Creme DeLa Creme

Creme 3

CREME DELA CREME

CHAPTER THREE

Later that day, Maimuna informed Presido to meet her at home around 4:30pm but then she began to crave Domino’s hot cheese pizza. She called him and informed him of the change of plan to meet at Domino’s. She showered and offered her Asr Salah before slipping into a black Abayah with rose petals on the sleeves and hems. Her face was devoid of any makeup except the kohl in her waterline and her cherry lip gloss. Skechers were her favourite footwear and today too, she was rocking a grey pair which matched her grey YSL handbag. After bidding her mother goodbye, she got behind the wheels of her car and drove to Domino’s.

He was there on time. She was surprised.

He was all smiles as he stood up to greet her and pulled out a chair for her to seat across from him. She thanked him and sat, placing her phone and handbag on the table.

“You look ravishing" his velvet voice swept over her and she shivered. What is this feeling again?

“Thank you" she forced a smile as she avoided his calculating gaze. “You don't look bad yourself”

He chuckled and she was forced to make eye contact. Why did he have so much effect on her? “I’m just coming from the hospital. I believe I look haggard"

Maimuna’s attention was spiked.

“Hospital? What happened are you okay?” she was genuinely concerned. She instantly felt bad for acting up some few hours ago. Why didn’t she let him explain himself in the first place?

“Oh I’m totally fine" he smiled, enjoying all the attention he was getting at the moment “It’s Sadiya"

“Oh" Maimuna’s worry level immediately deactivated at the mention of Muhammad’s wife.

Dating a married man wasn’t easy, but Muhammad had over the years tried his possible best to make Maimuna comfortable in their relationship which meant not bringing up his wife in their conversations unless when necessary. And whenever he did, Maimuna made sure she concealed her feelings with a gentle smile. Oh it hurt whenever he said that name. And it hurt today too.

“She was in labour throughout yesterday and later delivered a healthy baby”

Maimuna swallowed a lump. Sadiya was also the mother of his children, how could she forget?

“Masha Allah. I hope they’re fine?”

“Yeah both Mother and baby are fine. It’s a girl actually"

Maimuna watched as his eyes shone with adoration. Adoration which was meant for another woman who was not her.

“Oh that’s great” she smiled. “May Allah grant her good health"

“Ameen"

Maimuna felt deflated as she realised there were no more explanations needed. The man was with his family all day for two days and that was why he wasn’t there for her. Her heart hurt badly when it dawned on her that she will always come second, and his precious wife and children will always come first.

But for how long will she remain a second choice? Was he going to marry her and make her family too or not? What was this feeling?

He tried to engage her in more conversation but Maimuna was just not in the mood anymore. She just told him briefly about London and lied about back pain so that he would let her go home.

He bought ice cream for her and her siblings at home and made sure he saw a genuine smile from her before he let her leave. He was truly sweet in his own way. She almost felt bad for being so cold toward him, but her heart ached and she needed to lie down.

He walked her to her car, opened the door for her and waved at her as she reversed out of the driveway.

~

Maimuna's driver, Hussaini arrived just in time to take Aisha to the Make up artist from where he will then take her to The Marquee event centre where the Dinner will take place. He handed her the invitation when she stepped into the car and she thanked him. It took two solid hours to get Aisha's makeup done. She looked extremely pretty in a gorgeous embroidered long sleeved, high neckline with beaded column silver sheath maxi dress with a small train by Sherri Hills. It was bought in a price she can’t afford and won’t dare ask her sister to spend for her on a dress but a ‘sugar daddy’ who apparently wants to marry her and had no problem spending money ridiculously bought it for her as a gift or rather a bribe to make her travel abroad with him for some ‘adventure’ but her excuses never end. She wore a nude veil and a transparent clutch to match her dress.

Thankfully, the red carpet event was still ongoing when she arrived at the venue. She was grateful she wasn’t late for Maimuna would’ve been very pissed. After showing her IV to the bouncers at the entrance, she was ushered to her seat the table which Maimuna was suppose to share with some well known young millionaires.

She picked up the card that had her sister’s name on it. ‘Miss Maimuna Usman Dauda. CEO MAUDE’ She read it with a smile on her face. She was so proud of her sister.

“Hello.” She waved at the people she met on the table. “I’m representing this person.” She showed them the card that had her sister’s name on it.

“Oh Hello. You’re Welcome. “ The friendly looking man stood up and welcomed her. “I’m Jamil Jamil. CEO JJ furnitures.”

“I’m....” she paused. “Really I’m nobody. I’m just a sister to CEO of MAUDE who does more of the money consuming. But nice to meet you.” She giggled.

