Sonya
The early rays of sunlight shone through my halfway closed window and lit up my room with some light. I got up and yawned as I stretched myself on bed. I went over to one of my glass windows and used the curtains to cover it completely, blocking the light from fully penetrating the room.
Satisfied with how dim my room looked without the sunlight, I went over and sat on my bed to figure out how I'm starting the morning. I had such a good sleep last night and I've never felt this better in a long time. This break my dad had given me was very needed and I'd use it to rest and regain some energy.
I got up and went to one of the tables which had a coffee maker and I made myself some coffee. After sipping 1 and a half tea cups of coffee, I decided it was enough. I moved to my wardrobe and changed into my pink tight gym wear. I checked myself in the mirror before moving downstairs to the gym.
It's been a while since I had gone to the gym in the house and I reasoned that I'd start with the treadmill first. After using it for 30 minutes, I got exhausted and took a break. I hydrated and tried to carry one of the weights lying on the floor which was 90 pounds. If not for God, I could have dislodged my arm instantly.
It was well too heavy for me and it's long since I've actually lifted weights. I resorted to the dumbbells instead. I just exercised with a pair of 40 pounds dumbbells and that was okay to keep me going. I'm sure I had spent an hour in the gym and even though there was air-conditioning there, I was sweating profusely.
I stopped with the dumbbells and did some stretching instead. After a while, I left the gym to go get some rest in my room. At that time, the sweat made me smell badly and I went in my bathroom for a heated long bath. I took my time while doing it. When I was done, I got in my white nylon robe and brushed my teeth. Instinctively, I decided to go over to my window and open the curtains.
When I did, I had a good view of what was going on downstairs. I saw my sister walking with my dad and his men towards the car. Then Olivia and her brother came into view. Then I remembered yesterday.
Olivia and Dennis greeted my dad and Dennis tried to talk to Delilah but she just passed by him and got into the car. After my dad and Delilah had been driven off, I rushed to my wardrobe to find something casual. I took out some clothes I bought from the mall during my time with Olivia and donned them.
After inspecting myself, I got downstairs to the main spacious living room to meet them. Olivia and Dennis were sitting down and were having a conversation when I got in the room. Olivia got up to hug me cause that's what we normally do. And Dennis tried his luck but I pushed him away.
"Worth a shot." he commented as he sat down.
"Good morning girl," I faced Olivia. "How are you doing ?"
"I'm good and you ?"
"Great, great." I responded. I glanced at Dennis before looking back at Olivia. "And what is he doing here ? I thought today was just you and me."
Olivia also glanced at Dennis. "Believe me, I tried to get him to bail out but he had his mind made up. He wanted to come and see you."
"Okay, you have seen me right ?" I said to Dennis. "So you can go now."
"What's up with the hostility ?" Dennis chipped in. "What's wrong with visiting my sister's friend ? It's not a big deal."
I rolled my eyes at him. "Just don't bother me today. I'm not in the mood for your nuisance."
"Just ignore him," Olivia advised. "Pretend like he is not even at home with us."
"Sounds good to me."
"I'm right here." Dennis called out.
Olivia and I got up and left Dennis alone in the room. We got out of the house through one of the back doors and we sat under the stylish open hut adjacent the swimming pool. The breeze was cool and everything felt right under the open hut. Since Dennis wasn't around, Olivia and I could chat properly now.
"Sorry about him," Olivia apologized. "He just came back from Kumasi for a vacation here and he will be in Accra for some few days."
"Oh don't worry. I'm just hoping this is the last time I'm going to encounter him these days. There are other things to worry about." I replied.
"Yeah, you are right."
Dennis has this annoying obsession for me and when he found out about my breakup with Raymond, he has been trying all means to hook up with me. But I'm not interested and besides, Dennis is a year younger than me, so that's a big no no. I can't wait for him to finish his vacation and go back to work at Kumasi.
"So, where do we start off with ?" I asked Olivia.
She brought out her iPad from her handbag and showed me a map of the town. "I did my research in the area and there are many catering shop and services at the north and south side of town. But there are a few on west and east "
"So it would be wise if we start the shop in one of those locations ?"
"Exactly," she affirmed. "The competition there won't be intense as the other sides of town. And I did further research and found a shop that is on sale."
"Really ? Let's see it."
Olivia showed me a picture of the shop on sale and it was kind of okay to me but I personally thought it would need some kind of upgrade to it. To make it more appealing and inviting.
"What do you think ?"
"It's okay," I replied. "But we could have some improvements to it, to make it look more nicer."
Olivia nodded. "That's what I thought. But we still need to buy it first before thinking of how to improve it's structure. It costs ¢5,600."
"Okay, that's not a problem. Aren't we supposed to go and do an inspection of the place before we buy it first ?"
"I got that covered. I did the inspection on Friday when I was done with work." she disclosed.
"Wow, thanks Olivia. All this things you are doing is making me feel dumb for not knowing how to start a business."
"You are a manager," she pointed out. "I'm even surprised you have no idea."
"Well, it's not something I learnt in school or from my dad," I chuckled. "I'm just used to management."
"Anyways, we need to talk further about the business plan and how you are going to set up the business once you have bought it."
Right there, a wave of hunger hit me and I realized I haven't eaten anything this morning except for the coffee I drank.
"Can we discuss this later," I suggested to Olivia. "I'm going to eat something, will you join me ?"
Olivia shook her head. "I ate before coming here. I'm good."
"So you are going to sit here and wait for me ?"
"Sure. I can do that. I also have to make a phone call, so it's a win-win situation."
I gave her a serious stare. "You and your prince charming."
Olivia laughed as I walked out of the hut towards the house. I got to the dining room and asked for some hot morning food. It was delivered and I started to dine immediately.
