~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

No one ever became a success without taking chances... One must be able to recognize the moment and seize it without delay.
                            – Estée Lauder.

   ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Right now, I'm dressed in my best tailored ankara outfit to meet my destiny helper. I just realized I have met someone who may help me climb my stairs to success. This certain person has a name that starts with the first letter in the English alphabet.

"You want to see Mr Ibe?" The sassy receptionist asks.

"Yes!"

"You?" She exclaims, her brows up.

"Yes na. Are you deaf?" I snap.

"Do you have an appointment with him?" she asks, her lips twitching with anger.

"No! I don't have his number or his secretary's number. But he signed his business card and said I should show you when I'm ready to see him"

"I'm sorry! Mr Ibe is busy. Next time...Before you come here, make an appointment. Mr Ibe doesn't just see anybody. You must be worth his time before he sees you. Thank you. Please leave"

"What do you mean by worth is time? Am I not worth is time?"

"Ask yourself!" she eyes me and chortles.

"What's wrong with you?" I sneer.

"Don't raise your voice at me. You are not in a market"

I gasp and eye her. Who does she think she is? Ordinary receptionist is claiming boss of the company.

"Take a look at this signature," I place the card on her desk. "Isn't this Aaron's signature?"

"Aaron? You mean, Mr Ibe?" she exclaims and narrows her eyes at me. "Who are you? Do you know who he is? He is not your mate".

"Aaron is his name na," I say with a shrug.

"You don't have the right to call him that. Show some respect. Mr Ibe is a great man. He has accomplished great things that you can't even relate to. Obviously, I can see you are not of his social class. Therefore, I am sure Mr Ibe has no business with you. Please leave or I will call the security. Do you think forging his signature will give you access to his wealth? Gold digger". She sneers in disgust and swings her hands above her head to do the typical tufiakwa.

I take my time to scan my dress. How can she judge my social class? A rich person can wear a simple dress. Is it forbidden? I grit my teeth. Actually, my ankara outfit is too plain. I didn't have special designs on it. It's just a long sleeve gown that stops below my knees. I stand still and control my anger from erupting as I take short gasps of air. A woman walks in and she averts her attention to her. The sassy queen is surprisingly polite as she attends to the new guest. Her sweet smile gets on my nerves and I sigh. The woman is rich that I can tell. She has this strong scent of money. From head to toe, everything she was dolled in spelt big load of cash. It shines so bright that I have to take steps away from her. The main reason is that her perfume is too strong for me. I'm uncomfortable with that scent. When the woman leaves, I frown and ask, "Because I no get money abi? That's why you are using me to catch cruise?"

"Can you please leave my office? You stink," she mumbles and scrunch her nose.

"I....what?" I gasp. "Are you mad?"

"You look like the mad one here?" she hisses. I don't understand. I know my afro hair are charming when I comb them well. I had sewn a nice gown so I can look presentable. A long sleeve gown with its material gathered at my waistline. Is it because I'm not wearing the most expensive jewelries and shoes? This girl is crazy. In case she doesn't know. My gown is priceless because the designer and tailor is priceless. Who is this designer? Me.

"You don't know anything. I'm priceless. Call Mr Ibe and tell him I am here. How can you treat guests like this? How dare you judge them like that? Just because I am not wearing gold and ice on my neck doesn't mean I'm poor," I yell.

I'm actually broke right now. I paid house rent, bought a new sewing machine and spent money on feeding for a month. I have exhausted all my money and Mr Ibe is my last hope.

"Why are you shouting? You don't even have manners. Please leave or I'll call the security guard"

"I am going nowhere"

"Leave now"

"You want to see crazy abi?"

"Keep your craziness to yourself. There must be a psychiatric hospital nearby. Go there"

"Is it because you are bleaching your yeye body and painting yourself you na think you are beautiful? Stop the act. You have no right to degrade anybody"

"You think you are fine? Just carry your smell and leave here"

Smell? Do I smell? How can this girl insult me like this?

"You no fine reach me," she mumbles. "Idiot".

I flame up. The insult was too much. I rush to her where she sits behind the desk and pull her to her feet. I press her head to the desk while she screams and drag her by her hair. I pull her head up and slap her face. "You haven't met your match na why you dey run mouth".

She screams, her voice– too piercing for my precious ears. It is not like I am going to kill her or would I? The security guards rush in, eyes blazing with warning signs. They grab my arms and force me out of the reception office. Workers stare with disgust as I am pulled out of the building. The guards rudely toss me to the floor and I fall to the ground, bruising my right knee. How despicably rude! How dare they? What an insult? My heart has fissures as I rise to my feet. It hurts the way fellow humans treat themselves. What have I done to warrant this? I just slapped a woman that needed to be reminded of her place.

