Chapter 20: Chapter 20

My boss had been kind enough to give me two days off after revealing to her that stress made me collapse on that very day. She had even visited with Rita bringing along fruits and beverages which I had least expected from her.

I saw her as a very harsh woman who was blunt with her words. I had seen the two days off as surprising but still normal but the visitation and provisions were quite alarming. I hadn't expected it at all.

My boss, Mrs Barkays whom I called 'Madam' wasn't around presently. She was a churchy person and always had a Bible quotation for every single thing you did. She had gone to church for the Wednesday Bible study program situated for 5pm.

I was left to clean up the restaurant, tidy the whole thing, lock it up and go home. The restaurant always closed by 6pm and I always left for home at 6pm though I left her there most of the time.

I was currently washing the dishes. It was annoying washing the plates random people ate with. Some will leave bones on the plates and leave it all sticky and gummy; so disgusting.

I giggled remembering the conversation I had with Amsey in the morning.

I had worn a red knee-length straight dress and I couldn't zip it up properly so I had gone to the kitchen where Amsey was frying plantains so he could help me out.

I took one of the already fried plantains and plopped it into my mouth.

"With the rate at which you eat these days, I won't be shocked if you attempt to eat me." He said.

I snickered. "I don't have time for your nonsense this morning. Do me up." I said.

"Do what?" He asked, obviously confused.

I turned my back to face him. "My zip. Help me out with it." I requested.

"Ohh." He said.

He dropped the frying spoon and proceeded to help me zip up the dress.

"It's too tight. I doubt it'll be able to zip up." Amsey said, apparently struggling to zip up the dress.

"Oh my goodness, I've added weight." I sounded miserable.

"It's not your fault." He said, still trying to zip up the dress.

The zip didn't budge though

"Maybe I should suck in my tummy. It'll be easier that way."

I had barely finished saying out my idea when he hurriedly declined.

"What about the baby?" He asked, sounding worried.

"I don't get."

"What if it suffocates?" He sounded quite perplexed.

I gave a short laugh. "It won't."

"What if it does?" He retorted.

"I already told you it won't. No need to get so worked up." I said

"Well, I'm not willing to take chances. Go change into something different." He said.

"Come on."

"I'm serious, Cas. You shouldn't even be wearing a tight dress such as this one in your pregnant state."

I rolled my eyes. "Stop overreacting. The baby bump isn't even visible yet so it's hardly a crime to put on a dress like this." I explained.

He glared at me. "Cas, like I already said; I'm not willing to take chances so go back into the bedroom and change into something better." He ordered.

"Fine." I said with a frown on my face and proceeded to leave the kitchen.

"Now, that's a good girl." He replied.

I perceived the smell of something burning and I spun around.

"Go change." He said with a smirk playing around his lips.

I moved closer to him. "You may want to check your plantain." I said, also with a smirk.

"Oh no." He muttered and quickly turned off the gas cooker.

The plantains were practically burnt; like black.... really burnt.

He looked at me menacingly. "You distracted me." He accused.

I placed my palm on my chest. "Oh, did I?" I asked, feigning pretence.

"Yes, you did. Why did you come in here asking me to zip up your dress? It made me lose concentration on what I was frying." He said, obviously angry.

"Oops. My bad." I said.

"I'll eat the ones I fried previously that were fried perfectly. You'll eat these burnt ones. Deal?"

"But why?"

"You caused this, remember?" He eyed me.

"Okay then." I said, pouting.

He wore a triumphant look on his face but his joy was cut short when I added, "I just hope the baby likes it too and it doesn't pose any form of danger to its health."

His look of victory suddenly turned into a pathetic one.

To worsen the whole matter, I rubbed my tummy. "I believe we'd do just fine." I said, speaking to my baby.

I turned my back on him and started walking out of the kitchen when I heard his voice mumble something.

"What did you say?" I asked, swinging my head towards his direction.

"Have the good plantains. I'll get myself something else to eat." He said solemnly, wiping his hands on the napkin.

"Awwn. That's so sweet." I said.

It had worked, I thought. I'd have to use my child to my advantage from now on.

"Cassandra, Cassandra." I heard my name repeatedly called by a deep voice.

My heart jumped and I looked up with a start. I had been drawn back to reality.

I had almost finished washing the dishes and standing before me was the lanky man who I was attending to the day I had passed out.

I was kind of delighted. I had wanted to see him to express my gratitude for helping me out the other day. "Good afternoon sir. I've been longing to see you." I said, with a smile.

