CHAPTER ONE: A CHANCE ENCOUNTER
1591 Words
The city of Lagos never truly slept.Even at eight in the evening, traffic crawled along Victoria Island as impatient drivers leaned on their horns. The rain had only made things worse. Streetlights reflected off the wet roads while pedestrians hurried under umbrellas, trying to escape the downpour.
Maya Okafor stood beneath the narrow shelter of a bus stop, hugging her backpack tightly against her chest.She sighed.Another exhausting day.Between lectures at the university and her part-time job at a small café, she barely had enough time to breathe. Her salary was just enough to pay for transport, buy handouts, and help her widowed mother with a few household expenses.
Luxury was a word that didn’t exist in Maya’s world.She glanced at her phone and what had was one thousand two fifty.That was all she had left until the end of the week.A bitter smile crossed her lips."I’ll survive. I always do.” The rain eased slightly, so she stepped away from the bus stop and began walking toward the pedestrian crossing.
Suddenly—A loud screech tore through the air.Tyres screamed against the wet road.Maya turned just in time to see a black Rolls-Royce Phantom lose control after swerving to avoid a speeding motorcycle.
Bang!
The luxury car crashed violently into a streetlight.
People gasped.
Some rushed closer, while others instinctively pulled out their phones to record the accident. No one moved to help. Without thinking, Maya sprinted across the road. "Someone call an ambulance!” she shouted. Ignoring the curious stares around her, she reached the driver’s side.
The windshield was cracked.
The airbags had deployed.
Inside sat a man dressed in a perfectly tailored charcoal suit. A thin stream of blood ran from his temple, staining the crisp white collar of his shirt.His eyes were closed. Maya’s heart pounded.
“Sir?”
No response.
She tried the door.
Locked.
Thankfully, the passenger door had sprung open from the impact.
She climbed inside carefully.
“Can you hear me?”
The man groaned softly before opening a pair of striking grey eyes.
For a brief second, they locked eyes.
Despite the pain etched across his face, there was something commanding about him.
“I’m… fine,” he whispered.
“You are definitely not fine.”
Her voice was calm but firm.
“You hit a streetlight.”
He tried to sit upright.
A sharp pain shot through his shoulder, forcing him back into the seat.
Maya gently placed a hand on his arm.
“Don’t move.”
To her surprise, he obeyed.
Within minutes, the sound of an ambulance echoed through the streets.
As paramedics rushed over, they carefully helped the injured man onto a stretcher.
Just before they lifted him into the ambulance, he reached out and lightly held Maya’s wrist.
“What… is your name?”
“Maya.”
He repeated it quietly.
“Maya.”
As though committing it to memory.
“Thank you.”
She smiled politely.
“Get well soon.”
The ambulance doors closed.
The flashing lights disappeared into the rainy night.
Maya watched until they were gone before adjusting her backpack.
She had no idea that the stranger she had just saved was Ethan Cole—the youngest billionaire CEO in Lagos and one of the most influential businessmen in Africa.
Nor did she know that this brief encounter would change the course of her life forever.
The next morning, Maya arrived at the towering headquarters of Cole Group International for an interview she could hardly believe she’d been invited to attend.
She took a deep breath as the elevator doors slid open.
Her heart skipped.
Walking toward her, surrounded by sharply dressed executives, was the very man she had rescued the night before.
His confident stride slowed.
Their eyes met.
Recognition flashed across his face.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
“You.”
Maya stood frozen.
The billionaire hadn’t forgotten her.
The Man Behind the Name
The elevator doors slid open with a soft chime.
Maya stepped inside the magnificent lobby, immediately overwhelmed by its elegance. Crystal chandeliers sparkled above her, their light dancing across the polished marble floors. Employees in tailored suits moved with quiet confidence, each seemingly aware of exactly where they needed to be.
She instinctively smoothed the wrinkles from her modest navy-blue dress.
“I don’t belong here,” she thought.
Cole Group International wasn’t just another company. It was one of the most powerful corporations in Nigeria, with interests in real estate, oil and gas, finance, and technology. Securing an interview here felt like a miracle.
The receptionist smiled warmly.
