(A/N: HR means Human Resources)

I need your help.

Niyi had to check his phone again just to be sure he had not misread the message. He stared at his phone in disbelief. Why would Sewa need his help?

"Niyi?"

He looked up from his phone to his female co-worker, Seun. "Yes?"

"I've been calling you for the past two minutes. Is everything okay?" She pushed her glasses up her nose as she glanced at him with worry.

"Yes, I'm okay. Why were you calling me?"

"The HR Manager wants to see you."

"What for?"

She shrugged and went back to her seat. "I don't know."

With a sigh, Niyi got to his feet and headed for the HR department. When he entered the office he spotted the manager with a phone to his ear listening to something on the receiving end.

"Alright sir," he said, mouthing 'one minute' to Niyi. "I will see what I can do. Of course, I will send it to you right away." He paused again, writing something down in a pad.

Niyi quietly watched the man talk to the phone. It gave him time to let his thoughts run to Sewa. After two years, she was asking him for help? Did something terrible happen?

"Mr Adekanye?"

"Yes sir." His train of thoughts halted and he focused on the older man.

"I am sorry for the hold-up. Anyway, I called you here to notify you of a change." Niyi's breathing slowed as the man stepped forward. Was he getting fired?

The man continued without a hitch, "The HR department has agreed to promote you to Senior Analyst. Congratulations!"

Niyi gasped in disbelief. The man took his hand and shook it. Thankful, Niyi bowed and said, "Thank you, sir. Thank you so much."

"You have worked hard. You deserve it. You will sit in that position starting next week. I'm sure the current senior analyst would debrief you of all the things you might need to do."

Niyi exited the office with a broad smile. He fought the urge to whoop and scream in delight as he went back to his department.

"Good news?" Seun asked with a smile.

"Yes."

"Are we celebrating?"

"If we're not held up by work, sure!"

"Are you going to tell me what the good news is?"

"Not yet." He chuckled. The office desk phone rang stealing Seun's attention. Facing the screen of his monitor, he began his report on consumer satisfaction with their product.

Davido's Heaven began to play. Niyi took a look at his phone's screen and surprise took him over again. Sewa was calling?

He swiped on the green and placed the phone by his ear. "Hello?"

"I need your help. Can we meet?"

*

Niyi checked the time on his watch as he stepped into the eatery. It was one at noon, just as they had agreed. To say he was nervous was an understatement. He had not seen her since two years prior when she went all Avenger on him. He only heard about her from Funmi and Elijah, and dutifully kept his distance like she asked.

He glanced around the room for a tall slender woman. A hand shot up drawing his attention. There she was, nursing a cup of vanilla ice cream. As Niyi drew closer to her, he noticed she appeared different.

"Hi, Niyi." She smiled and waved for him to sit down.

He sat opposite her. "You again."

"What?"

"It's you, again." Talking to her felt strange. He did see her from time to time but they never carried a conversation.

"Yeah. Well, I need your help."

"Wait." He held up a finger and said, "Don't tell me you got scammed again?"

Sewa chuckled and sucked on her spoon. "No. I'm smarter now, thanks to you."

"You're welcome."

"Why don't you order something?"

"How about we discuss your problem first?"

"It might take a while," She paused and gave him a contemplating look. "So, some people came to one of my restaurants and offered to invest in it. They left some papers," she dug into her black bag and brought out a portfolio. "I didn't know what to do so I thought to call you."

"What about Elijah? I thought you two were close?"

"Things aren't going well between us."

Niyi leaned in his seat and watched her curiously. "I wonder why," he murmured. It could explain Elijah's hypersensitivity concerning everything feminine. The guy seemed lost to the world in general.

"So, will you help me?"

"Sure." He opened the portfolio she placed on the table and read. "Do you have a lawyer?"

"No. I could ask Funmi for hers."

"Good. Were you given anything else aside from this portfolio?"

"Yeah. A business card."

She brought out the small flat card and read the company's name, Fidelity.

"I'll help you check if they are legit. However, I'll give you a rundown of everything written there." He pointed at the papers as he explained, "There are basically two ways a company can invest in your business; by lending money which creates debt and by owning a portion of your business. I suggest you go with accepting the loan because if they own a portion of your business, they have a say in anything that happens to it. Do you understand?"

Sewa nodded, focused on the sheets in front of her. "It makes more sense now."

"I advise you think about this very well before you proceed. You can do more research later and ask me or Elijah questions." Niyi noticed she tensed at the his friend's name.

What happened between them?

"You should go order something. Your lunch break would be over soon."

Niyi approached the ladies at the counter and bought himself some snacks. He brought his tray back to the table and ate. Watching her pour all her focus on the papers, he wondered.

Something was different.

"You are not looking at me with disgust or yelling," he observed.

Sewa looked up from the papers and laughed. "Why would I?" She asked.

Niyi shrugged with a smile. He sunk his teeth into his burrito. They continued to sit in comfortable silence, each to his own until it was time for Niyi to head back to work.

They both exit the eatery with Sewa taking the lead. She sauntered to her red Toyota Camry car.

"Before you go," Niyi called before she could enter her vehicle. He could feel the question at the tip of his tongue.

"Yes?"

"What happened that day?"