Must Read: The Rich Kids Of Lagos (16+)

7 years ago

Must Read: The Rich Kids Of Lagos (16+)

Gabbo sat behind the counter, beside Aduke who seemed uncomfortable to be there. Perhaps, this was as a result of having to face her past and present men at the same time. He hoped she was not having a change of mind regarding her choice to be with him. He realised now, more than ever that he wanted Aduke as his. He did not want her to ever have eyes for any other man. Aduke was his and had to remain his. However, he knew that this was an opportunity to sit and talk with Peter for it was the first time he would see him since he had arranged to have him beaten.

‘How are you, Ambali?’ he said as he greeted Pius with a curt nod.
‘Good day Sir. I’m sorry for the mix up. It seems that these officers are a bit overzealous’ responded Pius Ambali, embarrassed to have been unable to avert the situation.
‘Hmm. This would be sorted soon enough’ he responded with the assurance of a man who was sure that things would always work in his favour.

He then turned to face Peter ‘Good morning, Peter’ he said ‘How are you?’ His greeting went unacknowledged as Peter stared at him with a blank stare and a face set like carved granite.

‘Permit me to apologise for what I asked to be done to you. I take total responsibility for the act and would like to compensate you for medical treatments and any other inconveniences that you might have suffered’ he said
‘Compensate me!’ spat out Peter with disdain ‘You specifically asked your men to kill me and now, just because you know I didn’t die, you think you can shut me up with your money’ continued Peter.

‘I did nothing to you Alhaji, nothing at all. I was loyal to you, diligent at my work and I always ensured that I met your set targets. I made sure you were always happy with me, but you treated me like a common criminal’ said Peter, whose anger at the unfair treatment shone out of his eyes.

‘Once again, Peter, I am sorry. I am not a man who apologises easily, neither am I a man who often regrets his actions. However, on this issue, I find myself to be both apologetic and full of regrets. I could have handled it better and wish that I had not acted so rashly. I believed that your loyalty had been questioned. I felt that you had colluded against me. I imagined that you must have had many moments where you and the other staff would have made jokes about how foolish I was and so, I decided to make an example of you to the others. After all, you are the one that I liked the most. Peter, believe me when I say I am sorry’ he said, contritely.

‘Please, Gabbo cut the crap! You snatched my girl and wanted to get me out of the scene because you felt guilty. Anyway, I have heard you. I owe you nothing, you owe me nothing, so let us leave it at that’ said Peter through gritted teeth.
‘Can I say something?’ asked Aduke in a quiet voice, for she knew that all this had been caused by her. ‘Peter, I promise you that DG knew nothing about our relationship at the time I met him, he did not snatch me from you. He is innocent in all of this. Apart from his decision to teach you a lesson, which was done only because he was angry at what he thought to be a disloyal act by you, I am the one you should direct your anger at’ said Aduke

As soon as she was done, Peter burst out laughing and clapping his hands. It was an angry, sarcastic laughter.
‘DG, DG!’ He scoffed. ‘Well said, Mrs Gabbo-to-be! Or isn’t that what this is all about? You set your sights on your boyfriend’s rich boss and went for him, damning all the consequences. Gold digger!’ he said, still very angry.
‘Make una no dey make noise for that place o! We no wan hear your palaver!’ interjected Office Johnson, still power drunk from his DPO’s absence
‘Peter! That is untrue and unfair’ said Aduke through gritted teeth, her eyes welling up with tears. “I did not even know DG was there that night. I even apologised to you and you said you would never forgive me. It was coincidental that I ever met him again! More so, I never even imagined that he was your boss’ she said in emotion laden voice. It hurt so much that Peter could ever label her as a gold digger.

The way he said it made her sound like a really bad person. Aduke looked at Gabbo’s face scared of what she would see there. Would Gabbo believe Peter or herself? She had hoped that they had gotten past this stage of their relationship. She was so embarrassed!
‘Peter, Aduke. This is not the time for this. We can trash many of these other details out later. All I wanted to do was to apologise to you, Peter and to let you know that our doors are still open to you at the office’
‘God forbid!’ responded Peter.
‘Look, Peter’ interjected Ambali, ‘I would ordinarily not involve myself in your personal affairs, but because of the relationship between yourself and Pa Joshua, permit me to say something. I have known Alhaji Gabbo for a long time and the one thing I can say is that he is a man with integrity and pride. If he tells you something, you can take it as the gospel truth and if he apologises to you, you need to realise that he is being sincere’
‘Oh Ambali, you know Peter personally?’ asked Gabbo, who was surprised to hear Ambali speak directly to Peter. He had only invited Ambali to help him search for Peter because he knew Ambali was an expert on issues like this.
‘Well, I just met him too. Apparently, his Guardian is an old friend of mine. We coincidentally met at the old man’s house only recently’ responded Ambali.
‘Hmm. Small world’ said Gabbo. ‘Peter, like I said, I’m sorry and willing to make this up to you. Take your time and think of the ways in which I can do this. You have my direct numbers and you can give me a call when you have thought about this’ said Gabbo whose face was closed. He had obviously had enough on this topic.
‘It is not your fault’ grumbled Peter ‘if not for this girl here, would my life be like this? Would I be in this situation?’ he continued. ‘All I did was continually shower her with love even when I knew she had gone to be with other men’ he said ‘I just…’
‘Peter, don’t try my patience’ responded Aduke firmly, with angry flashing eyes. Gone was the weeping young lady of a few moments ago, replaced by an irate one.

