Novels by Ugonma Ukuku

RSS 21I follow behind Luther as we step out of the restaurant, no longer hungry after eating and less likely to trip over and faint. We get to the car and Luther is about to step in when he gets a call on his phone. He picks it up and gets into the backseat, me following swiftly behind.I turn my face to the window, not paying attention to anything else but the beauty of the streets outside. It’s on the upper side of the city, most likely a place for the rich. Since I started working for Luther, I’ve seen more “rich” places than I’d ever seen in my life. It’s both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it’s like a breath of fresh air, knowing that my life may be ugly, but there are better things out there. Better lives to live and better places to see. It’s a curse because seeing it makes me realize just how shitty my life actually. All my life, I’ve tried as much as I can to be optimistic, but seeing people live such glamorous lives opens my eye to the unfair hand I’ve been deal

THE next two weeks pass in a blur.Luther isn’t any less an asshole than he was two weeks ago and is still making my life hell. Emily came over last weekend and saw for herself how stressed out I am working for her cousin. Being the absolute sweetheart she is, she took me out for a girls day out. Luther wasn’t happy about it but if there’s one thing I’ve learned about Emily, it’s that she never gives a shit what Luther thinks. The outing with her was great, she made me feel a lot better the few days she spent here but all too soon, she had to leave and I realize I miss her whenever she’s not around.Of course, her leaving meant I had to brave all of Luther’s hard requests without any shield or defender. The other day, he asked me to rearrange his closet by color. Considering that the last time I had to put his laundry into the closet, I couldn’t even tell the difference between cream and beige, then I’m sure we all know how that went. I failed to meet the almighty Lord Luther’s standa

The driver stops at a hotel that stands so tall and intimidating. I don’t get time to admire it because the driver immediately steps out to open Luther’s door. I get out too, walking quickly behind Luther in an attempt to match his pace. It’s difficult, considering that he’s very tall with long strides while I’m below average.By the time we make it into the elevator, I’m almost sweating from the exertion. I need to get my workout in if I plan to continue working for Luther. I have no stamina.While we wait in the elevator for our floor, I study the file Luther’s assistant sent. It’s information on the client we’re meeting and it keeps me occupied enough that I don’t register that it’s just me and Luther in this elevator. My roles are not many but significant enough that one fuck up could ruin this for Luther, whatever this is. I can almost feel her displeasure over having me handle this. She’s a perfectionist too and hates that she’s letting a rookie take such an important job. She e

Unfortunately, life has it that no matter how much you hate a person for his behavior towards you, if you work under him, then you’re going to have to put up with it.I never wanted to be anyone’s underdog. I always hated employees who didn’t have a spine and always lay down and took it from their employees. Now, I want to apologize to them for judging, I understand better.Luther is dressed in a different getup than I prepared for him and unwillingly, I have to admit that it looks less “funeral-ly” than what I initially put together for him. He doesn’t say anything to me as he walks past me in the hallway.I’d gotten dressed a while ago and stood waiting outside his door, not planning to provoke him any further but he walked past me like I wasn’t even present.I sigh, following quickly behind him. There’s a car waiting outside the mansion. A man with dark unimpressive features stands waiting by the already open back door. Luther gets in and with a bow, he closes it behind him. I stan

I squirm, uncomfortable under Luther’s angry gaze.“What do you mean?”, I ask. He doesn’t answer my question.“Your incompetence is beginning to grate on me, Richards”, he says, gritting his teeth. I blink, confused.“You instructed me to get your clothes ready-““For an appointment, not a funeral!”, he cuts in, glaring at the clothes arranged on his bed.I finally take note of the fact that every piece of clothing I picked out is black, save for his shirt.“I didn’t realize-““Of course, you didn’t”, he cuts in again.“And”, he continues, picking up the suit jacket. “I dress in the closet. That’s what it’s for”, he says as he disappears into the closet, leaving me standing confused in the middle of the room.I hate how much he affects me. I hate how much his disappointment discourages me. Every time I do something, he ends up disapproving it which doesn’t help my state in any way.It comes to my mind that I have a daughter in the hospital who needs my help. I need this job and I’ll b

Luther still thinks I had surgery. I hoped for a few more days with Keila even if I knew I had to go back to work on Monday. Surprisingly, Luther sent me a text, telling me that I could take the next few days off to recover. Again, the guilt of lying to him burdened me but I refused to dwell on it, choosing instead to celebrate the small win by staying by my daughter's side and pandering to her every wish.By Monday, I was allowed to feed her, and by Wednesday, I could now touch her, with my full costume of anti-infection of course. Keila still laughs at my blue coveralls every time, she says it looks ridiculous but I’m happy it makes her happy. Katie doesn’t have clearance to visit as freely as I do yet and I hope she gets it soon because I will be needed at work again and Keila needs someone by her side.I talked to the doctor and he told me he’d make arrangements so a nurse would be there by day with her and then I can come in the evenings after work. I agree, settling for it. It’s