Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Just like Adel 5

"I don't know if I'm reading wrongly into this but I'm not sure I'm ..." He started and from nowhere at all two men on a motor bike appeared with cutlases. They where near us before I could get into the car. "Shit." Henry said. "Bring your phones, wallets and the car keys now!" one yelled. "My phone, you don't know I'm a police women eh?" I said and pulled out a gun from my bag. I pointed it at them and they fled without saying another word.

Henry turned to look at the gun and back to me. Don't worry it's not real. It's a prop. My cousin is a director, I got it from him. " I said smiling. I showed him the sticker behind the gun." What? Goodness even I fell for it!" Henry said and we both laughed. "That's really cool. You should get me one but it will probably be useless soon." He said taking the gun from me and examining it. "What do you mean?" I asked. He just shrugged but his expression had really changed.

"What were you saying earlier?" I asked. Henry turned to look at me. "I don't know how to say this." He started. "You don't like me. There, I said it for you. It's kind of obvious." I cut in. He froze. "It's not that. Its just that you look..." He explained then I realised Gilly was right. He couldn't date me because I looked like his little sister. "Hey I get it. Anyways you need to go. I may not be able to pull this trick off twice." I said collecting the gun from him and putting it into my bag. He wanted to explain but what could he say? "Yea sure. Err, goodnight then." He said and left. Maybe it was for the best.

I warned Dean not to talk about Henry anymore. I didn't want to hear about Adel either but that was just impossible. One evening when we closed from work I was just about to leave the office when I saw Adel. I smiled and said a friendly hello. She nodded and signalled to have a word with me. "Dean is in the bosses office." I said. "Yes I know. I'm just waiting for him here. So I hear things didn't work out with you and my brother." She said.

I stared at her for a while. For some reason she looked unhappy but it made sense. Since I'm not with her brother she still has to worry about Dean. So petty, this girl. "Nope." I said, taking a step closer to the exit. I really wasn't interested in discussing my rejection with her. "So what now? Are you guys going to remain friends though? " She asked. I wondered what she thought her words would achieve. "Who knows. You know what, I'd like to chat but I really have to leave. " I said. Adel didn't seem happy at all. She nodded and I stormed out of the office.


To be continued... 

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Just like Adel 4


When I got to work on Monday I went straight to Dean's desk. He hadn't arrived yet so I sat in his chair and waited. I turned on his computer to play a game. Just before I started playing I saw an instant message from Adel. "Hey hun, are you at work already?" it read. I was just about to type a reply when another message came that made me freeze. "Is Dores around? I'm not playing about what I told you about her. Don't even think about it. " It read. Just then I heard Dean's voice. I turned the computer off instantly and left his desk.

Maybe it was me but it really felt like Dean was acting strange the whole day. After lunch I couldn't take it anymore and I guess he felt the same way too so when I walked up to him after lunch he said sorry. "For what?" I asked. "For not telling you that you looked like Adel. I guess you are passed off too." He added. I raised an eye brow. "What did she say?" I asked curiously. When Dean dragged his words I knew he didn't want to talk about it. I told him I had gotten over it. Somehow he thought we would both be amused. "She thinks you may like me too because we look alike right? Tell her not to worry, you are not my type." I said frankly and walked away. I heard him call out to me but I wasn't in the mood to listen to him. Dean and his girlfriend had never appeared more childish to me.

That evening as I went home I noticed Henry's car parked in front of his office. I really considered paying him a visit but I honestly didn't know what I would say then I remembered a trick I read online. I dropped off at his office and after explaining a good deal to the security man he finally allowed me to see Henry. "I didn't know I had to go through so much to see you." I said trying to sound casual but not quite getting it right. "I'm a big deal." He said and smiled. He was so charming. Even with his reading glasses on. He got up and walked towards me. Was he going to kiss me? I asked myself with my heart slightly racing.

He walked past me to his cabinet and picked a file. I shook my head at my wishful thoughts and sat down. It was time to act. "I think I dropped something in your car the other time." I said. Before Henry could say anything a tall guy walked in. He looked at me and nodded when I said hello. "Gilly as you can see today I'm a bit busy." Henry said, looking at me. Gilly looked at me again and just stared until Henry laughed and introduced me to him. "My goodness I almost swore you were Adel." He finally confessed and I giggled. "Do you have any plans for the evening?" Gilly asked. I shook my head and Henry frowned. "That's good. So you can join us. We are getting Henry drunk tonight." Gilly said. Henry didn't look very amused. "Doris needs me to do some stuff for her at her place. Gilly we can do this another time." He protested. I decided to play along. Gilly just shook his head and took a reincheck. Before he left the office he turned to me and said "Henry has a second sister now. Whoosh!" Henry threw a paper ball at him and he laughed.

