"Is he in?"

Olivia's face brightened as she stood right behind the secretary's desk, her bright eyes staring at the young man sitting behind it while he stared back with his glasses on his nose. He looked really shocked.

"Miss Olivia." He tried to get up quickly so he could greet her properly but Olivia had to stop him halfway. The only reason she chose that day out of all days to pay Rafael a quick visit at the office was so she could surprise him. She didn't want to spoil the surprise.

"No, you don't have to." She said smiling at him as she slowly turned to the glass surrounding the big room. Everything was so transparent. She could see every activity happening in the office.

There he was.

Olivia's smile grew wider the moment she noticed Rafael standing in front of his desk, his eyes focused on the chubby woman in traditional attire and a head tie made of the same special Ankara on her head. Olivia could also see the linen shawl she had wrapped over her neck. He looked like he was trying to explain something to her while she had her head buried in some kind of paper.

He looked so handsome even when he was working. It melted her heart to think that she had not stopped by at the office to see him enough. Olivia held on tight to her bag the moment she watched him raise his head to the glass.

Of course he had noticed her presence.

A huge smile appeared on his face just as Olivia found her hand raising slowly to wave at him. She looked so excited even then. She drew her eyes back to the man behind the desk.

"I'd just go in now."

She didn't even wait for a reply before she hurried along to the entrance of the room and then slid the glass open, taking a deep breath of the cool breeze from the air conditioners that filled the room. She could see the woman fold the papers she was looking into slowly and then placed them on Rafael's table.

"Hey baby." He let her into his embrace, placing a soft kiss on her check so he didn't smudge her red matte lipstick. Not like he could.

"Hey ." Olivia greeted him back.

"You look breathtaking." He slowly let her go.

"Oh, my. Thank you." Olivia chuckled like she had not spent her entire lunch break fixing her make up and making sure it was perfect before she got into that car. She slowly turned to the woman sitting across the table just as Rafael slowly turned to his phone.

Olivia's eyes widened the moment the lady smiled brightly at her. She could feel herself almost choke on her saliva the moment she recognized who it was.

"Oh my God," Olivia gasped just as Rafael slowly turned to them. He turned to Olivia. He could see how shocked she was. "You're Zainab Kareem!" Olivia's jaw was almost dropping as she took a step closer to the woman who wouldn't stop smiling.

"And you must be Olivia." She slowly turned to Rafael. "Rafael told me a few things about you." She stretched her hand to Olivia for a shake.

"Oh my God," Olivia hurriedly took her hand with both her hands, shaking it gently. "I'm a huge fan. My mother, actually."

"Oh, that's really huge." She slowly turned to Rafael, chuckling nervously while Olivia didn't dare leave her hand. Rafael shrugged his shoulders. "It's an honor."

"Mrs Zainab," Rafael cut in. "I'd like you to meet my fiancée, Olivia." Now he had to introduce the ladies formally.

"Oh I see." The woman didn't look surprised at all. Olivia slowly let go of her hands, tucking her hair behind her ears.

"I've seen her on the news once or twice." The woman continued. "You work with Everyday now, don't you?"

Olivia chuckled nervously.

"I just do what I can. I help them write the news mostly and supervise."

"That's great." The woman said reaching for a book from her bag. Olivia could see the woman on the front cover. It was a book she had written. A book on 'effective journalism'. "We should sit and talk sometime." She got out a pen too. "You know we journalists always have a lot of things to talk about."

Olivia's heart was almost leaping in excitement. She slowly turned to Rafael, she just wanted to hug him tight till she exhausted her arms. He could see how excited she was.

"I'm just going to write my number, here." She said scribbling something into a paper. "And sign an autograph for you and your mother."

"Oh, just me." Olivia cut her off, forcing a smile on her face as she stared into the magazine. "It's just me now, my mum isn't alive anymore."

The lady rose her head to Olivia.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"Oh, it's okay. That was a long time ago." Olivia nodded, not dimming her smile so she didn't have to ruin the atmosphere. "But her name was Adaora just in case you insist."

"So I'd just sign for you then." The lady turned back to the book. "Miss Olivia,"
She started, writing those exact same words into the book.

"Kalu." Olivia said trying to complete those words. "Olivia Kalu."

The woman paused for a second. She didn't move, suspending her pen in the air for a short second. Olivia could see it. She could notice how the smile on the lady's face got completely replaced by a huge frown as the lady slowly turned back to her.

"I'm sorry, what was your mother's name again?"

Olivia frowned just a little bit and then nervously turned to Rafael who just starred at her too, she slowly turned to the woman.

"Adaora. Adaora Kalu." Olivia answered.

The woman paused for a while.

"When did she die?"

"Uh, about twenty three years ago, a car accident at a bridge in Lagos. The third mainland bridge."

"Oh." The woman forced a nervous smile on her face, "I see." She slowly turned back to the book so she didn't surprise them too much. She wrote Olivia's last name in the book. "This is my latest." She picked the book up and then slowly handed it to Olivia, returning the smile on her face. "If you're really interested in journalism for the long run, you should at least go through it once. I'm sure it'd help a lot. You like to read?"

