Moses called Dunni’s mobile phone for the umpteenth time. He was exasperated that he could not reach her as her phone was switched off for the last two hours. A boarding call was made for his flight, he picked his bags, checking his surrounding that he had not left anything and joined the other passengers as they made their way to the final check-in.
Moses journey was not scheduled until a fortnight away. However, bidding for the project had come earlier. He saw the email that afternoon about their apologies to reschedule to an earlier date as the project time had moved. It was a good thing for the overall project from a business perspective, even though he had to drop everything and hop on the next flight.
This is one contract they desperately wanted. Architex Designs was not the only one bidding, there were architecture firms from London, US, and Dubai. They knew they could do this and would get the contract. This was one shot they were willing to take.
He could have waited until the next day. However, they were not ready to take any chances. Beijing was about seventeen hours away by direct flight. Unfortunately, there was no direct flight available, and he had to settle with connecting flights at two stops. The bid, according to the email, was in five days’ time. Ola who could not up, and leave would join him in a couple of days.
They had decided when planning the bid earlier in the year that Ola and Moses will handle the Beijing project.
Dunni had another project, she was handling up north of the country which was clashing with the dates for the bid. Hence, they agreed that while Moses and Ola will handle the Beijing project, Dunni could face the Kakawa housing project in Kaduna located along the Kaduna – Zaria road.
The project was a 3-4 housing units for a Stone milling factory that opened up about four years ago. They had employees moving from all over the country and where having problems with accommodation.
The company opted to build houses and rent to their employees through a subsidised scheme. This they found was cheaper compared to the annual housing bonus they paid.
Dunni was excited to get started with this project, it was a block of twelve flats each, and they had twenty of these blocks to design.
It was a hectic time for their firm, and everyone was pulling their weight.
*******
Placing her pillow over her head to block the bright daylight that streamed through her half-closed Venetian blind. Dunni reached out for her alarm to stop the shrilling noise that filled the room shattering every dream of any extra minutes of sleep she desperately needed. She groaned as she hesitantly dragged her sleep-deprived self from the comfort of her bed and trudged to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Staring at a pimple on the left corner of her cheek, she took out her face mask and rubbed it on her face. She grimaced at the additional minutes she needed to add to her morning ritual today. If she failed to attack the pimple today, she would be paying dearly by tomorrow.
She went downstairs to get a glass of warm water to drink and settled for a quick fifteen minutes yoga routine. That was all she could spare this morning or else she will not be able to beat the early morning traffic.
Forty-five minutes later, she dashed into her car, throwing her lunch and handbag to the passenger seat. Turning on the radio, she drove off towards Victoria Island, joining the already building traffic on the Lekki – Epe express road.
“Morning, she greeted the security guard cheerfully as she drove through the gates and stopped to have a brief chat with Dupe the receptionist.
“That’s such a lovely hairdo you have,” Dunni complimented her beautiful weave and was rewarded with a broad smile from Dupe.
“Thank you,” said Dupe. “You should try braiding yours one of these days. Come to think of it, she said with a crease across her forehead, “I don’t think I have seen braids on you before.”
“A look of terror flashed through Dunni’s face.
“Is it that bad,” Dupe asked with a chuckle.
“You have no idea. I can’t stand the tension on my head. You guys that can are lucky. I tried many times but failed. The farthest I got was spending 6 hours to braid and loosening it all the next day. The pain was just unbearable.
Moses and Ola would attest to it. Imagining engaging two clueless men to lose braids. Nah! Braids are not for me.”
This was news to Dupe, she recently joined the firm and loved the relationship among the partners. She found it hard to believe they were just friends. Nonetheless, there was nothing to show if they had been romantically involved.
“Was this recently?” she asked, curious as she tried to wrap her head around the other two bosses struggling with a woman’s hair. The thought was too hilarious that she could not help but release the pent-up laughter.
I know! Smiled Dunni, that was many years ago during our undergraduate days.
“Wow!
And you are still together,” Dupe gushed who had a secret crush for Moses, even though he never had as much as treated her in any way but professional. However, this did not stop her from daydreaming of a possible romance brewing with one of the Bosses. The picture of Moses loosening braids was not only hilarious, but it was also getting her all mushy.
“Any idea if Moses or Ola is in yet? I did not see any of their cars in the parking lot.”
“Ola arrived a few minutes ago, but Moses is yet to come in this morning.”
“Thanks. I have run along. I have a couple of skype meetings this morning. Please hold off all my calls till 11:00am.
She popped her head through Ola’s office on the way to hers. He was in a meeting on the phone, so she waved and gestured ‘talk to you later’.
Dunni set up her laptop for her skype meeting and presentation to Emesem, a housing development firm in Calabar. She had met with them last month and scheduled a skype meeting with their MD who was away in Italy but did not want to delay the start of the project. The outcome of the skype meeting would determine the next course of action and when she had to fly down to meet the Engineering and Project Management team.
Although she found the skype meeting strange at first, she was able to adapt quickly. This was not without some hitches. An instance was when, for a weird reason, the image coming from the other end was upside down on her screen. It was halfway through the meeting she blurted out her problem. Only to discover, it was just a button she needed to click, rotate and it was fine.
Apparently, Emesem is a tech-savvy company, so using technology to work for them in 2013 was a no brainer. Dunni was still getting used to using the computer for her drawings and scaling. She preferred her drawings by hand. Although the tech world was not a comfort zone, she was ready to stretch herself to get this contract.
Dunni was all done with her meetings when Ola walked into Dunni’s office just as she concluded the skype meeting.
