by Kiru Taye
Or he could simply make a phone call. Wumi had been hinting that she would be more than willing to warm his bed that night. All he had to do was pick up the phone and dial her number and she'd be up here.
He shook his head and pulled back the sliding door to the balcony of his suite. The Johannesburg city skyline beckoned, lit in gold and blue against a cobalt sky.
Bedding Wumi presented a lot more hassle than she’d be worth. For starters, any involvement with Wumi came with strings attached. She was a family friend. If his parents so much as got a whiff that they were involved, his mother would by planning the wedding already.
And Wumi wasn't the only woman who wanted to get her manicured fingers on an Essien. If they lined up, they would be queuing around the block where the luxury hotel was situated. And they were all interested in the same things. Wealth. Power. Influence. Being married to an Essien provided these privileges.
He should know. His mother had been one of those women for whom these things had been important. Otherwise, why else would she have gotten involved with his father when the man had been married and out of bounds?
Stepping out, he shivered more from dread than from the cold. Wedding bells and commitment were definitely not on his agenda tonight or any other night. Yes, he loved female company. But he certainly couldn’t trust any of them. Sex. Mutual pleasure. Even friendship, of sorts, proved okay.
Experience had proven women couldn’t be trusted. His brother, Felix, recently had to sue a national Newspaper for a libellous publication where they'd printed that he'd fathered a son and abandoned the boy and mother. Though Felix had since forgiven the woman who had made the false claim because she had desperately needed funds to care for her sick boy, Mark did not forgive the woman so readily. It only strengthened his case against their gender.
With a sigh, he leaned against the concrete railing. One look down at his underwear confirmed his erection had diminished. One good thing thinking about women and weddings bells did for him.
Although, one woman still plagued his mind. One with soft curves he could lose himself in and a mouth designed to provoke a man's desire.
Faith. She’d certainly been different from the other girls at the party. Her almost shy manner was a rarity to see in women these days, especially for someone with a professional track record like hers.
Had she been playing hard to get? He'd learned early that some women enjoyed the games, feigning disinterest just to have a man fawn over them.
Somehow, he hadn't sensed the same vibe from Faith. She had felt so good in his arms. Warm, soft, and sexy. Her résumé claimed she was close to twenty-eight but she looked younger. She seemed so innocent, somehow. He wanted to see her again. But would she want to see him? He would find out her room in the morning and arrange a date with her for when they got back to Lagos.
Happy with his resolution, he shut the balcony door and headed for bed. Sleep came swiftly due to his long day. He dreamt of a certain woman with cropped hair and chocolate eyes.
In the morning, he put his charm to good use as he wrangled Faith's room number out of the receptionist...only to find out she had already checked out, presumably to catch a morning flight back to Lagos.
Disappointed, he didn't allow the news to derail his plans. After breakfast, he packed, ready for his flight to Lagos in the afternoon.
Once in Lagos, his busy schedule meant he didn’t get the opportunity to contact her until halfway through the next week when his assistant got him her work address and phone number. He called when he had a break at lunch.
"City Investments, how can I help you?" a soft-spoken woman who wasn’t Faith answered the call.
"I’d like to speak to Faith Brown, please."
"Ms. Brown is not available at the moment. But I’m Amara, her assistant. I can take a message for her."
He bit down the disappointment and carried on. "Is she in the office or out?"
"May I know who’s asking, sir?"
Mark smiled at the savvy question. Faith had obviously acquired a smart assistant.
"This is Mark Essien."
There was a pause on the line.
"As in Mr. Mark Essien from Apex Investments?" She sounded a bit doubtful.
"Yes, that very same Mr. Mark Essien," he said, not hiding his amusement.
"Oh...sorry, sir. I will let Faith—Ms. Brown know that you called. Was there anything specific you wanted me to tell her?"
"No need to apologise. Just tell her to call me back when she becomes available."
"I will, sir. Have a nice day."
"And you, too, Amara."
