Ben's weekend had been quiet. Thank God. There'd been no weird dreams, no sneaky thoughts of crazy women, no hangouts, as James had also been tired after their busy Friday facilitating deliveries of programmes and souvenirs for weddings. Though most times they worked through the weekend, but this one had been one of the rare free ones; there'd just been his TV, food and sleep.
Well, he might have wondered...briefly, why the crazy woman hadn't called Kate, but he'd shoved it off his mind, it really didn't matter. After all, he was never seeing her again.
He was starting this new week with fresh goals, renewed energy and a positive mindset. The cold July morning was a welcome bonus. Ben tapped his horn in greeting to the security guy as he drove through the gate. His heart flipped when he saw a vehicle parked beside his parking spot, same place Rita Ukara had parked her car the previous week and this early too.
Apart from the print workers who sometimes worked overnight shifts to complete jobs on schedule, he'd been the only person to arrive the premises before seven. Again, his heart flipped because Rita had been another person. But he calmed at seeing the Honda Ridgeline truck; crazy Rita had a salon car.
As he fitted his uncle's borrowed Toyota Venza SUV in his spot, he flicked an admiring glance at the rugged lines of the grey-coloured truck. He loved trucks and owned a 2014 Toyota Tundra truck, left behind at Lagos when he'd relocated in a hurry. He hoped his uncle would keep to his promise of sending it over. Seeing the truck increased his nostalgia for his while causing a bitter taste in his mouth as he recalled why he'd had to move from Lagos.
Ben turned off the ignition and just sat there, wondering as he'd done a million times, how his life had tumbled this far from a night that remained hazy in his memory but the consequences were glaring it hurt. And as the previous million times he'd had this thought, there were no answers and he struggled to be grateful that he'd not been arrested or sacked from the company.
He wanted to be grateful. It could've been worse, he might have been having this thought behind bars but he was here in his home town, in a position higher than the one he'd handled at the Lagos branch. His uncle had insisted he was lucky to be related to the owner of the company and had laughingly told him he was just a chip of the family block...if there was such a thing. It still didn't make sense that he'd never had such an urge in his life and suddenly, he was being accused of it. Also, he was yet to wrap his head around the justification his uncle had to slap him on the back with a proud smile and ask him not to worry about it. That single act of acceptance, like the terrible thing he'd been accused of was a normal thing, made Ben view his uncle without rose tinted glasses.
Tapping his head on the headrest of the luxurious car, Ben blew out air and inhaled in four second successions. It calmed him as always and the worry dropped into the darkest recess of his mind, clearing his head for the tasks of the day. There was no point dwelling on what he couldn't immediately change when there was work to be done.
He grabbed his laptop bag and suit and stepped out of the vehicle. He was flipping his key-ring for the key to the entrance when a vaguely familiar scent hit his nostrils. Ben instinctively sniffed to, perhaps jog his memory, and his peripheral vision caught movement by the truck.
"You took a while in there. Is everything okay...Ben?"
***
Rita watched him bristle at the fact that she knew his name, and bit her lower lip to curb her smile. For a minute there, she'd thought she'd have to go knock on the window. But watching his shock and consequent control which erased all emotion from his face, was worth the wait.
"How do you know my name?"
Rita thought she saw a flicker in his eyes, but she couldn't be sure. Maybe, he'd not wanted to ask that question. She got the vibe that Ben would love to just ignore her all through, if he could.
Smiling amiably, she raised and lowered her brows. "Our mutual friend, Kate Usoro, gave it and your contact to me."
A frown fleeted over his brows, but he said nothing. Rita felt obliged to fill the silence.
"So, don't be shocked when you get a message or call...from me." She patted her yoga pants, a black, thick-material, skin tight thing that ended mid-calf. At this point, she'd have enjoyed the comfort of sliding her hand into a pocket. But she settled on scuffing her white exercise sneakers and pulling the tail of her long, white flair, cotton top.
The silence seemed to go on for hours but it'd only been seconds.
"Why would I be...shocked that a strange woman I have no business with, would send me a message or call?"
Rita launched into uncontrollable giggles. He'd delivered the question so matter-of-factly that it'd almost seemed sincere. She held her belly to curb the mirth while her left hand shadowed her mouth to hide bared teeth while giggling.
"Oh, that was good." She finally looked up and caught a lip twitch but nothing else from Ben. "You should totally teach the subtle art of sarcasm. You would make so much money from it."
Ben sighed and scratched the edge of his well carved hair which was just a brushed layer on his head. "I assume you're here for a reason?" His fingers lowered to his trimmed beard and Rita got the feeling he'd been about to start twisting the brittles, but he kind of curbed the desire and dropped his hand. The man possessed serious control.
"Yes, actually, Kate asked me to wait in your office for when she arrives."
"Absolutely not. She wouldn't do that?"
Right, not so much control after all, Rita thought, enjoying that he'd cracked, even for a second before he pulled out his phone from his grey suit pants. "Was that a question?"
Ben narrowed his eyes at her as he placed his phone on his ear, probably waiting to speak with Kate. The action was sexy. Everything he did, even his frown was sexy.
Apparently, Kate hadn't answered her call, because he removed it from his ear, dialled and placed it back. This time though, he didn't just stand there, he flipped his key ring and approached the main entrance to unlock the gate.
Rita's eyes immediately tracked his broad shoulders, muscular back, lean hips, to his gloriously tight butt. She bit her lower lip, admiring how his pants moulded his thick, muscular thighs...hello there.
"What did you say?"
Had she said that out loud? Her eyes flew from where it been stuck on his arse to his eyes, having turned and caught her staring.
His eyes narrowed, "Where you just staring at my arse?" he sounded appalled.