.
He had a look on his face that depicted he was up to something.
“ I was just checking up on you to see how you are holding up with the pressure these days, given the fact that our activities have doubled up and we are stretching our capacity to accommodate expansion.”
“… So how are you doing really?” He asked in concern.
She took his hands in her palm and held it tenderly.
“ I’m fine dear…. Just a little tired.” She said and sighed.
“ You know you can take a break to rest…. I don’t want you looking all stressed out.” He replied, brushing his hand on her cheeks.
“ You know,…. I wonder how you sort out these files one after the other and still attend to official matters, without being tired….. coupled with the fact that you still do the cooking at home…. Don’t you feel fatigued at all?” She asked him.
“ I do feel fatigued….. but I must say it’s a lifestyle I’m used to already.” He said.
She nodded and narrowed her gaze to his soft palm.
“ Let me do the cooking tonight?…. Pleeease?” she pleaded, batting her eye lid like a child.
“…Don’t worry…. I won’t add too much seasoning this time…. I’ve watched you cook a couple of times and I can proudly say I know your methods…. But in case you are in doubt, I could call you to season it yourself.” She added.
He chuckled.
“ Ok…. If that is what you want.” He said in approval.
“ Thanks love.” She blew him a kiss and he laughed more.
“ You know the first time I met you, I never knew you could laugh this much…. You looked too serious and strict, always trying to perfect one thing or the other.
“ I really like it when you laugh dear, it does great stuffs to me….. you should do this every minute of the day…” She remarked tenderly.
He scoffed.
“You know that’s not possible.”
“ Why?”
“ Because only a mad man laughs every minute of the day.”
They both bursted into laughter.
He held her palm into his hands.
“ let’s take a break honey….. let me take you out for lunch.”
“ really?…. I thought you only eat freshly prepared home made food?” She asked surprised.
“ I do eat out sometimes…. I’m only just selective of the kind of eateries I go to.”
“ Hmm!…. Ifedola Mike Davis is a man full of surprises.”
“ Am I supposed to be predictable?”
She gave him a light punch on his broad chest.
“ Ouch that hurts!!” he replied, feigning pain.
She laughed out.
“ I’ll tidy my desk and come pick you in twenty minutes.” He said and kissed her on the cheeks before leaving.
Omar smiled in contentment. The drastic change in their love life seemed like a dream to her.
A dream she didn’t want to wake up from. She made a silent prayer to God every night, thanking him for bringing Ife her way and asking further that her life with Ife would continue to remain sweet.
So far so good, her prayers seemed to be working.
Ife came back in exactly twenty minutes time to pick her and they both went to a prestigious restaurant in town.
He ordered a six course meal for them, accompanied with one of their best fruit wine.
Omar was commenting about their excellent services when she noticed Ife’s eyes roaming on her body.
“ Ife!!”
“ Yes love.”
“ What are you looking at?”
“ I’m looking at you dear…. You’ve added some weight…. It shows I’m doing a great job in feeding you well.”
She chuckled.
“ Is that what you’ve been staring at?” .
He shrugged and sipped some wine.
“ I was also thinking the blue dinner gown i bought for you last night, will fit perfectly on you for your birthday which is this weekend….. I’ve also booked for the cakes, and drinks…. But since you said you wanted it celebrated on a low key, I have refrained from inviting staffs of the company and some acquitances….. uncle Makinde and his wife are not in town, so only Jadesola would be coming….. and I know your friends will definitely come.” He said.
She smiled.
That’s for sure, Ashley and Judith wouldn’t want to miss out on her birthday party.
Omar thought silently and gave a defeated sigh.
“ If possible…. I want to spend my birthday with you alone and no one else.” she said to Ife.
“ Don’t worry love, we will have some lone time after the guests are gone.” He said and gave her a wink.
She laughed a little and became lost in thought.
“ Honey do you remember the lady I told you I met from Avalanche Investiture?”
“ Yes I do.”
“ I am thinking of inviting her also for my birthday so you could meet her one on one and discuss further.”
“ That’s fine by me…. Anything you want.”
She giggled and put a call through to Binta.
*************
“ Please send in the next patient Lisa.” Zoey instructed her assistant.
