Hotel Palava - Episode 2

 

Adesuwa's POV 

It's impossible! I can't be caught, not like he's a ghost, i thought to myself.
"Boom!" A familiar voice thundered behind me then I turned to seey best friend, Lilian.
l placed my right hand on my chest, then i let out a sigh of relief. 
"You don kolo?" I yelled at her. She was cracking up with intense laughter. 
"You scared the crap out of me" I added, "What were you thinking scaring me that way?" 
"It was just a joke Adesuwa....Babe, you're taking this too seriously" Lillian replied a bit confused . She didn't understand why I was that spooked out.
 "Wetin happen?" She asked, "It's a long story" I answered trying to control my breath.
"Well not that long" i added looking at my best friend who was clearly curious.
"I walked in on a naked man in his room" she answered and Lilian gawked in shock.

Lilian shook her unbelievably, Of course she knew how grave the situation was. I knew she was really going to throw a whole lot of crap on me. I already prepared my mind for it. 
"I'm waiting, tell me I'm careless, tell I'm the craziest person you've ever met"
"Adesuwa, you're obviously the craziest person I've ever met! This one is very bad. Didn't you knock?"
"I did, like ten times!" I answered with an exasperating sigh. 
"There was no reply so i walked in

All episodes of this story can be found here >> https://www.ebonystory.com/story/hotel-palava

. I blame Mrs. Haruna! This is all her fault"
"How is this her fault?"
"She mistakenly told me to clean up room 29, instead of 49" "Are you sure you didn't hear wrongly?" Lilian asked and I glared at her.
 "Of course my ears are working quite alright!" I sighed again.  Suddenly I remembered the guest's body. Damn! He had to be a model of one of these fast growing modeling agency. 
"Adesuwa!" Lilian brought me out of my thought.
"Jesus! You're thinking of the man!"
"What? He's good looking, I mean he looks really hot"
"Show a bit remorse Adesuwa" "How much more remorse do you want? I'm being sincere, what that man has is not something a girl would see and regret." I fired back and Lillian's shook her head.
 "We'll all be punished for this, if that man reports and you know it!" 
I bowed my head slightly in guilt. A similar incident happened months ago and all the maids were punished since no one was willing to take the fall for it.
 "What was I supposed to do? This is all Mrs Haruna's fault."
"Like she would accept the blame"
"What do I do now? I guess I'll have to resign now"
"You dey mad? You know very well that you need this job more than anything. I think you should just apologize to the man"
I raised my brow in shock then I touched her neck to feel if she had a high temperature that was perhaps affecting her thinking.
"What's this?" Lillian asked slightly offended.
"Now it's my turn to ask, you dey mad? You know men! You know how men can be, he'll definitely ask for something in return. I'm not ready to go through another harrassment in my life." i answered and Lilian sighed in worry. 
"You're right sha but Adesuwa, e don be for you oh. What are you going to do?" She asked and i rolled my eyes. 
I had no clue whatsoever!
"I guess I'll have to avoid meeting this man and just pray he doesn't report to the management."
"It's too early to start having problems with the manager" Lilian pointed out and I agreed. I should be used to having problems with the managers but I'm not. It's gets tiring!
It sucks to know there's this curse that follows me wherever I go to. I cause troubles wherever my feet touches.
"Let's just pray he doesn't stay past today" i added.

Henry's POV

I woke up past six. Before I took my bathe  I decided to play some cool high life or alternative songs on my music player. Those were my favorite genre.
I pressed play. "Seven lives" by beautiful Nubia was first on the list. My love for Beautiful Nubia! Then I walked into the bathroom.
Afterwards, I came out n*ked. It's a bad habit I love. Beautiful Nubia's Ife oloyin  filled the whole room. 
**Ololufe nt'o ti nreti yen lo mbo l'ona yi (The true love you're expecting is on her way)**
Baby mo r'ire mu bo n'irin ajo 
yea o, Ife oloyin ti ko l'abawon (Sweet love that has no comparison)
**Jowo f'orijimi fa mi mo'ra**

I was on the verge of busting a move when I saw the door open wide. 
I quickly grabbed on to the shirt on the bed covering my manhood with it. I've seen sh*t like this happen in movies and the ladies usually close their eyes or look back, even though the guy is clothed.
She didn't. She just stood there, totally dumbfounded.
 "Who are you?" I asked, suddenly I noticed the uniform. She was definitely a maid; she was chocolate in complexion.
Who are you wasn't even the pressing question. The real question should have been, "Why did you come in? Or What are you doing here?"
I saw it as a high level of indiscipline for a worker to walk into a guest's room without being permitted to. 

