Dami the sales girl - Season 1 - Episode 7

Episode 5 years ago

Dami the sales girl - Season 1 - Episode 7

*Recap: Dami had a glimpse of what the special
customers of Exquisite are like and she met
Natasha, the new girl who seems to have more to
her than what meets the eye.*
9:03am, 17th May 2016,
Tuesday Morning,
The Campus Grounds.

The new semester had started and the campus was
filled with old and new faces, the dorms were no
longer quiet places where I could hear myself
think. As I walked out of the lecture hall, I heard
someone walk up to me and tap my shoulder.
“I haven’t seen you in a while.”
I turned to find Nonso standing behind me.
“True, it’s been a while.” I smiled. “How were you
coping while the school was quiet?”
“It was challenging but I survived.” He grinned,
walking me out of class. “By the way, some of my
friends and I are planning to head out to see a
movie this weekend, you know before schoolwork
really piles up. Are you interested?”
I thought about it for a minute. Since I rarely went
anywhere other than work, I definitely needed
something to look forward to.
“Sure.” I nodded.
“Great, here’s my number. Just beep me and I’ll
add your contact.” He said, scribbling on a piece of
paper. “See you later!”
I waved as he ran off toward a group of people
who stood nearby. One of the guys jabbed him in
the ribs and laughed, looking in my direction.
Nonso shook his head at what he said and shoved
him to start walking. As I turned around to head
towards my next class, I tried to save the number
on my phone so I wouldn’t forget. I’d just started
to type in the digits when I collided with someone
coming from the opposite direction.
“I’m so sorry…” My voice trailed off when the girl
simply brushed me off and walked past. I watched
her leave in confusion but shrugged since
apparently, she wasn’t bothered. I took a few
steps away before I noticed that the paper where
Nonso had written his number was missing.
Shoot! I muttered looking all around me. But when
I saw the piece of paper floating inside the muddy
gutter, I sighed in frustration. There’s no way I
could get it out of there and Nonso had already
left.
At work the next day, I changed into my uniform
and slipped on the pair of red heels Kayla had
given me for today. My shift started by 6pm so I
was through with lectures for the day. I adjusted
the thin ankle straps, hoping I wouldn’t fall and
break my neck. As usual, Kayla inspected me
before we left.
“Something is missing.” She said.
“Maybe my decency?” I mumbled to myself, trying
to pull the skirt further down to cover as much
skin as possible.



Kayla swatted my hands away as a sudden look of
realisation appeared in her eyes. She dragged me
to the mirror and opened her purse, bringing out a
tube of red lipstick.
“Your lips are far too pale. Put this on, now.” She
insisted when I didn’t move.


Reluctantly, I dragged the tube across my lips and
rubbed them together to spread the colour.
“Good, remember we have important customers
today so don’t mess up.”
As we lined up to enter the room, I noticed a new
girl in the line. I figured she must be a
replacement for Natasha. Seeing this girl suddenly
made me curious about what happened to Natasha
after she was fired. No one seemed to know and if
they did, they weren’t telling me anything. I’d even
asked Kayla but she said I should drop it.
This time, I was among the first three to be
assigned to a table. A big difference from the last
time but my elation faded as soon I saw who was
at the table I was assigned to. It was Senator
Achibu’s wife, the lady Toyosi had cautioned me
about. Two other people sat with her; a young
lady and a man who looked to be in his twenties.
From the way the lady leaned towards him, I
assumed they must be a couple. As I got closer, I
noticed the lady looked a lot like Mrs Achibu,
probably her daughter.
I politely collected their menu, trying not to flinch
from the judgemental look she gave me as her
eyes roamed over me like something that just
crawled out of the gutter. As I turned to leave, I
saw the new girl working at another table. She
smiled shyly at the man she was serving and when
I got a good look at him, my mouth dropped open
in shock. It was the same man Natasha served
before she was fired. While in the kitchen, I waited
a little longer hoping she would come in to get
something so I could talk to her. Minutes later,
she walked in and I immediately went to meet her.
“Hi, I’m Dami.”
“Nice to meet you, I’m Tolani.” She smiled, which
made her look even prettier. I noticed both she
and Natasha had that in common, they were very
beautiful.
I knew I didn’t have much time so I decided to go
straight to the point.


“Be careful with that man you’re serving, he’s not
what he seems and don’t get too friendly with
him.”


She frowned and unexpectedly hissed loudly. I
blinked in shock because I certainly wasn’t
expecting such a reaction.


“So you’re the one that they want to use to spoil
this opportunity for me, abi?” She asked.
“What are you talking about?” I stammered.


“Listen here, Dami or whatever you call yourself. I
know how hard I struggled to even get this shift
today and I have a very good idea of who I’m
serving. That man out there is Mr Phillips, one of
the youngest, richest entrepreneurs in the business
field and his father owns not one but several oil
blocks. That man can change my life and I won’t
let jealous, unattractive girls like you ruin this for
me.” She hissed again before storming out.
I stood there in shock, not able to understand how
the seemingly nice girl I was trying to help
suddenly turned into… that. Feeling embarrassed
and irritated, I grabbed what I came for and left to
attend to my table. I’d done my part; whatever
happens to her now is not my business.

