Chapter 14: Twelve

"Thank you, and have a great day." Hope smiled, handing a customer back her ATM card.

"You don't look like you got much sleep last night," Oke observed, his gaze roaming her face.

Hope snorted and regarded Oke with heavy and droopy eyes. "You don't say. I didn't sleep until around four this morning."

His eyes pooled with worry. "Why? Are you okay? Is there a problem?"

Hope cooed at how genuinely concerned he seemed. They had that connection that made it feel like they'd known each other longer than a day.

"Awww, you're so sweet." She teased, unable to resist.

His hands came up to scratch the back of his neck and Hope laughed at how adorable he was. "Oh my God! You're so cute. Has anyone ever told you that? You're like a puppy and I just want to ruffle your fur right now although you don't have any fur and I don't really like dogs but you know, dogs have cute furs. Some of them."

His countenance was a mix of amused and embarrassed. "Slow down a bit with the dog talk. You still didn't answer my question."

Hope sighed. "I'm fine. I got carried away watching videos online and then I couldn't sleep afterwards."

"Oh, tough," Oke empathized, patting her shoulder. "Sorry ehn. You'll be alright."

"Amen!" Hope exclaimed with a laugh.

The restaurant wasn't as crowded as the day before and she was so grateful she was fully stationed at the counter because it actually allowed for some breathing space. She found herself almost dozing off at odd moments with Oke covering for her at such moments, bless his soul. All she wanted was actual space to take a short nap but that was just her wishing. But then, her lack of sleep wasn't anyone's fault. Anyone except Raymond, that is.

It had been surprisingly nice sharing a midnight conversation with him. That was until he had decided to fall asleep on her. The betrayal!

Thinking about it made her impulsively open her WhatsApp to text him, in the same manner she had the previous night.

Slept well?

(Feel the sarcasm🙄)

9:37

He wasn't online so her message was not marked as delivered. She left her data connection on just in case and pocketed her phone. She'd almost forgotten about it when her phone vibrated. She brought it out to check and it was indeed him replying.

Is that why you did what you did?

10:03

Hope snorted, an evil smile sneaking up on her face.

And what exactly did I do?:)

10:04

"Excuse me?"

Hope glanced up to see a lady waving, impatience plastered all over her features. Hope's gaze shifted to her coworkers who had their hands full as well. She tucked her phone away and smiled at the customer, "Sorry, what would you like?"

The lady rolled her eyes but gave her orders anyway. Hope had to attend to three others before she had the chance to check her phone again. She grinned when she saw he had replied her text.

You deliberately didn't end the call so I would lose all my airtime.

10:04

Her fingers instantly typed a response. She was immensely proud of herself for having done that.

Oh my God! I did???

The horror!😱

10:26

On second thought, it seems to me like karma paid you back for sleeping off on me.

10:26

His reply took less than a minute.

Really, Hope?

10:27

Really. I didn't fall asleep until 4:00 am.

You abandoned me when I needed you the most!😭

10:27

-----

10:27

What's that supposed to translate to?

10:28

I have no words.

10:28

Hope chuckled.

That's 'cause you know I'm right.

10:28

Is this going to be a thing now? You texting me at odd hours? Do you have so much free time?

10:29

Hope scoffed. Arrogant human. She decided to ignore the jab.

Whatever. You're picking me up from work today, right?

10:29

She had to wait a bit for his response. When he did reply, it had her eyes rolling.

I didn't realize I was an official driver now.

10:31

Well, you are.

10:31

Sorry, but there's no fuel in this driver's car.

I was hoping to sell some airtime to buy fuel but I can't since it's all gone now, courtesy of a certain someone.

10:32

Hope's mouth dropped open in disbelief. What the. . .

You're the shallowest and most petty human being I've ever met in my life!

10:33

Thanks.

Order a cab, miss.

10:33

I don't have money for a cab :(

10:33

"You look so serious. What are you doing? Why do you have that weird look on your face?"

Hope glanced up at Oke. "What? What's wrong with my face?"

Her phone vibrated and she immediately looked back down.

So engage the service of your legs.

Bye, Hope. You're distracting me from work.

10:34

"Jerk," she muttered, turning off her mobile data and tucking her phone back into her pants pocket.

"Who were you texting? Your boyfriend?" Oke inquired.

"Boyfriend, ha!" Hope snorted. "Just my driver."

"Hm?"

Hope laughed. "Joking. Just . . . someone."

"Someone, hm? Okay oo. You don't want to get caught texting during work hours though. The boss takes real exception to that. Like seriously, he doesn't even want to smell your phone on you."

Hope chuckled, surprisingly feeling a bit more awake. She faked a military salute. "Yes sir! Noted."

As if the universe was out to call her out for being a liar, her phone vibrated again and she hastily brought it out, grinning sheepishly at Oke who regarded her with a blank look.

"Last one," she promised.

He rolled his eyes at her and turned to attend to a new customer.

She stuck her tongue out at him even though he couldn't see her. She swiped her phone open and her blood instantly chilled. It wasn't a text from Raymond as she'd been hoping. It was one from an unknown number but the content of the text gave her a good idea who it was.

Tick tock, Hope, the text read.

The strength got sucked out of her and she was left even more tired than she'd initially been. This reminder was the last thing she needed. She'd tried so hard to put the whole situation at the farthest corner of her mind but as always, she should have known better. There was never a real escape and no way she could actually win.

Oke who had been paying close attention saw the very obvious change in her mood and couldn't help but comment on it. "Is everything okay? You look like you just got a really bad news."

