Chapter 2 : The Conversation At Work
1528 Words
Victor arrived at work almost thirty minutes late.
He walked into the office quietly, trying not to draw attention. The air conditioner was already humming, keyboards clicking, and the smell of morning coffee hung in the air.
He placed his bag beside his chair, pulled out his laptop, and sat down quickly. He pressed the power button and stared at the screen as it loaded, hoping no one would notice.
But his mind was nowhere near work.
He kept thinking about the woman he had met that morning.
Mercy.
He could still see her clearly, the way she had walked past him at first as if she had not heard him, her bag resting firmly on her shoulder, her steps confident and unhurried. He remembered how he had called out, how she had ignored him twice, and how he had almost given up.
Then she eventually stopped, turned around, and introduced herself. Her voice was calm, not harsh.
A simple name, but it stayed in his head.
Then there was the problem with her number.
0802 40...
That was all he had. Five digits. You can't call five digits. It was useless, but it was the only thing connecting him to her.
Victor sighed and typed his password slowly.
“Guy, you’re late.”
Victor looked up. Daniel was standing beside his desk with a bottled water in his hand, smiling.
“I know,” Victor replied.
Daniel pulled a chair closer and sat without waiting to be invited. “Thirty minutes late. Oga, what happened? Traffic?”
“Nothing happened.”
“Nothing? Car broke down? NEPA took light?”
“Nothing like that.”
Daniel studied his face. “Then why do you look like someone who spent the whole morning somewhere else? You are smiling inside.”
“Daniel, please. I’m trying to work.”
“You’ve been staring at that laptop for five minutes without typing one word.”
Victor glanced at the screen. It was true. He had opened his email and done nothing.
“I’m fine,” he said.
“You are not fine. That is the look of a man who just met somebody.”
Victor ignored him and opened a random file.
Daniel leaned closer and lowered his voice. “So, what happened? Tell me.”
“Nothing.”
“You met somebody.”
Victor looked at him sharply. Daniel smiled wider.
“I knew it. Your face is different. Normal Victor would be complaining about query from Oga. Today you are smiling like someone who won lottery.”
Victor rubbed his forehead. He knew Daniel would not let him work in peace.
“Okay. Fine. I saw someone this morning. On my way to work.”
Daniel sat upright like a student ready to listen. “I’m listening. Start from the beginning.”
Victor explained how he had seen Mercy from across the street, how he had stopped because something about her caught his attention. How he debated whether to approach her, his heart beating fast.
“She was just walking, very confident,” Victor said. “I don’t know why I felt nervous. I have approached ladies before. But this one felt different.”
“I called her. First time she ignored me. Second time, same thing. I thought she would insult me, but she just kept walking.”
Daniel laughed. “She ignored you? The Victor that all the girls in this office say is fine boy?”
“It’s not like that,” Victor said, embarrassed.
“And you still followed her?”
“I didn’t follow her. I just called her again respectfully. Then she slowed down.”
Victor told him how he introduced himself, how Mercy eventually stopped and told him her name, how she laughed at his silly joke about her name.
“Her name is Mercy,” Victor said again, almost to himself.
“Nice? Guy, ‘nice’ is already a problem. When a man says a woman is ‘nice’ after first meeting, it means he is interested.”
“There’s no problem. We just talked.”
“What happened after?”
“She realized she was late. She checked her wristwatch and panicked. I remembered I didn’t have her number, so I asked if we could exchange numbers.”
“And?” Daniel leaned forward.
Victor scratched his head. “And she gave me some of it.”
“Some of it?”
Victor brought out his phone and opened his notepad.
“0802 40…”
There was a short silence, then Daniel burst out laughing so loud that two people turned to look.
“You’re joking!”
“I’m serious.”
“You don’t have her number? Victor, this is not a phone number. This is a clue.”
Victor was also laughing now. “She was in a hurry. My phone was hanging. Before I could save it, she left.”
“So you met a woman, got her name, and collected five digits before she disappeared into Lagos. How are you going to call her? Are you going to try all combinations?”
“I don’t know yet.”
Daniel was still laughing when Sandra walked in with a file in her hand.
“What are you two discussing? Why are you laughing like that?”
Daniel pointed at Victor. “Victor has a love story.”
“Daniel,” Victor warned.
Sandra looked curious. “What story?”
“There’s nothing,” Victor said.
“Tell her what you told me,” Daniel insisted.
Sandra folded her arms. “Victor, confess so we can help you.”
Victor sighed. He briefly explained again, he met a woman on his way to work, approached her, and only got part of her number because she was rushing.
Sandra listened. “Her name is Mercy?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Interesting.” She turned to leave, but Daniel stopped her.
“Where are you going? You are not advising him?”
She smiled. “At least he tried.”
She picked up her file and walked toward Favor’s office. Favor was arranging documents on her desk.
“Favor.”
“What?”
“You won’t believe what I just heard. Victor met another lady this morning.”
Favor’s expression changed instantly. “Another lady?”
“Yes. On his way to work. He approached her on the road.”
Sandra explained that Victor had spoken with the woman and asked for her number.
Favor stared, her fingers tightening around her cup. “How? What lady?”
“He said her name is Mercy. That’s all he has. He didn’t even get the complete number.”
Favor looked away, staring at the window.
“Why would he have interest in another lady whereas I’m here?” she said quietly.
Sandra looked at her. “Favor…”
“No. It’s not possible. I have been here with him, showing him signs. And he goes to meet a stranger?”
Sandra laughed softly. “You’re already worried, and nothing has happened. He doesn’t even have her number.”
“I’m not worried. I’m just surprised.”
“You should have seen his face when Daniel was talking about her. He was clearly interested.”
Favor leaned back, trying to appear unbothered, but her chest felt tight.
“Relax,” Sandra said. “He only has five digits. Unless the rest magically appears, he may not contact her again. Lagos is big.”
Favor forced a smile. “Still…”
“Still what?”
“Nothing.”
Sandra patted her shoulder. “Don’t overthink it.”
She left and returned to her desk.
In the main office, Samuel and John were busy typing, paying no attention.
Victor tried to concentrate. He opened his work sheet and began replying to an email.
Then Daniel whispered, “So what are you going to do now, Mr. 080240?”
“About what?”
“About Mercy.”
“I don’t know. I cannot call five digits.”
“You should go back there tomorrow morning. Early. Same spot.”
“Same spot?”
“You said she was going to work around that area, right?”
“Yes. I think so.”
“Then go there before work. Wait small. If she passes there every day, you will see her again.”
Victor thought about it. Daniel had a point. He could not guess the remaining digits.
Maybe Mercy passed that street every morning by 7:30. Maybe she would be there again, with the same bag, walking confidently.
Maybe he would get another chance to collect the complete number. Or maybe he wouldn’t.
Victor stared at the incomplete number again.
0802 40…
He smiled slightly.
“Maybe I will.”
Daniel smiled. “Good. And this time, make sure your phone is not slow and your battery is full.”
Victor chuckled.
He looked toward the office entrance for a moment, as if expecting Mercy to walk in, then returned to his work.
But even as he typed, one thought remained louder than all the office noise.
What if he actually saw Mercy again tomorrow?
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