Broken | ✓

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: NO DINNER FOR ME

                              Ireti

Mr Stern-face wasn't so hard to be with when he wasn't all composed and stern.

That day I had ice cream with him, I saw a different side of him. A side of him I was pretty sure was the real him. Not Mr Stern face, not the boss, just Jide. A normal human being passing through this thing called life like every one of us.

When he called me Ireti I was convinced I never wanted him to refer to me as Miss Alabi anymore. I've heard people say my name a million times but when he said it, I fell in love with my name. I liked that he allowed me call him by his first name, Jide. He smiled a lot that day and the smile reached his eyes, I could have sworn he was enjoying spending time with me as I was with him.

Being there with him made me feel jelly on the inside but also nervous and each time I got nervous, I talked too much. Mr Stern-face never liked people who talk too much but that day he just let me talk even though I didn't give him room to talk about himself but he never flinched or complained, he looked so interested in what I was saying.

He gave me room to ask him three questions about himself till Friday but I knew deep down that wasn't enough because there was so many questions I wanted to ask him since our time in Lagos.

How did you get that scar on your wrist?
What was your childhood like?
Have you ever cried yourself to sleep?
Do you miss your mum?
Do you hate your dad?

The questions pinching me on the inside were crossing the line I've grown to hate so much. The one between an employee and an employer.

I shouldn't have to have a hard time picking an outfit to eat dinner with my parents but it was becoming a really difficult task, probably because for some reason I wanted to look really nice.

I opted for a blue dress because Jide once told me during our question and answer session that his favorite color was blue. The dress was daring as it clung to my curves and exposed more skin than usual.

"Ireti!" My mother called from the kitchen.

"Ma" I answered, walking towards the kitchen.

"Help with that...  Ah ahn is that the dress you plan to wear" She traced my my body with her eyes, from the sole of my feet to the crown of my head.

"Yes mummy. What's wrong?" I expected her to complain about how daring my dress was but I was wearing the dress for Jide and I already made up my mind to not budge.

"Ah, are you comfortable with this dress? See everything is just out" she complained.

"Yes mummy, I'm comfortable"

"Okay oo. If the man you are seeing is comfortable with the dress then no problem"

When I first told her I was seeing somebody, she didn't believe me. Majorly, because of the outburst I had the day I found out she was hiding Eniola's engagement from me. I had to put more effort into convincing her. I went as far as requesting a photo from Mr Stern-face. As expected, he didn't have any picture of himself even a selfie. We took a selfie that day in his office. I was still surprised, he didn't hear how loud my heart was beating because of the proximity between us. Thankfully I was wearing a blouse with sleeve that day which did quite a good job in hiding the goosebumps that curled up my skin the minute his hands grazed mine. I had wondered how he was able to stand there so oblivious of what he was doing to me.