Behind Closed Doors
531 Words
Chapter 5: Behind Closed Doors
Chinedu didn’t go home that night.
He sat in his office on the 40th floor, the city lights bleeding across the glass like spilled ink. On his desk was the email from Kemi, sent 20 minutes after she left the workshop:
_Subject: Campaign Reset_
_We’re pulling funding from Tunde Adewale and terminating Ola’s contract. It’s a liability. Call me before you make this worse._
He didn’t call her.
Instead, he opened the old Okon Construction file from two years ago. The one with Tunde’s name stamped across it in red: _Non-compliant. Terminated._
The file was thin. Too thin for a ₦3 million dispute. No photos of the delivered work. No signed inspection report. Just Kemi’s notes, and his father’s signature approving termination.
Chinedu closed the laptop.
His door opened without a knock.
“Still here?” Mr. Okon stepped in, tie loosened, expression unreadable. “Kemi told me what happened.”
“I figured,” Chinedu said.
“You’re making this personal.”
“No,” Chinedu said. “You made it personal two years ago. I just didn’t know.”
Mr. Okon’s eyes narrowed. “Watch your tone.”
“I’m watching,” Chinedu replied. “I’m also watching you. There’s no inspection report in that file, Dad. No proof Tunde failed to deliver. Just Kemi’s word.”
“That’s enough,” Mr. Okon said flatly. “Kemi runs client relations. She doesn’t make decisions lightly.”
“Then why are you scared to let me talk to Adewale?” Chinedu stood up. “Because if he’s clean, it means we screwed him. And if we screwed him, it means the foundation’s whole ‘youth empowerment’ thing is a lie.”
Mr. Okon was quiet for a long moment. Then: “The foundation is about perception, Chinedu. Not justice. Not history. Perception keeps the investors happy. Perception keeps us in business.”
“So Ola was right,” Chinedu said softly.
“About what?”
“That we treat people like problems to be managed.”
Mr. Okon’s face hardened. “You have 48 hours to shut this down quietly. Or I’ll do it for you. And Chinedu… don’t let a girl with a camera make you forget who you are.”
---
Ola didn’t sleep either.
She sat on the edge of Tunde’s bed while he pretended to be asleep, her phone in her hand. Nneka had texted her an hour ago:
_Heard Kemi’s moving against you. Board meeting tomorrow. You need to be there._
Ola typed back: _How do I get into an Okon board meeting?_
Nneka’s reply came instantly: _You don’t. I do. Be at Okon Towers lobby at 8 AM. Bring your camera. And your brother’s contract files._
Ola looked at Tunde’s sleeping face. He’d been quiet since Kemi left, sanding wood like it could drown out the memory.
She didn’t want to drag him into this.
But if Chinedu was choosing to stand up, she couldn’t let him do it alone.
And if the Okons had lied, she was going to make sure the whole city knew.
Even if it meant burning the bridge with Chinedu for good.
---
- Writer
