Chapter 10

It was no news that Blaze is a rich man with a lot of enterprises but amongst all his P.A Mary was the best as she was efficient, smart, intelligent, and friendly.
She came out with flying colors in her badge while she was in school and she has always done her work diligently and has never forgotten an agenda or deadline for any deal.
She was highly recommended from Germany as she had worked for many foreign companies and her language skills were top-notch.
" Good morning Mr. Blaze Jadiel", she recited her normal morning rhythm as it had become a routine.
Rolling up his eyes, Blaze looked at Mary and responded,
"Good morning Mary, how are you today?", he asked as though she was not feeling well fixing his stare on her.
Mary bowing down her head in shame as she was blushing from her bosses gaze, she responded,
" I am fine Mr. Blaze", She said using her eyes to count her toes as her head could not go up again because she was uneasy.
Blaze asked her why she was in his office and if she needed anything.
"The meeting with the members of Fresh Tea starts in three minutes Sir and everyone else is in the meeting room waiting for you before they can start", she said looking at the agenda that she was holding.
Blaze knew he had a meeting that morning as every Monday, they had executive meetings either with their investors or just with the board members within the company.
" Thank you Mary I will be there in a minute", Blaze told his assistant with a mild smile on his lips.
"Also, the meeting with "Mika's Wine", had been postponed till further notice as their manager is not feeling too well.
Blaze heard her keenly as she read out his agenda for the day, and when she was done she excused herself and left for her office while he prepared the necessary documents for his board meeting with his board of directors.
Crystal was still at home with her friend as they waited for Gina to make breakfast so that they could eat before leaving for the supermarket.
Georgia asked her friend if she was now ready to tell her what the issue was that made her cry so bitterly yesterday.
Crustal who thought that her friend had forgotten about that ugly incident, was sorely mistaken as she was hell-bent on knowing what had happened.
Crystal who did not know what to tell Georgia got up and went into the bathroom.
Georgia who had noticed that her friend was avoiding the subject sighed like a pregnant woman, and stretching her body on the bed said,
" You don't have to tell me if you don't want to Crystal. Well, I thought that we were good friends and that we could tell. each other everything", she mumbled disappointedly by her friend's attitude towards the matter.
Crystal stayed in the bathroom for some time feeling bad for not telling her friend the truth but again she had to choose as she knew full well that the kind of life age was living, was not the best and it was full of lies telling and treachery.
Georgia waited some more for her friend to come out but she did not so she felt angry and said she was leaving.
Crystal on hearing this came out of the bathroom to stop her friend from leaving as she was the only person that understood her clearly.
"Please don't like that my friend", Crystal spoke from behind.
Georgia tried to restrain her outrage and pain against her friend as she tightened her fist and lowered the dish of fruits she was eating.
Crystal with a sad look walked to Georgia and with a soft voice, she asked her friend to sit down.
She was not ready to tell her friend the truth but she wanted to explain some things to her in an offer to calm her down.
" Georgia, you have been my friend for years now, and you know me well as a good person right?", she said looking at her friend straight in the eyes as she always did with those men she always lure to their beds and made away with their money.
Crystal's sole aim here was that she wanted to convince her friend so that she will not worry about her life again or ask questions.
Georgia asked her what she was trying to say with all these as she already knew all that but why was she beating around the bush.
"Crystal you are my friend and you have had my back right from our college days. You can tell me whatever it is that is bothering you dearly or is someone harassing you and you can not tell your uncle?", She asked all these questions looking at her friend in a concerted manner.
Crystal has no words to respond to her and eventually searching through her head looking for something to say, took the fork and taking a strawberry from her dish, she put it in her mouth chewing it slowly as though she had never eaten one before.
She turned to Georgia again and said,
" It is not as easy as you think my dear friend. I am going through a difficult moment now and I have always gone through it for a while now but I just have to keep on fighting", Crystal mumbled.
Georgia could not understand anything it was that she was saying so she got up from the bed and decided to walk around remembering the past about the things she told her friend in confidence about her life and family though she knew full well that she was not supposed to.
"Nonetheless, if you see that I am not worthy to share your pain and suffering talk more of your secrets as a friend, then I completely understand you", She explained but from her tone Crystal know perfectly well that she was angry.
