Chapter 7

Would I call it fear? Was I scared of everything? Truthfully I was. I spent six years of my life trying to forget my past and start a new but why must it always lurk and hunt me down at every corner.

I hadn't replied to his words as he smirked, feeling as though he had cornered me but he was a little too late.

"Knowledge is variable, Erik," I said disregarding the formalities.

"But in it lies truths that make it become facts or even secrets."

"What the hell do you really want?" I asked with anger evident in my tone. I couldn't stand this anymore, I thought, as I narrowed my lips.

"Cover the function and we partner up," he said and I responded by clenching my jaw while tapping my hands repeatedly on the arm rest. This was dangerous, as any slight mistake and I could end up making things worse. Aside from that, I made a mental note to do a thorough sweeping of Erik Ibrahim's background, another thing to add to the list of my searches.

"I'm just wondering though, are there any ulterior motives?" I questioned, shortly after much thought.

"It's very easy, we need awareness to reach our goal and the popularity and you need our capital. I strongly doubt there's any use or room for hidden agendas."

I stayed quiet for a few seconds before making my decision.

"15% shares."

"Deal," he said and I looked at him one last time, trying to gauge his reaction but I wasn't successful as it left nothing on display before I stood to leave.

"It was a pleasure doing business with you" he said smiling, but a diabolical one indeed which I was sure wasn't in my favour. He made it seem as though there were promises in his words, so I turned back when he said that, halting my walk towards the door.

A silent conversation was shared with no words but only through our eyes, mine spoke of warnings and his spoke of no fear. He must have had something backing him up, I thought and I had to get to the bottom of everything before it all got out of hand.

"Erik, a piece of advice though, don't go looking in places that don't concern you, it never ends well," I said with a forced smile before leaving straight away.

...

I was infuriated as I left the man's office and I was literally shaking in anger with my whole body tense in fear. Everything had changed today, how did he know? How could he know? Who was he?. All these questions flooded my mind as I paced the hallways, my heart rate had increased, my mouth dry and everywhere was hotter...I would soon be found out.

I couldn't see Bankole and Osaze and I was certain they had continued the tour after I left. The lobby was trickling with new arrivals and guests from different parts of the country but I couldn't hear a single sound, it was like I was trapped in my mind with the raging emotions and feelings.

Still a bit flushed and out of it after the talk I just had, I headed to the bathroom to clear my head.

I took in deep breaths and began to think. Many things were packing up and I feared I would be consumed soon by them. There was nothing else I could do but to dial David again, as I needed to create and ensure a safety net I could fall back on, if the time eventually came.

"Hello?" His robotic voice greeted me when he picked.

"What have you gotten on Rashid?" I asked worriedly as there was no time for pleasantries.

"Not much, it has only been a day but you were right there are some blank spaces in their history," he replied and I began pacing the bathroom floor in thought.

"I'm running out of time, we need to hurry."

"I'm doing the best I can," he said and I let out a frustrated sigh.

"Something came up."

"Again?" He asked surprised as this was the most work I had given him since we started this journey all those years ago.

"I told you things here are getting serious," I explained and the line went silent, as he waited for me to spill the words.

"A man named Erik Ibrahim showed up, and he said he knows everything," I delivered and the line was still silent for some time before he spoke up again.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Take him out of the picture," I answered and he dropped after a few seconds.

...

The bathroom break helped and now I was calm, I needed to talk to my father about the Gala and update him on all that was going on.

As I was about leaving the restroom, Bankole sent me an update saying my dad had just arrived and they were at the bar. The news was even more refreshing as I didn't have to waste anymore time, he was already here.

My strides were lengthy as I tried to cover up the distance hastily. The words of the man returning to my thoughts with each passing step, Erik was a liability I needed to solve and fast.

I approached the bar and found Osaze and Bankole chatting on a table but my father wasn't amongst them. 

"Jacob!" Bankole called out when he noticed me walking towards them and I had to calm my angst, or else, I knew they would catch on to my worried state easily while asking questions I wouldn't be able to answer.

"What did the man want?" Osaze asked, referring to the General Manager from before as I sat down at their table with them.

"Just business, nothing much," I replied and they nodded at the same time, understanding creeping in.

"Where's my father?" I asked after the first sip from my glass, still trying to act sangfroid.

"Over there by the pool," Osaze said pointing behind me and I turned to look and see what he showed me. There beyond the glass wall was my father on a lounge chair with Shade perched on his lap. 

The sight of the combo made me scoff in disgust and a sickening feeling engulfed me. She didn't know how pathetic she looked. The man was old enough to be a father figure but yet she acted as though they were in love and weren't a public spectacle.

To douse my annoyance, I took in a large gulp of the wine from the glass before getting up to my feet with the pool area as my destination.

"They look so good together," Bankole said, bringing back all our attention to him and not the couple.

"Yeah right," I muttered with a subtle eye roll before leaving and I was sure Osaze heard me clearly as he let out a short laugh afterwards but I was gone before I could hear their next line of conversation.