When Ray reached the staircase landing, he had his shirt on, he heard the doorbell ring and went to answer the door.
Ray knew who it was because he could see the person from the screen inside.
The door.
He opened the door to find Maxwell standing there, still dressed in the same clothes from earlier. Ray glared at him for seconds with a flicker of anticipation and annoyance, and turned away, leaving the door open. Maxwell entered and closed the door behind him.
Ray faced his best friend and asked. "What are you doing here?"
Those five words were strange to Max. Taken aback, he studied the expression on Ray's face.
"What am I doing in my best friend's house?" Max said, the hint of humour in his tone masking the unease.
Ray's gaze narrowed on his face. "Are we best friends?" His question was like winter frost as his gaze pinned Max to a spot.
The unexpected interrogation came as a shock to Max.
Did Ray hit his head somewhere? They've been best friends since like forever.
Max knew he must have done something wrong because Ray wasn't the type to play pranks, they were a little too old for that.
"What kind of a question is that? Sure we are, man. What's wrong with you, bro, you've been giving me this attitude right from the studio. I couldn't even enjoy a night out because I kept thinking about it." Max said, a hint of anger and frustration colouring his mind.
"You wonna know what's wrong with me? What's up with you and Nicole?" Ray asked, the intensity of his question veiling an accusation.
Maxwell shrugged. "Nothing. Com'on l...let's make up, bro."
He stuttered like a skipped record. He did that when he lied.
Ray knew the truth and he lied to his face.
Ray closed his eyes, turning around, and the next moment, the force of his fist landed on Max's face. "You dare lie to my face." The anger of Max's lie suffused his voice with an icy rage. "I saw you both in bed."
Ray hated lies. Max knew that about him but still chose to.
Max touched the blood that gushed out of his mouth and glanced at it. He winced as he watched Ray continue. "Of all girls, why Nicole? Why the woman I wanted..."
"Because she isn't good for you!" Max cut in. "She's a bed climbing model, she wanted me to talk to the executives of Amor Perfumes to take away the position of spokesperson for the launch from Jennifer and give it to her. Is that the kind of lady you wonna be with? A model that would do anything to get to the pinnacle? That's the lady you wanted to leave Queency for, com'on man, I only had your back. I didn't know she was all that until I tested her with the launching of AP. I'm sorry you had to see us in bed, I'm so sorry, bro."
Ray moistened his lips. He walked to the dining and sat down on a chair, Maxwell did the same. He stared at Max's blood-stained lips and felt sorry. "They're all the same anyway, you keep telling me to get serious but the ladies are the ones unserious. Sorry, I hit you, bro. I thought...please, forgive me."
Ray felt like an ass for hitting his best friend because of someone who wasn't worth it.
Max was more like a brother; they practically grew up together and that was the first time Ray sent his fist at him for real.
They sparred from time to time but never punched each other out of training grounds.
Max nodded, slowly. "You know me, I wouldn't do anything to hurt your feelings."
Ray knew that.
He trusted Max even more than he trusted himself. He didn't know what got over him.
They heard footsteps coming from the staircase, and their gaze flew to look at Choice, who was descending swiftly down the stairs, wearing a peach colour night dress.
Max suddenly felt like he had interrupted something. He was still trying to decide if he was to leave or stay when the resemblance struck him.
Wasn't she...
Max stared at Raymond, surprised. "Isn't that the lady I saw earlier at the studio? Is she your latest catch? Ray, you are now hiding things from me, no?"
"She's this mistake I made..." he trailed off. "I'll tell you about it later."
"Hi, manager Max." She greeted with a smile when she got to the landing of the staircase, her voice drifted to the dining.
He returned the smile. "Hi, stranger."
"Ray, is there any food in your kitchen?"
"Nope. I don't cook but there's milk, cookies, bread..."
She cut in. "The cookies and milk would do." She declared, her tone imbued with an undeniable charm.
"Suit yourself," he said nonchalantly.
With her eyes flashing with annoyance, she directed a retort towards Ray. "Can you be a gentleman for once?"
"I'm not a gentleman physically, emotionally, nor in bed," Ray replied with freezing humour.
How disgusting.
She rolled her eyeballs at him.
"Stop acting like a piece of scum, I don't even know my way around this house." Choice rebuked, her patience wearing thin under the escalating tension, as she emphasized her unfamiliarity with Ray's home.
