Sales girl episode 14

*Recap: Daniel rescued Dami from the hands of
the client Mr. Phillips assigned her. Unfortunately,
the two friends fought and weren’t on speaking
terms. Natasha sent Inspector James a recording
to help crack the case of missing persons and
human trafficking.*

8:55am, 31st May 2016,
Tuesday Morning.

My hand hovered over the door uncertainly. I was
having a mental debate within myself. Should I
knock or leave quietly? There was only so much I
could do without seeming stupid. Even though
Daniel didn’t bring up yesterday’s issue, I still felt
troubled that we had left things unsettled. I took a
deep breath and raised my hand again when the
door suddenly flew open. I didn’t move away fast
enough before Daniel walked right into me.
“Dami, what are you doing here?” He asked after
helping me regain my balance.
“I…” I trailed off, unsure of what to say.
He watched me curiously with his hands still
resting on my shoulders. For some reason, I felt
nervous. It was a feeling that was strange to me
where Daniel was concerned. I frowned, suddenly
confused and took a step back, letting his hands
fall off my shoulders.
He was about to speak when we heard Angela’s
footsteps headed towards us. Moments later, she
came to greet us cheerfully and I replied in a
similar manner, pushing away the uncomfortable
feeling I had earlier. I figured something she said
yesterday made me see Daniel in a new light and I
wasn’t sure how to feel about that. As the day
progressed, I began to notice things I hadn’t
noticed before. Like how striking his features really
were and how his gaze seemed to linger on me
with a slightly curious look as if he was trying to
figure something out but he never said a word
about anything unusual. Rather, it seemed he only
talked to me when it was absolutely necessary.
I felt like my best friend was slipping away from me.
***
It was late in the night when I heard the voices. I
was on my way to the kitchen to get some water
but I stopped in the hallway when I noticed the
light in the sitting room was on. When I moved
closer, I could distinctly hear Angela’s voice and
she sounded upset.
“…you don’t know what you are doing.”
“Of course I know what I’m doing.” Daniel’s voice
spoke next.
“Obviously not because you would realize that it’s
stupid, you’re only pushing her away.”
There were a few moments of silence before he
spoke.
“It’s something she did first.”
I heard a frustrated sigh from Angela and a rustling
sound like she was getting off the couch.
“Grow up, Daniel. How was she supposed to
know?”
I heard him scoff in anger before replying.
“Oh forget that, it’s not even the issue now. The
fact is that she got into this whole mess because
she wouldn’t listen to me. Instead, she decided to
run off to go and rescue that…that boy!”
“Oh, is that it Daniel? You’re jealous?” There was a
mocking edge to Angela’s voice now and I could
detect a smile in it.
I waited expectantly for his reply but it never came.
I got so carried away that I wasn’t aware of the
movement coming from the sitting room as they
came closer. I looked up to find myself staring into
Daniel’s eyes which held a very irritated look.
Behind him was Angela who gave me a look of pity
but there was humor in her eyes. She cleared her
throat and walked away quietly, leaving us both
standing there.
“I’m very sorry-”
“Why would you-?”
We began at the same time.
He sighed and gestured for me to continue.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.” I said
quietly.
“Lately, you’ve been sorry for a lot of things.”
I looked up and watched him closely. It seemed he
was finally ready to talk about the past few days.
“That’s because it seems like everything is always
my fault.”
“Not everything… just a fair amount.” He cracked a
smile, causing me to smile too.
“Listen, I feel like… we’ve been drifting apart. I
don’t know how to explain it but…”
“I understand and it’s partially my fault.”
“Now that’s out of the way, do you mind telling me
what you and Angela were discussing? I have a
feeling some of it has to do with me.”
“It’s simple really. We were talking about how you
make stupid decisions.”
“Daniel.” I said in a warning tone.
“Okay, okay.” He looked towards the ground for a
second before looking back up. “Remember when
you went with the Police that time your friend
Nonso was kidnapped?”
He winced slightly after that sentence.
“Yeah.”
“Asides from the fact that it was dangerous, that
wasn’t the only reason I didn’t want you to go.”
I suddenly found it difficult to look him in the eye
and started fiddling with the edge of my shirt
instead. He reached out a hand to stop my fingers
from moving about frantically.



“No, I want you to look at me Dami.” He said as
his eyes grew more serious. “Watching you put
your life in danger all because of another guy
was… it was something I told myself I never want
to see again.”
“What are you trying to say, Daniel?” I asked
warily.
“Look, I care about you Dami… as more than a friend.”
I found myself shaking my head as I took a step
back. Daniel’s expression dropped slowly before it
turned blank.
“So, I’m guessing you… you know what, never
mind.” He gave a small laugh that was without
humor.
“Daniel, I’m sorry but-”
“Stop telling me you’re sorry!”
I gasped in shock at his sudden change in tone.
“I have somewhere I need to be.” He said before
walking away and slamming the door shut.
My shoulders sagged with frustration. I didn’t
know how to talk to Daniel anymore without
getting him upset and his revelation completely
threw me off because I never saw it coming. I
glanced at the wall clock to find that it was close
to midnight. Him leaving the house by this time
made me worry but I stubbornly told myself that
he could watch his own back. With that thought, I
went to my room and forced myself to sleep.
Two days later was when I got the phone call.
Daniel was found lying unconscious by the
roadside and the doctors couldn’t do anything for
him because he’d gone into a coma.

