Chapter 3

Mrs. Olivia Bestman stood under the spiral staircase with poise and watched as the workers carried in the new pieces of furniture that were ordered from A****n.

She was so excited about her husband's return from Switzerland where he was at a private political meeting. It had been their lifelong prayer to stay near home.

Olivia was half Swiss and half Nigerian, her mum was Nigerian once miss Africa and lived a reckless life then ended up marrying an old Swiss banker. Both died in a plane crash while on holiday to Bali leaving behind their only child Olivia.

Luckily Olivia had helpful relatives who took her and brought her up.

She worked in the American embassy in Nigeria after her studies there she met her husband now Ernest Bestman.

He was still running for the house of the assembly and still struggling when they fell in love,  technically they both built their empire together.

She sighed once she recalled how they got to this status, she never wanted her child to suffer a bit of how she did and that was why her son Jason was provided with whatever he needed.

Though Ernest her husband was strict on Jason saying he needed to work for his money and learn the difficulties that came with being responsible.

The new pieces of furniture were for the welcome home party for her husband who just rounded up everything yesterday and was expected at least in the next five days or more.

Olivia gave directions to the workers on where to position the pieces of furniture with the help of an interior decorator, a lot of guests were expected.

Sabina one of the maids rushed with a phone buzzing in her left hand.

"Mam, you have a call" she handed the phone to Olivia and slightly bowed in uttermost reverence before leaving to which Olivia ignored as quotidian routine.

"Hello? Conan, yes did you find out what I asked you to?."

She paused to hear what the person on the other line had to say. After a while, she sighed and rubbed her right temple. "Right, thanks, and please keep an eye on him next time."

She sighed again and cut the call trying hard to forget the sole reason for her reoccurring headache.

Incontinently Jason hurried down the spiral stairs adjusting his Gucci watch.

"Mum" He came closer and pecked the angry Olivia.

"How was your night?" He smiled showing off his white teeth. He looked dashing in his navy blue tight polo, black chinos jeans, and Ash white sneakers. Jason got the best of genes from his parents.

when he was little he looked very small that people thought he'd grow up becoming a short man but surprisingly he grew even taller than his father who was arduous.

With his jet dark curly Swiss-Nigerian hair texture and color, not to talk of his fair skin. not that he was very fair but Jason has been living in luxury all his life and his skin never had to tell a tale of hardship, it was so smooth like an eggshell and he had everything to his beck and call whatever he demanded.

Olivia couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Where are you off to so soon it's the weekend and we need to spend some family time" She frowned harder yet not a single wrinkle was found on her smooth face.

"Mum told you Sean and I need to be at a gathering today his Artist friend patoranking wants to throw a bash for us all and I can't miss it for the world" he emphasized nonchalantly while moving towards the dining room in search of food.

He found an apple and took a bite from it.

Olivia followed behind. "You opened a new account, again Jason," she said out of the blues.

Jason stopped eating and looked at his mum for the second time since he came down.

"Mum... Are you stalking me again? I thought you promised not to anymore!."

"Yes I did and I also thought you promised not to open a secret account and siphon money from the other one?!" She asked bitterly.

"How can a guy as old as I have an account where all my transactions will be monitored by my parents?!!.. it's absurd mum I'm old enough to know what I want and get it without my parents asking what  such amount is for!!."

"Do you know?... You lied to me and made me believe that you were attending lectures frequently and needed nine hundred thousand nairas for your project then you went behind to put them all In Your new account!... Is that how a responsible man behaves? Mmhm? No, tell me because I Know if your father was here Jason, he'd never give you such amount even if you cried blood."

"Exactly what I meant, you guys treat me like a kid and am sick and tired of it, I need independence from both of you, I need my own house, money, and cars so you can stop treating me like a child. Mum for heaven's sake is clocking twenty-four very soon" He barked and grabbed his car keys from where he kept them.

