Sales girl episode 13

*Recap: Dami experienced first-hand what working
for Mr. Phillips is like. She also found out where
her ex-coworker Bukky has been all this while.
Meanwhile, Natasha and Inspector James devise a
plan to expose those behind the drug and human
trafficking.*

1:33pm, 30th May 2016,
Monday Afternoon.
I was getting fed up with all this. For the past 6
days I’d done things which were indescribable.
Things I never imagined I would stoop so low to
do. With every assignment Mr. Phillips gave, I felt
like I was sinking deeper into a dark hole which I
might never get out of. Bukky’s advice was
starting to seem very unappealing because I knew
deep within myself that I could only take so much
of this burden before it drove me insane.
My newly assigned phone rang, drawing me out of
my thoughts and I glanced at the screen in
annoyance. It was him . It could only be him . My
phone was seized and the new phone I was given
contained only his contact.
“Yes sir?” I muttered as I answered the call.
“Sound more alive.”
I rolled my eyes and mentally cursed the day we
met.
“Yes sir?” I repeated.
“Better. Now I’m calling to remind you of your
appointment by 6pm sharp. Do not be late and do
not disappoint my client because this is a slightly
different situation. I’ll send you a message
containing the details of the meeting.”
“But sir, I-”
He didn’t even give me a chance to finish my
sentence before the call ended. I stared at the
phone in confusion. What did he mean by this
being a different situation?
I sighed and tossed the phone unto the bed before
getting up to look out the window. The room I was
kept in had a single small window that let in air
and sunlight. Standing behind it, I felt locked away
from the world, from my family. And frankly, I
really was locked away and kept a prisoner. I shut
my eyes tightly as all the anger and desperation to
find a way out of this place flooded back into me. I
thought about my sister Toyin, we were supposed
to be having fun planning her wedding and my
mom who was no doubt worried out of her mind
by now. Then I felt even worse as I thought of
Daniel who had warned me against going after the
strange man. He had been right after all. I’d fallen
straight into a trap.
I silently prayed to God to help me get out of here
safely.
***
It was close to 5:45pm when I arrived at the
address Mr. Phillips sent. It was a popular hotel
located in Victoria Island, known for having some
of the wealthiest people in the society as patrons. I
sat in the reception feeling like a fish out of water.



I didn’t belong here, in these flimsy clothes that I’d
been forced into, carrying about a clutch bag that
was filled with anything but female essentials.
I looked up as the doors opened and a group of
people walked in. In the midst of three heavily built
men was an older man dressed in flowing
traditional wear. I looked away towards the doors
again as they passed by, still waiting for who
matched the description I had built in my head of
who I was waiting for. Mr. Phillips didn’t give me a
name when he sent the details of this meeting. It
was to my utmost surprise when I was summoned
to a room only to find the elderly man seated in an
armchair, waiting for me.
I stepped in cautiously and waited by the side of
the door.
“Come closer.” He said in a low voice.
I took one step forward.
He beckoned with his hand for me to move closer
still.
I shifted uncomfortably on my feet before doing
so. I was less than two steps away when he got
up and walked slowly in a circle around me. Alarm
bells rang in my head as my defensive instincts
kicked in. Now I knew what Mr. Phillips meant
when he said this assignment was slightly
different. He had only reached out a hand to stroke
my shoulder when there was a knock at the door.
A trace of irritation crossed his features as he
turned towards it.
“Yes?” He asked in a sharp tone.
“It’s room service, sir.” A deep male voice
answered.
I was glad for the interruption and quickly stepped
away from him, turning away from the door too.
The door opened moments later and for some
reason, I felt the hairs at the back of my neck rise
in a strange way. I’d now gotten used to the
strange feelings I had whenever something unusual
was about to happen.
“I don’t remember ordering room service.”
“This is a special form of service sir, courtesy of
the hotel manager.” The male voice replied again.
I heard the sound of a food trolley being rolled into
the room and turned at the sound of it. My eyes
met familiar dark eyes that made me almost cry in
relief. I nearly gasped in surprise until I saw the
slight warning in his eyes.
“In that case, you can leave it over there.” The
client gestured to the far corner of the room with a
wave of dismissal.
“Certainly sir, there is also a complimentary bottle
of wine personally recommend by the head chef.”
He dropped the bottle while giving me a discreet
look which I tried to figure out the meaning.
All too soon, he was out of the room, leaving me
alone with the man. But this time, I was able to
think fast.
“I’m a bit thirsty, shall we have some wine?” I
asked.
I didn’t wait for him to answer before serving it
into two wine glasses. I took a sip, making sure to
keep my lips sealed so as not to swallow. I
watched carefully but discreetly as he drank more
than half of the glass. Minutes later, his eyes
began drooping and I knew I’d just found a way
out of there. Quickly, I dropped the packet of hard
drugs beside him as his eyes drifted shut, grabbed
my things and slipped out of the room. Two steps
away from the door I bumped into my rescuer.
“Daniel!” I gasped in relief.
He grabbed me in a tight hug, almost crushing me
but quickly let go and dragged me into a corner of
the hallway.
“How did you get here? How did you even-?”
He put up a hand quickly to stop my words.
“There’s no time right now, Dami. Someone would
soon notice something’s wrong. Let’s get out
now.”
I immediately followed him as he led the way out
of the building. He went directly to his bike which
was parked close to the exit of the parking lot and
took off within seconds. He didn’t stop for a long
time until we reached a quiet street with
bungalows on either side of the street.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“A friend of mine lives here. We’ll stay with her for
a while before I can take you home. She’s already
aware of this.”
I nodded in response as he knocked on the door
and a tall, beautiful, young lady opened it with a
wide smile. She greeted Daniel enthusiastically
before giving me a curious look.
“Angela, this is Dami; Dami, meet Angela.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” She smiled kindly, before
stepping back for us to come in.
“You too.” I replied.
The house was modestly furnished but still looked
charming. She led me to a room and showed me
the wardrobe in which a few clothes were neatly
folded.
“It’s not much but it would do for the few days
you’re going to be here. If there’s anything you
need, just let me know.”
I thanked her before she left the room, leaving
Daniel and I alone.
“Thank you so much for coming. I don’t even
know how you found me.”
“Kevin and I have been doing some digging.
Especially when we noticed how girls go missing
from the restaurant or get fired in unusual ways.
We knew it had to be someone on the inside that’s
responsible for this.”
I was surprised they had already figured out so
much. I went ahead to explain what happened and
how Kayla was involved.
“I never knew she was capable of such. We need
to take this to the Police and let them handle it like
I said in the first place. You’re not getting involved
in this anymore Dami. I won’t allow it.”