“That’s a position above the CEO. You’re doing well. Welcome. I’m Farida Adam. President of Danbatta groups livestock branch. Please have a seat.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m a huge fan.“ Aisha shook her hand. “Ladies are the best. Thanks.”

Danbatta groups is a very famous company owned by Alhaji Adam Danbatta and his brother Alhaji Suleiman Danbatta which has covered all forms of farming. They have a very large farm in four states. On the best soils of all the regions of Nigeria. Growing different types of grains, tubers, legumes and fruits, they also breed livestock and sell their products.

She knows Farida from social media and adored her and her 2 year old son. She was an inspiration. By Farida’s left was the owner of a clothing line, Khadija. And next to her was the millionaire and master mind behind an app called Na4U where you can sell and buy anything including groceries.

Few moments later, Fauzee and Rashna arrived too. Aisha hugged them both and they started making small conversations.

The place was filled with Billionaires, millionaires and their other rich friends with the know-hows on how to multiply money.

Aisha was basically there to see famous people including her favorite Nigerian rapper, eat good food and listen to live 9ja beats and lastly accept her sister’s award. She hadn’t prepared any speech though. That wouldn’t be necessary, would it?

“Your resemblance is extraordinary.” Someone came and sat beside her where the person representing a Nineteen year old artist was suppose to be seated. She raised her brow at him.

“Excuse me?”

“Oh sorry. Aliyu Muhammad, your sister’s friend. When I saw you come in I thought it was her cause you look so much alike. I was even beginning to wonder why she was here alone. You see I know Maimuna hardly goes anywhere alone.”

Aisha was suddenly offended. She frowned her face. “I’m prettier than her.” She declared.

“Ehn?” He was startled at first. Fauzee who overheard their conversation coughed loudly.

Aisha glared at her playfully “Don’t tell her I said that though”

Then she turned to Aliyu “How can you say we look so much alike. Extraordinary resemblance. I’m clearly more beautiful. “

Aliyu burst out with laughter. “Forgive my ignorance and manner of speech my lady. You are such an exceptional beauty. Thank you for gracing us with your presence.” He slightly bowed his head making her laugh.

She liked the guy. She began to chat with him till the event finally kicked in and they had to pause their conversations and listen to the MC as he welcomed some keynote speakers and guests of honor. Aisha didn’t think she would enjoy the dinner as much as she did. It was fun. The food was good too and Aliyu kept making her laugh until she was called to receive her sister’s award. All she could offer was “Thank you. Maimuna Usman Dauda really appreciates it and I am glad to say she deserves it.” There was a mild applause but it didn’t matter. She was not a speech kinda person despite the fact that she was a chatterbox. The dinner ended with some entertainment and cocktails. It was safe to say, Aisha had a blast that night.

Around quarter past 10, she bid farewell to all the nice people she met at the event and made her way to find Hussaini to take her home.

“Excuse me please.” She heard someone call out to her. “I’m sorry but can I talk to you for a minute.”

There goes another guy trying to hit on her. Was she that irresistible?

“I’m sorry. I have to run home. I’m late.” She said trying to play hard to get.

“Please just a minute. I was going to talk to Maimuna Usman's assistant and Manager but they disappeared after you collected the award. I think they left.”

So it’s about her sister as always. This guy though could have been a good catch. He is handsome and just about 30 years or so. She thought. She was always in for the huge age gap. They were more mature and just knew how to treat a woman right.

She pretended to look tired and exasperated “Okay. Go on.”

He opened his mouth to say something but then hesitated. It was no good talking to her sister, he thought as he reached inside the pocket of his blazer and retrieved his wallet.

“Here is my compliment card.” He passed it to her. She could barely see anything in the dark parking lot. “There’s something I want to work on with your sister but getting to her has been very difficult.”

“Yeah. She’s been really busy lately.” Aisha resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she tucked the card in her clutch

“I figured. Please pass that compliment card to your sister. Tell her to please call me. Please, its really important “

“Okay will do. “

”Thank you so much.” He smiled. “Have a goodnight"

Aisha sighed dramatically as she watched him walk away. “Hawt!” she whispered as she fanned her face with her clutch.

~

"What are you doing?"

Maimuna gasped as her phone nearly fell over the balcony. She was startled. Her mother had just walked in on her and she didn't even hear her come in.

"Aunty!" She sighed as she held a hand to her erratic heart "you scared me"

Her mother grinned at her. "Sorry. You looked so lost. You didn't even answer my salam"

Maimuna walked into the room and shut the French doors that led to her balcony close. "I was just receiving some fresh air"

"At 1 in the morning?" Her mother raised a brow at her. "Is everything okay?"