We walked to the car park to look for the thing I 'dropped' in Henry's car. I learnt this trick about a year ago. You leave something at your crush's place and either have him bring it to you or go for it. In no time at all I found my little note book. Unfortunately I didn't remember what to do after I retrieved the item. "Found it. Thanks." I said awkwardly. Henry nodded and locked his car. "I'll see you later then." He said. "That was cold." There was a nice side to him but his cold side wasn't fun at all. I looked at my watch. "It's almost 9pm. How about you walk me home? " I asked. He shook his head and got into his car. "I'll drop you off. I need to come back and finish some work." He said. It wasn't what I expected but it was better than nothing. I hopped into the front seat and we were off. I saw some papers on the seat and turned them over to look at what was written on them but before I could read anything Henry snatched them from me. "It's just work stuff. So which way do we go?" He asked looking straight ahead. This was getting worse by the minute thanks to Mr workaholic.

In less than 5 minutes we were in front of my little apartment. "Thanks." I said when Henry turned to look at me. I opened the door and walked out. My plan didn't go well at all. "Doris." Henry called. I turned around swiftly. He got out of his car and walked to me. "I don't know if I'm reading wrongly into this but I'm not sure I'm..." He started and from nowhere at all two men on a motor bike appeared with cutlases. They where near us before I could get into the car or my apartment. "Shit." Henry said.



To be continued... 

Friday, February 13, 2015

Just like Adel 3

"Finally I get to meet Doris." I heard a familiar female voice say. I knew it was Adel. I turned to look at her and froze. I thought I was looking in a mirror. She looked just like me. She was startled too but masked it well. Dean laughed and said he had been waiting for this day for so long. I shook her hand and managed to smile. Besides our skin colour and bust size Adel and I looked too alike. She even wore glasses like me. Dean was about to pull a chair for me when I signalled to him not to. I lied about something I needed to do for my boss at the office. "You work this late?" A slim guy sitting next to Dean asked. I shrugged. I said a quick goodbye to everyone and left.

As I walked out a number of things run through my mind. All the times when Dean's friends thought I was his girlfriend now made sense. I stood in front of the restaurant waiting for an empty cab and saw a familiar face walking towards the entrance. Henry said a quick hello when he saw me. I nodded without even smiling and turned away. I wasn't interested in his unfriendly things at this time. My mind drifted back to my 'twin' immediately. Who knows maybe that was why Dean liked having me around. I shook my head. He was an idiot for not telling me. After 10 minutes of waiting in vain I realised every car that came to the restaurant was a private car. I probably had to walk to the main road to get a taxi. I reluctantly started walking. It was a pretty long walk.

I tried not to think too much about the issue. After less than 5 minutes of walking on the rough road I insulted myself for wearing heels to work. Just as I contemplated walking barefoot a car pulled up next to me. It was Henry. "I could drop you off at the junction if you like." He offered. I hopped into the car without wasting time. "My feet are killing me." I said unconsciously. Henry shook his head and drove off silently. His car was so comfortable, I got a little upset we were nearing the junction. Just then Henry's phone rang and he answered it. "What? How did that happen? I told Maria to wait. Just wait for me. I will be in the office soon. Call Ofori to see if he has another number for them." He said. He didn't look amused at all. "Are you going back to your office?" I asked with my fingers crossed. "Yea I need to get some issue sorted out." He replied. I tried to hide my smile. "Can I get a ride there? I don't live far from your office." I requested shyly. Henry just looked at me and when we passed the junction I guessed that was just his rude way of saying yes.

"You are not much of a talker are you?" I asked, adjusting my seat to feel more comfortable and noticed Henry staring at me. "Ei so the free loader isn't allowed to feel comfortable? " I said and he gave a faint smile. I giggled. "I should have dropped you off at the junction." He teased. I laughed and hit him playfully. "I'm a damsel in distress." I added. He seemed to be warming up to me. "No, you are a damsel who decided to wear uncomfortable shoes." He added. We both giggled and before we knew it had arrived.

Henry dropped me off just in front of his office and I took a taxi home. Honestly I could have walked but my shoes wouldn't have let me. When I got home I saw a text from Dean. "How did it feel meeting your twin?" it read. I rolled my eyes. "Dean, I'll get you on Monday." I said to myself. The best thing about the day was Henry. I was glad he was finally warming up to me. I could smell hope in the air.


To be continued... 

Monday, February 9, 2015

Just like Adel 2

"Henry?" I asked. He looked up at me, clearly surprised. "Hi, what are you doing here?" He asked, taking off his glasses. He signalled for me to have a seat and I told him my mission. I realised now why Dean conveniently wanted me to come instead of him. He must have known. Henry answered all my questions sharply. It almost felt like he was in a hurry for me to leave. I told myself he was doing that because I told him my time was limited. I left immediately I got what I needed ignoring the temptation to take his number, for work purposes of cause.

After we presented our documented ideas to the boss Dean and I came back to our desks. We were so late we hadn't talked about Henry yet. Dean brought him up the minute I sat down. I told him in all honesty that if there was any proof that he wasn't interested in me it was our meeting. Dean shrugged and ended his probing by saying I was exaggerating. When he grabbed his phone I knew he was going to give his girlfriend the report. I couldn't wait till the next day when she finally arrived so I could tell her how annoying her boyfriend was.

