The first time she came into his bar with her friend, she barely left her seat while her friend got their drinks and danced as if tomorrow would never come.

She just sat in a spot, nursing a drink she barely touched and the beautiful smile on her face was the only indication that she was enjoying the music. That day, his barman, Chike, had an emergency, and he had to cover for him. The bar was unusually crowded, and he didn’t have time to acknowledge her.

The second time she came in, it was with a man who seemed to be her boyfriend, from the way she clung to his arms and hung on his every word. It was obvious the man wasn’t into her as deeply as she was into him. He could tell the attraction wasn’t balanced, but his attention was always on her. He was drawn to her beautiful face, flawless skin and quiet demeanour. Those shapeless blazers she wore over her dresses did nothing to hide the voluptuous curves.

He wasn’t the kind of man who preyed on another man’s woman , so he had kept his distance. But she never left his mind and her face still gave him wet dreams.

The beautiful ones were always taken.

An ironic smile turned up his lips as he bent to tie the lace of his sneakers, then rose to find his mother, Adesewa Faleke, watching from her room’s doorway. She had come visiting unannounced the previous night. They lived in the same city of Lagos, but he barely had time to visit her.

“So you are going to leave me alone in this house, right?”

He swallowed the groan rising in his throat, “Mum, you know better than to visit me in the middle of the weekday, nah? You should have waited till I came to see you.”

“And when will that be, dear son? When Jesus comes back ,right?” She moved to sit on one of the sofas in the sitting room. “If you had  a wife and children now, I wouldn’t  be alone in the house.”

“Mum, please. Stop behaving like a typical Nigerian mother.” Exasperation coloured his voice.

“But I am a typical Nigerian mother. A proper Yoruba one, for that matter. So tell me what you meant by that senseless statement you just made.” She sat back on the seat and glared at  him.

He hid the chuckle bubbling as he glanced at his ringing phone and gave his mother a pleading look, “Mum, my clients are waiting. I have a pick-up  on the next street, and she is going to the Island. Please don’t let me lose this ride.” He used one of his cars for Uber transportation.

“Ayoola, making money is good, and you have made enough to take care of a family. You are not getting younger, neither am I. You are 35 years old, for crying out loud.” She hissed  as she leaned over to pick up the remote control from the stool beside the sofa.

“I know my age, mum and I love you. See you later.” He was laughing as he opened the door and escaped before she could continue.

*             *             *

Kelvin’s jaw dropped the moment  the Cabman dropped him in front of a ten-storey building of Wright Oil and Gas administrative building. Dear God, he hoped he hadn’t bitten more than he could chew. His heart thumped with a mix of  excitement and nervousness as he made his way to the reception desk. The moment he mentioned his name, he was directed to the CEO’s office.

Jonathan Wright’s office was located on the first floor , and Kelvin tried not to stare in awe at the opulence around him. These people were the creme de la creme of society. A little pang of envy lurched in his chest but he pushed it away.

“Have a seat, young man.” Jonathan gestured absently to him. His attention was fixed on the screen before him, and Kelvin assumed he was in a virtual meeting with his global team.

He moved to the comfortable loveseat on the right side of the office. The entire left wall was made of glass offering a sweeping view of the ocean. Sunlight filtered into the cool room. There was absolutely nothing as intoxicating  as great wealth.

The meeting ended, and Jonathan finally turned his attention to him.  Kelvin straightened in his seat abruptly and rubbed his suddenly sweaty palms on his pants trouser. 

“I have a job for you. The package is attractive, but there are terms and conditions attached.” Jonathan extracted a file from his drawer and tossed  it at him.

Kelvin caught it and flipped through the contents.

The salary and bonuses alone could make a poor man dizzy. He was rich already. There was no question about it. His friends were in trouble. He was grinning widely until he saw the terms and conditions detailed in the document.

“I must woo and marry Evelyn?” His jaw went slack. “This contract must remain a secret between us?”

“You don’t need to read it to me. My lawyer drafted it under my instruction. You only need to sign it if you are okay with it. If you hurt her or she has any reason to complain about you, you are a dead man.” His cold voice sent shivers of dread down his spine.

“Can you give me a few days to think about it?” His voice trembled.

“I am not in a hurry to lose my daughter to any asshole, but she seemed to like you genuinely for whatever reason. Take your time and return the contract to me when you are ready.” Jonathan dismissed him with a wave of his hand.

***

Kelvin swept her off her feet. He practically love-bombed her. He wooed and courted her in a way few women could resist. If she had concerns about some of his attitudes that seemed to slip through a facade or if her instincts kept telling her to slow things down a bit, she ignored them. She let herself be pampered by a good-looking man for the first time in her life.

When he proposed six months after their first meeting, in the quietness of her favourite restaurant, she accepted.

Was it a decision she would regret for the rest of her life? She refused to dwell on it. She wanted him, and now he was hers. She ignored the niggling little voice and threw herself into planning the wedding.

*             *             *

The bar was unusually crowded tonight. Ayoola’s barman, Chike, was overwhelmed, and he had to join him behind the counter.  His attention was divided between watching the premier league football match playing on the big screen and serving their clients. Some of his clients seated at the bar, threw in a banter or two  or two about the match his way, and he responded with humour as he mixed their cocktails. Or served them their favourite cold bottles of beer.

He knew the exact moment she walked into the bar with her friend.

Damn! She was so beautiful. His gaze tracked their movement as they perused the crowded room, obviously wondering where to sit as every seat was occupied. He was about to remove his Apron and go meet them when her friend grabbed her hand and pulled her to the bar.

Oh! He wished he could bless her soul. Fortunately, there were two empty stools, and they perched on it.