“Good morning. Your name, please?”
“Maya Okafor.”
The young woman checked her computer before nodding.
“Yes, Miss Okafor. The legal department is expecting you. Please take the elevator to the twentieth floor.”
“Thank you.”
Maya clutched the folder containing her certificates and walked towards the elevators. Her heart pounded against her ribs.
This internship meant everything.
If she got it, she could finally stop worrying about tuition fees and help her mother pay the mounting bills at home.
The elevator reached the twentieth floor with a soft ding.
Just as the doors began to open, voices drifted through the corridor.
“Good morning, Mr. Cole.”
“Morning, sir.”
Every employee who passed greeted the man with respect.
Curious, Maya looked up.
Her breath caught.
It was him.
The stranger from the accident.
Except there was nothing vulnerable about him now.
He walked through the hallway with effortless authority, surrounded by senior executives. His charcoal suit fit him perfectly, and despite the small white bandage near his temple, he looked composed, confident, and completely in control.
Their eyes met.
For a heartbeat, time seemed to stop.
Recognition flickered across his face.
Then, to Maya’s surprise, he dismissed the executives with a subtle gesture and walked directly towards her.
“You made it.”
His deep voice was calm, but there was unmistakable warmth in it.
Maya blinked.
“I… didn’t know you worked here.”
A faint smile tugged at his lips.
“I do.”
Before she could ask another question, a man in his fifties hurried over, carrying a tablet.
“Mr. Cole, the board members are waiting for you.”
Maya froze.
Mr. Cole?
Her gaze shifted between the two men.
The realization struck like lightning.
This wasn’t just an employee.
This was Ethan Cole.
The billionaire CEO whose face regularly appeared on business magazines and television interviews. The youngest executive to build a billion-dollar empire before the age of thirty-five.
The same man she had spoken to without a hint of fear.
The same man whose arm she had held only hours ago.
Embarrassment rushed through her.
“Oh my goodness…”
Ethan noticed the change in her expression and smiled.
“So you’ve finally figured out who I am.”
“I… I’m sorry if I was rude yesterday.”
“You weren’t.”
His answer came immediately.
“You treated me like a human being.”
For the first time in a long while, Ethan realised how refreshing that had been.
No one had asked about his company.
No one had tried to impress him.
She had simply wanted to make sure he was alive.
Before either of them could speak again, a woman in a fitted black suit approached Maya.
“Miss Okafor?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Grace Williams from Human Resources. The interview panel is ready for you.”
Maya nodded quickly.
“It was nice seeing you again.”
Ethan inclined his head.
“Good luck.”
She followed Grace down the corridor, unaware that Ethan remained where he stood, watching until she disappeared behind the conference room doors.
⸻
The interview lasted nearly forty minutes.
Questions came one after another.
“Why did you choose law?”
“What area of legal practice interests you most?”
“How do you perform under pressure?”
Maya answered each one honestly.
She spoke about her dream of becoming a corporate lawyer, about watching her widowed mother struggle to provide for the family, and about believing that integrity mattered more than connections.
When the interview ended, the panel exchanged impressed glances.
“Thank you, Miss Okafor,” one interviewer said. “We’ll contact you soon.”
Relief washed over her as she stepped back into the hallway.
Whether she got the internship or not, she had given it everything she had.
She pressed the elevator button.
Just before the doors opened, a familiar voice stopped her.
“Miss Okafor.”
She turned.
Ethan stood only a few steps away.
“I never thanked you properly.”
“You don’t have to,” she replied softly. “I’m just glad you’re alright.”
He studied her face for a moment.
Then he reached into his jacket and handed her a sleek black business card.
“If you ever need anything, call me.”
Maya looked at the card, then back at him.
“Thank you.”
As she slipped it into her folder, she failed to notice a pair of eyes watching them from across the lobby.
A stunning woman in an expensive red dress stood beside the reception desk, her perfectly manicured nails digging into her designer handbag.
She had never seen Ethan smile at another woman.
Especially not an ordinary girl.
Her lips curved into a cold smile.
“Whoever she is…” she thought, ”…she won’t be around for long.”
- Writer