***
7:30pm 3rd April 2016,
Friday Evening,
Lagos.

Natasha was lying on the new sofa she’d bought in
the living room with her mother as the two talked
about anything that came to mind. Moments later,
her phone rang and interrupted them. She glanced
at the screen and her expression dropped in such
a way that her mother noticed.
“Chidera, is anything wrong?” Her mother asked.
“No, nothing is wrong.” She smiled, putting the
phone down.
Minutes later, she excused herself and grabbed her
purse along with her shoes. Her mother frowned
as she made her way towards the door.
“Chidera.” She asked giving her daughter a
piercing look. “What is going on?”
“I just need to see someone quickly, it’s very
important.”
Before her mom could say a word, she was out of
the house. Her phone rang again moments later.
“Hello Andre?”
“Natasha. Come to my house immediately.” His
voice made her pause in her tracks. There was a
warning tone in it that made her heart beat faster.
When she arrived at Andre’s house, she was met
with a solemn environment.
“Sit down Natasha.”
She sat down gingerly and gave him an expectant
look.
“Two days ago, Chief Anozie was arrested by the
Police for dealing in hard drugs.”
She frowned in confusion at the nature of the
conversation.
“Yesterday,” He continued. “Mr. Charles Dike was
asked to go in for questioning. Are you sensing a
pattern here?”
“I… I don’t understand…”
“Shut up Natasha!” He got to his feet. “Don’t try to
act dumb. These two men have been your
customers before. How did the Police get their
contact?”
“You think I had something to do with this?” She
asked with her heart beating rapidly.
“If I find out that you had anything at all to do with
it, I swear Natasha, what I would do to you will
leave you shocked.”
Barely a minute later, her phone which was on the
table between them, began to ring. The screen lit
up with the caller ID flashing brightly as “Inspector
James.” All it took was one look at Andre’s face
and Natasha knew she had landed herself in a
truckload of trouble.

***
“Tell me who this man is.” Andre said as his
henchman whipped Natasha with a belt.
Despite the pain of all the lashing she had
received, she kept he mouth sealed and refused to
give out any information on Inspector James. She
didn’t know what gave her the strength to be able
to bear all the pain, but she held on.
“One more chance Natasha, tell me all you know
and I’ll let you go.” Andre said in a compelling
tone.
Still, she kept silent, refusing to give in. Andre got
impatient with her and signaled for the man to take
her away. She was kept secluded in a room and
denied of food and water for as long as she
continued to hold back information.
After two days, Natasha could barely function and
she craved even a sip of water. Each day, she was
flogged within an inch of her life and bruises began
to form all over her body. Late one night, the door
to her personal prison slid open quietly and a
figure crept in. She raised her head to look but her
body could not respond as quickly as usual. She
wanted to get up to defend herself but there was
no energy to even move.
The figure crept closer and knelt down beside the
bare matrass which was used as a makeshift bed.
“Natasha, don’t be afraid, it’s me.”
The voice registered as Rashida’s and she felt
relieved that it was not another round of torture.
“I brought you some food. It’s not much but it’s
what I could get away with.” She handed her a
small nylon bag containing bread and butter along
with two sachets of water.
Natasha wildly dove for the water first before
starting on the food.
“I heard a few rumours about what’s going on, if
it’s true that you want to expose Andre and the
boss, well… I think you’re doing the right thing.
That day, after the meeting I noticed you were
acting strange but I never said anything. Just
know that if you need any help, I’ll do what’s in
my power to help you.”
Natasha sat up and dropped the food by her side.
“There is one way you can help me.”
Rashida immediately set about the plan they had
come up with hoping that it worked out to their
advantage before it was too late.

***
9:35am 4th April 2016,
Saturday morning.

I sat by Daniel’s bedside in the hospital, awaiting
his discharge. Angela had paid the medical bills
and was waiting for us outside. My heart skipped a
beat as I remembered getting the call that he was
in the hospital. According to the staff, he was
knocked down by an oncoming vehicle on his way
back home but fortunately, a passerby rushed to
seek help just in time. I felt terrible at being the
reason he stormed out of the house and ended up
in that condition.

I realized all this time, he’d just been watching my
back and I’d never shown any appreciation. I
thought about what happened before he left, what
he told me and how I reacted. I realized that I’d
hurt him more than he cared to admit but his
anger was his way of hiding his hurt. After all
these years, and it was like I was just learning who
my best friend really was again. I began to see
him in a different light and also accept the fact that
things had changed between us