He hung up and returned to work expecting her call.
But she didn’t call him back that day, or any other day, for that matter. Admittedly, his ego was stung. But he wasn’t known for giving up easily. He just had to think of some way of finally getting together with the elusive Faith Brown.
Faith had gotten his message from a star-struck Amara when she’d exited her meeting later that afternoon. She didn’t begrudge the dreamy expression in her assistant’s eyes as the girl explained that Mr. Mark Essien had called asking for her. In the African money markets and Finance world, he proved something of a celebrity.
So to speak to him on the phone felt akin to speaking to Michael Jackson on the line. All the men aspired to be him, and all the women dreamed of marrying him. Amara walked around in a daze that afternoon with stars in her eyes. Faith had to tell her off when she brought the wrong client portfolio to her for a meeting she had the next day.
All that emphasised the reason Faith wouldn’t talk to Mark again. She certainly didn’t want to become one of the many thousands of women drooling after him in public. Although she couldn’t discount the fact that after their encounter in Jo’burg, she’d been dreaming about him almost every night.
So no, she wasn’t calling him, didn’t want to listen to that deep, sensuous voice, as it did unthinkable things to her insides. She focused on work and pushed thoughts of Mark to the back of her head.
Faith kicked her high heels off her achy feet as soon as she walked into her townhouse in Lekki later that evening. She slumped on the sofa and massaged her temples. She had only two things on her mind—shower, and bed.
Her phone rang as she dumped her bag on the coffee table. She dug it out.
"Ebony!" she exclaimed as she answered the phone.
"Ha, Faith. You just abandoned me in this your Lagos," her friend replied in mock anger.
"Abeg. No vex. It’s just been non-stop for the past few weeks and with the conference in Jo’burg last week, I only got back on Saturday and I’ve been preparing for a major meeting with investors this week. I should’ve called you."
"You should’ve. I’m going stir-crazy since my arrival with all the visitors milling around my parents’ house and all the preparations for Chidi and Dad’s memorial."
"Oh, I forgot all about that. How are you coping?"
"My dear, it’s tough. I keep a brave face when people are around, but in the quiet of my room, the memories keep rushing back and replaying themselves."
"Oh, sweetie. Don’t go upsetting yourself again. It will get easier. I think once the ten-year memorial is done with, you’ll feel a lot better. I think it’s harder because you haven’t been back to Nigeria since they were buried. It must be a shock coming back and seeing where it all happened."
"You don’t know how much of a shock it is. But now it’s compounded because of this shenanigan with Dele."
"You know that Dele man deserves a hit squad for what he did to you. After all you did for him, he had the guts to du—cancel your wedding just weeks before it’s due. Can you imagine the nonsense?"
"I know. Ten years of my life wasted on a man who wasn’t even worth it."
"Dele is heartless. He deserves to burn in hell. It’s men like him that prove my case when I say I don’t want to get involved with one of their kind."
"You can be sure I’m not in a rush to get involved with ano
ther man. Talking about men, did I tell you who picked me up at the airport when I arrived?"
"No, you didn’t. Who?"
"Felix Essien. You know, the kings of Finance Essien brothers."
"No way!"
"Yes, way! Definitely him. And those magazine pictures do him little justice. That. Man. Is. A. God. On. Legs. I had to practically scrape my mouth off the floor."
Faith laughed. "You’re kidding me."
"I kid you not. It turned out my mum had arranged with his dad for him to come to the airport and pick me up."
Faith laughed even harder. "Mumsie is matchmaking o. But by the way, how do you guys know the Essiens?"
"We’re supposed to be long-time family friends. Apparently, his mum and my mum where in school together. Go figure that one."
"Wow. Isn’t that a coincidence? I met Mark Essien last week at the conference. He was a speaker in one of the seminars." She avoided telling her friend that he’d kissed her since it wouldn’t be happening again. Moreover, she wanted to focus on Ebony. "So, tell me about Felix, then. What was he like?"
