Besotted (18+) ✔️ [A Nigerian Romance]

Thirty Three

"It's just a small show for a restaurant. They usually have their live bands but Mr. Nwabueze wants you to be the singer for today. He is the owner and also one of the major shareholders of the company," Mr. Adebayo said, staring at Ada from the top of his glasses.

"I don't think now is the best time to leave Lagos. I have a lot of things in the works. What about the show I was supposed to do at Abuja?" She frowned at him, holding the gaze until the smallish man looked away. Ever since she returned, she'd yet to get big opportunities. At first, she couldn't complain because she was grateful that they accepted her in the first place, but now she was beginning to get antsy.

"They think you're not the right fit. With you just returning after so many years, the bosses are hesitant. Besides you're getting paid for the show in Anambra too and I know you'll enjoy performing there. It's more your scene."

"You gave the Abuja spot to John, didn't you?"

The man's mouth opened but no words came out. He cleared his throat and looked away, clearly guilty. "I didn't give it to John. Besides, I no longer manage him."

Ada eyed the man, wishing she could hit him. After all that had gone down, John was still stealing her spots.

"I owed Mr. Kuti a favor. I promise I'll get you something better, just do this show at Anambra."

Small jobs were better than no work, and it was just one night. "Fine, but you're paying for the trip, accommodation and food." There was no way she'd use her personal money for this. And she was not going to stay at her family home.

"It's a good thing that Mr. Nwabueze has a hotel close to the restaurant. Thank you, Ada. I promise I'll find something bigger."

***

Chike eyed the man in front of him, wishing he could be anywhere but here. Especially when it had been five days since he'd even seen Ada. Yes, he was counting. The two of them had been crazy busy and phone calls were their only means of communication.

"Mr. Umeh, we're offering you big bucks for this," the man across from him stated.

"Victor—"

"It's actually Vincent," the man interrupted.

Chike rolled his eyes. "Vincent, I'm not going to rewrite my book just because some things doesn't sit well with you. You either adapt it like that or leave my book alone. I wasn't even interested in this movie deal."

"How about a few details? We can discuss it and see what we can change."

"Mister man, I won't repeat myself. The ten minutes you asked for elapsed three minutes ago. I have another appointment so please excuse me." He pushed his chair back and then left, his fingers already scrolling through his phone. He had to see Ada today.

After about five tries and she didn't pick up, he opted to text her. However, he already felt like she was trying to run off again. Ada was very flighty. It was why he'd refrained from confessing his feelings for her. If she thought that they were in any way risking their friendship, the babe would disappear. If she was mad or just needed to think, the same would happen. She'd always been like that, even when they were kids. Usually, Chike was okay with not hearing from her for a few days but after her two years stunt, he now had a constant need to check that she was still around. Lord knew his heart couldn't handle that disaster again.

As he opened his inbox, he realized he had a text from Kachi which was strange because the man was not the texting type. He would always call and keep the conversation short, unless it was an emergency. Chike went through the chat, pausing when he saw the picture Kachi sent with his short message.