On this fateful day, I took a taxi to my shop because Raymond thought my clumsiness as he said will make him late for work. I stepped out of the taxi after paying the driver.
Absent-minded, I almost crossed the busy road without checking the traffic light but a hand on my shoulder stopped me from taking another step forward. Slightly angry, I whirled around to face the owner of the hand. But the man staring down at me had me swallowing deeply at the impression of pure raw power that surrounded him like an invisible mantle. Dark-skinned and very tall, more so than any other man I had seen before.
His eyes were deep brown that can be mistaken as midnight black without the right light ray. His jaw was so hard, so arrogant and savagely hewn. I imagined he would be as stubborn as hell.
High cheekbones, strong, arched brows, and such long thick dark lashes, they simply made me jealous instantly.
His eyes fascinated me. Darker than the everyday brown eyes I do see, but it wasn't black. It was simply such a dark, dark earth tone that I wondered if it held the warmth and vibrancy of the earth it so reminded me of.
The sound of him clearing his throat had a flush of raging embarrassment staining my face. It was probably staining my entire body because my fair complexion was entirely different and I sometimes wondered if my father was white. I couldn't believe I was unabashedly checking out a man on the main road.
"Are you alright madam?" his voice rumbled with an erotic rasp that sent a shiver of sensation racing up my spine.
"Of course," I muttered. I was distinctly uncomfortable with the warmth traveling across my nerve endings. As far as I was concerned, this was the wrong man and the wrong time for such an attraction.
"I can help cross you, if you don't mind," he suggested with a slow smile as he waved towards the traffic light now showing red. "It's showing red,"
The real problem where his so innocent suggestion where concerned was that I was way, way too tempted to place my hands in his.
"No, thank you." I said turning back and crossing the road with the other bystanders.
"Be careful when crossing and don't forget the traffic light next time madam." He all but whispered the words in my ear as we stepped on the pavement.
I just nodded because I lost the voice to say 'thank you' in the seconds he stood beside me before moving in the opposite direction from my shop.
I stood there looking as he walked briskly to an office building five blocks away from the block my shop was situated.
"Hey Timi, are you going in?" my friend Bose asked, distracting me.
"Ah, yes." I said following her into the opened shop.
After saying hello, hi to my workers and three of the apprentices, I moved into my small cubicle of an office to start the day's work.
Concentrating was hard, all I could think of was the handsome man from that morning.
Chills were racing over my skin, tearing up and down my spine and, I swore, I could even hear a faint sizzling in my lower abdomen. My flesh was warming, nipples sensitive and the need for touch was like an ache just under my flesh. An ache I had no idea how to assuage.
I wanted him to touch me, to hold me, to give me what Raymond had so far managed to deny me all these months. To share a bed with a man, that would not only think of his pleasure but mine too.
"Are you with me Timi?" Bose asked, forehead creased in confusion and eyes looking at me intently.
"Sorry, I was just... "
"It's okay, I was just informing you that your attention is needed outside, new customers just came in asking to see you, but it seems you're not feeling well. I'll just attend to them." she moved to exit the office.
"Oh, no! I'll see them," I rushed to say, stopping her. At least seeing a customer should distract my wayward thought.
"Are you sure? You look red on the face," she hesitated, looking at me.
I laughed to cover up the feeling of awkwardness of the situation, "send them in and please turn on the air conditioning, it must be the heat.'' I said, fanning my face with my hand.
"Yes Oga." she said sarcastically, switching on the air conditioner on her way out.
*'Guess who stepped into my office, Officer!'
*'Until you say it ma'am.'
'*Hmm, the stranger. That was who entered my office but he wasn't alone. A beautiful elegantly dressed lady was with him.'
My mouth almost fell open. I watched as the beautiful lady sashayed the short distance from the door to the seat in front of my desk before I could even offer it.
Regaining my composure, I sent a small smile towards the man that had occupied my entire thought all day long, "welcome to Beauty Covers, please have a seat." I gestured for him to take the other seat beside the lady.
He managed to croak a 'thank you' as he made himself comfortable.
"I am Timi, how can I help you ma'am?" I directed the question towards the lady with a business-like smile on my lips.
"We need curtains for the doors and windows and a couple of bed sheets." she said with a straight face not bothering to return my smile.
"Do you have anything in mind? Like how you want the designs, favourite colours?"
"No, we were hoping you could show us some of the designs you have."
There it was again, the 'we' word. God help me, I prayed I wasn't fantasizing about another woman's husband.
"Doesn't your husband have anything in mind?" I asked trying to test the depth of the water.
