Nnamdi was becoming desperate.

It had been weeks since he had shifted the focus of his assignment from Richard Bamidele, to his now former assistant, Ada.

He had done a little digging just to find out her name, and then some more to find out that she no longer worked for Richard.

Something had told him to dismiss this hunch of his. Maybe Ada had simply met with Richard to quit her job. Nnamdi found this plausible, however, there was still the unexplained fact that she met him outside of work, on his private yatch of all places, a place very few had access to, and then they had proceeded to have a heated discussion.

He didn't know if he was crazy, but he sure was determined. And at this point, desperate.

Nnamdi knew she was now aware of him following her, however, he didn't care. He was beginning to doubt her being of any importance to Richard because she had not come in contact with him since that day at the dock from what he knows.

But sometime after the Saturday he missed watching her, the one day he took a break and has cussed himself repeatedly for it, she gained herself a new shadow. Unlike her old one, this one was always dressed in a corporate black suit, had a muscular build and worked in an easily concealable manner that told Nnamdi that he was well trained.

He had to be twice as careful now. He couldn't afford to be caught, that much he knew. He also couldn't afford to get fired, although he was walking on a thin line at this point.

Bright, his in-law, was already breathing down his neck for a report on how his current assignment was going and Nnamdi knew his flimsy lies could only keep Bright's curiosity sated for so long.

He needed something concrete, and he needed it fast.
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Ada's POV

The first job interview I had didn't go so well. However, I had a few more still lined up so I tried not to let that get to me. I prayed hard, and to my surprise, my second job interview with RAA Advisory Limited was a success and I got the job immediately due to my recommendation from St. Ives.

Working at one of the biggest accounting firms in Lagos was like a dream come true for me. The owner, Regina Alakija, was a sweet woman. Although in her late fifties, she was a force to reckon with and she ran a tight ship here with a majority of women in it. She was a self proclaimed feminist.

Going in to work, even though it was already a week after, still felt surreal to me. I was happy and that much showed by the pep in my step.

Unlike at St. Ives, however, I wasn't familiar with the receptionist, Oge. She had an obvious dislike for me already for reason I did not know and I didn't care to know. I wasn't here for her.

So I walked past her without a greeting. It was Friday and I didn't want anyone ruining my day for me. Taking the elevator up to the eighth floor, I made my way to the break room and hastily prepared a cup of coffee for Regina as she insisted that I call her; two cubes of sugar, and very little milk. Turning it, I was proud I remembered.

I made my way to my desk first to grab a folder before her office where I knocked on the door. She responded immediately so I walked in.

"Good morning, ma'am." I greeted as I went to sit the cup before her.

She looked up at me with a small smile. "Good morning, Ada. How are you this morning?"

"I'm fine, thank you. You?"

"Good. Please sit." She instructed and I did. Immediately, we went to work on her schedule and her appointments for the next two weeks both personal and work.

After we were done, I went to my table and worked. One pm rolled around quite quickly and I didn't even notice that it was my break yet until my phone started ringing.

I saw it was Diana calling so I accepted. "Hey, I'm really sorry, I'll be there soon." I immediately began.

"I'm not even there yet. I just wanted to make sure you didn't forget."

She had suggested we go out for lunch together and I was excited for it cause I hadn't seen her in almost two weeks now. She had been staying at Chike's place a lot lately and I barely saw my best friend anymore. No hard feelings though, as long as he was treating her right.

"I didn't forget. I'll round up now and meet you there in ten minutes. It's not far from my office." I told her.

"Okay. See ya!" She said and we hung up.

I hibernated my laptop and kept the files I was working on in their appropriate places before making my way to Regina's office. I asked her if she wanted to eat yet and after taking her orders, I left the office.

RAA Advisory Limited was located in the business part of Lekki. There were a lot of skyscrapers here which mostly consisted of office inside them. In between were small restaurants and eateries where corporate workers could just stop by to grab a bite. By the time I made it into the place where I was to meet Diana, the place was crawling with people in suits and ties.

I walked in and I didn't see Diana anywhere so I pulled out my phone to call her. She told me she was still on her way so I decided to go wait in line to order our food. I wasn't surprised she wasn't here yet. My best friend wouldn't be on time to her own funeral.

Finally, it was my turn, so I placed my small purse on the counter and turned to the lady who gave me a bright smile. I hadn't decided what I wanted so I asked her a couple of questions. Suddenly, I felt someone jam into my back and so I turned around to see who it was. The guy directly behind me said he was pushed by another guy and when I looked to where he pointed, a slim man was making his way from where we stood, his head bent low and a cap on his head. I scrunched my face up at the oddity but shook it off.

Soon after ordering my food, I went to get a table at the back of the room to wait for Diana. I soon saw her making her way into the restaurant and after spotting me, to the back. I immediately pulled her into a tight hug cause I missed her.

She rolled her eyes deeply at me as we pull away before saying, "Somebody will see you now and think you haven't seen me in months."

"It sure feels like it! How've you been?" I ask as we go to take out seats.

"I'm good, really good. How about you? How are you coping without me and now without Damilare?" She asks ending her question with a laugh that I don't reciprocate.

I had informed her that he was traveling around the time he did but I hadn't told her anything else. I didn't want to have that conversation with her over the phone.

The sudden reminder is very much not welcome. Noticing the sullen expression my face takes, Diana's smile disappears and she asks me, "What's wrong?"

We are interrupted by the waitress bringing our lunch and after she drops it and leaves, I turn fully to Diana. "I didn't want to tell you this over the phone, but Damilare asked me to be his girlfriend two weeks ago."