But of course, when I was enjoying myself, Dennis just had to come ruin my peace of mind.
"Hey Sonya."
At first, I wanted to play dumb and just ignore him but he called my name repeatedly and when I didn't respond, he sat at the table with me and that was my breaking point.
"What do you want ?" I asked impatiently.
"Relax," he said, trying to calm me down. "I'm just here for a talk."
"Whiles I'm eating ?"
"Do you want me to join you ? Is that what you are implying ?"
I sighed as I tried to cool down before this nitwit annoys me completely. "No. I didn't invite you to eat with me. What do you want ?"
"Like I said, just a friendly chat with you."
"We are chatting then. Anything else ?" I queried.
"Nah," he answered. "This is enough. A chat with an angel is all I want for now."
He added a smirk and I frowned at him in return. "When are you going to stop flirting ? It's not going to work. Save your energy and find something better to do. I'm not going to be with you. I'm older in fact."
"What does age have to do with this ?" he shrugged. "I'm 25 and you are 26. It can still work."
I shook my head in laughter. "You are funny, Dennis. Stop dreaming and face reality. I won't be with you even if you were older."
"Ohh really ?" he smiled.
"Yes. Really." I smiled back.
"Fine," he got up. "I'll leave you alone then."
"Thank God." I muttered under my breath.
"But I won't stop chasing you..." he smirked.
"Why you little nuisance....." I had barely finished my sentence when he left the dining room. I hissed when I remembered those words from him. I was even contemplating on telling the guards at the gate to prevent him from coming but it won't work because of Olivia.
I ate to my satisfaction and sat down to surf on my phone. I was so occupied that I forgot all about Olivia. She came to meet me in one of the parlours.
"I was waiting for you at the hut. What kept you for long ?"
"Sorry," I pleaded. "I got too engrossed on social media. And I thought you and Prince would have a long conversation on phone too."
Olivia joined me on the sofa. "It was just something short. It was barely 10 minutes."
"I'm just wondering how long you two lovebirds last on a phone call. And no, I don't want to know."
Olivia laughed. "I don't wholly blame you. You are still single."
I gave her a playful frown. "Don't bring that issue up. How about we get some wine to lighten up the mood."
"Sounds good to me."
Olivia and I went to a dimly lit room that looked like a bar and there were series of wine that were encased in a glass cupboard. There was also a counter and there were beer arranged in various glass cupboards behind the counter. We sat on stools placed behind the counter and I got a wine with two glasses for the both of us.
I poured out some in the glasses and we started sipping them steadily.
"This is some good wine." Olivia commented.
"Every wine is a good wine to you," I pointed out. "You are just a chronic wine lover."
"It's still better than alcohol." she argued.
"Wine contains some level of alcohol, it's just not potent enough unless you drink a lot of wine."
I'm not lying when I tell you that the two of us argued about this situation and somehow we shifted the topic to other things such as gossip, news and politics. Then the conversation switched to what happened on Friday.
"I don't know why you keep on asking me for further details. I have said what really happened." I assured her.
"It still sounds dull. From the looks of it, I'm sure it was really exciting."
"My life was on the line so I can't really say it was exciting." I shrugged. "I'm just glad it happened and it's past and gone."
Olivia hummed. "I see. And did you thank the guy for saving your life ?"
I paused before answering. "No I didn't, it didn't occur to me really. But even if it did, it wouldn't matter after what happened on Wednesday."
"See why I was telling you to back off ?"
"Let's forget about this." I suggested. "I'm not going to see him again, so let's talk about the business plan."
We left the room and went back to the villa. We discussed about it and Olivia said I'd need to buy the equipments and accessories for the catering services. I would also need to make an advertisement, like a flyer, for the shop. Plus, one of the most important aspect was the workforce. She said I needed to hire qualified professionals for the job and I needed a flyer for that too.
When we were done with all the planning, we wrote down all what was meant to be done and the cost of it all. The total amount was about ¢10,000 and I didn't want to spend anymore of my own money on the business.
"So how are you going to get the money for all this if you don't want to add anymore of your money without involving your father ?" Olivia inquired.
"Simple," I replied. "I'll call my mom."
"Let's see if she will take your request lightly."
I dialed my mom's number and called her in France. She picked up right away.
"Hey there my little darling girl,"
"Hey mom."
"You are not calling just to talk to me for the fun of it, are you ?"
"No, mom." I admitted. "I need..."
".....a favour." my mom completed. "I know, I know. What do you want dear ?"
"I need some sum of cash," I laid out. "¢10,000 to be precise."
"Just that ?" my mom asked. "I thought it was something higher."
"I'm broke mom," I lied.
"Isn't your father paying you enough ? Nevermind. I'll send ¢25,000 instead. Spend it wisely dear." my mom said.
"Wow, thanks very much," I beamed with smiles.
"You are welcome," she responded. "And tell Delilah that I won't be able to come back to the country on time. I might take a while here."
"Okay, I will sure do so."
"That's my girl. See you later and take care of yourself. Bye dear."
"Bye mom,"
We hanged up and Olivia was staring at me. "What ?"
"So you are a mummy's girl ?" she laughed.
"Ha ha," I mimicked. "Very funny. Anyways, we have the money now."
"That's great," she commented. "All we have to do is wait till Monday and buy the shop. Then later on, you can make the adjustments, buy the equipments and accessories, plus we can advertise the vacancy for the shop and by Thursday, everything might be ready."
"I can't stop thanking you. You have been of great help to me."
Suddenly, some noise from the house attracted our attention and when one of the doors opened, one of the workers got out and with him, was the guy—the one that rescued me. I sat there in shock as to what he was doing here.