Girls Who Dreamt of Castles

Chapter Fourteen

"No human is completely fearless."
                   - Wole Soyinka.

It had been three months since Adira started working at The Role Modelling agency, the one Benjamin Otete put her in for. Having a job there was surprisingly smooth and assuring. No nudity, they paid handsomely and the makeup artists didn't treat you like one of them, or one lesser than them.

Everything was successfully going according to plan. Her hair became darker, her eyes brighter and her skin smoother. There was nothing more she could ask for.

Later that day, Benjamin called her saying he needed to see her urgently, so she left for his office as fast as she could.

Landing at the company's residence, she wondered how she never noticed such a big building and applied for a job all along. It was a big world, after all, she reckoned. After seeing the secretary, she decided to take the stairs instead to see Benjamin. She needed to exercise both her body and her mind because she didn't know what she was up against.

At the end of the long staircase, was a relatively long corridor steeped in the ornate chandeliers. The walls were painted white and aura with quietness. Before she entered the office, she caught sight of a fairly skinny lady, who she suspected was also a model, nipping a large roll of sharwama. The grease smeared on her dress and the sides of her small mouth as she took a bite. Adira shook her head and hurried by, suppressing a laugh.

When she arrived at the office door, she knocked and entered. Inside, she resumed a poker face. Benjamin, on the other hand, was smiling. He sat on a black swivel, which put too much confidence to his usual cold self. The combination left her almost breathless.

Everyone did have their bit of confidence but unlike everyone, Benjamin liked to wear his like a crown.

Adira became so uncomfortable by the sight of him that he had to ask if she was alright, to which she nodded embarrassingly. She found a chair and tried to be comfortable.

His office was huge and palatial, having a C-shaped desk with five telephones on it. He also had the latest technologies, an intercom system, and whatever rich people usually had on their office desk.

Adira also took note of the portrait of Oscar Wilde that hung above Benjamin's head. Underneath the painting was one of his famous quotes: "You can never be overdressed or overeducated".

She smiled, she always fancied him, he was too much of everything and it was all in a good way. On the left side of his head, she saw many famous fashion stars, the majority of them being Nigerians.

"Hi. Good afternoon, sir," she greeted.

"Hello, Adira. How are things going with you?"

"Very well, thank you," she smiled, obviously trying her best to breathe properly. "How are you?"

"I'm alright. I'm glad you're here," he said then he cleared his throat and she knew it was time to play.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I called you here," he professed, swinging his chair to a good thirty degrees and back.

Of course, and I'm also wondering why I've been squirming in this chair since I got here, Adira thought.