Big Boys Cry

Chapter One

Chukwurah Egbe adjusted his tie and gently smoothened it out against his shirt. He looked pretty good if he could say so himself but he couldn't because he was late for work and he was never ever late. Without another glance at his reflection he picked up his IPad from his bedside table, his suitcase and dashed out of his room. As he stepped outside, his driver was already waiting with his car cleaned and shined ready to take him to the office.

"Oga good morning." His cheerful greeting came as he hurriedly ran to open the back door for Rah while taking the briefcase from his hand.

Rah acknowledged his greeting with a simple wave not lifting his eyes off his IPad to look at him. As a CEO he slept and breathed his work and now right before it was even 8:00am he had over twenty unread mails and the one from his mother was the first to catch his attention.

He opened the mail just as they pulled over to the express hoping nothing was wrong because his mum never sends him mails, never. The message that appeared just as he opened the mail made him almost crush his IPad right there and then in his palms.

His mum's younger sister was dead. He opened the picture attached to mail and saw it was her obituary. Just looking at her face made his insides want to explode in anger. In the picture she was in a beautiful white dress smiling so widely that she looked almost angelic but she was no saint, she was the farthest thing from it. He knew she had been sick with cancer because his mum had called him several times asking for money and the only reason he sent it was because he could never say no to his mum but now she was dead and somehow it didn't bring him any relief. He only wished everything she ever did to him died with her but it didn't and till this day no one knew, how could they when he never shared it with anyone even his big sister.

Rah was about to close the mail without replying and check his other unread ones when the car stopped in a sudden jerk and his IPad nearly slipped from his hand.

"What was that John?"

John didn't answer him because he had his head outside raining curses on the okada man who had apparently cut in front of them suddenly. Rah wound down his window slightly to examine the situation. Right beside the car was the okada man who was responsible for his now three minutes delay to the office. He and John were having a futile back and forth and just when he was about to open his mouth and speak, the passenger on the man's bike quickly poked him on the back with her phone, "I am late for work can we keep this moving!"

Rah couldn't help but be amused by the anger on her face which was somewhat adorable. Her handbag was kept securely between her and the okada ridder and her skirt rode way too high up her thigh and as much as he tried to be a gentleman and not stare he was still a man. Just as he was about to take another look at her face, the okada ridder did a U-turn and drove off. Rah cleared his throat, embarrassed that he had been staring at a complete stranger and couldn't stop himself from blushing. He was sure if he wasn't Nigerian his face would be redder than a freshly picked tomatoe.

"Alright John, you have wasted enough time. Get me to the office in five minutes."

"Yes Oga sir, sorry sir."

Once again without a response, Rah turned back to his IPad, his mother's mail still open and the picture of the woman who had scarred his childhood was staring him back. Before he let his anger get the best of him, he tossed his IPad right beside him and just stared at his trembling hands.

^ ^ ^

Rah was not surprised to be ambushed by his personal assistant the moment he stepped out of the elevator.