Uninvited
535 Words
Chapter 4: Uninvited
The workshop door banged open two days later, and the tension came with it.
Kemi Okon didn’t knock. She never did.
“Ola,” she said, eyes sweeping the room like she was cataloging liabilities. “Chinedu. What exactly is going on here?”
Chinedu stood from where he’d been crouched next to Emeka, looking at a prototype fan. “Kemi. This isn’t a surprise visit.”
“It is now.” She turned to Tunde, who’d gone still at his workbench. “You’re Tunde Adewale, right? The carpenter my father almost sued two years ago.”
The air left the room.
Emeka stopped mid-sentence. Ola’s hand froze on her camera.
Tunde set his sander down carefully. “You remember.”
“How could I forget?” Kemi’s voice was sharp. “You threatened to take us to court over a contract you didn’t fulfill. My father spent ₦3 million clearing up the mess.”
Tunde stepped forward. “We fulfilled it. You ghosted us after we delivered. Don’t rewrite history, Miss Okon.”
“Enough,” Chinedu said, stepping between them. “Kemi, this isn’t the place—”
“No, it _is_ the place.” Kemi’s eyes flicked to Ola. “Because now I understand why you hired her. You’re trying to buy forgiveness through her brother.”
Ola lowered her camera slowly. “Don’t talk about my brother like he’s a PR problem.”
“And don’t pretend you’re not using him,” Kemi shot back. “You think I don’t know who you are? The photographer who almost posted my brother’s business online like it was gossip?”
Chinedu turned to Ola, caught off guard. “You didn’t tell me that.”
“I didn’t tell you a lot of things,” Ola said quietly. “Just like you didn’t tell me your sister was the one who blacklisted Tunde.”
The silence that followed was worse than shouting.
Emeka finally broke it, muttering, “Well. This is awkward.”
Kemi ignored him. “Chinedu, we’re leaving. Now. Father wants the campaign refocused. No more ‘sob stories’. No more Adewale.”
Chinedu’s jaw clenched. “No.”
Kemi blinked. “Excuse me?”
“I said no.” He looked at Tunde, then at Ola. “Tunde’s program stays. Ola stays as photographer. If you have a problem with that, take it up with the board.”
For a second, Kemi looked like she’d been slapped. Then her expression hardened.
“Fine. But don’t come crying when this blows up in your face.”
She walked out, heels clicking like a countdown.
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The workshop felt too quiet after she left.
Tunde broke first. “Ola, what’s going on?”
Ola glanced at Chinedu, who was still standing in the middle of the room like he wasn’t sure if he belonged there anymore.
“Nothing you need to worry about,” she said to Tunde. Then to Chinedu: “You didn’t have to do that.”
Chinedu shrugged, but his hands were fists at his sides. “Yeah. I did.”
Emeka whistled low. “Damn. Someone’s getting the executive suite tonight.”
Nobody laughed.
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- Writer