Gabbo smiled wryly. He was very conversant with this irate version of Aduke and even though the circumstances were less than perfect, it was interesting to sit on the side lines and watch as her inner lioness came out.
‘It is okay for you to sit there and point a finger at me isn’t it? Did I not beg for your forgiveness?

Did you not tell me you were done with me, Peter? Did I not catch you having S£x with your office receptionist Eno, the same one you claimed stole the money that you were sent to give me?

Money that quite frankly, you have gone silent on? Do you think it was easy to watch you have S£x in our flat with a stranger? Did you care about me then? Did you not do it on purpose? You told me that day that you have moved on, well, so have I. Deal with it Peter. If you like, accept Gabbo’s apologies, if you like don’t. It is your business. I’m sick of you painting the story to suit you. This is irritating!’ she said as she got up.

‘Danladi, isn’t there anything you can do to get us out of here?’ she asked Gabbo firmly and on purpose, to spite Peter. She felt the need to put him in his place.

Gabbo who was lost, watching Aduke’s gesticulations and facial expressions suddenly sat up when Aduke addressed him, suddenly alert and checked his watch.

‘Hmm, it really should not take this long’ he said.

Suddenly, there was commotion in the front desk between the two officers, one of whom had received a phone call from a very irate DPO who had been called to order by the Commissioner of Police.
‘Ah, Ajala, we don die today’ said Officer Johnson
‘It’s your fault oh! I told you to take it easy.’ responded Ajala ‘See all the people you sent behind the counter’ he said
‘What should we do now? asked a confused Johnson
‘Eh, na to release them na, we go just do like say nothing happen, pally them so that they can call CP or even DPO on our behalf’ responded Ajala, who felt his idea was very smart. He had it all figured out already.
Before they could conclude their conversation, a very distinguished looking man walked into the station. The Policemen knew they were in big trouble for they recognised the popular legal luminary from the television and the newspapers. Officer Ajala hoped the lawyer’s presence was unconnected to the man they had thrown behind the counter. They knew that this Senior Advocate had a slew of younger lawyers he could have sent and that for him to have made himself physically present, they were in trouble.

‘Good afternoon Officers’ greeted Dr Gbayi Adeleke, popularly known as Gbayi-the-Law.
‘Ah Oga! Good afternoon sir!’ responded Johnson with a forced gaiety for he knew their asses were in trouble
‘Ah, Oga Gbayi-the-Law, what brings you to our humble station?’ asked Ajala
‘I understand my client and his friends have been kept behind the counter and that they have been accused of kidnapping someone?. Can I speak with them please?’ asked Lawyer Adeleke
‘Em, em’ began Johnson, but before he could complete his sentence, the DPO walked in, looking absolutely furious. He was angry because several of his superiors had called him on this issue and more importantly because now, everyone knew he had not been at his duty post.

He could only hope these two buffoons did not cost him his next promotion. Anyway, he had made up his mind that before they cost him anything, he would deal properly with them. First things first, he had to sort the whole mess out.
‘What is the meaning of this rubbish’ asked the DPO. ‘Begin to tell me everything right now!’ he said
‘…and so, when we saw the letter about the kidnappers, we decided that it was better to be safe than sorry’ finished Officer Johnson as he tried to explain the reason for locking their VVIP guests behind the counter.
‘Ehn, which letter? Where is it?’ asked the DPO who was scared that this too, could be used against him.

‘This one’ responded Ajala, who, in a bid to impress, hurriedly thrust the sheet of paper under his Superior’s nose. The DPO read the sheet of paper and turned on them in a fit of fury.

‘You fools! Has either of you thought of calling on the others and tracing the address in this letter? Has anyone found this Wale boy? Instead, you are here accusing eminent individuals of kidnap! I shall deal with you when you come. For now, go and release the four of them, pull the vehicle out and ensure you do not come here without the Wale boy!’ yelled the DPO
‘But…but, they found the letter on the floor of your office’ said Officer Ajala
‘You are mad. Do as I say right now!’ yelled the DPO
‘Lawyer, your client and his friends will be released right now. Please do not be upset. You know that sometimes, these things happen with overzealous officers.’ said the DPO who looked very embarrassed.
‘Let me speak with my client first’ said Gbayi-the-Law who walked over to confer with Gabbo. Soon after, he was back to speak with the DPO. ‘He demands an apology from the two officers’ reported Gbayi.
‘Oh, that is no problem. Quickly, go and apologise to him!’ yelled the DPO.

After the apologies were made and all formalities were done, Gabbo and the others were released.

They walked into the hot afternoon sunshine, glad to have escaped spending a weekend at the station.

‘Pius, thank you. Peter, my apologies remain. I would be pleased if you could reach out to me on Monday, after you have given what I said a good thought. I will expect you then.’ He said as he turned to face Aduke.
‘Ready dear?’ he asked, stretching his hands out to her.

She sidestepped the rest, took his hand and entered the car. Aduke was suprised to find that it was a frosty car ride home because Gabbo pointedly ignored her on the journey home.