'So Mr. P., how's the family?' Cynthia asks
'My dear, they are all doing well. They've even traveled home for the holiday. How about yours?' he bursts out laughing.
Clapping her hands, 'nice one.' He continues laughing. 'No problem now. It's my fault. At least if I don't ask about your family, a stray bullet hit me like this.'
'Oh! So it's a stray bullet, I thought it was fired directly.'
'Wow! Another stray bullet. No problem, 2-0.' Mr. Pius keeps laughing. 'You are doing yours now, it's making sense, when it's time for me to mine, pls, don't show that piteous face.'
'C'mon now, I was just teasing you. You know me and my ways, don't take it seriously.'
'Ish! If you like leave joking to being an embodiment of a joke yourself, it's not my business, Bruv. You've sown the seed and you'd definitely reap the fruits.' The car is silent for a while. 'Ehnehn, what happened between you and Success that made you say that you are not ready for her drama?'
'My sister, those women and things they are doing in that office….' he could see confusion on Cynthia's face. 'I mean both Success and Nik, the Front Desk.'
'Oh! What happened? What did they do?'
'What if I tell you that one of the clients gave the staff two bags of rice, these women shared it within themselves and they didn't bother giving anybody. A thing that was given to the whole staff, two people decided to take one each and leave the other staff stranded.'
'That's serious. But why would they do that? That's unfair.' Sighs. 'Anyways, it's their problem.'
'My dear, it's not their problem. That's greediness. That's not even my problem, my problem is Madam Success' outrageous greediness. You are taking everything greedily and you don't even want others to have any, as if everything is meant for you alone. Just yesterday, I told her to give me money to go and buy fuel, she started asking stupid questions as if I was drinking the gas. Can you imagine? She was telling me that the gas is burning quickly because I always switch on the car's AC.'
Cynthia is surprised to hear that, 'ah! Was she expecting you to be driving and be sweating at the same time while she's always under the AC?' Pauses. 'But are people always like this? This my gender ehn…''
'Thank God you said your gender. Even you, know that you people are super dramatic.'
Cynthia chuckles, 'well… let's just be doing well. If you can, try to avoid ger and yer drama just as you said.'
He goofs, 'me? My dear, I die there! We've worn the same trousers, we will know who will get tired and pull out but definitely, it's not going to be me.'
'Alright. Handle it your way then.' Silence. 'But joking apart, I miss your twins.'
'Ah! Pls, don't miss them. Let them continue to enjoy their holiday where they are and I too…'
Cynthia cuts in, 'can enjoy yourself…' he smiles and winks at her, 'by frolicking about with those different girls of yours. How do you even handle all this that your wife doesn't get to know about it or does she know but decided to ignore and let you be?' He laughs deeply. 'You are laughing? What's so funny about what I said?'
'That's why I do my dirty shits far away from home and even when I do them at home, I do them when they are not around like this.'
'Alright. But pls, be careful. Those girls are still very young to go and grow through a broken home. Pls, they need both their parents together.'
'My sister, nobody is going anywhere. I don't joke with those Tom and Jerry and their mother. They mean a lot to me.'
Surprised, 'ehn? You said what pls? I didn't hear you properly.'
'I said they mean a lot to me.'
'Pls, say that again, I can't hear you.'
'Sister, don't whine me, you heard me properly. You think I joke with them? No, I don't but everything is just fun.'
'But have you really thought about it that you could easily infect your wife? As in one of the ladies you are having fun with might be infect with any STD and you can easily contact it and then transmit it to your wife.'
Mr. Pius laughs, 'so you think I do all these without protection? God forbid! I can never do that. My wife is the one and only person I sleep with without protection. I too won't want to ruin my life although one thing would kill a man and we will all die one day.'
'And you've decided that your own death would be as a result of sex? So when they are giving a narration about your death, they will be like, our dear brother, husband, father and friend died as a result of sex.' They are serious. 'It's true now or are there any lies there? Or is that not what you said indirectly said?'
'Anyways, I get your point but don't worry. No call for control because everything is already under alarm.'
Cynthia decides to focus on her own. She picks her phone and presses it. There's silence in the car.
'Ehnehn Barrister?'
She looks up from her phone and looks at him, 'yes?'
'Are we going there from the law firm?'
'Where? Going where?' Cynthia asks.
With a subtle smile, 'you know now? That place… the usual spot.'
'Oh, you mean are we going to eat?'
Sighs, 'my brother, I don't know because the way things are right now… the street is not smiling at all but let's keep observing how things unfold.'
'Not again! This is one thing I don't like about you lawyers, you hardly see one that's straightforward amongst you. And none of you can ever be caught at a tight corner, you will always find a way to slip away.' Cynthia smiles. 'Which one is let's keep observing how things unfold? Auntie, let me know if we are going there or not. So I can align my thoughts towards one direction pls. Not the one that I will be anticipating food and won't get to eat the food in the long run.'
'My brother, Nemo dat quod non habet.'
'You said what?'
'You can't give what you don't have.'
'You see what I just said now….' Cynthia starts laughing. 'Lawyers are just too creepy.' He pulls up in front of a bungalow in an estate.
'Creepy? Am I creepy?'
'Madam Lawyer, that's the law firm,' points towards a building.
The law firm is situated in a very quiet bungalow dominated estate. The estate still has approximately 10,000 square meters of green field stallion for the few horses in the estate. The law firm's building is a residential structure now being used for commercial purposes.
She gets out of the car and walks into the building. A few meters away from the door is the Secretary's desk. The desk placed at a strategic corner of the guests' waiting room is positioned in a way that she could see who is coming into the firm and also see what is happening in the reception.
'Good day, Ma,' says Cynthia.
'Good day, Ma. You are welcome to Puzzle LP. How may I be of help, pls?' the Secretary asks.
'Thank you. Pls, I'm here to see Miss Rahama. I believe she's expecting me.'
Looking round the space she's seen so far. The Secretary's space has a TV hung on the wall, a single couch facing the TV, a flower vase on the right side of the door when you enter and another flower vase between the single couch and the Secretary's desk. At the back of the Secretary, at an height taller than her but not up to the ceiling is a decorated and lighted logo of the law firm. People dressed corporately are coming in and going out of the firm. Some of them wave or signal to the Secretary as they walk past her.
'Ok…' she picks the Intercom, 'pls, what's your name?'
'Brr. Cynthia from Joshpat Realty.'
'Alright.' she dials the call. Cynthia turns around facing the door to look around.
'Well, this place is not sad. Wow, these flowers look so real. Could they be real? Well, they might and they…'
'Excuse me…' Cynthia turns back to look at her. 'She said you can come in.'
'Ok, pls, which way leads to her office?'
'Just enter this way, then turn by your left, follow the way then turn left again, the last door is her office.'
'Alright. Thank you.'
Cynthia walks into the reception. In the reception area are couches, one three settee, one two settee and three pairs of single chairs, all different from the couch at the Secretary's desk. Apart from the path by the left, the other sides of the reception are tempered glass offices. One is bigger than the other but from the glass, you could see different books and law reports arranged on the shelf, making that place to be their library. Two people are there reading. On the other side facing the entrance into the reception is an office with a big table and six chairs but it's empty. Just beside this particular office inside the reception is a big table with packs of paper, the printing, photocopying, scanning and shredding machines. She quickly scans through everything just before she branches into the path by the left side.
She follows the description given to her till she gets to her office.