Struggling to keep her composure, she flashed him a faux smile. "Ignore me. It's nothing."

"Hope . . . "

"Please," she pleaded, staring him straight in the eye hoping to communicate how serious she was.

He didn't say anything else but his eyes watched her intently like he expected her to explode at any moment. She decided to shut off everything else on her mind as she focused on a couple approaching the counter. She flashed them a smile, "Hi, what would you like today?"

•     ~     •

Raymond tapped his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel of his car. For a man who prided himself on being very patient, he surprisingly hated being kept waiting.

He heard tapping sounds and he turned to the figure that appeared on the passenger side.

"Finally," he muttered and unlocked the door.

Oke opened the door and got in, looking really apologetic. "I'm really sorry I kept you waiting, sir."

"It's fine," Raymond responded and smiled at the boy.

"Thank you sir. Why did you want to see me here? I could have just come over instead of you waiting for me on the roadside like this."

"No, that wasn't necessary." He gestured at the glove compartment on Oke's side of the car. "Open it."

Oke's face pulled into a puzzled frown as he obliged and pulled the compartment open. His eyes bulged as he saw the object lying there. "No way . . . "

Raymond laughed at the boy's expression. "Now you no longer have to borrow your sister or parents' phones to make calls."

"Uncle Raymond . . . " The boy's eyes filled with tears as he reached for the brand new phone still packaged in it's casing with glee.

"I didn't want to get you anything too extravagant because I know how strict your parents can be," Raymond explained. "But this shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Oke's eyes were filled with disbelief. "You got me an s5 pro! This is so much already. Oh my God! Thank you so much sir! I don't know how to thank you enough. I can't believe this . . . Thank you so much! I wish there was a way I could show my appreciation in anything other than words."

Raymond smiled at the boy who was cradling the phone like a new born baby. "You already know what I want from you."

Oke laughed, wiping away tears threatening to fall. "Face my studies when I resume school and graduate with a first class."

"Exactly," Raymond confirmed, slapping the boy lightly on the shoulder. "To be a witness of your bright future is all the compensation I need from you."

"I'm going to cry," Oke laughed, covering his face with both hands. "You're so good to me, I don't even understand why but I promise I won't disappoint you."

"That's all I need to hear," Raymond chuckled. "And you better keep to your word because this one that I'm hearing stories about how the girls have been flocking around you in that restaurant of yours--"

The boy's head jerked up as he gazed at Raymond with wide eyes. "No oo! That's not true! Who told you that?"

"Hm. Is it now?" Raymond teased.

"No girls, I promise." Oke laughed.

"You promise? Interesting." Raymond chuckled. "You might not want to make promises you can't keep though. I might just hold onto them."

"Fine. No girls for now," Oke amended with a laugh.

"That's more realistic," Raymond concluded with a pleased nod. "So, how about what I asked you?"

Oke shook his head, understanding his question without words. "Nothing out of the ordinary happened today. At least not as far as I could observe."

"Nothing at all?" Raymond inquired.

Oke thought about it then his eyes lit up. "Well, there was that one time in the morning when she was acting kind of weird."

That piqued Raymond's interest and he prompted, "Weird how?"

"First, she was almost sleeping on her feet in the morning then she later got engrossed in texting someone on her phone. I asked who it was and she said her driver," Oke narrated.

"Her what now?" Raymond asked, laughing.

"Her driver," Oke clarified. "I think she was joking though."

"Unbelievable," he muttered, shaking his head. He motioned with his hand for the boy to continue.

"She was smiling and all at first but then suddenly her mood totally dropped and she looked really depressed. I figured it had something to do with what whoever she was texting said to her."

Raymond's brows squinted into a frown as he took the information in. "Her mood dropped how much?"

"Like a switch had suddenly been flipped. From a hundred to zero," Oke replied, gesturing with his hands.

Raymond thought back to it but couldn't think of anything he could have said to warrant that much change in her. "What happened after?"

Oke shrugged. "Nothing. Less than an hour later, she was back to being herself. Just like that. It actually got me worried because I was so sure something had happened."

"Right," Raymond muttered. Something was happening alright, that much he was sure of. To the boy, he said, "Just keep an eye on her for me, okay? I have this premonition she's in trouble and I want you to help me watch if there's anything the least bit suspicious or if anyone comes to bother her at the restaurant."

Oke nodded. "I have a question though, if you won't mind?"

"What's it?"

"Is Hope also like I am to you? A random stranger you've decided to help out of the blue?" Oke asked.

Raymond smiled. "Is that how you think of yourself?"

Oke shrugged. "That's the only way to think of it."

"I see potential in you. That's why I'm helping you. I don't want your family's financial situation affecting your education," Raymond clarified. "But no. Hope is family, like real family."

Oke nodded. "Okay. Be rest assured, sir. Hope is a very nice and friendly person. It won't be a problem looking out for her at all. It's what I would like to do because I consider her a friend as well."

"That's nice to hear." Raymond agreed with a smile. "But don't let her know we have any form of relationship."

Oke made a motion dragging of his thumb and index finger over his lips. "Lips sealed."

"Good boy." Raymond patted his head affectionately. "Now let's get you home before your mum starts to wonder where you ran off to."

"You don't have to. I can just . . . " his protests trailed off at the look Raymond shot him. "Thank you sir."

"Seatbelt," Raymond said, tucking his in and the boy followed suit.

•   ~   •   ~   •

Hi!

So,

What do you think Hope is hiding?

Comment your thoughts guys.

And,

I really want to thank you all for the engagement so far. You guys are the best!❤