I noticed as my taxi pulled over in front of a really big restaurant that I was probably under dressed. Looking at the type of cars around my black trousers and blue sleeveless top may not have been very appropriate. I remembered I had a necklace in my bag and put it on to add some style to my plain look. I got out carefully in order not to damage the cake I was holding. Dean tasked me with delivering the cake he had ordered for Adel at her welcome dinner. She had finally come back!

I rushed into the restaurant after paying the taxi driver. Dean had called me a thousand times because I was late. He said Adel was a bit jet lagged so he didn't want her staying up so late. I smiled when I saw Dean waving at me. He and about 5 other people where sitting at one table. I walked to them and put the cake on the table with a smile. "Everybody this is Doris, my coworker who loves being late." Dean teased and I heard some giggles. "Finally I get to meet Doris." I heard a familiar female voice say. I knew it was Adel. I turned to look at her and froze. I thought I was looking in a mirror. She looked just like me!


To be continued... 

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Just like Adel

Dean walked to my desk and when I saw the look on his face I knew he wanted me to do something. "What do you want this time?" I asked turning away from my table. He led me to his desk and asked me to fix an issue on his computer. Dean was so bad with computers it wasn't funny. "So did Henry call you?" He asked. I shook my head. "Chale I don't think he's interested oh." I replied getting up from his desk. Dean frowned. He was just about to talk when our boss walked into the office. I turned around immediately and went back to my desk.

Henry was the older brother of Dean's girlfriend. I thought he was cute the day I met him and Dean gave him my number. That was a month ago. I hoped he would call judging by his wide smile when we met but after a week I just gave up. "Doris I have a new job for you."  my boss said and signalled for me to come to his office. I walked briskly behind him. He handed me a file and said it was a pharmacy advert I was to work on it with Dean. He made it clear that they were a big shot client and so I had to bring my sharpest ideas. I smiled and rushed to Dean's desk. I'm a copywriter who loves her job and challenges excite me. My thoughts of Henry disappeared just like that.

Even though we were nowhere on our project Dean suggested we go to a coworkers wedding. I tried to play the workaholic card but he would have none of it. I finally agreed and we went. It was a beautiful wedding I must say and it really refreshed me. We sat on the same table with Sedem another lady from work. Half the time Dean was on his phone most likely chatting with his long distance girlfriend Adel. He always kept in touch with her and talked about her all the time. My buddy was smitten. It made hanging out with him so much easier because I knew there were definitely no strings attached. "Guess what?" Dean asked as I stuffed my face with a huge slice of wedding cake. "Henry said he lost your number. Adel just told me." He added. I wiped my lips with a tissue. "That again? I thought I told you I was over him. Crushes don't last remember?" I said. Dean just ignored me and kept on typing. Sedem was interested in the topic all of a sudden. Dean told her a very badly fabricated story of the day Henry and I met. I rolled my eyes and looked out for another person serving cake.

Just then a guy came out of no where and shook Dean's hand. They laughed and joked for a while and he turned to me and shook mine too smiling so widely. "I didn't know you were around." He said to me. I stared at him not sure what to say. Then he continued. "You two are not matching colours this time?"  then it hit me. He thought I was Adel. This wasn't the first time. Before I could correct him Dean jumped in and did me the honours. The guy stared at me again and apologised. "Wow, this is.." He started but the phone in my pocket vibrated and I jumped to answer the call.

After talking to my boss over the phone I realised we had less time than we thought to finish the project. We had until Monday afternoon to come up with 10 scripts and Dean hadn't even taken a look at the file. Even though I insisted we leave to do our work Dean still managed to let me stay. "We haven't met with a representative from the company yet even." I nagged. "Don't worry. I'll do that on Monday morning. Have I ever failed you before?" He asked. I shook my head. He was right. I looked around and took in the beautiful environment with my glass of champagne.

Monday morning Dean and I got to work very early. I gave him the file to read while I finished up on a script I had written the night before. "Heh for real?!" He shouted. I turned and looked at him confused. I rushed to him and asked if there was a problem. He shook his head. "You know what? Let me stay and finish up the scripts while you go speak with them." He said and quickly turned over to his computer without even bothering to listen to what I had to say. I complained a little and just left when he didn't badge.

When I got to the client's office I was asked to wait. It was one of the biggest pharmacies in Ghana. "Hello, Mr. Brock will see you now." The Secretary said. I smiled and walked into his office. It was a very big office with very beautiful decor. I wondered if I was going to meet Lestor Brock himself, the CEO. I noticed the man sitting at the desk didn't have grey hair. As I got closer I noticed he looked familiar. "Henry?" I asked. He looked up at me, clearly surprised. "Hi, what are you doing here?" He asked, taking off his glasses.


To be continued...