The Dice#23

“Why is such a beautiful, accomplished woman like yourself still single?Don’t tell me all the eligible guys in Lagos are blind.” Tade teased.
Dunni had always detested people who referred to her looks. She often argued that people rarely refereed to a guy’s looks in discussions but more to their accomplishments. She was vocal in pointing that out to whoever cared to listen. Tonight, this was not the case, she strangely latched onto his every word and turned mushy all inside.

The last couple of months had been all that she could dream of. Tade was attentive and kind, and they found time amidst their busy schedules to be together. It was customary to wake up on weekends and drive to his place, where they met without Toni. He rarely talked about himself, and that was one aspect that bothered her a lot. She would talk her head off about her family. Still, when she asked about his family, he grunted intelligible words or found a way to talk about something else. She knew he had a twin sister who was married and lived in the states.

“I could say the same, why a handsome, incredibly wealthy medical doctor, despite being a widower, has not to be snapped up by the Abuja sharks and Lagos cougars.”
She loved the sound of his laughter, deep like the waves of the ocean, a low sound building up to a crescendo and filling the space between them.

“You make me sound like a slice of meat on the market.”
“Unfortunately, I think that’s the truth. Take a slow turn to your left, my right. There is this woman about your age sitting with a guy in a white kaftan whose been stealing looks at you since we came in. I feel so sorry for her companion.”

Tade snapped for a waiter and discreetly looked in the direction Dunni had pointed.
“That’s Made Brown, the chairman of the board of directors at Lekki Consultant Hospital.”
Your hospital? She asked, eyebrow raised in question. “She looks young.”
“Being born into a pool of trust funds from your great-grandparents has perks.” Tade laughed, but it was a little bit tight this time, “please excuse me. I need to say hi.”

Dunni sipped on her glass of wine while she looked around. The Oceanview was one of the highbrow restaurants on Victoria Island, and a meal here could probably buy her house. How does someone in the medical profession afford such a lifestyle? She should be asking those questions, but she’d never broached the subject for some reason. Maybe because she also had money that she worked for and was not handed down to her, so why should someone else’s source of wealth be scrutinised by her. She rationalised, and Tade’s could have been handed down to him.

She had to know. It’s not like she was a social climber or gold digger; after all, she could afford a reasonable lifestyle on her own. It is not like Tade moved in this circle. However, his clients appear to waltz in and out of the corridors of power, the creme de la cream of Lagos and Abuja society, old money, new money, and the political and ruling elite.

Who is Tade Braithwaite? She shrugged. With time she’ll get to know all she needs to know. You never approached your client without digging into who they were. The voice in her head chastised her.
It sounded too intrusive doing that to someone close. Where is trust? She argued. In business, you want to know all the possibilities that could come up. You were prepared not to be blindsided. Matters of the heart were vastly different from the cold calculation of money and service-changing hands.

Dunni had no idea. Tade had been sitting before her for a couple of minutes until he snapped a finger in her face.
“Where’ve you been. Dunni managed a small laugh.
“Nowhere. No idea I had zoned out. How is Made?”
“She should be okay as long as she keeps out of my affairs.”
Dunni could see the rigid set of his jaw. He looked displeased but tried to hide it. She wanted to know more about this Made that seemed to upset him and his background.

The food came, and they delved into the sumptuous meal of mashed yam with spicy fish sauce and grilled lamb chops. All her questions were pushed to the back seat of her priorities.
“This is exquisite. I did not know what to expect. Dunni closed her eyes, savouring the mashed yam’s softness and the spicy sauce’s sweetness.
Tade inhaled sharply, and he wanted to kiss those lips. No human should look this sexy over a simple meal.
Dunni opened her eyes like a daffodil in the morning sun. “What, she asked, mouth opened, oblivious to what she was doing to Tade?”
Tade let out a soft growl. Did she have any idea what she was doing to him?
“Nothing. I am not sure how long I can keep away from you.”
“Are you travelling somewhere?”
“No. I am not thinking of it, but would you mind a weekend trip to Idara Resort in Calabar?”
“Too tempting, but I have got so much work this weekend.”
“You work so hard. Do your partners ever consider a lighter load for a woman?”
“Is work about gender or capability?” Dunni asked, mustering all the self-control she could. One thing she could not stand was a reference to her gender when it came to working. Working with Ola and Moses must have blinded her to the sexism out there.

“I am sorry, Dunni. I did not mean it that way, and I was looking for more time to spend with you.” He took her hands over the table, looking into the depths of her liquid brown eyes.
“You do so much to me, and I never thought I could feel this way again.”
Dunni smiled. It felt good to be desired, but she wanted more. She wanted him to fall head over heels in love with her. She wanted him to ask her to marry him. Dunni knew she said she’d go with the flow, but she wanted to become Mrs Braithwaite.
“I love you, Dunni.”
Before she could respond, Tade was on one knee, just like how he was the day she fell in the superstore a few months ago.
He had this beautiful ring with a diamond solitaire in a blue ring box. She knew it was a diamond with many colours reflecting in the light.

Was this man telepathic? How could he know the two questions in her heart just now? She loved Tade and had questions that needed answers but could wait.
Dunni hated Tade’s Tarzan and the damsel in distress moves but also liked how he looked out for her and how she’d become the centre of his universe along with his daughter. Here was a man who had suffered so much loss and was still willing to put out his heart, and it only made her melt for him.

“Yes, yes, I will marry you.” She imagined Moses’s disapproving look and dismissed it immediately.
Tade slipped the ring into her left middle finger. He cupped her perfectly sculptured round face in his hands. “I promise always to make you happy.” Dunni could not be happier as she gazed into his eyes and lips, wondering if there would be any magic if he decided to kiss her. Dunni had never been kissed, and Benji’s sloppy kisses in university days indeed cannot be counted. She still gagged from the horror of swapping saliva.

“Promise me you won’t hurt us – Toni and me.”

“I promise,” Dunni assured solemnly like she was taking a vow. She was not someone who took promises lightly, and she knew she would stand by her words through rain or sunshine.

Tonight was her night. She could read the question and hesitance in his eyes. She moved closer to him, bidding him kiss her, oblivious to all the others in the restaurant. They were just in their world. The fire sparks and tingles on her feet were none like she had imagined. The kiss was slow yet demanding, simultaneously sensual and chaste but with promise. They probably would not have stopped without the flash of a camera.

“What was that?” Dunni asked, more shaken from the emotions she felt than from the surge of flashes from the camera.
Tade swore, “let’s get out of here.”
Dunni did not fail to see the death glare Tade directed at Made on their way out.
How could such a beautiful moment be abruptly broken?
She knew enough body language that all was not well, and her 15 minutes of romance was just a commercial interlude on reality highway.

Dunni loved the feel of Tade’s hand around hers as he marched out of the restaurant like a man on a deadly mission. They were intercepted by the restaurant manager rushing out to apologise. At the same time, two huge 6 feet 3 inches men led the cameramen out of the premises.
“We will credit your account with us as compensation for the unfortunate disturbance,” the distressed man offered.

Who is Tade? Too many questions were racing through her head and now did not seem the appropriate time to ask. He was like a totally different person after the flashes of the camera. Suddenly there was this air of someone accustomed to wealth and influence around him. Had this always been there, or was Dunni only noticing it.