HEAR ME TOO!

PART TWENTY-ONE

PART TWENTY-ONE

Kennedy .J. Smith paced the living room, wringing his hands anxiously and glancing at his phone every second as if scared it would explode. He stopped for a moment to drink some water and then resumed his pacing. The loud thrill of the phone made him jump and he stared at it for a few minutes before picking it up.

"I want my money Ken,"came the voice on the other end of the line, deep and threatening.

"Please give me just a little more time, I'm working on getting the money," Ken said, suddenly starting to sweat.

"You have two weeks," was the only reply and then the line went dead.

Ken sat down and put his head in his hands. He couldn't believe he had gotten himself into this kind of situation. He had decided to venture into what he thought was a profitable business and had gotten a loan from a dangerous man. The business had fallen through and he had lost all his money, including the loan. He had to pay back thousands of dollars and he thought running back to Nigeria would keep him off their radar but they had found him almost as soon as he landed. He had stayed awake at night thinking about how he would be able to raise that kind of money. His mum was an average salary-earner and he had never known his dad so his parents were not an option. Then as the heavens would have it, he had run into Isabel. He knew her parents were very wealthy and could give her the money without asking questions so he had decided then and there to woo her again. The fact that he had shaken her up meant that she was still not over him and he would use that to his advantage. He would keep trying until she finally believed that he loved her and wanted her back. He just wished she'd stop being such a stubborn mule and give in before his time was up. Truth be told, she was the only hope he had of paying that money back.
*****

Isabel woke up to the mechanical whirring of drills and people talking outside. Groaning, she took her pillow and covered her ears but that didn't block out the sound. Hissing angrily, she got up and went downstairs. She met Winnie in the kitchen, cutting up ingredients and dancing to a song only she could hear. Making her way to the coffee maker, she turned it on and then tapped Winnie's shoulder. The other girl stopped for a moment and pulled out her earphones.

"Dear Lord Isa, you scared me!"

"You didn't see me pass by?"

"Umm, no! You know how I am when I'm cooking. I don't see or hear anything else except the food."

"Yeahhhh right, I forgot," Isabel said and proceeded to pour herself a cup of coffee.

"Why do you look so grumpy?" Winnie asked, looking closely at her friend.

"Of all days for these guys to be drilling, it had to be today," Isabel said, adding sugar and milk to her coffee.

"Oh, that. They said they would be constructing something in the compound earlier this week so I guess they chose today to do it," Winnie said.

"If I had known earlier, I would have slept at a hotel. I really wanted to sleep for much longer."

"You slept for 7 hours though so that's not too bad. I wanted you to help me out in the kitchen but I didn't want to wake you up. Now that you're here, you can assist."

"Why are you cooking so much food though?" Isabel asked.

"Please don't tell me you forgot our plans for today," Winnie said, disappointment creeping into her voice.

"What plans?" Isabel asked, confused for a moment and then her widened in realization.
"Oh shoot! The get-together! I totally forgot Winnie, I'm sorry."

"Please tell me you invited Ben and his friend at least."

"I mentioned it to him when you told me but I haven't called him since then to confirm," Isabel said, cursing inwardly at her brain for forgetting something this important.

"Then why am I cooking all this food? Might as well cancel the whole thing," Winnie said, starting to untie her apron but Isabel stopped her.

"Chill Winnie, I'll call Ben now to remind him and then he can let Uche know. We'll have your party okay? I'm so sorry it skipped my mind."

"It's alright Isa, I should have reminded you. I know you've been working hard all week. I hope they can make it," Winnie said, looking wistfully at all the food.

Isabel went to the sitting room to call Ben. She hoped he hadn't forgotten to add today's event to his calendar. Winnie finally got the job she wanted during the week and had suggested they have a little get-together to celebrate.
Isabel dialed Ben's number but he didn't pick up so she tried again. The phone rang a few more times before he finally picked.

"Hey Ben, what's up?"

"Hello," a female voice replied. Isabel put the phone away from her ears to check the caller ID. Confirming she had indeed called Ben, she put the phone back to her ears.

"Sorry, please who am I speaking with?" Isabel asked, confused. She wondered if he stopped by the office then it dawned on her that even if he went to the office, his secretary wouldn't be at work on a Saturday.

"This is Tina. Ben went out and forgot his phone."

Tina? What was his ex doing in his house and even picking up his phone?

"Oh, okay. Please tell him Isabel called when he gets home."

"Okay, bye."

Isabel hung up and stared at her phone for a few minutes, replaying the call in her head. It didn't make any sense that his ex was in his house and that she was picking up his calls. She didn't want to jump into any conclusions and resolved to wait until she spoke to him. Just in case, she sent him a text saying he should call her back then she went to help Winnie in the kitchen.

A/N
Looks like our IsaBen ship is about to sink😫
What do you think will happen next? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section!😁
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