THE MAD MAMMOTH

Chapter 1 -All That Glitters

It was June 6, 2016. Tolani parked her black Range Rover Sport in the parking lot at the back of Dews Hotel. It was the 2016 model. Tolani had never been a flashy person nor one to drive the latest model of a car; that was more like the personality of her husband Tunji. There was a reason she owned this particular car though; on her birthday February 23, Tunji had surprised her with a 2016 Range Rover Sport. She had been extremely happy about the car for two reasons, the first being his thoughtfulness and the second reason because Tunji had never given her any gift as expensive as that before. It was a wonderful birthday for her but unfortunately, three weeks after her birthday, Tunji had borrowed the car to go on a business trip to Lagos. He had been robbed on the way, the car stolen and he was lucky to escape with his life. As upset as Tolani was to lose the car, she was very grateful the thieves had not wounded her husband. They had merely rough-handled him and torn his clothes. Tunji on the other hand was devastated for losing his wife's car and he blamed himself for borrowing it for the trip in the first place. Tolani told him it was just a car and they should be grateful for his safety but he was inconsolable. He also felt helpless because he had been having some financial challenges at work and he couldn't afford to spend money on another Range Rover Sport right now.

"I always wanted you to drive a Range Rover Sport. I always knew you'd look good in it." He kept on and on.

Seeing how upset he was, Tolani had taken her own money and bought herself another Range Rover Sports, same make and color as the stolen one. That was three months ago. Now as she walked to the front side of the hotel and towards the reception, she took in the full beauty of the massive, modern structures of the hotel and couldn't help grinning from ear to ear 'Magnificent' was the word that came to her mind. She was practically euphoric. This is our baby, she thought proudly. It was designed by Groomers Architecture, the best architects in town and had taken five years and a lot of physical and emotional resources to complete but it was worth every bit of it. The entire structure was built on three acres of land. The main building had two wings and was built on two acres, there was half an acre at the front left side hosting a large swimming pool and an empty space which was also a drive-through leading to the back side. The back of the building' was another half-acre used exclusively for the parking space. The outside of the two-winged building was all painted wine and gold while the swimming pool side was painted peach and green. At the centre of the front was a beautiful, large cascading fountain. The intricacies of the design inside and outside the hotel spelt class and affluence. The hotel housed a hundred and fifteen en-suite bedrooms of different sizes, a penthouse, two large dinning rooms, two large conference rooms, a sports section, a staff section and many other facilities. They had set out to make the hotel a home away from home and by any standard, it truly was.

As she neared the entrance, the two hostesses positioned at the door opened the door for her and said their greetings, she replied them, said hello to the two people at the reception desk; a man and a woman and walked towards the staircase. Tolani, her husband Tunji, Mr Sanjo Oyeyemi (the operational Manager) and Ms. Yemi the event organizer had met with all the staff of the hotel as well as hosts and hostesses of the event four hours earlier, just before Tolani had gone back home to change so she knew the receptionists and all the other staff on ground were fully prepared to handle todays's grand opening. Tunji had chosen to stay back in Dews hotel and freshen up in his hotel suite so Tolani was sure he would have made sure everything was all set by now. While Tunji and Tolani were both involved in running the hotel, Tolani had no official position while Tunji was the MD/CEO.

Ms.Yemi the event organizer dismissed the two male servers she was addressing and went to meet Mrs. Adeleke as she entered the hotel reception. She had always admired Mrs. Tolani Adeleke, the forty –two year old wife of handsome millionaire Prince Adetunji Adeleke. Yemi and the Adelekes attended the "Salvation Crusade' church in Ilorin, Kwara State. Ebun had initially noticed Ms. Tolani Adeleke in church because the woman was so beautiful, gentle and always dressed to kill. Today was no exception as Mrs Tolani was dressed in a red, flowing evening gown and purple stilettos, her hair was packed up in a bun and the look was matched with long, silver, dropping earrings while she carried a purple clutch purse studded with silver stones. She was not surprised at Mrs. Tolani's colour combinations because she had seen her husband earlier and he was wearing a red shirt inside a black suit matched with a purple tie and purple pocket square. They were always like that in church, dressed to complement one another. To Ms. Yemi, Tolani Adeleke was one of the luckiest women she had ever met. The woman literally had everything; A doting, rich husband, a happy and blessed marriage, three beautiful children and flourishing businesses. Mrs Tolani Adeleke was also a sweet soul, always in a good mood, pleasant and always smiling. To Yemi, the Adelekes had the perfect marriage and life. Although Ms. Yemi and the Adelekes attended the same Church, she had been an admirer from afar but she had never really been privileged to meet them until now. Ms Yemi had been introduced to the Adelekes by a client of hers who wasn't even a member of the church but had been quite impressed with how Ms. Yemi had organized her daughter's wedding a few months earlier. This hotel event was by far the biggest deal Ms. Yemi had won in her eight years of events organizing and she was positive this could be the breakthrough she had been praying for. The pay was good and she was sure if she hosted it very well, there was a possibility she could gain other clients.