“The stools are sturdy.  They won’t be breaking any time soon.” His assurance was for her as he noted the wary expression on her face as she tried to settle her bum on the stool but he smiled at both women. His palms were suddenly sweaty and his heart was beating too fast.

“Thank you, handsome. This my babe is ready to use the crowded bar as an excuse to go home early and sleep. What a boring lifestyle!” Titilola smirked .

“Apologies for that. The bar is unusually crowded tonight because of the ongoing premier league match. If you don’t mind, I can check if our VIP lounge is free and book it for you.”

“Really? That will be great. Eve, what do you say?” Titilola turned to her friend, grinning. “No, I am fine. I work in seclusion all day . If we want to really socialise, we might as well do it among the crowd.” Evelyn’s smile was shy as she glanced briefly at him before looking away. Her beautiful brown eyes nearly undid him, and he felt his body responding to her.  Thank Goodness he was behind the bar.

“That is my girl.” Titilola enthused as she ran a hand down Evelyn’s arm casually. “What’s on our drink menu for tonight, handsome? I am Titilola, and my friend is Evelyn.”

Evelyn. It reminded him of Eve and the forbidden fruit. He would gladly eat the forbidden apple if she ever offered it to him. He sighed inwardly. “I am Ayoola. What would you care for, beautiful ladies?”

“Martini, please. Thank you.” Titilola turned to her friend. “What do you want, Eve?”

“Please give me a Pineapple Daquiri Mocktail. I don’t have a head for alcohol.” She ignored her friend’s gasp as she focused on him.

“Don’t fall my hand, Eve. Live life before you are tied to the shackles of marriage, nah. We may not be able to hang out like this once you get married.”

Titilola’s voice dropped as she protested, but he heard her clearly, and the wine glass he held slipped.

Evelyn was getting married?

How did he let her slip through his fingers? 

His eyes clouded and he stared down at the broken shards of glasses.

“Are you alright?” Evelyn stood immediately as she peered at him with concern written all over her face.

“I am alright. Thank you.” His smile was wooden and he forced more cheer he didn’t feel into it.

Some things in life were just not meant to be, but his heart refused to accept. It ached so much he thought he could feel it bleeding. He rubbed his hand briefly over his chest while he beckoned to one of his boys to come and clean up the mess.

“Your drinks will be coming up in a few minutes. Here are some nuts to munch on.” He pushed two bowls of cashew nuts towards them.

“Thank you.” The ladies beamed and continued talking while he made their drinks mechanically.

His thoughts were in riots and his mood darkened every second. Why was he always so unlucky in life? He had no known father and had been single-handedly raised by his mother. Growing up was a real struggle and abject poverty had been part of their existence for too long. Now that he was comfortable enough to consider settling down, the first woman to ever catch his fancy had been claimed already. 

“Here we go, ladies.” He placed their drinks before them on circular mini trays.

“This is so good.” Titilola said after a sip and exhaled with pleasure written over her face. They all laughed.

“She is right. You are really good.”  Evelyn smiled at him, and his heart tumbled in his chest. This was going to  be pure hell.

“Thank you, ladies. I am flattered.” He grinned.

“That reminds me,” Evelyn started. “Please, I need a driver. Let me know if you come across any responsible and trustworthy one. I am a generous boss.” She brought out her business card and slid it across the wooden counter.

“I will be on the lookout.” God! What was he about to do? “I am also a cab driver. You can always give me a call whenever you need one urgently.”

Ayoola, you are pathetic, he scolded himself.

“Oh, that is great. Please let me have your number.” She handed him her phone, and after exchanging contacts, he moved away to other clients before he started drooling over her.

*             *             *

Kelvin returned with the signed contract a week later, and his life turned around overnight. The company’s Human Resource department invited him for an interview, and his offer letter came through a month later. The employment package came with an official car and a personal office. It was a dream come true.

He wooed and dined Evelyn like a Queen, even though half the time, he just wanted to be free from her clutches.  He proposed six months after they met, and the wedding followed two months after . His family was treated like royalty, and they fell in love with Evelyn’s quiet charm. He became the envy of his friends.

His wife didn’t have a to-die-for body, but she brought him great fortune. He had the kind of job he had only dreamt of, drove his choice cars, and his house on Banana Island was almost complete. He also had enough fund to feed his addictions; beautiful women, weed, and booze. What else could a man ask for?

He rolled out of bed and stretched his lithe body. His night in Belema’s bed had left him satisfied and drained . Belema was Evelyn’s housemaid. A smile spread over his face as he walked into the bathroom and turned on the hot water in the shower.

Ten minutes later, he joined his wife at the breakfast table and tried not to stare at the backside of the woman serving his food. She added an extra sway to it this morning, and his dick twitched in appreciation.

“Belema, that is okay. Please bring my bag. I need to call Ayoola. He will take us to my parents’ place in the next two hours.” Evelyn said as Belema  served fried eggs into a separate bowl and placed it beside his plate of yams.

“I will deliver your message. Merry Christmas to you, ma’am.” Belema smiled as she moved away.

“Thank you, dear. Please pick up your gift under the Christmas tree and inform the other staff to do the same.” She smiled at the young girl.

“Thank you, ma’am.” Belema beamed with appreciation before she hurrying off.

“I hope we won’t stay long at your parents’ place. I want to take my wife out on a dinner date.” Kelvin grinned and watched the pleasure light up her eyes. Women were so easy to please. He nearly rolled his eyes .

“Oh? Thank you, darling. I would love that. We will leave as soon as you want.” She beamed .

“We are long overdue, baby. Hurry up so we can leave on time.” He returned to his food.

The full story of HIDDEN DESIRES is now available on the link below:

SELAR and AMAZON