"Actually, very charming and kind. I got a bit annoyed because I’d been expecting Afam, our family driver, so I got snarky with him. But he took it all in his stride and somehow, I found myself talking to him about Chidi and Dad. Turns out he remembers Chidi. They used to hang out together as kids."
That’s something Felix had in common with his brother, Mark—the ability to make women talk without much prompting.
"Nice. So I predict romance in your future," Faith joked.
"Me and Felix? You’ve got to be kidding. Didn’t you hear me say that I’m not interested in men? I still haven’t gotten over Dele and you want me to get involved with someone else. I don’t think so."
"But you’re the one who said Felix was charming."
For as long as Faith could remember, Ebony had been in a relationship. She'd fallen in love as a teenager and stayed faithful to the same man for over ten years.
"Yes, he is." Her friend sounded excited. "But I’m not ready. And he doesn’t seem to be interested, anyway. He hasn’t been in touch since the day he dropped me off at the house in Ikoyi."
"You never know." She understood her friend as one of those people who thrived in the stability of a steady commitment. Being unattached added to Ebony's listlessness and Faith hoped the man who would love and appreciate her would come along soon. If that proved to be Felix Essien, so be it. "Anyway, what are you doing on Friday?"
"Me?" Ebony replied. "Nothing o. What do you have in mind?"
"How about we go out? There’s this nice new bar and restaurant in Victoria Island I'd like to check out." She tucked her phone between her ear and shoulder and walked to her bedroom with her bag dangling from her arm.
"I’d love to. What time do you want to meet?"
Bag on bed, Faith pulled out her tablet and scrolled through her calendar. "Is seven o’clock right for you?"
"Works for me," her friend answered.
"Great. I’ll pick you up." She made a note on her virtual schedule and set a reminder. Otherwise, she'd forget. "Give my love to mumsie. Tell her I’m coming soon to eat Ofe Onugbu."
In her late teen years, Ebony's mother acted as Faith's foster mum and they still had a great relationship.
"I will." Ebony's soft laughter filtered through the phone. "Silly me, I didn’t ask about your mum. How is she doing?"
"She is doing okay. Going on about the usual things—me getting married and having babies. As if." Faith hissed. She loved her mother. But sometimes the woman drove her nuts.
"I’ve told you to take it easy on your mum. She only wants what every other parent like her wants."
"What’s that?"
"Grandchildren, of course." Ebony laughed.
"Grandchildren, my foot. In short, get off my phone now," Faith said in mock annoyance, while smiling.
"I’ll see you on Friday," Ebony carried on laughing before hanging up.
Faith put her phone on her bed and went into the bathroom to shower. But Ebony’s words stayed in her mind. Later while she slept, she dreamed about her mother and little babies crawling around the house. In the middle of the night, she jolted awake covered in cold sweat.
After the busy week, Faith was in a great mood when Friday night came along and she drove over to Ebony’s house to pick her up. She had the radio on in the car, listening to the DJ and his 'American' accent. She even sang along to Rihanna's "Shut Up and Drive."
Looking forward to seeing her childhood best friend after they hadn't seen each other for over five years had her practically skipping to the door after she parked her car in their driveway and the housekeeper let her in.
Having lived in this house awhile ago, she didn't need a guide to find her way around. As expected at this time of day, she found Mrs. Duru in the main lounge.
"Good evening, Mummy."
She’d started addressing the woman that way since their secondary school days when Ebony’s mother used to visit them on visiting days and bring loads of food and snacks for both Ebony and Faith.
Mrs. Duru had always treated her as if she was her own child. The woman seemed to know instinctively about the problems Faith had been having with her own family and adopted her in. There had been occasions when her own mother hadn’t come to see her in school. But Ebony’s mother had been there and Faith had felt as if someone had cared about her during those moments.
"Good evening, my dear. How are you doing?" Mrs. Duru replied as Faith leaned over to hug her in the armchair.
"I’m doing very well, thanks."