"He has nothing in mind, Miss Temi," her eyes gleamed for a second with an emotion I couldn't pinpoint because she blinked it away.
'you're done for Timi, sniffing around a married man?' an inner voice mocked.
"Miss Timi and since you don't have anything in mind, I advise you to go through our photo albums and after that we can talk about the fabrics." I suggested fishing the said albums from the top drawer before passing it to the lady.
I shifted on my seat several times, uncomfortable as I felt his gaze pin me, I dare not look at him for fear he'd read what's going on in my head. Just the fact that I could tell when he was staring down at me without me even looking up at him was distinctly disconcerting. Bothering me even more was the fact that my nipples were hardening further with each look. Having such a response to a stranger wasn't a situation I wanted to deal with and especially not with a married one.
"If you don't mind me asking, what colours are the walls in your home painted? It'll help with the choosing of the designs and colours of the curtains and bed sheets Ma'am."
"All painted white," he drawled, making my gaze jerked to him. 'God! What's this man evoking in me?' I literally screamed the question in my head.
Clenching my thighs against the stirrings of the arousal rising between them, "then most of our designs in the photo album will do, but check to see which one you did prefer." I pushed the words through clenched teeth as he deliberately allowed his eyes to flick to the upper mounds of my breasts where they were peeking out above the low neckline of my blouse. I wondered if there wasn't some way to get the door open and get out for some fresh air without seeming rude to my customers.
"I think I like this one and something like these two," the beautiful lady pointed to four different photos in the album, oblivious to the sexual tension in the room.
"I love it," he said softly, deep brown eyes gleaming with amusement as he caught me trying to pull up my blouse to somehow cover my breast.
I turned my head and glared up at him through the veil of my lashes, "okay, now for the fabrics," I stood up from my seat to bring forth the samples of fabrics from the cupboard.
"Here you go," I said, placing the various fabric samples on the desk before them. "This one is called damask, it is very good and the flora patterns on this drapery fabric gives a sophisticated look to your home and here is the ever so expensive velvet, it has the ability to keep out cold during the cold months of the year because of its thickness and it's very soft as you can feel it ma'am and don't forget the luxurious look it gives the room. This one is the Egyptian cotton, very soft and it allows natural light to penetrate the rooms even if it is closed and the lovely smooth, shiny silk..." I went on and on while they both kept touching and feeling each fabric until the last fabric for the bed sheets.
"We'd like to have the damask and silk for the curtains while for the bed sheets, the bamboo and cotton fabrics will do." she said, seeming excited by the mere thought of the beautiful fabrics Decorating the windows and doors of her home.
"Then we're done here. Please fill this paperwork out, with your name, address, the size of your bed, the width of the windows in your home and how many sets of curtains and bed sheets you'll like us to work on."
Eyebrows furrowed, she looked at me utterly confused, "Miss Timi, I don't know the width and size of the beds and win... " the ringing of her cellphone interrupted whatever she was about to say. "Excuse me, please." she said, standing up to pick up the call.
"So, you're a tailor?" he asked immediately as she left the office.
"Yes Sir, Beauty Covers deals in sewing all kinds of curtains, duvets, bed sheets, table mats, throw pillows..."
"And so many more, I pray Natasha likes whatever you make at the end of the day. I'm Gregory, Natasha's best friend." he said with a dashing smile.
I never knew I was holding my breath until I released it slowly after hearing the friend part of his relationship with the elegant lady. "Thank you for this morning, I had a lot of things running in my head that I didn't even take note of the vehicles still moving."
"I'd be more than happy to cross you every morning if I had a chance." he all but winked at me.
*'Jesus! Is he trying to flirt with me? Because that was my first thought, Officer.'
*'Please go on ma'am,'
*'Sure Sir,'
By then my pants were dripping wet and I knew my trousers would have a wet patch when I stood up but that wasn't a problem because it was black and I was sure nobody would take note of it except Mr and Mrs Ameebo; the gossiping chickens.
"N-no need sir, I'll be careful next time."
"Call me Gregory please," he said
"If you insist."
"Greg," the woman called Natasha poked her head into the office, "I need to go, please assist her with all the information she needs," she said to him hurriedly before closing the door.
"You have to see everything for yourself, cos I can't say how big the windows are apart from them being bigger than normal and for the beds, they vary in size."
"I'll send one of my workers with you to take the neces..."
All traces of smile gone, he said in a very serious tone, "Natasha asked for the head for a reason, I'm sure she won't appreciate what you're suggesting Miss Timi."
He just tied my hands behind my back with the common saying, 'customers are always right.' So I took what I needed and followed him to a car parked outside the shop.