She immediately grins widely at me. "That's great!" Catching on, her smile reduces. "Two weeks, though? Did you tell him no?"

I shake my head. "I told him I'll think about it, and then he travelled."

Diana scrunches up her face at me. "Think about what, Ada?"

My shoulders slumped slightly and I turned to my food before me, the usual, spaghetti bolognese with shrimp sauce. I picked up my fork and began picking at it, suddenly not wanting to speak.

"I hope you're not thinking of doing what I think you're thinking of doing?" Diana asks with a glare.

"What do you think I'm thinking of doing?" I reply coyly.

"Don't play dumb with me, Ada. Are you thinking of telling him about Richard and your past?" She asks straightforwardly.

I miss a beat. "Maybe?"

Letting out a harsh breath, Diana looks at me in disbelief. "Why?"

"Because I can't be with him if he doesn't know the truth, Diana! I can't. My conscience won't allow me to date him when he doesn't know that I was once a sugar baby who dated a friend of his fucking father, that's why!" I bite out exasperatedly.

I won't lie, I'm scared. I don't want to loose Damilare because I can already feel myself falling deeply for him. I just prayed he would stay to catch me even after I tell him.

But that hope is being eaten away the longer Diana stares at me as though I'm being ridiculous. Doubts begin creeping into my mind. Would he really stay? Should I even tell him? Was I making the wrong decision here?

"I don't even know what to say." Diana pauses her lips. "Why ruin a good thing by bringing up the past? It's in the past for a reason. Why bring it back to possibly ruin your future?" She tries to reason with me.

"I've made up my mind, Diana. I'm doing this." I tell her.

Staring at me, she rolls her eyes before picking up her spoon. "I obviously can't convince you to do otherwise. But what did Aunty Chika say?" She asks referring to my mom.

"I haven't spoken to her about it."

"You should." Diana says before asking. "When will Damilare be back?"

"Sunday." I reply. I'm both excited to see him, and nervous. I have missed him more than I'll allow myself to believe and the feeling of fear that I won't see him again after is slowly eating at me.

"Well, you better go to church before going to see him." Diana suggests as she begins eating.

An hour later, I'm back in the office and seated at my desk. My mind goes to back to Diana's words and I decide to take her advice and call my mom. She always knows best.

Pulling out my purse, I put my hand in for my phone. When I don't feel it, panicked, I bring it up to my laps to check properly. I rummage through the small purse and still don't find it. I pour out the contents of my bag onto my desk, and I still don't find it.

What the hell?

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On a Friday, the journey from the island to the mainland and vice versa is usually very hectic, very. So in order to beat traffic, Nnamdi left the island as soon as he was able to steal what he planned to, the device planted in his bag.

He got into his Camero and began the drive to computer village, Ikeja. He called his friend, Musa, on his way to inform him he was coming.

His heart pounded in his chest and his hands itched with excitement as he held on tightly to the stirring wheel.

"Whoa!" He hollered loudly in the confined space, beating at the stirring excitedly before containing himself. His luck had finally turned up.

Still reeling from shock, adrenaline cursing through his veins, he sped down the third mainland bridge. You would see him and think he had just done something remarkable, meanwhile all he did was smartly snatch up a woman's phone. Not just any woman however. The subject of his research for weeks now.

Near evening, he finally arrived at computer village. He went into Musa's shop and the two dapped each other.

"My guy, I never see you since! How you dey?" Musa asks in pidgin English as Nnamdi takes a seat.

"I dey o. Life just get as it be. I can see that you are good sha." Nnamdi says as he looks around the well furnished shop with phones of all kinds on show glasses around the room.

"You dey whine me ni?" Musa laughs.

"Where your oga?" Nnamdi asks him.

"He don comot for today. So why you call me dey sound like agama lizard, you dey breathe like say...is everything okay?" Musa asks.

"I need your help with something." Nnamdi says getting serious. He seats up and reaches into his book bag to pull out an iPhone 8 Plus.

"My guy, you don upgrade o!" Musa hyped.

"No be me get am. You fit unlock this phone for me?" Nnamdi asks, hope shining in his eyes. If Musa said no, that means he was back to square one and he couldn't afford that at this point.

"That one na sure thing." Musa said before collecting the phone from his hand.

Nnamdi breathed out a heavy sigh of relief as he watched Musa quickly get to work.

Twenty minutes later, Nnamdi's Infinix phone rang from inside his pocket and he pulled it out to see Bright's name showing on the screen. "I dey come." He said to Musa who nodded, before making his way out of the shop and standing at the door.

He accepted the call then. "Hello?"

"Nnamdi, where are you? We didn't see you at the office today again. You better have something concrete on Bamidele this time." Bright immediately said. He was fed up with what he knew to be Nnamdi's lies and he just really hoped that the guy wasn't up to his old antics again. The newspaper wouldn't survive it.

Nnamdi contemplated not telling Bright his plan now. He wanted to present a piece to him when it was ready so his in-law won't have a chance to reject the idea, however, he decided against it. "I was thinking, how about we do a piece on Richard's private life instead? I was able to find out something really juicy about him while following him around and I have a good feeling about this."

Interest piqued, Bright asks, "Like what?"

Nnamdi immediately smiles. He knew that he had Bright's attention now.
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What did you think of this chapter?

We are slowly coming to an end guys! Are we happy or not? Lol

What do you think about Diana's advice?

And the overachieving Nnamdi? Do you think he'll be able to go through with his plan?

As usual, please don't forget to vote, comment your thoughts and help me share this book.

Until next time, stay safe y'all!