"Wh.... what are you doing here?" I stammered before she dashed out. I wanted to gonafyer her but I needed to clothe myself first.
My best friend Deji came in shortly. He was the only one I told that I was coming to  Nigeria. None of my family members knew about it.
I paced left and right the hotel room. I couldn't forget the look on the maid's face.
I began to put together one or two reasons why the maid walked into the room without knocking. I didn't even call for room service!
Maybe I was bathing and i didn't hear when she knocked that's if she knocked at all... Or could she be a thief? I paused on that thought.
"Report her" Deji suggested walking towards the phone and I disagreed.
Just as Deji made his way to the phoneline to report to the hotel management, I held him back.
"Mistakes happen Deji, I'll just brush the whole thing off." I answered, my shoulder raised in a shrug. 
"For crying out loud Henry, you're the manager, what if there was nothing to cover your peepee, she would have seen it all"
"Not like it's something she hasn't seen before" he retorted. 
Deji gazed at me suspiciously. I recognize that look. I wondered what dirty thought might be running through his dirty mind.
 "Is it that you like the fact she saw it? Is the babe pretty"
"Jeez Deji! I'm trying hard to forget this ever happened. Don't put thoughts into my head. I'll just turn a blind eye to this. I'll make sure such mistake doesn't happen again." I sounded off. 
I didn't want to dwell on the topic again.

I walked out of my room to the lobby where i saw "welcome to Nigeria" and ''Welcome our wonderful manager'' pasted on the wall of the lobby.
They haven't even met me, how are they sure that I would be wonderful? Ass kissers!
There were a few faces I recognized, like the receptionist and the maid called Michelle. The doorman was on a ladder with a hammer nailing something to the wall.
"Abeg arrange the whole place. I want it to be sparkling clean before the manager comes back" I heard a lady in a blue and black printed ankara gown yell.
"Na so them they clean something for your village?" Another lady asked Michelle who was mopping the floor. She seemed strict and harsh.
"You fit mop like that make your husband happy?"
"Mummy B, I never marry" "Why you go marry?" The harsh lady responded.
"Haba? Which one na? Shebi na all of us they for this single business. I single, you sef single" 
I chuckled softly at her response.
"You sef done dey follow sharp mouth like Adesuwa Shea?" She snapped and Michelle rolled her eyes then moved away from her. 
"One day, I go delete una commot for this hotel" she threatened and I saw Michelle raised her nose in disbelief. I could tell the lady was definitely a superior. There is always a superior-surbordinate conflict in every hotel. 
Hotel drama!!
I laughed at the sight of everyone working to please me. If only they knew the manager they were all waiting for was already in the hotel.
My phone rang and i picked up the call. 
"Hello Sir" I heard the woman in Ankara say, it dawned on me that the Mrs. Haruna I've been speaking to was the woman before me.
"Sir. I just want to know when your flight would move."
"I'm in Nigeria Ma" i answered and I saw her panicked.
 "Jesus!" She hung up. "Manager is in Nigeria oh, please arrange fast-fast,"
She puts a call through to me again. I managed to keep a straight face. Meanwhile all I wanted to do was to bust into laughter.
"Manager, sorry about that, it's network. Nigerian network eh, you will understand when you get here." She lied.
"Please where exactly in Nigeria are you"
"The hotel"
"Which hotel is that one?"
"May hotel"
"Are you by the street. Wait somewhere there, I'll send someone to come and get you quickly." She suggested and I laughed.
"I'm in the hotel, I arrived last night. I decided to I surprise you all. I'm behind you Ma" i answered hanging up the call and Mrs. Haruna turned back at me.
There was shame clearly written on her face. I won't like to be in her shoes right now. 
"I'm surprised Sir" she began, "That was the idea" I replied with a wry smile.
"Good morning Sir" she greeted feeling even more embarrassed.
"Mrs. Haruna, is the manager close by?" The harsh lady walked towards them, and Mrs. Haruna sighed.
"You're looking at the manager" she answered in Yoruba and Mummy B scratched her hair.
"I thought they said he's a white man and he has long hair? This one that is dark like this?" She asked in Yoruba dialect and i tried hard not to laugh. 
Of course i understood the language very well. I even speak it fluently. I won't let them know. 
"Sir my name is Mummy B, that's short form for mummy Bisi. I'm the head of cleaning department Sir, we are happy to have you here Sir" she introduced herself and I nodded gently.
"Can you gather the whole staff before 9 o clock?, I'll like to address them" i proposed and Mrs. Haruna nodded. 
"Yes sir"