Maxwell, catching the subtle shift in the atmosphere, offered to play host. "Miss, the kitchen is that way," he pointed out to her, and she strode into the kitchen, leaving the men alone. He burst out laughing as he shifted his focus towards Ray. "Guy, so, there's a lady like that still existing, she's not even afraid of the big boss. I'd love to hear the story behind this gorgeous mistake."
"She's my wife by law." Ray blurted out.
"What!" Max exclaimed in shock. "You're married? You got married without me?" He said, his brows furrowing into a storm cloud.
Wait. Did Ray take him always asking him to be serious with someone seriously?
The thought, like a sudden beacon in the fog, illuminated a potential explanation for the baffling news.
He hadn't meant that extent of seriousness.
"Chill, I'm not done yet," Ray said.
The news had thrown Max off-balance, but Ray's words offered a glimmer of hope for a logical explanation.
"It was a mistake; I got wasted the day I saw you in bed with Nicole and then this crazy lady showed up today and told me we were married. The thing is, we're actually married and the problem is, we can't get annulled until after six months." He shook his head, "I'd be stuck with that psycho for half a year."
Max made an effort to maintain composure, but couldn't control the laughter bubbling within him, but when Ray threw him a warning glare, the laughter erupted from his lips.
Typical Max.
Ray must have forgotten was was seated opposite him. His best friend, the man who found humour even in the most unlikely situations and he was unrestricted by the hierarchy of the big boss.
"Really? I'm in some deep shit and you find it funny?" Ray said with his eyebrows furrowed in a scowl.
Max sniffed, and his expression shifted to dead-serious. "Why's she here, what were you thinking?"
Torture. The single word that described his thoughts.
She dared him and she had to face the consequences of her action.
"What if she goes about blabbing shit, with her close, I could make her understand why she shouldn't dare mess with me," Ray replied, his eyes glinting with a dangerous light.
Max was uneasy with the idea of Choice being so close, but Ray was focused and determined, he would never make a mistake, knowing fully well what was at stake.
Choice living in his space was a big decision and Ray never let anyone that close. His decision to allow Choice into his domain, a space he guarded with vigilance, was indeed monumental.
He didn't trust her.
He needed the signal, perhaps, a crack in the armor she wore, to figure out who she was and what she wanted with him.
With them.
A spy. A bounty hunter... Whomever she truly was, he would one day see through her camouflage.
"Fuck." Max muttered. "So... no more Gameboy?" He asked, referring to their colloquial term for Ray's dating escapades.
"I don't give two fucks about that lady in the kitchen, she won't stop me from doing whatever I want." He declared.
Their conversation halted at Choice's presence as she joined the table. She slid the tray onto the table and took a seat beside Max, effectively positioning herself between the two men.
"Do you care?" She asked Max, her eyes flicking over Ray like he was nothing but the breeze
"Sure, who would say no to a pretty damsel like you...but It's just a glass of milk." Max replied with a lazy grin.
She crossed her legs, flirting with Max in return. "That's not a problem, I don't mind sharing a glass of milk with the manager of the big boss." Taking a cookie, she bit into it, her lips curving into a coy smile. "So, what's the full name?"
"Maxwell Daniel the third." He offered a handshake which she accepted and said her name.
"Choice Amadi."
As Max released Choice's hand, her gaze, devoid of warmth settled on Ray for a fleeting moment. It was a chilly silence that lasted for a heartbeat, before her expression softened and the sweetness returned, beaming at Max with a friendly smile.
***
Ray was already in bed before Choice entered the bedroom. She thought he had fallen asleep because he was to go on a trip tomorrow.
Not long after the introduction, Max had wished his goodnight and left, and that was when Ray went back upstairs.
It had been past an hour.
"Why did you lie to Max?" He asked, surprising her.
She stopped.
His words, slicing through the quiet night, caught her off guard.
Recovering from the initial shock, she feigned ignorance. "I don't understand."
"Your real name is Lola Adebayo."
Of course, he knew; he dug into her right in her face.
But that name she never wanted to be called.
"I'm not Lola Adebayo!" She screamed furiously, then her expression smoothed and she added calmly. "I am Choice Amadi, and I'll always be."
"Where do you think you're going to?" He asked when she was headed for the bed.
"To sleep." She said continuing towards the bed.
"Not on my bed, to the couch." He said, his voice like the unmovable surface of an ice sheet. "To the couch."
She frowned. "You're forgetting that I have the same rights as you to sleep on this bed. And if it's about my cheap nightwear getting close to you, don't worry 'cause this bed is big enough that even if I rolled a thousand times I wouldn't get close to you, not like I even want to." She removed her slippers, and lay on the bed, her back against him.
She won.