"Anita?" Veronica was shocked to see her again.
"Yes, Veronica. You wonder why there are no bandages all over me? that aside, how have you been faring?" Anita went and occupied a seat. Then Charles stood and properly introduced Anita to Veronica.
"What is happening?" Veronica asked no one in particular as she appeared confused.
"What is happening is that you refuse to understand before you I was and here in this company and the organization you are trying to betray I come first before you and what are we trying to achieve with your joining us? that we may build an organization filled with willing and committed individuals who would go at any length to secure the interest of this organization" said Anita.
"So all these about wrist watch gifts, armed robbers attacking us and you being discovered go be behind it; all of these things are not what they seemed?" asked Veronica.
"Yes, except one thing though and that is my feelings for you" said Charles. "The feelings are true and that is why I decided to stop my acts with the prostitutes of this city and focus only on you. You running of to a village is the worst thing you did" said Charles.
"I didn't just run off to the village, I went back home. I came from there" said Veronica.
"You are from that village?" asked Charles and Veronica nodded her head. "Well" he continued, "Your village nearly ended your life and you know it, if not for the intervention of Ken"
"How am I sure that too is not planned?" Veronica asked but Charles smiled and said, "When you walk and work with us you will then begin to learn better. For now I want you to stop running. If we hadn't come through for you your enemies in your village would have killed you; that's what they are known for, killing their own"
"I don't know you Charles. I thought I knew you but I don't. You are a high profile person and you have your network all over Africa and the world at large; why are you interested in someone like me, someone without any experience or qualifications" Charles having heard that approached her and held her by the hand. Veronica would have loved to withdraw her hand if it was possible but she did not want to create more of the impression that she did not like what he was. He held her and shook her hand gently before he said, "I love you Veronica and this is not a lie. I don't want you thinking I do what I do out of the need to show myself but I'm humbly telling you, confessing my love for you. Stop running away from me" He begged. She looked at him for a while and refused to utter any further word.
"What is happening to you?" Anita asked and she looked at her and shook her head. "You should confide in me Veronica"
"I should?" Veronica wondered. Anita sighed and nodded. Veronica then stole a glance at Charles's face before she said, "I have someone that I love" When she said this Charles let go of her hand and waited to hear me, probably to find much evidence to be angry. "He is in the village where I came from"
"He slept with you this time when you traveled back to the village?" asked Charles.
"No!" Veronica defended herself and suddenly wondering why she had to be so sudden in defending herself knowing fully well that it should not be a taboo if she had anything with Edu this last time she traveled to the village. She swallowed hard and continued, "I saw my father's house bleeding and I had to stay back to wipe the blood. I know you may not understand what it means to be poor at a point in your life but there was a time I had nothing to eat; I practically grew up inside poverty and lack with him. I'm sorry but I can't lie to you either" said Veronica. Charles without a word just took few steps away from her and then dismissed her. When she walked out Anita sat down again.
"Boss, you let her go?" asked Anita.
"What do you say about a lady who is in love with a village boy?" Charles chuckled disappointedly.
"I believe Veronica has potentials and you yourself saw it the time I brought her into the company and introduced her to you. You saw the greatness in her and her potential was there for all to see. You have testified also of her excellence and I know you see and still the brighter side of her. I want you not to give up yet. I have known you for years and I have never seen you like this before about any woman. This woman came and your heart is lost to her and you just want to have her, to have her stay beside you and you know there is nothing I won't do for you boss. We have shown her who we are and we can't let her go. She is an asset and we have got a lot to benefit from her being one of us, not just one of us but someone you call your woman, your wife" When she mentioned the last part he looked at her and wondered if he had ever thought of making Veronica his wife in the future. He had not thought about it but hearing Anita mention it he didn't think it would be a bad idea. He smiled, forced it so to say and asked Anita to excuse him. Anita saluted him and walked out of the office. Charles sat down and kept hitting the pen on the desk as he was filled with thoughts, deep thoughts. The village that Veronica spoke of, the village she said she came from, the village she traveled to he knew there and he wondered how come fate could be this cruel.
