Damien's attraction

Chapter 56

"Are you sober now?" Amanda eyed him as he rubbed his forehead. He had tried everything Chizoba had brought into his office and in his opinion, he was good to go. But his head hurt badly. He was on one of the sofas while she had made herself comfortable on his swivel chair behind his office table.

"I have a meeting in two hours."

"I called your mum and told her you couldn't make it." Amanda glared at Damien. "The lady here earlier on, is that who I think it is?" Amanda asked.

"When did that happen?" Damien asked, ignoring her question about October, as he pointed to her stomach.

"Well, I wanted to tell you two months ago but you just up and left the country." Amanda rubbed her stomach.

"I missed everyone back here. I'm sorry I left without telling you. How about Eddy by the way?" Damien asked.

"Eddy's fine. You haven't answered my question yet." She looked at him sternly. He sighed when he realized she wasn't going to give up.

"Yes, it's her."

She rolled her eyes.
"What was she doing here? You're talking to her now?"

"It's not like that. She works here now. Mum's handwork."

Amanda scoffed.
"Well, I better not see her during my stay here in this hotel."

"You're staying here?"

"If I'm staying in the country for a while, I ought to stay in my cousin's hotel right?" She looked around his office.

"You know you don't have to." Damien shrugged.

"Come on now. Are you pushing me away?" She hissed. "I'll make sure the baby never knows you."

Damien laughed.
"You love me too much to do that. In fact, I'll brag about how much you do to the baby and make him cry."

She faked a gasp.
"You wouldn't dare."

"So what brings you here? I thought you were a citizen of America and you wouldn't step your feet into our country again?"

"It's not just America. It's Italy and America." She corrected him.

"Yeah, rub it in." He rolled his eyes.

"What? It's not my fault Aunt Claudia never let you stay in another country for too long."

"I was in the States for four years."

"That's because you lived with Eddy and I. Come on Ugo, you're practically a mummy's boy." She opened his drawers one after the other. He turned to look at her.

"Okay, first of all, you just broke my rule by calling me by my other name. And secondly, stop being nosy."

"Well, first of all, you know I would never listen to anything you say. Secondly, you're Igbo. You shouldn't throw away your culture."

"Says the girl who has barely lived for five years in her country." Damien said sarcastically.

"And yet I know my culture more than you ever would, and I bear Chimamanda. What a shame. Tsk tsk tsk." She shook her head.

"Does mum know you're here?" Damien asked.

"Who do you think called me here?"

"Why would she need to call you here?" Damien asked, not realizing how it sounded until he had said it.

"Ouch," she paused. "But, apparently someone is getting married in three weeks time." She brought out a packet of strawberry chewing gum from one of his drawers and popped one into her mouth.

"Oh, yeah. Your dad's getting remarried."

"Thank God he finally let someone in his life. He was so broken after mum passed away two years ago." She smacked the gum in her mouth.

"Are you sure that gum's safe, considering the fact that you're....." he used his hands to demonstrate a curvy figure. She hit her head with the back of her palm.

"I'm pregnant. That doesn't mean I can't have this." She stood up slowly. "I'm going out. It seems like you've gotten dumber to talk to."

"Anu ohia." Damien smiled, knowing that she wouldn't understand what he had called her.

She smiled back.
"Onye ara, ochicha." She said in her foreign accent which made the words sound funny.

Damien was surprised.
"So you could speak Igbo all along, liar." Damien covered his mouth.

"It's better to hide your talents so the enemies don't know." She grinned as she walked towards the door. "And Damien," she turned back to look at him. "I don't know what was going on between you and that brat before I walked in, but I hope it's nothing. For her sake." She even retained the smile on her face as she turned and left.

***********************

October walked mindlessly into her compound. She was too occupied with her thoughts that she had forgotten to collect her change from the taxi driver who had dropped her five minutes ago. She halted. Had he gotten a girl pregnant? This had been bothered her since she had left the room in a hurry. It seemed like they had totally ignored her anyways.

She walked straight to her apartment unconsciously, not even taking notice of the black shiny Fords that stood out in the whole compound or even the man in a black suit beside it. She inserted the key into the keyhole of her house door and snapped back to reality when the door opened before she could turn the key. She was so surprised when she saw Kcee standing in the doorway. He moved away so she could enter.

She spotted about three men with stern gazes in black suits, Kcee included, as she walked into the living room. Peppy was standing uncomfortably in front of the bedroom door with her arms crossed.

"We have been expecting you."

October noticed the man sitting on one of the wooden chairs in the little dining area. She inhaled deeply.

'You have got to be kidding me.'

A/N:
Anu ohia: Bush animal
Onye ara: Mad person
Ochicha: Cockroach