Subdued (18+)✔️ [A Nigerian Romance]

23~When, Where And How

Usman wasn't sure if waking his boss up because Miss Zariah called fell under the provision for important things. Before he'd gone inside to nap, his boss had given him just one instruction; don't disturb me unless it's important.

He had seen how Mr. Onyekachi behaved around her and how invested he'd seemed the last time he'd spoken to the woman on the phone. Making the difficult call, he knocked twice on the bedroom door and listened. It was silent on the other end and just before he lifted his fist to knock again, the door swung open.

He took a step back immediately. Somehow he'd forgotten just how tall and intimidating the man looked and even sleepy with bloodshot eyes, the man still exuded an enormous amount of power and control.

"What is it?" he grumbled.

"Miss Zariah called and she wanted your number."

"I said she should let you know her decision so why does she need my number?" Kachi frowned as he stared down at him.

Usman really wanted to know what this deal was about and why the two people took it this seriously but he couldn't ask. "She said she wanted to talk to you directly."

"Did she expressly say she wouldn't talk unless I called her?"

"No sir, just that she wanted to talk to you because it was a sensitive matter."

"Sensitive matter," Kachi sneered. "what is sensitive about this now?"

Usman's interest was super piqued now. His boss was being too cryptic about the relationship he had with the woman. "I don't know sir."

Kachi sighed and then stretched his hand towards him. He blinked and stared at the man in confusion. "The phone," Kachi eyed him.

"Oh!" He immediately pulled the phone out of his pocket and wiped it on his slacks before handing it to the man. The door shut immediately in his face and he finally let out a breath of relief.

***

Her phone rang less than ten minutes after her talk with Usman and when she saw he was the one calling again, her heart skipped a few beats.

Was he calling to say the deal was off? Or would he say his boss accepted it? Or better still, was it Kachi himself calling? She couldn't contain her excitement and fear. Was she really doing this? Agreeing to sleep with a man for money had never been an option for her. All her life she'd dreamed of being financially free enough to pursue her dreams of writing and each passing day drew her further from that goal.

She folded the last piece of clothing before picking her phone. By then it had stopped ringing and she sighed, wondering if she should call back and hoping he called too. It was one thing to agree to this madness but she would not be desperate about it. The phone rang again and she immediately answered.

"Just so you know, I never call more than once," he said in that characteristic stern voice. Aria couldn't believe that Kachi had actually called her. She had even been prepared for Usman calling and her awkwardly passing her response to Kachi through him.

"Good afternoon to you too," she said in reply. This man's rudeness was on another level.

"Usman said you called. I'm assuming it's a response to my earlier proposition?"

"Erm, I wanted to talk about it more," she said, at a loss for words to actually use.

"What's there to talk about? It's either yes or no and the longer you take to think about it, the more I want to take back my words."

"But-"

"What is it Zariah? Yes or no?"

What was it with men cutting her off midsentence? She was reminded of her conversation with Mike earlier that morning and it pissed her off thinking about it. Still, it served as a propeller. She had only two months to fix her life before it got marginally worse.

"Yes but I have conditions."

"Conditions," he sighed. "let's hear them."

"We'll only do this for six months and it will be only on weekends."

He laughed at that. The sound was cold and yet beautiful. It was not the type of laughter that came from being happy. No, he was mocking her and being sarcastic. Why did the sound still send warmth to her stomach? Was she loosing her mind? "what makes you think I'd be with you for six months? That's an entirely long time, Zariah."

"What?" Six months was that long? She and Ife had dated for a year before they had sex so what was this man saying?

"Let's get one thing clear, girl." All traces of the laughter had died and his voice was back to its cold and domineering tone. "I say when, where and how. You do as I say, Zariah. If your conditions are reasonable I'd consider them but everything you just said sounds like a bad joke to me."

"Fine. I'll let you know if I have other conditions. It may not last six months, I'm just letting you know that I'm not willing to do this for longer than that period."

"Usman will pick you up tonight," he said. "be ready by nine."

"No."

"What?"

"I'm not in Lagos at the moment. I'll be back tomorrow evening."

"Usman will pick you up same time."

Why had she expected him to even ask where she was? Like he'd be polite enough to even wonder. What was she getting herself into? Could she handle it?

"I have to be at work by then, Kachi. Let's meet during the day or later tomorrow night."

"I say when. Usman will pick you up so don't waste his time, he's really busy."

Before she could say anything else he ended the call. She stared at her phone for minutes after, wondering if everything really happened. Had she just signed a deal with the devil? How bad would this get?

She heard the door push open and her mother's head popped in. "Lunch is ready," she said.

Looking at the light in her mother's dark brown eyes strengthened her. Earlier that morning she'd looked so sad and weary with her eyes bloodshot. The woman had done a lot for her. If this was the only way she could help out, then it was no challenge. She'd make a thousand more deals, anything to not see her mother look so broken ever again.

***

I feel like Kachi and Zariah are about to have their first big fight pretty soon. I'm not sure why I'm excited lol.

How was their interaction? Do you feel like slapping Kachi?

Thanks for reading ❤️ I'll really appreciate it if you could vote by clicking the orange star at the bottom of the screen 🤭