Free Hidden Currents (Lagos Romance Series) by Somi Ekhasomhi Page A

my
sorrows alone then.” He chuckled. If I didn’t have to go to Abuja this weekend,
I would come with you to Owerri and introduce myself to your granny.
    Ada almost choked. “You wouldn’t!” She
exclaimed.
    “Try and stop me.” He replied, laughing.
    “Introduce yourself to her as what?” She
asked.
    She heard him chuckle. “That would be a
surprise.” He said cryptically. He paused. “When will you be back in Lagos?”
    “My flight leaves at about 5.30,” She told
him, “on Sunday evening.”
    “So you’ll be arriving Lagos the same time
as me.” He stated. “Do not, I repeat, do not leave the airport until you hear from
me.” He instructed.
    “Is that an order?” She asked.
    “It’s a plea,” He said, “Thinly disguised
as an order.”
    She laughed. “Of course I will wait for
you.” She found herself agreeing. It was hard to believe that she was the one
on the receiving end of all this attention from Eddie. It was hard not to be
thoroughly pleased by it, really, hard.
    It was still light outside when she got
home. Some of her neighbor’s kids were playing outside. She smiled at them, as
they greeted her, even the very little one who still had a childish lisp in her
voice. As she left them, she wondered what it would be like to have her own
cute darlings. Hmm, such thoughts! It was strange! She had never thought about
things like that until Eddie started his campaign to make her like him. Now she
wanted children, his children, how silly could she get!
    She was packing up her small travel bag,
when her phone rang again, at first she thought it was Eddie and she started to
pick it up with a smile. The smile vanished as she saw the number. For a
moment, she considered not taking the call at all but finally, curiosity got
the better of her.
    “Hello.” She said, her voice showing all
her displeasure.
    “Ada baby!” The masculine voice cooed in
her ear. “Ada baby.”
    She sighed. It was Dele Solanke. He owned
one of the more popular publishing houses, one of the few she had approached to
publish her book. After telling her that they didn’t support unknown writers or
in her case photographers, and asking her to put up the money for the
publishing and book launch herself, he had started a very infuriating campaign
to get her into bed. It wasn’t funny at all. No matter how many times she told
him not to call her again, he just didn’t give up.
    “Ada, talk to me.” He continued, in a baby
voice that would have been exceedingly annoying in any man, much less a
fully-grown, married one.
    “How is your family?” She asked pointedly.
“How are your wife and children?”
    “They are where I left them.” He answered
dismissively. “I give them money and they leave me alone. It’s you we want to
talk about.” He continued. “How are you?”
    She sighed. “Did you want to talk about
publishing my book?”
    “Ah! Ada! You like business too much.” He
laughed. “You know that left to me I would publish and market your book just
like that but I can’t justify such an expense to the shareholders, especially
for a coffee table picture book. If only you were willing to let me personally
give you the money.”
    Ada knew where that was leading. She just
wasn’t willing to render the services he required for his generosity.
    “No. Thank you.” She said. “I don’t want
your money.”
    He sighed. “I am going to Abuja this
weekend, for a wedding. My wife can’t go with me. Won’t you come?”
    “You want me to attend a wedding with you
in Abuja?” Ada asked incredulously.
    “No, Ada baby, you will stay in the hotel.”
He laughed lecherously. “ But I won’t spend long at the wedding. I will be back
with you before you know it.”
    Ada shuddered with revulsion. “I’m not
interested.” She said. “Stop calling me and saying things like this, you are
harassing me.”
    “Ada baby…”
    She cut the connection and threw the phone
on the bed, feeling sickened. How she pitied his