Us And Them...

Chapter Three

"Morning, Miss Lola. " Liz, her personal assistant saluted as she walked into TL Couture with a wide grin evident on her features.

"Morning Liz. What's my schedule for today?" She asked as she made her way to the office, Liz falling in step with her.

"We have some deliveries to make, they're underway though so you don't have to worry about it." Liz assured, to which Lola nodded.

"And well, Mrs Nnadi came around, she requested to see you personally but you weren't on seat so she had to leave." The queer statement had Lola on pause for a second.

She licked her suddenly chapped lips, trying to hide her shock.

"Did she tell you why she wanted to see me?" She asked.

"Nope, she said to call her as soon as you can." Liz responded before excusing herself.

Lola paced the room after her exit, she panicked. Yes, Becca had always been a loyal customer but she would never come around without prior notice and would definitely leave a definite message if she had popped in, unplanned.

Lola took in a deep breath to calm herself. She was most probably just overreacting because of her issues with David, she had to stop over thinking every little thing. She got settled in and gave in to work.

Few hours later...

She picked up her phone the next minute, still pacing the office as she dialed Becca's number.

"Hello?"

"Good afternoon Mrs Nnadi..." She bade.

"How are you Lola?"

"I'm very well, thank you ma'am. How are you and the babies?" Lola asked referring to the nearly six month old twins Becca had birthed beautifully.

"We're fine as always. Where are you right now?" Becca voiced.

"I'm at the office, is there anything you need?"

"We need to talk. Meet me up for a late lunch at Rielle."

Lola gulped at Becca's no nonsense tone. She nodded immediately  forgetting that she was on a voice call and she could not be seen.

"Lola?" Becca dragged her name questioningly, probably aware that Lola had gotten into her head again.

"Sorry, yes ma. See you in a bit." She swiftly said, dropping the call right after.

****

At Rielle...

Lola stared into space as she awaited Becca's arrival. She was a little early and the realisation that she would have to be kept waiting even for a little while increased her anxiety. Queasy as she was, she had absolutely no idea when Becca came in until she looked up and saw that she(Becca) was seated opposite her. This startled her.

"Lost in your head as always, I see." Becca said with a tight lipped smile that worried Lola.

"Uhmmm..." What was she supposed to answer to that? She had no idea.

"So, where are the babies?" Lola had asked in a bid to shift the topic from her just for a while.

"With their nanny." was the straight reply. Now this was surprising because Becca never stopped gushing over her kids when asked and with someone like Lola who loved babies, that conversation was her favorite to bring up.

The usual Becca would launch into a tirade of the kids stressed her out all week long and how it was never easy to escape their hawk like watchful eyes.

Lola nodded, things were getting awkward and it was about time she broke the ice.

"So, you called to see me?"

At least that's out of the way...

"What's going on between you and David?" Becca asked a little harshly.

"Uhmm, how do you mean?"

Lola was perplexed at how annoyed she sounded.

"I've been seeing photos of you two together, the last few months. I've been hearing titbits from different ends but David never came clean until a few days back." Becca spewed shocking Lola even more. What was going on here?

"What exactly did you hear ma?" Lola tried keeping her cool. She was trying her best to not let things escalate without getting to the bottom of things.

"Oh I heard a lot, especially about how that boy has been squandering money on you, even opening up that upper class studio of yours which you claimed came from your 'sweat and hard work', hard work my foot!" Becca spat hotly.

This was getting overwhelming for Lola, she did not bargain for any of this.

"What exactly did David tell you?" She managed to ask.

Becca scoffed.

"Sit back there playing innocent. You know what? I don't care what goes on between you and David but if you keep hurting him, I'll personally run that studio of yours down and that's a promise from me to you." She warned fiercely before storming out of the restaurant.

Lola gulped, clearly shaken. With all eyes on her, she barely managed to make her way out of Rielle.

She sat still in her vehicle, still trying to recover from the verbal bashing she had just received from Becca, a woman she looked up to so much.

She gulped down a bottle of water in no time, all that drama left her throat parched. She held the steering wheel in a tight grip. Where was she to go from here? She was not in the right frame of mind to head back to the office. Not at all.

Not wanting to bother anyone with what she had just encountered, she decided it was best she went back to her apartment.

****

Lola was barely conscious of the ride and didn't even realise when she got to her apartment complex.

She dropped her keys by the on the table and went on to slouch on the comfy couch.

"What a day..." She breathed, then the tears flowed.

Truth be told, she had been dying to let them out ever since but she just had to put herself together until she was in her safe space. A place that reminded her so much of him and how well they used to fit into this couch.

She let it all out, bringing about a momentary relief that she so craved. She took Laila's words to heart...

It's okay to cry sometimes...

With those words came an epiphany, she didn't have to sit back and wallow in self pity when she had someone who could cheer her up.

Her phone was in her hand the next minute as she hurriedly dialed her sister's number.

"Hey baby girl." Laila chirped at the third ring.

"Hey, where are you?"

"At Tana's, I just saw the baby, she's sooooo adorable." Laila squeaked.

Lola could hear the pout in her voice and couldn't help but let out a sly chuckle.

"Oh okay, have fun then." She bade, slightly disappointed that her sister was currently indisposable.

"Wait, are you okay? You sound a little down." Laila sounded worried.

Lola smiled inwardly at how well her sister understood her.

"I just needed someone to talk to, so..." She drawled.

"I'm coming over right away, you do not sound okay at all." Laila said, hanging up before Lola could insist that she carried on whatever she was busy with.

She sighed, at least she didn't have sit back and sulk for the rest of the day. She forced herself to not think of anything that had happened earlier. She just wanted to enjoy the silence while it lasted and before she knew it, she was drawn in by the sweet arms of sleep into a short nap.

****
Author's Note

I'm so sorry that the chapter is short, I'll try to make them lengthier as the story goes on. 🥰🙏