“I’m already deep in this, Daniel. They would find
me. Let me help.”
He ran his hand over his face in frustration.
“Do you want to get yourself killed, Dami!” He grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me.
I broke out of his hold and shoved him away from
me.
“Don’t you get it, Daniel? Innocent girls are trapped
in there. Bukky is in there!”
He flinched in shock.
“Bukky…?”
“Yes, our former co-worker. I’m not the only one
Kayla deceived and if we don’t do something. I
won’t be the last.”
He sighed and paced the floor slowly.
“Let me know what you have in mind, but whatever
it is, we’re doing it my way this time.” He said in a
firm tone.
“When did you get so… possessive and
dominative?” I blurted out in irritation.
“Ever since it became necessary to keep you alive!”
He snapped back.
I was in the process of giving another sharp retort
until I realized he just risked himself to save me.
“I’m sorry, okay? I don’t know what’s come over
me.” I sighed.
He watched me quietly, his face not revealing
anything. Moments later, he walked out of the
room. I immediately felt terrible but I decided to
give him space and let him calm down. Later that
evening, there was a knock on the door.
“Come in!”
I looked up to find Angela at the door although a part of me was hoping Daniel had calmed down
after our argument.
“Hope, you’re settling in alright? I just wanted to
check on you.” She said.
“Yes, everything’s fine.” I smiled.
She walked closer and her expression changed
into something more solemn.
“I couldn’t help but overhear you two earlier, I
don’t mean to pry, but you were quite loud.” She
smiled to lighten the effect of her words.
“I’m so sorry about that. We usually don’t do that.
Today was just… I don’t know…” I trailed off.
“Can I tell you something?” She said, quietly.
“Sure.”
She sat down on the single chair in the room
beside the bed before speaking.
“Daniel and I have been friends for a very long
time and I know you two have been friends for
long too.”
I nodded slowly, wondering where she was
headed.
“He may seem hard or inconsiderate at times, but
he really cares you know. When he called me and
asked for this favor, I knew it had to be something
important which is why I didn’t hesitate. And when
he came here with you today, I finally understood.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
She was about to reply when we heard someone
knocking on the front door.
“He’s probably back, I’ll let him in. But please, try
to settle your differences. Daniel is the type of
friend you don’t want to lose.”
She left me with those words that made me realise
that there was truth in what she was saying. All
the times I’d ever needed help, Daniel did what he
could to support me. He was the one I usually
went to when I had a problem, apart from Toyin,
my sister. And he had risked getting into trouble
to help me out of the mess I’d landed myself into
even after he warned me. Later that night, I
knocked quietly on his door and waited for him to
let me in.
“Daniel, I’m sorry.” It was the first thing I said.
“You already apologized.” He answered in a low
voice, not looking at me.
“But I really mean it.” I tried again.
He sighed and looked at me. For the first time, I
saw how tired he was. Signs of fatigue were
obvious in his eyes but there was something else
there too; an expression that I couldn’t read.
“I know.”
I wasn’t satisfied with his lack of emotion but I
figured it was the best I could get at this point. I said goodnight before turning to leave. I walked
away slowly in case he called me back but he
never did.
Meanwhile,
11:30pm, 30th May 2016,
Monday Night .
If anyone looked closely enough, they might have
noticed how Natasha’s hands shook as she sat in
the midst of the girls that night. Andre stood in
front of the room, addressing the girls on the
mission for the night. They were each expected to
make at least three deliveries instead of the usual
single delivery. In her handbag, her smartphone
was recording every word of the meeting to send it
to Inspector James later.
This time, Andre gave the girls names of their
customers, stressing the importance of getting the
deliveries done as smoothly as possible. Natasha
was shocked to hear some of the names
mentioned as they were widely recognized men
and women in the society.
Once the meeting was over, she got up and turned
toward the door. On her way out, she bumped into
someone and her bag fell from her hand, spilling
its contents. Her heart leapt in her chest and she
quickly bent to pick up her phone, which was face
down luckily. As she straightened up, her eyes met
Rashida’s. She gave her a curious look but didn’t
say a word.
Later that day, Natasha sent the recording to
Inspector James. She felt a sense of calmness
because deep within her she knew she was doing
the right thing.

To be continued…
Editor’s Note: Two girls, different places the same
world… How would Dami and Natasha solve this
crime? Find out in the next chapter.