***

6:35pm, 17th May 2016.
Tuesday Evening,
Eko Hotel.
Natasha paid the bike rider the fare and got down
from the bike, straightening her skirt. As the man
zoomed off, she took in a deep breath to steel her
nerves, trying to convince herself that what she
was doing was necessary. After getting past
security, she arrived at the reception area and
explained that she had an appointment.
“Do you have the name and room number?” The
lady asked.
“Yes, Mr Phillips in room 303.”
The lady dialled the room number and asked for
confirmation before sending Natasha up. At the
door of room 303, Natasha knocked and held her
breath. Minutes later, the door opened and he
stood aside to let her in. He wore a simple white
shirt and a pair of cotton trousers, like one would
wear for a work-out session. A face towel hung
around his neck and a half-empty bottle of water
was in his hands.
“Natasha, I’m glad you could join us.” His light
brown eyes watched her as she stepped into the
room.
She suddenly stopped moving.
“Us?” She asked.
He never mentioned anyone else was joining them.
“Yes. You see, I’m a very busy man and when I
have the opportunity to attend to more than one
project at a time, I grab it.”
Natasha was still confused.
“Go ahead and sit down. Let me introduce you to
Essien, your colleague of sorts, and Essien this is
Natasha, she will be joining us shortly.”
Essien, a tall dark skinned man smiled briefly at
her. She returned the smile hesitantly; still unsure
of what was going on. Mr Phillips poured out three
glasses of wine before sitting down. Natasha
accepted the glass but didn’t take a sip. Essien
brought out a briefcase containing documents and
spread them out on the table.
“Natasha, I believe after our previous conversation
you’re ready to accept your new job?”
She nodded slowly. He had described her job to
be the post of one of his company’s Ambassadors.


The job description was that she and other recruits
would attend events, functions and parties to
mingle with guests while selling the brand name.
Essien handed her the documents one after the
other to sign. Once she was through, Mr Phillips
smiled in satisfaction and gave Essien a subtle
signal. He got up to leave after returning the
signed documents into the briefcase. Natasha
watched him leave the room before returning her
attention back to the man before her.

“Is that all?” She asked.
“Did you expect the process to be more complex?”
He asked with a small smile.
She still didn’t believe it was as simple as that.
“There’s nothing else you want? I mean… I thought
maybe you…”
“Maybe I what?” He asked with a knowing glint in
his eyes.


“Never mind.” She said quickly, not wanting to
bring it up.
From his actions at the restaurant, she suspected
he was interested in her in an intimate way. She’d
come with the fear that he might not give her this
job he offered without asking something in return
from her. For the first time since she got off that
bike, she felt relief. Natasha got up as a signal that
she wanted to leave. Mr Phillips stood up too and
led her to the door..


“Here’s my contact card.” He said, handing her the
small rectangular card. “I’ll be expecting you at
my office by 9am tomorrow morning. The address
is already described there.”
Natasha tucked the card into her purse and left.
She started to think maybe he wasn’t as bad as
she thought. In fact, maybe he was a good man.
But it never occurred to her to read the fine print
on the contract she signed.
***
By 9am sharp, Natasha was in the reception room
of Phillips&Co Enterprises, an internationally
recognised company which deals in real estate and
housing. When she was called into his office, she
marvelled at how sleek and modern it was. It
perfectly matched the man sitting behind the desk
who radiated class and sophistication.
“Welcome Natasha, I believe you’re ready to get
started?”
“Yes, sir.” She nodded eagerly.
“Good, come with me.” He got up and picked up
his blazer which hung on the back of his chair.
She followed him out of the building and into his
car which was in the company’s parking lot. The
short ride was silent until they got to an apartment
building. When she stepped into the building, she
instantly felt something was wrong. About five
other girls sat in different positions around the
room, each of them looking strangely limp, like
they weren’t even aware of what was going on. On
the table before them was a white substance that
looked like powder, but Natasha knew that it
couldn’t be. In alarm, she turned to the man
standing beside her but the look on his face made
her keep her mouth shut.
“Andres!” He called.
A white man appeared from one of the rooms,
dressed in a robe a cigarette dangling in his hand.
He eyed Natasha with interest.
“Mr Phillips, I see you’ve brought another one for
me.” He gave a wicked smile that made Natasha’s
knees shake.
“I believe I’ve kept my side of the deal, now the
ball is in your court.”
He pushed Natasha forward and turned to leave but
she clung to his suit and begged him, not
understanding what was going on. He couldn’t
leave her here with this man, she didn’t even know
him. What deal were they talking about? Her panic
must have shown in her eyes because Phillips
smiled lightly as he ran a palm down the side of
her face.
“Don’t be scared honey, you signed the contract
remember? That means you do as I say and right
now I’m telling you to remain here. I’m sure
Andres will take care of you from now on.”
Just like that he was gone, leaving Natasha to her
fate.


[b]
***
5:30pm, 20th May 2016,
Friday Evening,
Maroccaine Restaurant, Lekki.
After lectures, I met up with Toyin who wanted to
introduce me to her fiancé Bello. As we walked into
Maroccaine , I looked around taking in the classy
décor. Colourful low lights gave the room a cozy
feeling. Our parents had also decided to join us as
it had been quite a while since we were all
together. I grinned broadly as I greeted my
parents, even when my mother hugged me so tight
I nearly couldn’t breathe.
“Oh my baby,” She smiled fondly at me. “I’ve
missed you.”
“This baby will be twenty one soon.” I reminded
her in a playful manner.
She just laughed and shook her head. “Twenty one
or even thirty one, you’re still my baby.”
An unfamiliar man approached us and greeted my
parents. I wondered who he was until I saw the
broad smile on Toyin’s face. Ah, this must be the
famous Bello Yakubu, although he wasn’t what I
expected at all. You see, my sister had quite an
unfortunate history with men and the one thing
they all had in common was that they were
ridiculously attractive. Samson, the previous man
she’d almost taken to the altar, was a bodybuilder
who owned a gym and true to his name, he had
brute strength. Toyin had discovered this when he
turned her into his personal punching bag when
they fought on two occasions that nearly landed
my sister in the ICU at the hospital.