*****
"Are you now trying to tell me what to do in my own family?" asked Jude as he stared angrily and questionably at Shanty.
" I'm sorry if you see it that way" she begged.
"You should be" he said and continued fixing his pistol, loading it.
"I'm just trying to help" she said.
"Well I appreciate your help as long as you know your limit, the limit to which you can try to render your help. The organization is my family. You are not family yet and even if you were you are not in a position to tell what to do and what not what to do. Stick to where you help the most and that is ontop of the bed, do you understand that?" When he said this he noticed that she was quite for a while before he heard her sniffing and wondered if she was crying or sobbing. He looked at her face and saw that she was sobbing. He hissed and stood up, leaving the room for her he went to the sitting room where he found his peace. Shortly after he sat down he noticed she had come out to meet with him. She stood there, infront of him and there in her eyes was tears, tears of pain and she rained her words, her words and as she rained those words Jude closed his eyes.
"You are not better than I am. I'm a prostitute, yes but I'm not dumb and I'm not evil and I'm not against anyone's progress. You hate me and spew words at me as you like because you don't have any respect for me. I'm not begging for respect. It is said that respect is earned not forced and If I haven't earned any respect where you are I do not blame you when you say the things you like to say about me and at me. You own your mouth and what you want to say with it is up to you but be rest assured that I was not born like this; I wasn't born a harlot. Whatever made me turn to this kind of life is up to me and God alone. You have no right to judge me for even you yourself are not a saint. I know you will not regard me because I did not go to school neither am I fluent in my English but I know in my heart that I love you and even though you have failed to see it it doesn't hurt me for a loving heart has nothing to regret. You have said your mind, I have said mine" She then walked back angrily. Jude sat there for a while before he closed the laptop and sighed deeply. At a point he felt he had treated her badly. Yet she wasn't far from the truth when she said she was not educated and that her English wasn't well polished. He did not love her not because of that anyways but because he was finding it hard to trust a sex worker. He sighed again and even though he wanted to resume his work he stopped and then walked into the room where she was laying on the bed and he stood there glaring her as she sobbed and wetted the pillow.
"I'm sorry" he said and didn't get any response. He wasn't expecting any, especially at that moment though. He sighed again and walked to the bed and sat on the edge of it, staring at her face. She looked away, positioning her head so that her face faced the other side but he could still see her face from the mirror infront of her.
"I'm sorry, so sorry. I know I shouldn't have said those words to you but then I was being too careful and I'm not saying I did the right thing, it's just..." he paused and sniffed, "You see" he continued, "I was born by a prostitute and so I do not know my father and it will surprise you to know that till date my mother is still a prostitute" When he revealed this it got the attention of Shanty as she returned her face to face him, with the back of her arm supporting her head. "When I said that the only thing you could help me with is sex I wasn't just saying that to you but to my mother who was using sex to feed me, sex with every man that came to her while I was with her in that one room. Every night and most day times I witnessed my own mother being slept with by men old enough to give birth to her, even grandpas. I know that you read meaning to what I said to you but I began to feel that if you should come deeper into my life it would mean that it is destined that I have things to do with women that have no respect for their bodies. I'm sorry if I am adding salt to your injury but I'm more injured than you will ever be. It's a story that I have had to keep to myself, ashamed to discuss it with anyone. I'm sorry that I allowed my emotions to override my sense of reasoning and so said words that hurt you" She had sat up by now, now feeling more sorry for him than she was feeling for herself. It seemed he became a different person to her automatically and she was seeing him in a different dimension now. She pitied him and just imagined the trauma and the experience that would have been to him; having to grow up with your mother in one room apartment, seeing different men come to meet with her in the same room everyday. She reached with her hand and touched his chest and said, "It must have been so hurting. I'm so sorry for the pains"