"What's going on here?" A familiar voice queries.

The guards adjust their attire with pride and smile. "This woman was causing trouble. She was violent with the receptionist".

"Hm..." Ekene hummes and raises a brow in question at me. My eyes meet with his and he tilts his head. "This is an established company, ma'am. Such behavior are not accepted her. Please do us a favor and leave".

One of the guard snickers and nods in agreement.

"I am here to see your brother, Ekene"

His brows furrow. "Why?"

"He said I should meet him in his office. He gave me a signed business card. I can show— "

"That's not necessary," he interrupts and waves his hand dismissively. "That's between you and my brother. It doesn't concern me".

"Do you even remember me?" I ask, my anger seeping into my tone.

His eyes widens. "Wow! Am I meant to know you? Have we met?"

"Yes!"

"Oh!" he places his right hand on his hip and stroke his jaw. "I don't remember. When?"

"I....I...umm..." I sigh. He was unconscious the day I met him. I'm sure he doesn't remember. "Don't worry! Just go in and tell your brother, Miss Dora is here to see him. Also add the fact that his receptionist is a very rude woman, as well as his guards".

He chuckles and smiles. "They have to be rude. Weird woman come around everyday claiming to know the rich, handsome bachelor in charge".

"Which is who?" I narrow my eyes, an atypical examination of the lean fellow at my front.

"My brother"

"You mean, Aaron?" I exclaim and shake my head. "I am not here to claim anything oo. Actually I'm here to claim some cash but not as a gold digger but as a businesswoman. He wants to invest in my business".

"So you want to see my brother, huh?" he smirks and take some steps closer to me. The sun lit his chocolate skin as his eyes sparkles with mischief.

"What's brewing in that head of yours?"

He chuckles. "I'm surprised you are speaking to me like this. People fear me, you know. Famous model here". He jabs his chest and strikes a pose.

I roll my eyes and he scoffs.

"Can you give me like two thousand naira if my bro gives you money? I need to drink"

"Drink?" I sneer. "When will you change?"

His brows lower as he sends an icy glare at me. "What did you say?"

"I won't give you if I even get a dime from him"

His body tensed and he clenched his fists into a hard ball. "Well....." his jaw tightens in rage. "Forget it. You won't see him. I won't even let you see him. Guards, please escort her out of the main gate".

"Wh...wha—" The men grip my arms again and soon I am out the gate and into the street.

Something hurt within me. Something was bruised in just the little minutes I've spent in the Citystar industry. Is it my self-esteem, emotions or ego? I sigh and I can feel the tears begging to come out. I feel so humiliated right now and that receptionist just rubbished me. She just destroyed my self-esteem. I can't help but wonder, do I smell? Do I look tattered? Am I ugly? This world sha!

I bend my head and sniff myself. I smell good....I think! I know I didn't use any body spray but that's because I don't have any. My bar soap has a good scent. I am sure I don't smell.

"Aren't you leaving?" An old man, who stood few steps away from the gate quiz. He is also a security guard and is less concern with what happened to me. A frown is engraved on his features as he scans me.

"Actually..." I drawl and roll my eyes. "I am not leaving here till I see Mr Aaron Ibe".

"In case you don't know....," he groans. "It's going to rain soon".

"I will still wait here for him"

"Very soon. It's drizzling"

I look up to the sky and a rain drops on the bridge of my nose. It slowly rolls till it falls to the ground. Just great, a sarcastic voice says within me.

"Be wise and leave"

"I don't need your advice," I say and turn my attention to the moving cars in the broad street. He mumbles some insults and walk to his security post. The weather laughs at me when winds blows my gown up and dusts into my eyes. I fight to keep my dress down while still dodging debris that hurl my way.       From a distance, I see a sharp line of lightning before the deafening sound of a raving thunder. The rain doesn't not just drop but pours on me. In less than five minutes, I'm drenched and my teeth are chattering. I signal to get the attention on of the old security guard and ask if I can go into the little security post since it has shelter.

The man completely ignored my existence. In this life ehh, I don suffer! I contemplate leaving and saying goodbye to my dream of meeting my destiny helper. When the rainstorm increases, I grip my soaked gown that sticks to my skin and rush to the nearest shelter, an Atm machine. Not actually the machine, but the little brick walls for the machine. It has a roof that shields me from the rain. The wind mocks me by rushing to my direction. It pushes, slaps and tosses me to its heart content. For a moment, I start to feel light as a feather and not stiff as a board. The wind brings a chill that washes over me and causes my legs to shake. A sneeze escapes me and I fear the worst– fever. I can't be sick. Definitely not when I am this broke. Despite the heavy rain, some individuals are still eager to get their cash in hand and I see them troop in and withdraw money from the atm. Some adviced me about a nearby shop I could hide in but I'm too scared to get under the rain. It might beat nonsense out of me. It's sad how I have nothing to withdraw. Actually, I have money but I sent it to Mrs Yemi's account. She is helping me to save money to rent a new shop. She is like a mother to me. It's a strange experience. I have declared myself broke because I know I cannot go back to those money. I need to save it for a workshop.