"Is that so?" He asked, also smiling.

"Yes. I'm really thankful for the other day. Thanks a bunch. I'll forever be indebted to you. I heard that you carried me and drove me to the hospital and also paid the bills. Thank you sir." I said, really appreciative. Not everyone would have done what he did.

"You are absolutely welcome, my dear." He said.

"Sir, I'm sorry but we're closed for today." I told him.

"I didn't come here to buy anything. I came specifically to see you. I knew you guys would be closed by now." He said.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"But why do you want to see me?" I was puzzled.

He heaved a sigh. "You should offer me a seat." He said.

"Oh, I'm so sorry for my poor hospitality." I sincerely apologized.

"It's fine." He said.

He had come to the kitchen obviously because he hadn't seen a living soul in the restaurant. I led him through the kitchen door into the main restaurant where customers sat and offered him a seat.

"Give me a second." I said and went back to the kitchen and hurriedly finished washing the dishes.

When I was done, I washed my hands and removed my apron and hung it. Looking around, I had a sense of satisfaction.

Everywhere looked okay and Madam wouldn't have a reason to complain tomorrow hopefully.

I went back into where the man was sitting and looking through a magazine.

I sat opposite him.

He looked up from the magazine and smiled at me.

He closed the magazine and dropped it on the table.

"By the way, what's your name? I asked.

"Mr Andrew Muffin." He responded.

His name rang a bell. I had heard it before, but where?

He grinned. "You feel you know that name, right?" He asked.

"Yes." I replied .

"I'm the same man who was imprisoned for allegedly assaulting his boss sexually." He said.

It suddenly clicked. "Yeah. You're the one who worked in that agency. You managed that singer, Adia, and you were thrown in prison when she accused you of attempted rape."

"Exactly." He agreed.

"That was about 3 or 4 years ago, right?" I asked.

"3½ years ago." He clarified.

"Gosh! The news spread like wildfire that year. Adia was a rising star, I really enjoyed the way she sang. Gosh! Where is she now and what are you doing here?" I asked, really curious.

"That year, I was wrongly framed up. I tried to explain to everyone that it was a lie concocted by Adia to increase her popularity and the board of directors of the agency because I found out about something going on within the walls of the agency. They could have fired me and told me not to say a word of what I had seen, but instead; they had to eliminate me completely. They framed me up, had me thrown into prison so that no one could ever believe me even when I came out, they dainted my character and ruined my reputation and my wife and children left me." He explained.

I shook my head in pity. "But what had you seen that was so bad?" I wondered.

"When the time is right, I'd tell you." He said.

"How come you're out now?" I asked.

He sighed. "I was released on presidential pardon eight months ago during the Independence day. I discovered to my utmost dismay that my wife was already remarried. I decided to pick up the pieces of my life, recovered all my properties, sold them and started a new life around here, where no one remembers my face or anything. I moved here mostly because I didn't want my former agency to locate me or anything." He explained further.

I listened with rapt attention to all he said. He sounded genuine and convincing. Back then, I hadn't joined the crowd to point accusing fingers at him. I only felt indifferent. But the question was, why was he telling me all these?

"You're wondering why I'm telling you this, right?"

He had seen right through me. "Yeah. Im not trying to sound rude but why are you telling me about all these?" I asked.

"Your question is understandable and I can't term it as being rude. You're right to ask. Well, I'm starting up my own entertainment agency and I'd love it if you could be a part of it." He said.

It was quite surprising. "How?"

"You are beautiful with a lovely endowment. Your kind is different and spectacular and you'll appeal to the public. You're right in wanting to pursue a career in entertainment. The world really needs to know about you." He said.

I was in shock as I gasped. "You overheard my discussion with Rita that day?"

"Yes."

"I couldn't help but notice that you really fit into the celebrity lifestyle. Perfect skin and all and you also have a unique story." He said.

My heart thumped loudly. Did he know about my past? "Unique story? What do you mean?" I asked.

"Your discussion with Rita wasn't the only thing I overheard that day." He said, looking me straight in the eye.

I swallowed hard. Tears formed in my eyes and my voice sounded teary. "You overheard my discussion with Amsey in the hospital, didn't you?" I asked.

He nodded.

"I thought you had left." I said as the tears started to fall.