Maimuna stared back and then furrowed her brows in confusion "why are you up so late?"

Her mother rubbed the side of her head and yawned "I came up to check on Aisha but then I saw the lights in your room were turned on"

Maimuna nodded in understanding. It was that time of the month again and Aisha was suffering from severe cramps and had had a high fever. And as usual, their mother was up and about carrying hot water bags and making her some soup.

"You should go to bed Aunty. Aisha will be fine. She's a grown up now. She can take care of herself" Maimuna said as she placed a comforting hand on her mother's shoulders.

"I will go to bed when I check up on her. You should also go to sleep and stop staring into nothingness" her mother smirked.

Maimuna laughed softly and shook her head.

"Goodnight Aunty" she gave her a hug

"Goodnight Munari ta"

It was 3:46am when she woke up later in the night. She had a dream, and in it was her dad. Like always, this dream too was not comprehensible. She said a short prayer as she tried to calm her erratic heart. What is wrong with her?

She rarely has dreams about her dad. But whenever she does, it meant that something was bothering her and there was no one she'd rather tell other than him. But he was gone.

A lone tear escaped and she quickly scurried out of bed and into the bathroom. She peed and then performed ablution. She came back and wore her long hijab and prayed two raka'ats Nafil and asked Allah to ease all her affairs and set her matters straight. After reciting a few chapters from the Qur'an, she picked up her laptop and opened the doors to the balcony. She sat down on one of the raffia chairs and began to work on her laptop until the Adhan for Subh prayer was called.

Thirty minutes later, Maimuna had prayed, showered and was dressed ready to kill the day. She checked on Aisha who was still sleeping due to the drugs she'd taken. The fever was now gone but there was still a hot water bag peeking from under her shirt.

"Good morning Boss. I hope you had a wonderful night's rest " Fauzee's voice came through as soon as she answered the call.

Maimuna smiled as she walked down the stairs, her satchel and handbag swinging on her shoulders.

"Morning Fauzee. What time should I pick you up?"

There was a pause on the other end before Fauzia finally spoke. "You seem to have forgotten but you're having breakfast with Ibrahim Adam today"

Maimuna's hand stopped mid air as she reached to open the door that led to the living room. "Breakfast with who?"

Fauzee chucked. "Ibrahim Adam. CEO of NAN group of companies. He was at the Northern Nigerian Youth Initiative Award dinner two weeks ago and wanted to meet you. Remember? I even called his office to schedule a meeting with him but he said he wanted to meet you in person"

Maimuna squinted her eyes as she walked into the living room. "Oh yeah."she sighed repeatedly. She was really looking forward to eating some hot Akara and Masa under the shade at the site. Watching the labourers start their day while she and Fauzee schedule and reschedule appointments. "Does that mean I can't have Mama Bisi's Akara today?" She said with a pout

Fauzee laughed. "Don't worry. I'll get you some on my way to the office."

"Fauzee baby, you're a life saver"

They said their goodbyes and Maimuna hung up. She knocked on her mother's bedroom door and entered with a salam.

Her mother was standing by the wardrobe folding her Hijab which she had earlier prayed Subh with.

"Good morning Aunty" Maimuna hugged her from behind as she closed her eyes.

Her mother smiled as she closed the wardrobe. "I honestly hate Saturdays" she confessed.

Maimuna laughed and released her from her hold. "Aunty you know it's not every weekend that I go out. Unless its necessary "

Her mother sighed "Why can't you just sit at home and rest and allow your assistant and manager do the rest of the work? I don't think you should be stressing yourself too much given the fact that you're the boss. If not why employ all those people and then you still do their work?"

Maimuna held her mother's hands and brought them to her lips. "I'm sorry Aunty. I really have to go out today. I have a client I'm meeting for breakfast and then Fauzee and I have something to sort out at the site. But I promise you I'll be back home before Zuhr insha Allah "

Aunty was reluctant, but then she gave in. "Okay. I wish you all the best. May Allah be with you"

"Ameen Aunty na" she gave her one last hug and skipped out of the room. She stopped by in the kitchen and chit chatted with Maman Fati, took a few sips and Kunun Gyada before finally gathering her things and exiting the house.

Since it was a weekend, Husseini had the day off so Maimuna drove herself to Blu Cabana restaurant and Cafe.

It was 8:25am by the time she arrived and the place was just opening. She was 25 minutes late and surprisingly, she didn't care.