A car zoomed a few inches away from the atm post. A black umbrella pop out as the door swings open. A man comes out and I roll my eyes. Another person is here to withdraw cash. I'm sure he'll look at me weirdly. It's how they do. They all just see me either as a thief or a crazy woman who thinks she can find shelter in a small space like the one I'm in. I stare down and refuse to make eye contact with the stranger. He comes, does his business and leaves. Another individual arrives too and that's how the day was going. The weather has really changed. It's dark and it's just three in the afternoon. Another cold wind, chill runs down my spine and I sneeze again and again and again. My throat aches and I lean on the wet wall. I can't leave now because I know I don't have a destination in mind. If the rain stops a little, I might run to board a public bus back to the cube.

"Excuse me!" A deep baritone voice jolts me out of my thoughts. I assume he has someone he is talking to and continue to stare at my floor. Quite a magnificent sight! "Excuse me!"

My brows knit together and I raise my head to peer at him.

"I had a feeling you are the one," Aaron says and shakes his head in disappointment. "What's your name again?"

I cock a brow and narrow my eyes as I take in the sight of the so-called rich bachelor. He ignores my look and goes ahead to withdraw his money. "I heard you came to my office".

"I didn't go to your office. I only made it to your stupid receptionist," a heated scowl on my face.

"Why did you hit her? You are lucky I instructed them not to call the police"

I gasp. "So you knew I was there and you chose to ignore me?"

"No! You are wrong there. I didn't know. I only got an information about the fight"

"Why didn't you come to me?"

"Ah!" he exclaims and his gaze falls on me like a heavy weight. Yeah! Those words can be interpreted in many ways. Come to me? I'm sure I got the words from a romance novel. I need to stop fueling my head with nonsense.

"I mean....umm...Why didn't you tell them to let me in?"

"I was in an important meeting and couldn't leave. I came out later but it was raining and I thought you went home"

I don't reply.

"Why are you coming now? It's been a month since we last saw. What happened?"

I ignore him. The atm machine makes rumbling noise as it counts the money. The noise goes on for awhile and when it is time to withdraw, I peep at the amount of money it spits out. It's alot. Lucky rich fellow!

He forces the cash into his wallet. It doesn't even fit but he still forces it close and into his trouser pocket. He notices my stare and glares at me. "Are you here for my money?"

That makes me spark. "Your money? I am here for the investment plan. Don't you want to be my investor?"

"You've got a lot of attitude, woman" he snorts and a disinterested look settles on his features. An angry wind huffs at us and he shudders. "You are also a mad woman. Let me point that out to you".

My mouth opens as I stare in raging silence.

"How about we talk in my office. The weather is cold," he adds and  lifts an umbrella above himself. It opens with a swift move.

"Your office? Won't your receptionist curse me? Maybe this time she will call me poop, or say I smell just like one"

He cocks his brows in disbelief. "Why would she say that?"

"Oh!" I gasp with a dramatic swirl. "You don't know? Your receptionist is bias. Why? Did she learn that from you?"

His expression grows dark and he purse his lips. The corner of his eyes crease with how hard he narrowed it. The wind mocks me again as it swoops my dress, making it slap my face. I groan and he chuckles.

"You must be Ice Queen. Nice to meet you. How you manage to survive this cold, I cannot fathom" he says with a slight bow. I'm amused by that action but my expression says otherwise to him. "Let's go before you blame your death on me".

"I think I might have a fever. It's all your fault so please drop cash for compensation"

He shakes his head in disappointment and walks into the rain, umbrella in hand.

"Aaron, wait for me" I scream and try to catch up to his pace. His long legs gives him an advantage and he keeps going farther and farther away. "Wait na! Fake gentleman".

He gets to Citystar big gate and goes in. The selfish man left me to walk in the rain. I continue my movement in a short stride, hugging myself in hope that it can stop the cold that ran within me. Goosebumps appears on my skin as more wind blows pass me. I walk pass the security guards but one was daring to charge at me. He holds me to standstill and says, "You can't come in. Leave".

