She strongly believed that the meeting with Chief Otumba would change her status in the office.
Jinny had been kept waiting for more than four hours for Chief Otumba.
The Long Wait
She went over the briefing from her supervisor for the twentieth time in her head. She looked around the lounge, checked her wrist watch, and drained another glass of coloured fizzy liquid --the only one they had in the bar. She needed all her energy to stay on top of her job. Although Jinny was too tired, she could not spare the client.
Jinny could not tear her eyes from a lady that sat on a table, not too far from hers. She looked too transparent that, it was not difficult to see what she wore under very short silver gown. She was the same girl from the bank across the street; a marketer like her, but one could never tell she was the same churchy-looking lady they usually saw in the day.
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Her makeup looked feisty, and it complimented the provocation of a dress she wore. The man that sat before her went by the name, Bullion Van; one of the most popular oil magnets in Warri. The girl smiled from ear to ear while the man kept to his phone for the past two hours both walked through the door. Jinny left them, and went back to fiddling with her phone.
Dilemma
The marketing department of the bank where she worked, increased their target from ten million to ten billion! Where in the world was she going to land such a hilarious amount of money? But her supervisor convinced her to meet this particular client, and he would make all her fears go away.
The Chief that Answereth all Prayers
Otumba was always on the lips of all the tellers in the banking hall : Otumba this, Otumba that. Even, he seemed to be popular with the ladies, he was once referred to as a ‘ladies’ main man. In the words of her supervisor:
“Nne, Chief Otumba is the real deal. He likes your type. Just meet him, and you will be surprised that this your target is a chicken change.”
In fact, Otumba seemed to be the coming Messiah to Jinny. An answer to all her prayers. She had to fast and pray in order to fix an appointment with him through her supervisor. He requested for a bathroom selfie in the bathtub, first, before he obliged her an appointment with him. Jinny strongly believed that Otumba must indeed be a demi-god.
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A Slice of Reality
Jinny was fresh out of school, and knew no one. She got fixed into the banking sector by her Uncle, Uncle Rufus, who owned half of the account in the bank. She didn’t need the usual interview, but took his gold-plated complimentary card to the bank manager. That was how she landed a job in the marketing department.
Five months into the job, it was obvious that she was the only a low-flyer : her colleagues had changed their rides and rode on red-pencil-soled stiletto heels while in the office. The click-clacks of their pointed heels, announced their usual late arrival to work. Nobody queried their laissez-faire attitude, because they brought in pant-tearing figures for the bank, without apology, that it dropped hard with a gbagam! They gawked at her, each time she came to work in her normal plain pants and jackets.
They were sex goddesses on heels, and were no match for their male colleagues. Her colleagues made sure that they wore their expensive makeup and did their nail tips, red. Their hair was out of this world, and their Shylocks were always around for down-payment for a new wrist watch, gold bangle, designers perfume, bag, shoe , dress, you name it. Their cloths clung to their body and their pant-lines announced their banging behind.
Jinny was just a Johnny-Just-Come, in her tiny cubicle. Her life was a triangular one: it was from house to office, office to church, and then back to the house. But her colleagues loved to party hard like tomorrow no dey. She loved that they did, but she was way out of their view. She strongly believed that the meeting with Chief Otumba would change her status in the office.
Silence
Jinny lived with her mother; the last time she saw her father was at a tender age. Her mother separated from him when she was barely five years. Jinny’s mother never talked to her about her father, but she had seen his picture, once in her closet. It was an old wedding picture; the only thing that survived their time together. Many years after he left, she learned the hard way, that her mother had moved on with her numerous boyfriends although, non ever came home with her.
Jinny’s mother was nothing like other mothers: she partied hard at night, and kept sober in the morning, working as a court clerk. She made sure to send her to boarding school at the age of twelve, and afterwards, she gained admission to study accounting in the university. Thanks to Uncle Rufus, he was benevolent enough to see her through school, not minding the many nights he slept over, and found it hard to keep down the noise while in her mother’s room. He would leave very early in the morning for Uyo, each time he came to Lagos for business.
The Disappointment
Jinny’ s phone beeped in her bag; she reached for it, but met the rudest disappointment of her life: Chief just cancelled their appointment. She felt like tearing her hair. How could he keep her waiting for nothing. She was breathing hard and fast. Jinny angrily got up and made for the exit door.
The following day, Jinny walked straight to her supervisor’s office to log in her complaints. After all said and done, she smiled up to Jinny, adjusted her spectacles, and just replied :
“If he cancels, you try again, and again. Push till money drops in the bank.”
Jinny knew that her Supervisor didn’t understand what it meant to wait for hours without anything to show for it. She walked back to her office to meet a text message on her phone; the message made Jinny smile devilishly to herself, because she was ready to give Otumba a little piece of her mind.
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The Great Shock
Jinny arrived at the hotel at exactly the time she was supposed to be there. She checked-in and waited as instructed. Not quite long, there was a sharp wrap on the door, and a room service guy entered. He placed her order on the table, and left. Jinny went to take some bite out of what was brought, she had her back to the door, she didn’t hear when the door slid open, neither did she hear when someone stepped into the quiet room; but the shock of two strong hands that grabbed at her waist, made her jump and shout out of shock, that the hands let her go, immediately.
She spun around and the food she had in her mouth fell to the floor. His face had always been the same, unchanging from the wedding picture in her mother’s closet –not even a line of wrinkle tampered with his square handsome face. It was as though she looked at a reflection of herself in the mirror. The man in white starched agbada tried to come at her again, with a wild sly smile, hanging on each end of his cheeks, but she could not allow him to bring harm in both their ways. She stepped back, took a long menacing look at him for the last time, and screamed:
“Daddy!”
Chief Otumba jumped back in shock, frowned, and looked at her one more time, but this time, very closely. He stopped in his track, took a long look at her, again, then, he went straight to settle on the nearest sofa, covered his face with his two hands, and wept, bitterly. He almost slept with his daughter. Jinny then found out why her mother chose to leave.
Written by Udemezue, Oluoma
Udemezue, Oluoma loves to read and write; she also enjoys movies and meeting new people. Oluoma believes that life is nothing without a little touch of romance, thriller and reality. Catch her on: udemezueoluoma@yahoo.com, Udemezue, Oluoma Judith on Facebook, Instag- oluomaudemezue, and Twit- @Udemezueoluoma.