"Really? So you can carry on with your stupid charade alongside some silly girls who hover around you for your money?...." Olivia scolded sternly maintaining her hard look while Jason clenched his keys in fury.

"Look we'll talk about this when you return. be back early, I need you to come with me to buy a good cake for the homecoming and remember the weather is moody it might rain today."

"Yes, mum excuse me " He strode off without looking at her again.

Olivia shook her head and retired to her room for a brief rest, her son has always been very irresponsible, getting into trouble and then expecting his parents to bail him out. He needed to know life wasn't smooth as he thought.

***

"What kept you so long?" Sean shut the door to his BMW X7 and moved towards Jason who just drove in with his Mustang at the same time.

"Don't mind my mum she found out again about the secret account and confronted me."

"Why are you just coming? thought you'd be here earlier?" Jason queried discarding his keys to the butler just as Sean did.

"Yeah I did, but I forgot my credit card at the hotel last night so I rushed back for it you know all these poor hungry hotel cleaners might run it for me before I get there."

"So how's Charlotte? Did you guys speak last night?" Sean asked while they both moved towards the entrance.

"I dropped lots and lots of voicemail for her and texts too but all she did was send me an emoji saying I should fuck off."

"I don't know man she's still angry with me, I mean she set me up with her friend who is as hot as hell! what did she expect from me? I'm no saint."

Sean laughed hard. "Man!! I swear me too, I'd dive at such an opportunity I don't blame you though."

"Don't stress on it so much she'll come around soon, I mean Charlotte loves you so much so no need, am just bothered that patoranking might not have the time to sit with us and talk you know, all these people who think because they're famous then others are nothing."

"Well I hope not but I'd love to have a chat with him he's so cool and the reggae bursts my mind" Jason added while they both exited the lift heading towards a well-illuminated exotic passage leading to Mason's annex.

Sean checked his time as they walked through the passage, they made a stop at a strong deep-brown polished door and Jason typed in a code giving them access to the interior which was too outlandish and would have left a poor man gaping without caution, only that they were already used to such glamour.

The duo strode in effortlessly and generously into the condo owned by their friend Mason Sean's cousin.

"Sure Mason will make it in time? that guy inclines late arrival" he sighed.

Jason put out his phone and kept dialing Charlotte's line which by the way went straight to voicemail.

He sent her a text, not the first time, this might be the twenty-something text he'd sent since last night after he and Charlotte had a fallout.

She set him up with one of her friends who was so irresistible,

Jason wasn't shy when it came to women. though he loved Charlotte a lot as he claimed but even before Charlotte came by he had already had his fair share of alluring women. He hardly dated any of them not what he wanted from them though.

Charlotte bragged about Jason and how he wouldn't leave her for someone else no matter who.

It brought about doubt and contention between her and her girls.

Intending to prove her theory, she knowingly set her friend up with Jason.

Flabbergasted and with sheer repudiation Charlotte didn't look back the day she found them in a hotel room wasted and in a conflicting position.

She smashed his phone on the floor and rained foreign curses at him the next day he visited her.

After a few minutes the guy whom they were waiting for stepped in looking breathless.

"Finally Mason!" Sean cried and stood from his Position.

"Sorry man traffic was bad I had to take a longer route and my battery was flat so I plugged it in my car while I drove home."

"So how's it going to be? Are we going there first or do we drop at school first then go there next?" Sean asked.

"Oh I think we should drop at school first, I need to see someone there too" Mason smiled coyly.

Sean glared at him. "And who could that be?."

"Surely not someone you know but don't you want to see that girl?... I mean what's her name again?" Mason said.

"Miriam, that's her name" Mason called out in remembrance not minding the glare Sean gave him.

"Enough can we all just go and Jason we are going in your car period!" Jason sighed in surrender after effortlessly trying to reach his girlfriend.

The trio walked out of the house and took the lift down to the patio.

It didn't take long for it to start drizzling...