"I'm with Aaron"

He ignores me and pulls me backwards. "Aaron!" I snap. He pauses and shakes his head before he turns around. When he sees the guard's hand on me, he frowns.

"What's going on there?" he calls from the distance he's in.

"Boss, she wants to go in"

"So? Does that give you the right to treat her that way? And why is your hand on her? Is that how to treat a woman?"

The guard takes his hand from me and produce a distance betweens us with three steps. "Sir, is she with you?"

"Unfortunately, yes!" he sighs and shrugs. The rain is still pouring and I see my future flash before me. Someone is going to be sick today.

"Oh! Sorry sir. You can go in, ma"

"Now I can be called ma abi?" I hiss, dust the part of me he had touched and strut away from the annoying man beside me.

I get to Aaron who rolls his eyes and moves the umbrella above me. "Let's go!" he says begrudgingly.

We go into the building and it seems as if my status has been regained if not increased. Everyone stare at us in awe. They lean to each other mumbles words I couldn't hear. Aaron stops at an elevator and taps a button. Fear bubbles up in me and I rush towards the stairs. "What floor is your office? I will meet you there"

He looks at me and tsk. "You are truly mad. Do you know what storey this building is?"

"It's not a skyscraper so..." I shrug.

"Twenty! This is a building with twenty floor and my office is at the topmost floor"

My throat bobs as I gulp nervously. "I'm not a fan of elevator"

He raises a brow and scans our environment. His employees are definitely snooping around us.

"Get to work or do you want trouble?" He snaps at them all and they scurry away. One man slips to the fall and quickly rise to his feet. "Sorry sir!" He exclaims and dashes into the nearest exit.

"You are scared of an elevator?" he asks. The door slids open and he walks in. "I give you two seconds to get in here or our deal will be cancelled. Choose! Do you want an investor or not?"

"I..."

"Two seconds!" he growls.

I let out a frustrated sigh and run in. I slam into his tall, burly frame and he staggers back. He places his hands on my shoulder to steady me.

"You really drenched," his jaw tightens in revulsion. "You're gonna get a cold and— "

My nose tingles and a loud sneeze echoes from me.

"Too late! You've got a cold," he adds.

"I..." I freeze and spread my arms out. "The elevator is moving".

"Ode! It is meant to move," he scoffs.

My face crease in fear. I stand, knees bent and arms extended at my side. I stay this way as it moves upward, whispering prayer that it doesn't malfunction.

"This atypical behavior of yours terrifies me to the core," Aaron mumbles and stares at me with pure disgust. He is squeezed at a corner while I take up most of the space with my strange pose.

The elevator stops and the door slides open. I rush out and gasp for air. I place my palm on my chest and try to steady my trembling breathe.

"Drama Queen," he sneers and walks down the hallway.

"This is my first time on an elevator," I announce to his departing figure.

"Congratulations!"

I growl. Why does this man have long legs? I grip my wet dress and lift it up so I can easily dash to Aaron's side. I guess it was a wrong move. I'm on tiles and my wet shoes doesn't like that. I slide and things just seem to slow down as I grip Aaron's sleeves. He is faster than my imagination of the situation and his arms coil my waist and saves me from a ghastful fall. I shut my eyes and my breath cease. I need to thank God for His grace in my life– and for this destiny helper.

"Clumsy too? Are you kidding me?" Aaron's loud voice Pierce my ears. My eyes flutter open and I see the little space between our faces. My finger crease his wet suit at his arm as I pull myself up. I let out an awkward cough and say, "Today is not just going as planned".

He glares at me, more like a scolding look a father gives his child.

"I'm sorry," I say and how my head.

"When the rain stops, we are heading to a clinic. How old are you? You are so immature," he chide and stomps to a door. He opens it with his key and walks in.

I'm twenty years but will be twenty-one soon.

As soon as I step into his office, I step out. Realization dawn on me. Antarctica is not for me.

"Aaron," I coo.

He scrunch his face. "Don't call my name like that"

"Can you switch off the Air conditioner? I don't want to die young"

He regards me and sighs. He picks something from his drawer that looks like a remote control and taps on it. "Done! You can come in".

"Thank you!" I walk in, my shoulder hunch up as my eyes traces the tiles on the floor.

"Have a sit!" he says. I look up at him and he points at the couch far away from his desk. "You can soak that couch".

"So what brings you to here? Why do you want to see me?"

"Oh great one, show me the way!" I exclaim. "I need to be as wise as you are. I want to have a successful business. Can you help me?"

A/N: So I wish to also publish this book in another writing platform, which will be suitable for it?

How is the plot and the story going? Is it worth completing? I need motivations. It helps me ALOT. 🥺🥺🥺

Thanks for reading. God bless you.