I saw a friend request from him on Facebook and I noticed that we had 1 friend in common. It was Ogechi Umeora, my classmate at the university. I accepted the friend request and took my time to go through his Facebook page. He had good pictures in good locations. From what I saw, he had vacationed in Dubai on several occasions. He appeared okay to me and I was tripping further. I decided to chat up Ogechi and ask her what she knows about Daniel.
Hey babe
Longest time
Haba!
Dami Coker
I dey o
This one you remember me today
Babe, I dey o
I say make I hail you and ask you some questions
Okay babe, all ears
I just saw we are mutual friends on Facebook with Daniel Adebayo
I just want to find out what you know about the guy
Sorry dear, which Daniel Adebayo?
He works with Chevron
Wait, let me check out who you are talking about
…
Oh my God! Did that thief tell you he works with Chevron?
My dear, be very wary of that guy.
Now, we all knew Ogechi from our school days as someone who was a serious pessimist. If you had any idea and needed someone who would bring out all the downsides to that idea your go-to person should be Ogechi. Immediately, I saw her response, I remembered and I knew I made a mistake. She continued,
Believe me, that guy does not know where Chevron is
Even if he does, I am sure he has never gone past their gates
Babe, please
Stay away from him
He is a scammer
He just looks for very gullible single ladies and uses them to fund his lifestyle.
At this point, I was yawning. Let me just allow her rant.
Has he used the “brother in America” scope for you yet?
I had to cut in
No, he did not tell me anything about that.
By the way, if he is such a terrible person, how come you are still friends with him on Facebook?
My dear, I forgot he was still a friend on Facebook
I just unfriended him
I cannot have such people as friends
Babe, please shine your eyes
If I were to advise you, I would ask you to stay clear of that young man
But you are a full grown adult and know what you want
Whichever way you choose to go
Just make sure you tread with caution and with your eyes wide open
Thanks babe
I appreciate
I rolled my eyes at her. I believe that I should never judge someone from another person’s eyes. Before I can draw conclusions about anyone, it has to be my own opinion about them. A lot of people have been messed up because others had one opinion or the other about them and passed it along. Before long, the person is reputed to be that way. I have been a victim, so I know better not to judge people that way.
I saw a chat on WhatsApp and it was from Daniel.
Hi Dami. Are you home yet?
Haba. I still stay in Lagos o. I have not moved to Australia.
How can I be home when I still have traffic to battle with?
Lol
Lol
I really feel embarrassed about today
Making you pay for my bills
I smiled. This was someone who was called a scammer.
Oh no. it’s not a problem at all.
I perfectly understand the network issues.
All these banks know how to embarrass someone.
Lol
It has happened to me once
I went to do some shopping at Shoprite
I had loaded my cart to the full
Only for my card to be declined
Imagine the embarrassment when I had to push the cart to one side
And walk away empty-handed
OMG
That is much more embarrassing
Anyway
Since I have matched the line already, I need to make it up to you
Have you been to Four Points by Sheraton Buffet before?
Errrr…. No
Okay
How is your Friday? I want to take you to the buffet.
I smiled. This time it was a very deep smile.
I will be free on Friday evening
Oh
It’s just my car issue
Won’t the car be ready before then?
No. They said it would be ready on Saturday.
The young man wants to respray the whole car.
Well, don’t worry. I will come with a cab
What time?
7 pm will be fine.
That’s okay. I should leave the office by 6 pm
I would be going against traffic, so I should be able to meet up
I appreciate.
Not a problem
Do let me know when you get home
Sure. I will
Talk to you later.
Throughout the week, our conversations were sweet. We spoke about three times every day but at night, it was usually a very lengthy talk. We talked about how our day went, the issues we had, the funny part of the day, the peculiarities of staying in Lagos and by Thursday evening, it felt like I had known him for so long. I could not wait for Friday to come when I would see him again.
I went to bed around 11 pm on Thursday because I was searching for the most befitting dress for a buffet that can also pass for a work dress. I settled for my Ankara flair dress. It was made with lace covering the whole of my shoulder down to my elbow, enough to cover my neck down to just about where the cleavage began to show. I needed to be careful not to appear slutty but then, I had to be classy too. I brought out my blue wedge sandals which was not so high, to go with the dress. I knew I was going to slay the next day. There were no two ways about it.
Yemi Oshoafa, the young man who hit my car had called twice within the week to apologize and to also give me update concerning my car. He called me on Friday and told me the car was ready and asked where I wanted the vehicle to be dropped off for me. I told him not to worry that I will pick it up myself as I was heading to the Island that evening.
“Wow. What brings you the island?”
“I am coming to meet with a friend”
“Oh okay. Why don’t we sit down somewhere and have some drinks when you are done? Just a way to further apologise for hitting you car.”
I chuckled. What was this man thinking? Since when did we become so friendly to have a drink together?
“I am sorry. The meeting with the friend may linger into the night.”
“Okay. No problem. Maybe we should plan out something for some other time.”
“Until then. Thank you for the car. I appreciate how you handled everything.”
“Oh no. I should be thanking you for not raining insults on me that day. I actually did not know the brake of the car was faulty since my driver did not tell me before travelling.”
I was really not interested in any narratives with this young man. I think my transaction with him was over with my car repairs completed.
“Sorry, please. I need to get back to work now.”
“Okay. Please, let me know when you have picked up the car.”
I ended the call and raised one side of my lips in such a scornful way that you do when someone is saying something you are not interested in hearing. I dragged my thoughts back to the man of the hour, Daniel Adebayo. I checked my time and it was about 3 pm. I had not concentrated at work all day and I could not wait for the evening to come. My intercom buzzed and I picked it up,
“Damilola, please can I see you in my office now?”
It was the General Manager who called. I went to his office to meet him.
“MD just called. He said he is coming into Lagos today and would like us to have an emergency meeting concerning a new contract we are bidding for in Abuja. He needs us all available.”
Jesus Christ! My heart skipped a beat. What is about to happen to me?
“Sorry, GM. Please what time will he be here?”
“I don’t know. He is at the airport now. His driver has gone to pick him up. Let us say he will be here by 4. Why are you asking?”
“I have plans for the evening. I am just praying the meeting does not encroach into the time.”
“Pray hard. I will even join you in the prayers because I have plans too. But who are we to complain? It’s the MD.” He shrugged.
I got to my office and gave Daniel a call to tell him what’s up. I told him that if the meeting extends till 6, I will send him a message to cancel. He was really disappointed, and I could hear it in his voice.
At 10 minutes to 4, MD walked into the office, tapped on my door, and asked that we meet. “I have somewhere to be at 5.30, so I need this meeting concluded before then.”
“Okay, sir.”
I almost danced “Alanta” at the sound of that. So my plans are still going to work out.
The meeting ended at 5:20 p.m., and we all filed out. I will be travelling to Abuja the next weekend to conclude all the proceedings and get the proposal submitted. I got to my office and saw three missed calls from Daniel. I tried to call back, but his number was not going through. I saw an SMS from him.
Family emergency. We have to reschedule.