"I love to read."

"Olivia actually writes a lot too." Rafael jumped in. "It's one of her many talents. She's really good. Maybe you should see one of her works sometime."

"I should." The lady agreed, trying to brighten up her smile.

"Babe," Olivia drew her face back to Rafael. "Did I tell you Mrs Zainab made an exclusive documentary on the ALCS case twenty two years ago? Unfortunately she had to stop along the way due to lack of evidence. She has actually agreed to work with me to unveil the case and get Musa his freedom back."

Olivia blinked hard.

"Really?" She was really excited now.

He nodded.

"The ALCS case had my interest when I was younger. It was supposed to be my greatest report, but then it got closed. I spent all my youth following it up. It's great to see that Rafael is trying to dig up the case again and close all loopholes." The woman continued. "Men like him are really just a few in this world."

Rafael let out a faint chuckle just as Olivia smiled at him.

"Yes I know." She said almost in a whisper, placing her hand on his chest. Rafael sneered just as the lady got up.

"Well, in as much as I'd love to stay and chat with you both," She continued. "I have to attend to some other meetings this afternoon."

They both focused their attention on her.

"Olivia, it's really a pleasure to meet you." She said as Olivia's smile widened. She nodded. The lady turned to Rafael. "Keep in touch Mr Okonkwo."

"Thank you for coming Mrs Zainab."
Rafael shook hands with the woman right before she turned and then walked away from the office. Olivia took a deep breath.

"I had no idea you were going to stop by at the office today." Rafael looked into her eyes.

"I came to pick you up." She answered him. "We were supposed to have lunch together today remember?"

"Oh," Rafael let out a frustrated exhale. Olivia frowned. She pushed her head closer to him so she could look at him closely.

"You forgot?"

Rafael closed his eyes so tight for a second, taking a sharp inhale and then opened it.

"I totally forgot."

Olivia scoffed out, pretending to frown.

"But I remember now." He said hurriedly reaching for his coat. "Lets go get lunch."

She clicked her tongue and was about to say something when-

"C-chairman!" They heard Rafael's secretary yell from outside the room, as loud as he could in an attempt to alert them both. Olivia gulped hard as she and Rafael slowly turned to the entrance.

Her eyes widened the moment she saw Randy's lion head walking stick followed by his white shoes as he walked into the room through the entrance door, two men tagging along behind him with deep frowns on their faces. Olivia could feel her breath shortening, and her hand slowly reaching for Rafael's in fear as Randy drew closer to them, his gaze directly on her.

Olivia could feel Rafael push her slightly behind him gently before Randy got any closer, not daring to take his eyes off him. Just like Olivia, Rafael too was in shock. Randy never stopped by at the office to visit him once. Why was he there now?

Olivia could feel a different chill in the room immediately. She could feel the sudden change in atmosphere. She held her breath, not daring to breathe just in case he heard her.

Randy came to a stop right in front of Rafael's desk while one of the body guards pushed out a chair so he could sit in it. He made himself comfortable, handing his walking stick to the other man.

They all watched him straighten his white shirt just as Olivia found her gaze shifting to the men that had stood behind him, with their gaze on the far ceiling .

Rafael let out a loud scoff in disbelief.
What kind of a show was his father trying to pull of now?
He was trying so hard not to laugh in disgust.

"Seeing how surprised you are," Randy spoke first. "Don't you think it's only fitting you offer me a drink? There are a few things I'd like us to discuss. Man to man." He slowly shifted his gaze back to Olivia. "Alone."

Rafael swallowed hard, tightening his grip on Olivia's hand. He found his legs pushing him a step to Randy before Olivia held him back.

The last thing she needed was another outburst of emotions for her sake. Besides, she looked like she needed to breathe again and she could only do that if she was away from Randy, if she was away from the room. It was bad enough that his mere presence terrified her. She wasn't interested in being there, listening to him throughout the conversation.

Rafael slowly turned to her.

"It's okay." She forced a smile on her face. "I still have a lot of work to do at the office anyway. We could always have lunch some other time."

Rafael exhaled. He really didn't mind. He could care less about the things Randy needed. He'd rather take that lunch if she wanted them to.

"Are you sure?"

"Mnnn." Olivia nodded, forcing her face to brighten even though it wasn't really working out. Rafael could feel her grip on him tighten. He could see how terrified she was. She needed to leave. She needed him to let her go.

"Okay." He nodded. "I'd come pick you up after work and then we could go home together. Cool?"

"Yes." Olivia exhaled, closing her eyes for a short second. She turned nervously, swallowing hard on her saliva and gripping her bag tightly. She hurried away from the room just as Rafael slowly turned to Randy.

He had to make sure Olivia was out of the main entrance completely. He exhaled and then pulled his hand from his pocket, throwing his suit jacket right back on the chair.

"What do you want?"