YOU FOUND ME

CHAPTER 7- PART 2

KOREDE DASILVA

   I was running late for Chuks' party. I had to do some last-minute sorting out at the office. Well, it's only a workaholic like me that still worked on weekends.
I got to the gate of Chuks' house and was welcomed by the gatekeeper, Usman.
"Oga! Welcome sah!", he greeted with a salute.
I smiled and waved at him.
"Thank you Usman."
As soon as he opened the gate, I drove into the compound and was welcomed by the sound of blaring music and general chatter. I found a parking spot in the garage close to Chuks' red Mercedes. No sooner than I alighted I heard my name being called by a familiar voice.
"Korede! Korede!"
I turned to face the direction in which it was coming from, and found Tobi walking towards me with an excited look on his face.
"Hey Tobi, my guy!", I greeted.
He was wearing a white kaftan on trousers and a pair of brown Birkenstock sandals. My friend looked sharp as always.
"Korede, Chuks has been looking everywhere for you. The guy was wondering if you weren't coming again".
I shrugged. "Sorry man. I had to quickly sort out some things at the office."
Tobi gave me a nudge on my arm. "Work on weekends? Baba na you o!"
All I could do was smile. Immersing myself in work became my escape route when I was dealing with some personal issues until I eventually became a certified workaholic. But to be honest, I love my job.
"So where's the party boy at?", I asked in an attempt to change the topic.
Tobi chuckled. "He's at the cocktail lounge."
"Alright. Let's go."

   As we both made our way through the aisles, we exchanged pleasantries with some friends from our university days and business associates. It was nice to see people come out to celebrate with our friend Chuks. Chuks is such a hardworker and I'm proud of all he has accomplished.
"There he is!", Tobi said pointing towards a group of people in front of us. We walked towards where Chuks stood sipping a glass of wine flanked by his biracial girlfriend Sheila and one of our friends, Lanre Ajayi who is the owner of Elite Space, a fast rising technology company in Lagos.
"Chuks!", I called out to catch his attention.
He turned towards me, grinning in mock surprise.
"Wait. Who do we have here? Korede DaSilva himself in the flesh!", he exclaimed as he placed his wine glass on the table closest to him.
Chuks couldn't do without making a sarcastic statement. Well, we loved him like that.
I reached out to him in a bear hug.
"Sorry I was late man. I had to quickly catch up on some urgent things at the office."
"Don't mention bro...I was only worried that you might have been kidnapped."
"Kidnapped?"
He turned to face Tobi and the two men burst into laughter. I wondered how on earth I ended up having crazy people as friends.
"But anyways I'm here now, and man I must say the party's looking good!", I said while giving him a pat on the back. "Congrats once again, you deserve it."
"Thanks. Not trying to blow my trumpet or anything but you know Chuks Bright throws  the best parties in Lagos!", he said with a wink.
Tobi raised his hands in mock surrender. "Boss! We are loyal! The Party King himself!"
I just shook my head and smiled.
I turned to face Sheila and stretched out my hands for a handshake.
"Hi Sheila. It's nice seeing you again. "
"Same here. Glad you could make it", she responded with a wide smile flaunting her perfect set of teeth.
She and Chuks started dating only two months ago and we've only met briefly a couple of times.
To be honest, she seemed like a nice person. My only concern was Chuks' habit of jumping from one girl to another in no time. He was a guy who got any girl he wanted at the snap of his fingers, even we his friends knew he was the boss when it came to that.
I exchanged pleasantries with Lanre Ajayi as well. We discussed the great potential in the fast-booming tech industry and his plans on organizing a youth development scheme in his hometown. He was such a brilliant man and I enjoyed every bit of our conversation.

   The party was going well so far and some of the guests had gone in for a tour of the house.
I felt a bit giddy as I remembered one of the reasons I came for this party.
To see Teniola.
Now don't judge me; Chuks is my friend and I'll do anything to support him but part of why I was here was to see her.
I couldn't understand why she was on my mind lately. Though I didn't know so much about her other than she was a chef who worked for the company, but I was hoping that we could get to talk better in a more relaxed and non-professional setting.
Well, all thanks to Tobi's stellar idea.
Even though some part of me knew this was probably not going to end good, it was worth trying at least.