“All good?” he inquired.
“Perfect! I just sealed the Emesem deal,” squealed Dunni with the delight of a child.
“Fantastic! Great job, Dunni. Let me know where we can pitch in if you need help,” Ola offered with a smile of genuine pleasure lightening up his face and showing off his 5 o’ clock shadow.
“I have got this one. The MD loved all, but one of the designs sent and wanted two or more adjustments, and they are good. I will be flying to Calabar in ten days’ time,” Dunni replied, smiling with self- satisfaction.
“Where’s Moses, I have not seen him this morning?” she asked, changing the subject.
“I think he tried to reach you on the phone. He is on his way to Beijing.”
“Beijing! Dunni asked a look of surprise filling her round face. “Have I lost track of time? I thought Beijing was scheduled for three weeks or so away.”
“Two actually. Moses received an email yesterday scheduling an earlier date with apologies that the project was ahead of their schedule, which is a good thing business-wise. I don’t know how many projects happen that way. Still, the little experience we have, we know how projects are usually delayed. He got the first available flight last night. I would be going tomorrow.”
“Hmm, it would be nice if our competitors are not able to respond as quickly as we did.”
Dunni was excited at the prospect of clinching that contract but not sure why she felt so despondent at the thought that she missed Moses call before he left.
Swivelling her chair around to take her handbag from the side table by her right. She dug frantically into her handbag for her phone. Not successful in locating the phone, she started bringing out items from her handbag, a transparent cosmetic bag, pens, small notebook, sticky notes, face wipes, a novel, a bottle of water and a black poker dot neck staff.
Ola watched bemused. “Why don’t you just go for a suitcase? With the number of stuffs, you women carry in your handbags, it’s a wonder you don’t suffer from back and neck pain.”
Dunni ignored his comment. This was not the first of such discussions, and it won’t be the last. “There you are! Oh no, it is switched off.” She laughed, showing the screen to Ola.
“I wonder why you have a mobile phone when you cannot be reached at all times.”
“You want to join Moses on that bandwagon?” she gave him the stinky eye. Moses always complained that with a mobile phone, you were always meant to be reached. “I will improve, it’s not something I do deliberately but maybe my subconscious rebels against this thing. No respite from the world.”
She switched in her phone, and several messages started popping in.
“You see! She said triumphantly how a sane person can keep up with all these distractions.”
“Welcome to the new world. You may be the only one living in the 16th century,”
“Whatever, she rolled her eyes.”
Dunni eagerly searched for Moses message on her phone. A smile spreading across her lovely face.
“Moses should be here to see this smile on your face. If I did not know better. I will think you have fallen for him.
“In both your dreams,” She replied, typing out a message.
“Really Dunni. What is so repulsive about Moses?”
“You guys have become family. It just does not happen.”
“It does not happen, or you won’t happen?”
She looked at him suspiciously. “What are you up to Ola, Did Moses put you up to this?”
“Nothing,” he raised his hands in mock surrender. “Just thinking it will be nice to keep you in the family and not lose you to someone crazy dude out there.”
“There are no crazy guys out there. Enough talk about the little or no romance in my life. Maybe, just maybe there I would have time to meet the right guy with you and Moses off my back.”
“Are you saying we are responsible for chasing guys away? I am hurt.”
“No, I am saying you guys keep me working so hard that I have no social life.” She giggled, knowing that was not true.
“That’s is something to work on when we get back. I will get Moses on it.”
“Grr, what did you say you wanted. And when do you leave?” Dunni changed the subject from her to business. She never liked it when the guys zeroed in on her case.
She was a little petrified to be left to handle the company alone. It was not something she had done. She had always had the guys with her. They all made the decisions but sought each other’s input.
As if reading her thoughts, Ola said ‘you’ll be fine while we are gone and ramp up our profit margin.
“Will you be good for the period we are away?” He asked, looking out for her welfare.
“Would you have asked Moses this question, if he was the one seating here?”
“Dunni don’t bring up the sexist card, please. I am only looking out for you on the honour of our friendship.
“I will be fine,” she said, putting on her big girl hat even when she felt far from it.
“No worries. I have this covered. All should be fine with the rest of the team we can handle any of the projects that can’t wait while you are both gone.”
She checked her phone to see if Moses had received her message, but it was still showing undelivered.
“What time does Moses flight arrive in Beijing?” Dunni asked scrolling through her phone hoping by some magic she’ll receive a message from Moses. He’d barely left for twenty four hours, and her world had become so small and empty. She sighed, taking her eyes from the phone to Ola.
“I don’t have the details, although I think it’s a fifteen hour flight. Moses is on a connecting flight which may take longer.”
“I will be on the lookout for his messages and keep my phone close by,” she said with a laugh at her lame joke.
Ola stood up to leave with a knowing smile on his face.
“What’s that smile about?”
“What smile, he asked innocently. He was not about to let Dunni know what she was yet to realise herself.
“You have this mischievous look in your face,”
“I think I just had an ‘eureka’ moment?”
“What’s that – a design?”
“Nope – but nothing to worry about.”
Dunni shrugged and went back to her work as he left her office. She had to energy to siphon any information Ola was not willing to give. It was always a failed mission. She could hand tie Moses and blackmail him into telling her. It was a different ball game with Ola.
“See you later and we’ll keep our meetings via skype,” he said, closing the door after him.
Ola thought to himself. Dunni was in love with Moses, and she did not even know it. He may be wrong, but time will tell.
21stcenturybelle 