Crystal rose to her feet too and moving towards her friend and taking her hands she uttered,
" I promise to tell you everything soon Georgia, I give you my word", she went so emotional after saying this and Georgia could see that her friend was in a tight spot so she decided not to ask again and responded,
"I am here for you anytime".
Crystal had been carrying that burden for years now since she turned into an adolescent.
She was fully aware that the kind of life she was living was not the best but she had no choice as she was under her uncle and only he knew the ins and outs of her late father's properties.
Crystal was becoming fed up with that style of life as she often asked herself whether her doing all these was necessary just for her to get back what rightfully belongs to her.
Each time she tried breaking out from that kind of life in the past, her Uncle Max always found a way to persuade her so that she will not leave.
But this time around her mind was made up as she said to herself that once she gets the twenty-nine million francs CFA that was remaining, she was going to get her company from her uncle.
It was a trap that was set for him to finally realize if he had the intention of passing over her company to her, or he just wanted to keep using her for his selfish games.
Georgia wiping her trends face with her hands, told her that it was time for them to go as they had taken their breakfast already and the day was bright outside.
Crystal nodded in acceptance and walked to her table to get her debit card and car keys so that they could go shopping and gave some fun.
She had not forgotten about her plans to visit Blaze at his house as she had to confront him for duping her but that was going to be for some other time as she deserved to be happy after swallowing in pains for forty-eight hours now was time for her to go out and see the world again.
Crystal and Georgia left the house and go downstairs, Crystal told Gina to notify her uncle that she was taking off to do shopping with her friend and that from there they will go to the mall.
Crystal entered her car and her friend joined her inside and they put on their safety belts.
They drive out of the yard with loud music inside the car.
Blaze was done with the first meeting he had that morning and his P.A had just reminded him of another schedule that he has for the day and he needed to attend it.
" Is that all I have done today?", he asked walking into his office and demanding a mug of coffee.
"No, it is not all sir. You also have to meet with Ms. Claire for the business concerning the real estate property", she continued as she turned the pages of her book.
Blaze had his coffee brought to him almost immediately as he asked for it.
His employees knew better than to mess around with their jobs as they were well paid.
When Mary was done doing a rundown of his busy schedule to him, she asked if there was something else he wanted her to do for him but Blaze responded,
" Not at the moment, Mary", with his head lowered on his table while he went through other vital stuff on his desk.
Mary excused herself and left him to continue with his work as she went to her own office to solve pending issues.
His phone rang and he looked at it as though it was the first time to hear it ring and with a hush, he picked up the phone and answered,
"Hello, Sir Blaze, Mrs. Koker is here to see you and he is waiting here at the reception, should I let him in?", his secretary asked in a calm voice.
With a tight fist and angry voice, he said,
" If you let that last in here, start looking for another job. Also, tell the security agents never to let that woman come into its company again and if she resists, force her out", he said with a high tone of anger that even his secretary has understood the issue well enough to bother him with that again.
He was in total battle with that family as they were accusing him of something he knew nothing about.
The matter has been in court for weeks now and he knew just how to dismiss the case if the worst came to the worst.
The blaze was been accused of raping a certain Ava Koker who was one of his personnel and her family had taken it to court.
Each time he thinks about that awful scenario, he feels terrible as the lady is not even amongst the class of girls he could date or make out with.
Blaze was confident that, it was one of his business associates that wee behind this as in the world of business where he grew up in learning from his late dad, anything can happen at any time.
"How can a lady who has been spending her time seducing me come up with such an awkward story that I asked her to come to give me some documents in my office and I raped her", he asked himself this question laughing so hard.
He decided to let go of that mood-ruining incident and focused on the work he has on his table as time was passing by with a speed.
Crystal had reached the shopping center and she had seen a parking space that her small Yaris car could fit into it well without any worries whatsoever.
She maneuvered her car to station it well, without disturbing those who will be coming as well.
She was well stationed so she cut the engine of her car and removed her seat belt, unlocking the doors so that they could go out.
Becky Badmos who had seen Crystal's car and had recognized it, stood outside the shopping center as she had come there to get some things too for herself as she will be going on a trip with her boyfriend.
