A woman's dilemma - Episode 13

 

Amy:

"Service was absolutely glorious." I gush as I buckle up the seatbelt and relax into the comfortable seat of Claudia's car. I expect her to chip in a thing or two but she's quiet. I turn my body towards her and watch her fumble and hiss at her poor keys for not fitting into the car's keyhole. She's using the wrong key . It's obvious that she is distracted. And she's  fuming. But at who?
"Are you okay?" I inquire quietly. Distracted eyes comes up to focus on my face.
"What?" Did she even hear what I said?
"You're trying to use your house keys to drive your car." I say with a grin. Claudia looks down at the keys and groans. I hear her utter a few choice words before using the right key this time. The car purrs to life.
"There you go!" I smile lightly at her and she shrugs. She navigates the car out of the church compound and into the street.
"I can't believe I made such a stupid mistake. I'm just boiling mad. Christ!" She rants. I eye her up and down. Yup,  there's something bothering her. I mean since last night after her meeting. 
"Okay, spill." 
"Spill what?!" Her voice is the usual bored and cold one I'm used to but her expression says anything but.
"You have been simpering and fuming​ since you came home last night. What's up?" I ask.
"Nothing?" She says it more like a question than an answer,  her eyes coming off the road to settle on me

All episodes of this story can be found here >> https://www.ebonystory.com/story/a-woman-s-dilemma

. When my brows wriggle at her she sighs.
"Okay fine. My client is a chauvinistic pig.  There, I said it." She looks back to the road.
"All men are chauvinistic to you, Claudia. Why is this one bothering you so much?" Her eyes flies back to me with a glare. I giggle nervously at her.
"Bothering me?! He's so not! Okay maybe he infiltrated all my dreams last night and some day dreams this morning___" my face begins to widen with a big smile at her rambling.
"But that's just because he's infuriating! He's a pig! He thinks just because he's famous I'll throw my undies at him?" Her fists redden as they tighten on the steering wheel.
"Wait did you say he's famous?"
"Yeah. Some movie star or something." She says.
"Shut up! You met a movie star and you didn't tell me?!" I slap her shoulder and she scowl at me.
"You see? Women like you are the reason why he's so hot headed. He thinks he's God's gift to women." She throws up snidely. I giggle instead.
"What's his name?" I ask instead of feeding her hatred for the male specie.
"Daniel Obi or some shit!" She spits and my mouth hit the car's foot match.
"Daniel Obi?! You mean THE Daniel Obi?" Claudia's eyes fix on my flushed face and rolls her eyes.
"You girls are insufferable! You should see the hussy I had to send out of his house last night!" She throws at me.
"You threw a hussy out?! Claudia!" I exclaim.
"I needed to do my job and her undressed boobs were distracting the disgusting man."
"What did he do?" I ask her.
"Do when?"
"When you threw his woman out, of course!"
"He seemed about ready to eat me. Not raw but naked! Can you believe that?!" She sounds appalled.
"Daniel is a renowned manwhore but he's so hot." I swoon.
"He's proud, disgusting, sexist, rude you name it."
"But that's enough to have you dreaming about him isn't it?" I ask. She opens her mouth then clamp it shut without getting a word out. Her phone starts buzzing between us. She doesn't even spare it a glance but swipes the call to reject.
"That might have been important. I say. The phone starts buzzing again.
"Let me help you pick it up." I go for her phone but she swipes it away before I reach it.
"It's the actor." She ends the call and this time switches her phone off.
"Why is he calling you on a Sunday?" I ask her.
"To make an appointment probably. I told him I'm not taking the job. I'm not designing for him."
"Why? Wouldn't your boss get angry or something?" I know nothing about her firm but I'm not sure kicking a movie star off the paycheck list is acceptable.
"He just wants to sleep with me. I won't get any work done. Now he keeps calling me. I'm not the only interior designer in the country." Claudia swerves off the road at this and drive into a side street. I see the sign for AJ eatery before she drives in and put the car on park.
"Let's eat something. I'm starving." She says as she alights the car. I remove my seatbelt and follow behind her, her black heels clicking on the interlocked floor. Who would have believed that our lives will be switched over like this. Her, the epitome of class and good living. I really am happy for her.
"Are you coming or what?" She calls to me as she pushes past the doors. A man brush past me and beat me to the door first. I let him in before hurrying behind him. I maneuver through only to crash into Claudia's back.
"Ouch--Clau--" I look over her shoulders to find her staring at the hunk of man who just brushed past me. I stand back and watch them both stare at each other. More like glare on Claudia's part.

*******

Claudia:

"Claudia--" Benjamin says my name like it's the very breath that he needs to live. I can see Amy watching us so I plaster on my normal bored expression and move pass him.
"Baby wait--" he grabs my arm but drops it when I level him with a fierce look. He bows his head and fiddle with his hands.
"I missed you, Claudia." He says after a few seconds of tense silence. My eyes blink close. This man hurt me.
"What are you doing here?" I ask coldly.
"I've been looking all over Lagos for you. Good thing I was able to find where you work now and kind of got your address. Woke up so early to meet you but saw you leaving."
"Then you followed me? Are you a stalker now, Ben?"
" I want you back Claudia. No, I need you back." His hand carefully traces up the side of my forearm. I let out a shaky breath but steel my face.
"It's too late. Let's just say I'm too busy sleeping my way up to success." I see the look of recognition in Amy's eyes at my words. Yes, Benjamin here was the man I thought I'll end up spending my life with. That is until his male ego was shattered and he took it out on me.
"Get off me. Amy let's go." I pull my arm away and turn around to leave the place all together.
"Claudia please--" he grabs my hand again and I'm about to turn around to hit him upside the head when a deep voice slice through the tense air.
"Is there a problem here?" My head whip around and yup, Daniel Obi is standing toe to toe with my ex. His muscular hand on Ben's shoulder. I gape at both men as they eye each other up. I can feel the buzz in the eatery at the sight of this enigmatic and famous man. He looks better in a suit. A black dress shirt underneath with a black tie to boot. A scene from last night's dream comes back to me and I feel myself getting hot. Daniel's eyes leaves Ben to settle on me. I feel electricity buzzing between us.
"Is he bothering you?" He asks.

Read " Redemption " by the same author ( Ameh juliet )

. Is that concern in his eyes? Of course he's an actor. He can show anything he wants people to see.
"Claudia who's this man?" Ben pushes the hand from his shoulder and make to touch me. I move back.
"She's mine. Aren't you Claw?" Daniel has the nerve to say. I throw him a hard look. He doesn't even bulge. He looks smug.
"Claw?!" Amy whisper yells.
"Claudia what is he talking about?" Ben tries to touch me again but Daniel grabs unto his shoulder again.
"Let go of her bro." He says a bit menacingly.
"I'm not your bro." Ben bites back and pushes on Daniel's broad chest. Amy gasps from behind me. She's not a fan of confrontations.
"Should we stop them?" She asks shakily.
"Nope. Let them tear each other apart. Not my business."  I turn around and match out of the eatery, feeling more hungry than when we arrived.