"I did, but I had forgotten my wallet in the hospital so I went back to retrieve it. When I got there, it was at the receptionist's counter. I was checking to see if the contents of the wallet was still in place when the nurse who had admitted you came and revealed to me that you had woken up. I decided to go check up on you and see how you're doing. Before I could open the door, I heard that guy screaming at you, I can't remember his name right now. I paused at the door to know the reason for it all and that was how I got to know about the unique story of your life." He explained in details.

I snickered and made no effort to wipe my tears which were still flowing from my eyes.

He stood up and walked over to me. Placing his hand on my shoulder, he asked, "Are you okay? Did I do something wrong?"

"No." I said barely audible enough. I cleared my throat. "The matter is so sensitive and it hurts when I remember it. It's something I've barely accepted and it's saddening to know..." I sniffed then continued. "To know that someone else has found out."

He sighed.

I stood up and clasped my palms together as in a pleading form. "Please, please, don't tell anyone. Keep it a secret." I begged.

"Imagine this headline." He said. "18 year old Cassandra rises to stardom against all odds. Then the news in detail: Cassandra, at the age of 18 with no idea of who her father is had to find a means to keep her mother alive and had to......"

"Stop!" I thundered.

"Listen, Cassandra. To get the public to like you, you have to emotionally blackmail them. You are 18. You were used by your boyfriend, made to work as a prostitute for your mother's employer and raped by a Reverend Father and your mother still gave up the ghost at the end leaving you all alone. As if that wasn't enough, you got pregnant without so much as an idea as to who the father of your child is but you still broke free out of the struggles of life and tried to keep yourself happy and others around you by singing. The public will love that and use you as an example for other young girls. They'll praise you for not giving up and staying strong and fighting through it all. You don't even need to know how to sing to buy your way into their hearts and we could always get you a songwriter. All what has happened to you has been a blessing in disguise." He said.

"Look at Adia who had been singing for two years but wasn't that blown. Once she assisted my boss in framing me up, she won the hearts of many sympathizers and is one of Nigeria's biggest female singers in just three years after that incident. Can't you see? This is a golden opportunity for you." He added.

A celebrity. So what if I was raped and had to do bad things to save my mother's life? My boyfriend had used me when my only offence was to be loyal to him, a so-called Reverend took advantage of me and my apartment got burned. I had no one to turn to. I slept out, I was beaten by the rain. I couldn't even attend my mother's funeral. I didn't know any of my relatives, not even my Father who had abandoned me. Mr Andrew was right. Absolutely right. The public would feel sorry for me and I'd become popular and wealthy. Most importantly, there'd be more people in the world aware of how perfectly I was created.

"You're talking like I'm the only one who has something to gain in all of these. What about you?" I asked.

He smiled cunningly. "I'd be the next big thing. My agency would be sought after, I'll be respected for coming out of prison and helping a young girl who was in distress. You'll make more money for me and people will believe me when I say the truth about my ex-agency. It's a win-win situation." He explained.

I sighed and wiped my face with the back of my palm.

"I don't know." I said.

"You have a year to think about this. My building hasn't been completed yet and I still need a couple of people to work for me to manage some aspects in the agency. Let me know what you think in a year's time." He winked.

"But why me?" I asked.

"You're different." He responded.

I nodded.

He removed his wallet from his back pocket, opened it and got out a complimentary card which he handed over to me.

I collected it and stared down at it.

"That is my complimentary card. Call me whenever you're ready." He said.

"What if I'm never ready?" I asked.

"You will be. Your new boyfriend seems to be the one making you comfortable in this situation of yours. Sooner or later, he'll be fed up with sponsoring another man's child and he'll want something in return. Do you think he wouldn't meet some other girl who is pure without a child and isn't a school dropout? Don't you think he'll grow tired of you and your child? No human being is perfect." He said, with a knowing smile.

"You're lying. He would never do that. Amsey's perfect." I retorted.

"Yeah. That's his name... Amsey. We'll see how perfect he is."

He sounded so sure of all what he was saying.

"You have to go because I have to leave also." I said, ignoring the subject.

"Take your things and I'll drop you off." He said.

I looked at him. "No, thanks."

"Not everyone is like that Reverend." He said.

"I'm not willing to take chances." I said.

"Suit yourself. You'll be the one calling me though. I won't call you."

"We'll see about that." I said with a grin.

"Definitely. Adios." He said, turned around, picked up his magazine and left the restaurant.

Amsey was perfect.

He wasn't like the others.

But what if Mr Andrew wasn't lying?

Either way, this offer was somewhat irresistible.