The appearance of a Ghost
1070 Words
The Appearance of a Ghost
One day at Joe's family house at Lekki in Lagos, Jonathan Joe broke the news of his fiancee coming to pay them a visit very soon. “I hope it is not a fake relationship?” Mrs Henshaw mocked.
Joe was caught off guard when he heard his aunt able to guess this way. However, he was calm since it was a secret arrangement between him and Eunice.
“Aunt, do not worry about that. You will be surprised when you see her,” he said boldly.
On the part of his grandfather, she was very happy to hear about the news. He was eager to witness the day.
“My grandson, I am eager to witness the day. I hope she will be a beautiful woman,” he said joyfully.
“Papa, you will like her when you see her. She is beautiful and courteous,” he said.
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On the part of Eunice, the implementation of the contract began when Joe told her that he would come and pick her at the Suya Joint for a visit to his company.
She was surprised to hear this. She did not expect that visiting the company together would be part of the contract.
The decision she made to sign a marriage contract with a strange man she did not know began to haunt her. “Was I a fool? Why did I have to sign the contract? Well, I think I have a point. I needed money to pay for the medical bill of my ailing father. I needed money to complete my course. Since that was the way he wanted it to begin, I have to agree,” she said to herself.
“Okay, how do you want me to look like in appearance?” She asked.
“Hmm, just dress corporately in a simple and attractive way, And make sure you don't use make-ups. I will pick you up at Suya Joint at 11 o'clock tomorrow morning,” he responded.
“Alright, I will be waiting for you,” she said and left.
The following morning, Joe was the first person to arrive at the Suya Joint with his car. He was troubled to know that Eunice had not arrived.
“I hope this girl will not disappoint. I hope she will not breach her own part of the contract,” he thought with his heart racing.
As he was pacing up and down, he saw her coming towards him. He admired her dressing. This time, he became calm and unruffled in his heart.
“Hi Joe! I am sorry to arrive late.” I was trying to select from my wardrobe a suitable outfit for this outing,” she said apologetically.
“That is okay. I like the way you appear in this dressing. You look attractive and beautiful,” he praised her.
“Thank you,” she blushed.
He opened the front door for her just like a loving husband will do for his loving wife. They entered the car and take-off.
In the car, there was no conversation between them. But Joe was watching her from one corner of her eyes admiring her beauty. He began to feel a sensation of attraction towards the woman sitting in the car beside her.
“I think I like this girl,” he thought.
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A few minutes later, they arrived at the company. The duo became a figure of attraction to the employees.
There were speculations whether or not, the woman accompanying their boss was the love of their boss. Some gossipped about the way they walked as they came out of the car.
“I don't think they are in a true relationship,” one said. “The way they walked and interacted with each other looked awkward,” he added
“Yes! My guess is correct about the way they relate. I was also thinking along the direction. Their movement is just too awkward,” another worker corroborated.
“Don't say that. It is because our boss is not used to it. Since I was employed some years ago when his father was still the CEO of the company, I have not seen him associating himself with girls. By that time, he only enjoyed a free lifestyle. Now, I think he is serious about the relationship,” another worker defended.
Gossips began to fly around among the workers about this new development but the duo in question did not care.
—---------------
As they walked through the reception, Eunice was shocked to see a familiar face. The face turned out to be John, her ex-boyfriend who broke up with her.
John's life had been miserable since the death of his father a year ago. His father's plan to build a state-of-the-art music studio for him had become a mirage.
His father's company was in a state of bad debt. All effort to pay back proved unfruitful. As a result, the company folded up with nothing left for his father. It was in this state of depression and hopelessness that his father had a heart attack and died shortly after. John had only come to the company that day to visit his friend.
He froze when he saw Eunice walking side by side with his friend's boss. He was speechless. He felt ashamed of his actions by breaking up with her. He could not say what would become of his fate later.
“If Eunice, my ex-fiance that I broke up with, happens to be the wife of my friend's boss, then I will be doomed for it. I have to act fast to salvage the situation,” he pondered.
He was in the state of contemplating when suddenly his friend opened the door of the office and caught him off guard.
“Anything the matter, John? Why are you moody today?” He asked
“Nothing unusual,” he responded.
“Did you take note of the boss and the woman accompanying him? What is your reaction about their movement as they entered the company? Are they really in a true relationship? No closeness between them. The distance between them as they walked was just too much. What did you see, John?” The worker colleague asked nonstop.
John pretended as if he was not listening and left immediately forgetting to take a drink his friend offered him.
- Writer
