Consequences

Chapter 4

Surprised to see the receptionist standing in front of me, I asked her with a look of  seriousness why she was here.

"Sorry madame but the manager said you should wait a bit."
"Anything wrong?" She looked at me without talking and I figured if she had anything to say, she didn't want to say it standing outside.
"Come inside." When she came in and I closed the door she didn't waste time in telling me what was happening.
"The Police is here and they are talking to Oga so he told me to come and tell you to wait until they leave." I went to the window and looked outside again. The Police car was still there, parked as I saw it parked the first time. 

What were they here for, and why did Chuks tell the receptionist to tell me to wait?

"What is really going on here?" I asked turning to face the receptionist.
"Nothing madame." I walked up to her and looked straight into her eyes. It made her blink.

"I get a knock on my door and you said it couldn't have happened. Your manager tells me to come down for breakfast, and because the Police is here he tells me to wait. Surely something is wrong don't you think?"

"I'm only a receptionist so if there is anything wrong here I don't know."

"You don't know?" She nodded.
"But I see the way you look at the manager." A surprise look fell on her face when I said that.
"And I know it's not the way an ordinary employee looks at their boss." I didn't take my stare off her as I really wanted answers. If there was something behind her attitude towards me, I had to know now.

"Ah madame, me I don't have anything with him o."
"Are you sure? Because it looks like you are into him so much you would do anything to be with him, am I right?" A sense of guilt surfaced on her face as she struggled to avoid my stare.

Could it that be there was a sexual affair going on between them which she was taking as a serious relationship?

"I don't know what is going on between the two of you but I refuse to allow you insult me the way you did downstairs."

"Eh madame, no vex, I dey sorry if I offend you." She put her hands forward and grabbed my hands and kneeling down started begging me.

"I beg madame, a beg make you no tell oga if not he don talk say he go sack me. De tin be say he never behave like dis to any other women wey don come here before." she kept on talking on and on.

It was too much what she was telling me in quick and rapid succession. I could hardly keep track of all that she was telling me. Only one thing was clear to me-that Chuks the manager, had great respect and admiration for me, and perhaps even love.

But this didn't bother me. What bothered me was the woman the receptionist mentioned that she claimed was dragged out of the hotel and killed. I had to know the details of it. And I needed to know what she knew about it.

"Look we are women, I don't think its fair we have disagreements over a guy just because he owns a hotel." Then in clear and plain pidgin I had to really tell her what was on my mind.

" Look if he want me, he go spend money. And me if I want, I go chop am. If he want you he ready to spend money because he get am."

"I know, madam." she said faintly as if regretting whatever actions she had already undertaken. A moment of silence fell into our midst while I struggled with the  idea of how to bring up the topic of the woman that was killed. Then an idea struck me and I employed it.

"So my advice to you would be to focus on your job. I mean you are young and attractive. I'm sure someone you can call your own is out there somewhere." Her face brightened up in reaction to what I had just said. It seemed I had turned on a switch inside her.