"How are your parents and sibling doing? Do you get to see them often?"
"Yes, I was in Benin a few months ago. But I speak to my mum regularly. Everyone is doing fine," she said as she took as seat on one of the upholstered sofas.
"That’s good. Should I ask Margaret to bring you a drink or something to eat while you wait for Ebony?"
"Ah, Mummy, don’t worry. If I want something, I’ll go and get it myself. I’m not a visitor," she joked.
"Of course you’re not. You’re my second daughter. How’s work going? Ebony was telling me that you’ve been promoted to Strategy Director. Congratulations. You work so hard and you deserve it."
"Thank you, Mum. I’m really excited about my new role but I love it. Although it means more work and responsibilities."
"Oh, I’m sure you’re equal to the task. All you need now is a nice young man to make you happy. I’m sure your parents would like to have their first grandchild soon."
Grandchildren again! Was this some kind of cosmic conspiracy or something?
Faith bit her tongue instead of replying, so that she didn’t say something rude to the woman she respected like a mother. Why did people seem to think a woman wasn't complete unless she became a baby factory for some man who wouldn’t even appreciate her?
No, thank you!
"How are the preparations going?" She changed the subject.
"They’re going well," Mrs. Duru said. "It’s a big shame it isn’t going to be the double celebration we hoped for."
Faith nodded, sadness making her heart ache. Ebony’s wedding to Dele had been planned to take place in Lagos a month after the memorial ceremony. The preparations had already been made and invitation cards sent out. But Dele had only phoned Ebony to call the whole thing off a few days before she was due to arrive in Nigeria. The coward of a man couldn’t even wait to speak to her face to face, his excuse being that the earlier they called it off, the less of an inconvenience it would become for their guests.
Bastard!
"Anyway, I’m glad you’re taking her out tonight," Mrs. Duru continued. "She’s been almost depressed since her arrival home and moping around. Hopefully, she’ll get to relax and have fun tonight so she can realise that there is life after Dele."
Double bastard!
Faith hated how a man upset Ebony, so much so, her mother had noticed it. She really could wring Dele’s neck.
Another good reason she should avoid men. She never wanted to be left that vulnerable and devastated. It took her a long time to work her confidence and self-esteem to a point where she became comfortable in her own skin after all that problems she’d had at home growing up. She certainly didn’t want to allow a man to destroy everything she’d single-mindedly built for herself.
Ebony arrived dressed up in a red silk cocktail dress with spaghetti straps, low neckline, and frilly skirt that stopped just above her knees and showing off long smooth legs, her feet in strappy red stilettos.
"You look lovely, dear," her mother said.
"Yeah, you’ll knock them dead tonight," Faith said as she hugged her friend.
"Thank you," Ebony replied, grinning from ear to ear. "I’m ready."
They bid goodbye to Mrs. Duru and left. Faith drove them to the bar which wasn’t very far from Ebony’s house. Judging by the busy state of the car park, the venue would be jam-packed. She managed to slip into a parking space when someone vacated it.
"Do you want to eat or just have some light refreshments?" she asked as they got out of the car.
"I’m not really hungry, so light refreshments would be fine."
"Okay. We’ll head over to the bar lounge, then."
They walked into the dimly lit bar section of Reams. Afro beats thumped through hidden speakers. People lounged on dark brown leather sofas, conversations mingling with laughter and music. Most of the crowd of young professionals there at this time of the evening had come from work and were just allowing the Island traffic to reduce before they headed home.
She searched for a vacant booth they could sit in. From the corner of her eye, she spotted Mark Essien and her heart stopped.
He’s here!
He hadn’t seen her yet, and she should’ve looked away and dragged Ebony out of there. But she couldn’t look away.
Then he peered up and their eyes connected and he smiled—that charming, knock-your-pants-off smile that always melted a bit of her insides.
Her heart pounded in her chest, her cheeks heating up as she remembered how he’d kissed her with those lips of his.