LOVE & FLAWS | A NIGERIAN ROMANCE |

Chapter 10

It Had Been weeks after the dinner; Iyke knew that another hangout with Clint was long overdue. Apart from the past few weeks being a busy period for them, Ken's absence had affected them too. He had no plans of returning yet.
Clint, besides business, was also busy with his newly found friend. These two, he couldn't exactly tell what it was with them, but he also did not know how long Clint would be able to keep his distance.
Tina's disability, not business ethics, had kept Clint at bay. He didn't think Tina deserved to be treated any less human or lady, but he doubted if he would do things differently if he was being Clint.
Clint was undeniably attracted to her; every other guy would be. Her curvaceous body and calm demeanour would make any guy fall helplessly. But thanks to nature for being careless; it made a mess of its handwork. Clint had repeatedly told Iyke that she could be snappy, but he had not been able to imagine that; merely looking at her said otherwise.
He wouldn't blame his friend. He knew how tough it could be to date Tina. Knowing that Clint cared a lot about his place in the society was enough to perish that idea. He wore a tough skin, but he isn’t a tough type, and he could bet his disguise wouldn't last very long. It wouldn't be easy for him to navigate society with the controversies that may come from dating Tina.
Iyke came out from the warehouse, almost blinded by the bright sun, even though somewhere far across the sky, clouds covered the sky like it would rain. He walked towards the mango tree which formed a canopy in the open yard before the warehouse. Two of his workers laid on the iron seats, installed under the tree, resting under the shade. He occupied the third one, his favourite spot.

The spot would have given him a clear view of the yard, if not for the long stack of empty beverage containers and delivery trucks parked here and there inside the vicinity. Outside the vicinity fenced with wire gauze, four newly arrived trucks of non-alcoholic beverages lined up along the road waiting to be offloaded. He yawned as the breeze brushed him gently. He relaxed his back and pulled his leg up.
“Tochi, get me a seat.” One of the workers stood up and disappeared into the vicinity.
The other was fast asleep or pretending to, he couldn't tell. Whichever one, he didn't have the plan to disturb him.

Rating him as a boss, his staff would call him strict, but within him, that was just what he chose to show them. He needed to put on the jacket to run his business effectively. He really had empathy for all his staff, mostly for the labourers who loaded and offloaded the trucks. Being a jovial and playful person, he communicated with them and applied leniency when needed. On other days, which made up the majority, he assumed his strict boss status.
“Keep it here,” he pointed at a spot before him.
“Ok, sir.”
Tochi positioned the branded seat from a beverage company for him to set his legs.
“Ask Grace to get me a soft drink from my office.”
“Sir?” He asked, not sure of the instruction he received.
“I need a soft drink. Ask Tochi to get me one from my office,” he unintentionally mixed up their names.
“Which one, Sir?”
“Coke.”
“Ok, sir,” he replied and left.
“Chilled one,” Iyke said after him.
“Yes, sir.”
Tochi, just like few other young undergraduates currently and in the past, worked as a labourer in Iyke's company. He shuffled between work and studies. He was so brilliant that Clint felt that he didn't deserve to be here as a labourer, but that was his reality. All things being equal, he was earning a near decent living with his current job.
“Oh, I forgot,” Iyke thought aloud and unlocked his phone; which had been in his hand.
“Clint da Boss. Baba how far nahh!” He said over the phone.
“Guy, I seriously need a drink. It's been forever since we had one,” Clint voiced over the phone.
Iyke laughed. “Like you know I called for that. What about this evening?”
“I'm in.”
He signalled Tochi to open the drink when he arrived with it.
“Till evening then.” He ended the call.
“Thanks.” He took the drink from Tochi and gulped half of it on the go.
“How many packs of that energy drink were delivered to that lady?”
“Which of them, Sir? Uhmm, four-fifty packs, Sir,” Tochi answered.
“What's remaining to complete her drinks?”
“Hundred packs, Sir.”
“Ok.” He continued with his drink.

Clint Passionately Scooped the soup from the plates, cutting chunks of fish at intervals. Iyke, on the other hand, dished a portion of fish from the fish pepper-soup in the stainless steel serving dish. He placed the wooden handles carefully on the plates sitting before them on the table.
“You are increasingly becoming fond of this girl. What's up with you two?” Iyke asked, curious.
“Nothing.”
“I mean, you are obviously into this girl, and you are telling me nothing.”
“And?” He frowned at the statement, not sure what Iyke was driving at.
“I mean to say that you are all over this girl!” Iyke rephrased.
“You already know my stand on this. I value my biz and won't appreciate a rich kid coming in between it. Besides . . .” He stopped himself from completing the statement.
“Clint, she is not any less a lady. That girl is beautiful and from all indications, she's good. The things you say about her say so. You know that. Give it a chance. For something real. For something out of the usual.”
“It's not that easy, Iyke.”
“Make it easy or cut it.”
“Why?” Clint refilled his beer glass.
“You are leading her on.” Iyke gulped down the content of his glass.
“How?” Clint drank from his glass.
“You can't be doing all these things with a lady and expect her not to develop feelings. Don't give me that look, bro. You and I know that,” Iyke said to Clint who stared at him.
“This whole thing . . . ,” he began to say but stopped. He understood Iyke perfectly, but he didn't want to go any farther than he already did. Not only because of the reason that he stated earlier, but also for the sake of the one unvoiced — her disability. At this point, he really would have loved to try something different with her.
But also deep down, he couldn't afford to let go of her either. He just couldn't deny what he felt even at this depth of thoughts, and not before Iyke. However, he had his bias, “. . . is complicated, for me,” he completed the statement.
“Give it a try.”
“I'm not ready.”
Silence ensued between them.

“Did I tell you? Mama Kingsley is asking me to get married, hmm.” Iyke intentionally diverted the topic after what seemed like forever.
“Wait, this marriage wahala don reach your side?”
Clint laughed. He knew Iyke brought this up to cover their earlier conversations, but he was happy he did.
Iyke drank from his glass of beer. “I told her to pause that idea for now.”
“Ha! My father's wife has been on my neck with this whole marriage thing recently. Julia's case is worse,” Clint recounted the pressure on him and his junior sister to get married by their mother.
“Kings' wedding anniversary is coming up next month. She called in the guise of reminding me about the anniversary,” Iyke snickered in-between the story, “you could imagine that. That was when I knew she was up to something. At first I thought it was about her charity program.”
“You told her to pause the idea, and the case died like that?”
Iyke laughed, “I didn't say so. She almost called my late father out of his grave. I had to promise her something.”
Laughing after Iyke“I for say,” Clint said.
“Had to promise her two to three years.” Iyke sipped from his glass.
Laughing, “And you are getting married in two years?”
“You and who? I'm yet to get to the peak of my bachelorhood.”
“You mean Brostitution!” Clint mouthed.
“You are a good mentor,” Iyke laughed.
“Don't worry, dem go catch you one day.”
“Till that day comes. For now, finesse.”
“When is she coming back to town?”
“Anna? Two to three weeks time,” Iyke replied, “where is this guy? Come collect your money,” He said to no one in particular.
“Barman,” he called someone's attention this time, signalling him to come over.

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Pls, this text was originally made for this chapter -10. If you have read it before, pls kindly re-read the former chapter.