She walked into the cafe that was full of ambience and looked around. There were a few customers hanging around but none of them looked like they own a chain of furniture and automobile businesses around the country. He was probably late too, she thought. So she found a seat and settled in. As if on cue, a waitress came to the table.

"Miss Maimuna Usman?" She asked with a smile on her face.

Maimuna was shocked. "Yes?"

"Please follow me to the pool area. There is a table reserved for you"

So he was here, after all. Well his email didn't say that he had a table reserved, he just mentioned the name of the restaurant and that was all.

She stood up and followed the chirpy waitress through the glass door into the outdoor swimming pool area. The place was quite and the early morning breeze was soothing.

She saw him stand as they neared the table and her jaw nearly dropped.

The man was tall. Like 6ft2 tall.

"Hi" he said with a bright smile. "I'm glad you made it" his voice was even richer than how she remembered it when they spoke on the phone.

"I'm just here for the food honestly " Maimuna tried to make a joke as she settled on the seat opposite him. The waitress handed them the menus and excused them.

"Been here before?" he asked as he skimmed through the menu.

Maimuna looked up "Couple of times. My clients love breakfast meetings"

"So this is not a first "

"Nope " she shook her head.

"So what sandwich would you recommend?" He asked as she showed her his menu which displayed list of mouthwatering sandwiches that were made in the restaurant.

Maimuna didn't give it a second thought when she said "The tandoori chicken wrap. It's the bomb. The sauce just takes you to another world entirely"

He smiled amusingly at the way she was expressively explaining the sandwich and for the first time, Maimuna felt shy.

"I guess I'll have that then"

They placed their orders and they were brought shortly.

"So what does NAN stand for? I'm kinda pronouncing it like 'Naan', you know the Indian bread" Maimuna stated, trying to make conversation.

Ibrahim burst out laughing. And Maimuna was shocked as to how beautiful his laughter was.

"You know you're funny right?"

She shrugged and sipped her orange juice.

Ibrahim wiped his mouth with a napkin and sat back. "NAN stands for Noor Ala Noor, meaning light upon light "

Maimuna nodded affirmatively. "That's genius. I'm impressed "

"Well thank you, my friend and business partner came up with it. And what does MAUDE stand for?"

She took her time chewing and swallowing her food before she replied. "Maimuna Usman Dauda Enterprise"

"That's even more impressive. How did you come up with that?"

“Trust me it wasn’t hard at all. How many people have Maimuna and Dauda in their names?” She joked.

Ibrahim took a sip of his black coffee “They are both pretty nice names.”

“I know right.” Her smile widened. “Some people just think .... they think in a different way. But it’s okay. Anyways I heard you wanted to buy one of our shops in the plaza?” She quickly dived into business and they were getting too familiar and she was liking it. They just met for the first time she preferred to be more professional than friendly but he just had something that made her feel at ease. Is she safe?

“Yes. I want to make it a man cave. I want you, your company to design and decorate it for me. A barbing saloon as the facade and some many fun things on the inside. Video games, indoor games, mini movie theater mostly for watching football match, maybe even a spa for men....” he got excited listing the things he wanted to add to the man cave.

“A spa?” She raised a brow. “Well that’s new. I’m guessing the list goes on till we tell you it’s impossible to do some of that stuff in that space.”

“Actually it does. But I thought the shop was really big? Can’t we do all that?” He stared at her anxiously. He really like her plaza and the location of it. It was perfect for him.

“All you listed?” She asked and he nodded in affirmation, then she took the last bite of her sandwich and a sip of her sweet black tea then chewed carefully before she answered him “Oh there is enough space for all that.”

He released a sigh of relief.

“The guys on our creative art department and design and decor department are going to be super excited about this. They’ve never hard a men project as big as this I think.”

“It would be a delight to work with you and your teams.” He smiled.

They proceeded to continue discussing about the project and setting up a next meeting at MAUDE. They were done with their meals and decided to call it a day.

They walked out of the restaurant together as Ibrahim held the door open for her. Maimuna waved at the familiar waitress. It then strike her that they didn’t pay the bills and the waitress didn’t stop them from leaving.

She paused for a moment. “Uhm. We didn’t pay. They didn’t bring the bill to us.” She told Ibrahim who was going on about how delicious the meal was and he was sure to return another time.

“I paid in advance. Don’t worry. It’s settled.”

“Oh. “ Maimuna nodded. “Usually people preferred to have breakfast and dinner by the pool. Today it was just us and everyone suddenly wanted to be indoors.” She commented.

“Yeah. I wonder why.” He simply replied not bothering to tell her that he rented the entire outdoor restaurant by the pool.