The Partner

The Invitation

The man stepped right into the presentation. He was scheduled to arrive exactly at eight in the morning and he made sure to get his driver to set off as early as possible. It was their first night in Abuja, but it didn’t surprise him that Baba Sali knew his way around the docile city.

It surprised him the most that unlike Lagos traffic, that of Abuja was less dense and a little bit in control: everyone knew when to drive or stop. It didn’t take them twenty minutes before their car came to a stop in front of Jerry and Sally Associates. When he looked at his wristwatch, he smiled because time was of the essence in every business.

The tall slim elegant looking young lady in black professionally gave the presentation a powerful feel: she didn’t miss a thing.

“We are going to have the security checks here, here and there. It would likely be connected….”

Her voice rang in and out of his eardrums like a melodic song which should only be heard in the early hours of the morning. He had been invited by his friend to be part of a millennium estate which they planned to build in the heart of Abuja. Knowing his expertise and love for property, Jerry had invited Chief Ogunsanya to help make their dream come true in the area of investment and also be part of the advisory board.

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Notwithstanding that Chief Ogunsanya was a hell of a busy chap, he made it all the way, and not only to support his friend, but to be part of something which Jerry was born to do. Chief had always seen his friend as a radical dreamer whose dreams always shook comfortable grounds.

On receiving the blueprint of the project, he gave instructions to his secretary to book a flight ahead of a meeting in Abuja. He didn’t want another investor cutting him off from such groundbreakinginnovation.

Silence Speaks

At the end, everyone including him gave her a thunderous round of applause. Gradually, people started leaving the conference room for their various offices, carrying one file or the other. Stella saw when the man walked into the conference room and how he sat in like one of them: it didn’t deter her from making her extraordinary presentation as usual. She also saw the look on Jerry’s face; her heart sank.

When everything had been said, she simply turned to the files before her and acted as though she was packing up her stuffs when Jerry walked to where she was. He looked closely at what she was busy doing, and thought back how they started up the company together, a long time ago, and how she didn’t change a bit.

“Are you leaving already?”

Stella paused a bit, looked up, gave him a tight smile, and in-between tight lips, she answered:

“Yes, I still have improvements to make on the presentation.”

Jerry thought of how to get around her to come out again; he knew that he would be asking for far too much than she could offer.

“You know you work too hard and you need to relax at times.”

Stella’s face brightened up a bit.

“Why don’t you join us for dinner tonight? A good friend of mine just arrived and he could be of immense help to what we are about to do. What do you say?”

Stella eyed the man who sat in one of the seats; she looked at Jerry pityingly, knowing that he wouldn’t want to sit at a table without her, and how important it was that she would be a second ear and opinion to whatever deals they might close. She looked at the papers she had gathered, took a deep breath, and said:

“I don’t just know, maybe I would try and work something out tonight.”

Jerry smiled; he knew he could count on her at all times. He left her and went back to his guest, while she went back to what she was packing.

When Jerry went back to sit with Chief, they both hugged. Both had attended the same high school and university; they were so close that their parents enjoyed having the other around. After school, both parted ways, but made sure to keep in touch: Chief Ogunsanya worked at a law firm before he opened his own chambers in Lagos, while Jerry went right into real-estate. It was a rare opportunity to meet once again.

“I couldn’t help but come out immediately I got your mail: your idea is mind-blowing; it has never been done before and I can’t wait to be part of it.”

Chief Ogusanya spoke without breathing; from his reaction, Jerry imagined modern low cost and high cost solar-serviced apartments sprouting on acres of land.

“All these wouldn’t have been possible without your tutelage.”

Chief couldn’t stop laughing.

“Well, let’s go and have something before the main dinner. My partner would meet us later on at the restaurant.”

“Sure.”

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The Revelation

Lube-Bay was one of the most exquisite restaurants in Abuja, for the rich and free-spenders. They had an interesting and the most agreeable meeting, ever. Jerry was excited, for the first time, Stella was transformed into another person: she let her guard down in order to enjoy the night. It got to the point of the final conclusion, and Jerry left the floor for Stella; she turned to chief and said:

“Chief, have a closer look, so you still don’t remember who I am?”

He looked at her in confusion, although feeling a little bit tipsy; he had his eyes on her since the first day they met; he shook his head and replied:

“Not at all, although I would want to know you better.”

This made Jerry laugh, knowing that apart from business, Chief had a weakness for strong women.

“I see that time is a healer: it makes some of us forget and others remember every little bit of the past.”

“Well, I guess so?”

Chief chipped in.

“So, you didn’t attend Ibadan?”

“I did.”

“So, you still can’t recall the cold night of June 1994?”

“Please, help me out.”

“So, you have forgotten how I pleaded for mercy while you raped me, just like others?”

Chief drew his chair back, out of shock. Jerry put his drink down and took a good look at chief.

“The mark on your left cheek was the mark I gave you at the point I was struggling between the thin walls of life and death, but you couldn’t stop, could you? To you, it meant every moment. Chief, you took away the sanity to a life worth living.”

By that time, Chief covered his face with his hands; he could barely bring up his head. She got up, dropped her napkin on the table and quietly walked away.

Written by Oluoma Udemezue.