Adesuwa' POV

The whole staff of May hotel gathered at the multipurpose hall while they waited for the manager to turn up. I was getting tired of waiting already.
"I hear say the man na pure oyinbo man" Lillian repeated and Michelle laughed.
"Oyinbo kor, oyinbo ni, man wey black like charcoal" Michelle answered and I chuckled. 
"How you take know?" Lillian argued.
"Man we I see with my korokoro eyes"
"Na so the man ugly reach?" Lilian asked,
"Don't misquote me oh, if na fine, that man fine. The man resemble model. Him accent na to die for"
That took my attention; model and accent.
"My body don dey move me already, this manager go hear am for Bukola hand. I go finish this man life" Bukola answered shaking her bosy rhythmically.
Michelle, Lillian and I hissed as though on cue.
 "Asewo! Na so so f*ck you sabi, " Michelle snapped.
"Fuck go kill one-day" she added.
"You no dey f*ck?" The girl snapped and a guy turned back at us. "Please reduce your voice. I prepared myself spiritually for this day."
"Abeg shut up!" The girl snapped at the guy.
Attention turned towards our direction, but it felt like everyone were looking at me. 
Mrs. Haruna walked in with the n*ked man from this morning and i bent my head in fear. At least he was dressed in a stripe shirt tucked in a black trousers.
 "Wetin do Ade?" Michelle asked and I walked out using the back door and Lilian followed.
"Ade!" She called out.
"Would you guys go back to the hall before I open and close my eyes" Mummy B commanded and I turned to Lilian.
"My period don start, I wan borrow Lilian pad" i lied walking into a room.
"What's going on?" Lilian walked in, "The man I walked into, the n*ked man, it's the manager." I revealed with my hands on my head.
"Ade e don be for you" she answered and I agreed.

Read " Palm lines 2 " by the same author ( Essien Eno )

. She can say that again.
 I was literally toast!
"Why does life have to be unfair ehn? All of the men in this world, I had to walk into my manager naked. It's so certain that I have to look for another job in case I get caught."
"This is really bad. I'm sorry Ade." Lilian apologized. It seemed more like an advanced apology.

Two weeks after the incidence, I had managed to escape trouble the whole period. I spent every single day in avoiding eye contact with the manager. 
At least till I get a good job. I'm yet to find a job that pays twenty thousand naira like May hotel. I didn't want to settle for less. 
This day was an exception, while going around my normal round of cleaning, I received a call from Mrs. Haruna to meet her in her office; Lilian opted to escort me. 
While we climbed up the stairs, my eyes met with the manager, Mr. Henry Babalola. 
I couldn't turn back again, it was just impossible and it would look suspicious. Fortunately i held a blue plastic laundry basket so i used it in hiding my face.
 Unknown to me, he had seen me already. 
"Babe why you dey hide?" Lilian asked, "Manager" I whispered, Lilian then turned to him, nodding her head in understanding.  

"You!" He yelled,  we both turned towards him with a blank expression written on our faces.
"Me?" Lilian asked, "No" Henry answered. "I meant her" he pointed at me.
 My heart raced abnormally.
"I recognise you, its you right? You came into my room the other day and..." he trailed off, "Then you ran away"
"What's your name?" he asked. 
I panicked, I didn't know what to do, all I could say was....
"Bei be be be" 
 Lilian eyes widened in wonder, I'm pretty sure the question running through her mind was , WHEN DID ADESUWA SUDDENLY BECOME DUMB?