She had been standing there waiting for Crystal to approach her and she noticed that there was someone with Crystal, but she could not make out person yet as the sun was too bright on them.
Becky, a natural Caramel lady, wore her thick in a tight matronly bun with a pair of jeans and a crop too exposing her part of her belly including her navel.
Large black eyes in a joyful face as she saw them approaching and she saw that Crystal was with her handbag who was none other but Georgia.
Becky raised a hand, waving at them with a smile as to make them notice that she was standing there.
Georgia who had seen someone wave at them from the corner of the shopping center raised her head and took off her sunglasses as they were no longer under the sun.
" Is that not Becky our friend standing over there?", she asked tapping Crystal by the shoulder so that she could turn around.
Looking towards the direction where Georgia was showing, Crystal needs numbly as she walked towards her.
Becky had stopped waving and was going as they approached her.
"Hello girls", Becky said as she hugged them warmly.
" Hi Becky how are you and you look gorgeous", Georgia spoke using her eyes to screen her whole body from head to toe.
"Hey, Becky, how are you holding up with Makeup, hope it is as good as it has always been?", Crystal asked with an immense smile.
Becky smiled back and as usual in her proud self, she flung to their faces her pieces of stuff that she came to purchase from the shopping center.
"That is great I am happy that you still find places to have all the hood things you like over here", Georgia answered.
With a flow of emotions, Georgia asked Becky how Simon is and that completely turned her off.
" My darling boyfriend is doing perfectly fine and he is the person I am waiting for as we speak", she announced giving Crystal a dirty look, gnawing on the gum that was in her mouth like one psychopath.
Georgia who had noticed where Becky was taking the conversation, decided not to ask any future questions on that topic as it was obvious that, Becky still had not forgotten about the awful incident that happened during their high school days.
As Crystal was about to ask Georgia for them to leave, a black Renault car had just stopped in front of the girls and while they were wondering who it was, Becky was cracking up like a minor who had seen her crush for the first time.
A young man opened the door and stepped down his one leg out of the car, pulling his whole body out as he arranged his glasses and standing out completely from the car, Becky had jumped on him dropping down her bags.
That was Simon Cowell, the guy that every girl was crushing over back in college but he was head over heels for Crystal.
That was the reason for the bitterness in Becky's heart till date as he was never in the picture as long as Crystal was around.
Simon, taking off his glasses saw that Crystal and Georgia were the ladies he had spotted from his car mirror when he was still in his car.
With so much happiness, he had put down Becky and went towards Crystal extending his hand to her to greet her.
Crystal who had been staring at the whole thing, knock off Simon's hand and gave him a warm embrace instead.
Georgia chuckled as she knew very well that, the reason her friend had done that was to spite of Becky who was over-shaking throughout the time they had been standing there.
Becky in her angry countenance quickly separated the both of them.
"How dare you do this in front of me, Simon, don't you have any regard for me?", she asked panting in anger like someone who was about to commit murder.
Simon looked at Becky and responded,
" Me hugging our old-time classmate has nothing to do with me disregarding you Becky".
Crystal looked at Becky and with a smile she said,
"You have not changed one but Becky, you are still that very impulsive, not very smart and proud lady I use to know back in the day", Crystal's words came out like a sharp sword to Becky who wanted to react to a scene.
Georgia greeted Simon and wished him well with Becky as her character was so embarrassing.
Crystal and Georgia walked away from them and Simon told Becky to get into the car with a furious tone.
" I wonder why that girl hates you so much over a man that does not interest you for a start", Georgia mumbled to her friend as they pushed the door of the shop making their way into its air-conditioned walls and forgetting about the scorching sun and the heat outside.
Crystal turned to her friend and smile saying,
"Forget about Becky, she will never understand that Simon can never be hers with that desperate attitude that she carries about in the name of loving him so dearly", she explained to her friend as they reached the receptionist desk to get their handbags checked before they could proceed into the shelves of the shop to start going through the articles in there to get what they like.
Simon and Becky quarreled all through their journey back home and Simon who was fed up with Becky's insecurities told her that it was over between them and that he needed a break.