The faint sound of a door opening somewhere filtered into Ayo’s blissful sleep.He made a sound of protest when he heard a whisper and the warm paradise in his arms moved away.“Come back to bed,” he muttered against the pillow without opening his eyes.He felt her hand flutter over his, then she moved away before he could turn his palm upward to pull her back into bed.Preferably landing over him at the right angle and spot.He wondered if it was morning yet, as his drowsy mind started to slip under again.He really hoped not. He wanted more of the night.More of her supple skin whispering beneath his hands as he worshipped her perfection.Another intruding whisper came from farther away.“Who is she talking to?” He wondered briefly as the whisper seemed to become urgent.Before he could turn over, he heard the door open and close again.He rolled over and blinked blearily at her.She had her short peach-coloured robe on, and the tantalising creamy mound peaking in the plunging neckl
Tanya met Meg on the phone when she got downstairs.“Okay, keep me posted,” Meg said to the person on the phone before disconnecting.She sighed in exasperation as she pulled out a chair from the mini-meeting seating arrangement set off to one side of the living room.“That bastard is driving me crazy,” Meg muttered.“Thank you,” Tanya said as she sat. “Has he done something else?” She asked with certainty that she wouldn't like whatever it was that Meg just heard.“He got to Prime!” Meg said as she waved the standby staff over, with his cart of coffee and confectioneries. “I hear he is going to have an interview. My source just informed me.”“None for me, thank you,” Tanya said as Meg told the staff to pour her a generous hand of coffee.“I believe you are going to need it,” Meg said as she drank hastily and swore when it burned her tongue. “Damn it. Nothing is going right this morning,” she said as she glared at the coffee.Tanya tried to hide her smile as she said “Relax, Meg.”Meg
They would bide their time.In the meantime, Tanya’s public relations team would do their best to assure the public that the integrity of their favourite actress was still as impeccable as ever.And so was that of the man she had chosen as well.The team would have to pull double weights, since not only would they have to deal with the backlash that would come from Tanya choosing another man, but now they had to ensure the world was aware that the man she chose was worthy after all.Tanya and Ayo would have to have an interview, but before that, Ayo needed to be trained.When Meg had used that exact word, Ayo had thought her ridiculous and had even laughed out loud.It didn’t take him long to realise that she was not joking.None of them was.In a few hours, he already had an assistant, a tutor, a new phone and number and many other things he couldn’t believe would be happening to him a week ago.Added to that, he had not seen his wife since that morning.After handing him over to the
By midday, Ayo already felt like he would go crazy soon.The continuous talk of Ruffs and the constant buzzing around by the assistant was getting on his nerves.What more? Ruffs wouldn’t go away despite Ayo’s protests.“Princess needs me to teach you all you need to know before the end of the day” had been his constant mantra.For a moment, Ayo had almost despised Tanya for all of this. Almost.He tried to call her to get her dog off his back, but it was useless.Meg had picked up the call and told him in that frosty tone that Tanya was not available to pick up calls.“Please, focus on your training, Mr Taiwo. You will need it sooner than we thought,” she said before disconnecting the call.“That woman!” Ayo had gritted out before going back to his punishment. Ruffs was showing him the proper ways to use certain weird-looking utensils then.Why the hell did he need to remove the snail from its shell when the cook could have done that? He wondered in frustration.Apparently, it was su
Ayo knew what that tone meant.The scathing look on the lady’s face was not necessary for him to know what she meant by that single question.He was not welcome here.Oh, he knew that, but then the premium card in his pocket beg to differ.He was already feeling like shit and having it slammed on his face that he was an impostor was not sitting well with him.Still, he managed a thin smile as he said, “I am here to get some clothes. Thought that was what this place was meant for?” The lady’s nose flared in contempt as she gave him a once-over and said; “We don't have something you can get.”“Really?” Ayo asked innocently, then he pointed at a shirt on the rack behind her. “I think I would like to take that.”“It is not for sale” she said immediately without looking back.“You mean it is not for sale for me, don’t you, sweetheart?” he asked with a wink.Even as a blush tinted the lady’s cheek, she cleared her throat and looked pointedly at the door. “Please, leave before I call the co
“I can’t believe this. It is one thing after the other with you,” Meg fumed as she paced the patio.Ayo hung his head in a show of embarrassment.In truth, he wouldn’t mind returning to that store to punch that man’s face all over again.At least, he would be satisfied that it had been worth the trouble after all.He only got in two punches and wiped the floor with one of the security guards.His flying kick had done that while the other guard had stayed back.Ayo had not realised that the coward was calling the cop.He was surprised when they got there within minutes.In this part of the world where the cops can arrive at a robbery scene hours after the incident, he was shocked to realise that they would rush over for such a trivial thing.The manager’s nose was bleeding badly when they got there and it didn’t take much before the cops held his arms behind him and cuffed him.Within the blink of an eye, Ayo was pushed into their vehicle before he could even explain himself.The manag
“This has to stop.”“Explanation, please,” Ayo said in a deceptively soft voice.He had watched her pace to and fro since they entered her bedroom.The fact that the gesture resembled what her manager was doing earlier annoyed him enough that he turned his mind to something more interesting.How much were they paying those bastards for them to risk their lives that way?Climbing a tree to take pictures? As much as it annoyed him at the time, he couldn’t help but be amused.Maybe being a paparazzo paid a lot.Why didn’t he think of that before settling for working at a car wash?His initial anger seemed to have seeped out of him somewhere between her soft lips pressing against his and the ridiculous sight of grown men up in the trees.In the wake of his anger was a sudden weariness that made him want to stick his middle finger at the world at large.And now, she had to say that. She turned to look at him, and something shifted inside him.She really was beautiful in an ethereal way. T
“I don’t like spending your money, I don’t need Ruffs breathing down my neck, I don’t need your manager scolding me like a child and I definitely don’t need a thousand and one designer wears. What more? Who cares how I hold my fork? I just want to eat. You agree with me that all those aren’t necessary, don’t you?” he said with a bit of frustration.For the first time since they entered the room, she gave him an easy smile, “You need them,” she said apologetically. “If you really want to do this, then all these things are needed. They will tear you down anyway, but then if you are equipped in the right way, the sting will be less,” she said sincerely.Ayo considered that, and he liked the sound of it, “I don’t want to go about with your card,”“We will get you your own,” she said smoothly.“It will still be your money.”“We can consider it a sort of payment for doing this,”His look darkened before he said, “Don’t insult me,” “I am sorry. What about we count it as a loan? You can pay