“ Yes ma’am.” Lisa replied and exited her presence. She could hear her assistant calling “ Next” in an audible voice.
In less than a minute, the door clicked open and a man entered.
“ You are welcomed sirrrr….” She was saying, when she noticed it was Stanley standing right in front of her.
She mused.
“ Hi psychologist Zoey…. How’s work going ma’am?” he asked In broad smiles, with his hands carefully tucked in his pockets.
“ Hi Stanley….. how did you know my work place?” She inquired in surprise.
“ Ashley provided me the address.” He replied still wearing his smiles.
She chuckled.
“ So Ashley is now your information provider?”
He shrugged.
“ Well…. Probably for the time being.”
“ Are you here to visit me or you are here for the a therapy section?” She asked with a smile.
“ I am here for both ma’am.” He replied, clasping his hands on his thighs as he settled on the seat opposite her.
“Hmm!”
“ So which should we start with ma’am?” he asked in courtesy.
“ let’s start with the therapy section…… sirrrr.”
He hesitated a little.
“ Fine…. I need a new act of indulgence, that serves as a distraction to take my mind away from someone I love so badly….. how can you be of help with that?”
She paused a little.
“ To procure a solution to your case Mr Stanley, I need some more information about what happened in your relationship life….. so tell me…. How did it all begin?”
He nodded.
“ It began on a cold windy day, I was scrolling through my Instagram page, when I saw this beautiful image of a dashingly bold and lovely woman. I suddenly had this compulsion of visiting her profile and I obeyed…”
“…I kept scrolling and scrolling non stop and was mind blown already, just checking out her beautiful collection of pictures.
“.…Oh! I must say it was love at first contact. I upped my game and sent her a message on her dm. Her response was quicker than I expected, and in a couple of weeks, we finally met.
“…I found out she was the materialistic kind of woman but I never minded. All I wanted to do was just have her by my side all the time, which I knew she wouldn’t do it for free. So I offered her money in exchange for her company and that was the moment I got hooked. When my money expired, she left immediately and I became devastated. I’m still yet to get over her right now…. And what’s worse is….. her friend told me she’s married now…. I really feel so bad right now…. I just wished I had pressed further.” He said and sighed.
Zoey steadied her gaze on him as he spoke. Although he sounded casual, but she could sense a tone of seriousness in his voice.
“ First of all…. I’m sorry about what you went through Mr Stanley…… but this situation is a clear indication that we will have to focus more on you moving on…..we will discuss further on this in your next therapy section if you do not mind.” She said in a pleasant tone.
“ No I do not mind at all ma’am.”
“ Ok…. So therapy section is over.”
“ Yes that brings us to the visitation aspect…. So tell me,….. how do you find your new job?” He asked cheerfully.
She smiled.
“ It’s cool…. I get to meet new patients on a daily basis and attend to some kind of sensitive cases….. Although I find it quite challenging because of my busy schedules, coupled with the traffic I face on my way home….. I have to use a taxi most times because Ashley’s office is different from my route so it’s quite difficult for her to come pick me up.” Zoey said.
“ Hmm…. So sorry about that…. But if you don’t mind, I could come pick you up…. Luckily for you, my company is not too far from here.” He replied.
Her eyes brightened.
“ Really!!…. I will be really glad if you do…. Thanks so much Stan…. I really appreciate this.” She replied happily.
He gave her a warm smile.
“ You are welcomed ma’am….. I have to rush back to my office now….. what time do you close so I could come pick you?” he asked her.
“ I close by 5pm.”
“ Alright…. That tallies with my closing time too.”
“ Thanks so much Stan…. You just brought a great deal of relief to me.”
“ You are welcomed ma’am.” He said and rose to his feet to leave.
“ See you in a couple of hours.” He said and walked to the door.
“ Stan” She said in more like a whisper.
He turned.
“ I was wondering if you would like to accompany me this weekend to a birthday party….. Ashley invited me to her friend’s party and I’ll like some company.” She asked pleadingly.
He shrugged.
“ I will add that to my list of schedule.”
She smiled broadly.
“ Thanks once again Stan.”
He nodded.
“ Goodbye.” He whispered and left.
Tbc