MUNA
"How dare you bring that up? We both know that I was set up that night." I replied in anger.
"Set up? Don't give me that nonsense once again. I thought that since we've become adults you'd finally come to terms with what happened that night and stop lying," Grant frowned.
"I don't want to talk about this. Not anymore, you don't believe what I have to say as regards the matter and the same goes for me, so let's just leave that issue aside. I want to assume the position of Director of Rowland Galleries. No, let me rephrase that, I'm now the director of Rowland Galleries."
Grant stood watching me for a while with a weird look before he said, "I'm expected to attend a meeting in the next fifteen minutes, so I'll get straight to the point. I have a proposition for you, but it's not something we can talk about here. So meet me at this address at 6 pm. You may leave my office now."
"I'd rather meet with you here tomorrow instead. I don't trust anymore meetings with you anywhere asides an office. Don't be offended, but after our last encounter, you can't blame me."
"I need you to understand your place here. You need my help, not the other way around, so even if I asked you to meet me in my penthouse, you don't have a right to reschedule that meeting. Remember your father could go to prison if I want him to."
"I hate you. How could you do this to my father? Why do you hate me do much?"
"I'm not doing anything to the old man, Muna. You see your actions is what determines whether or not I'd send your father to prison. Now would you meet me at my penthouse or not?"
"I'll be the unsmiling lady in black. That's because being around you is like attending a funeral," I condemned.
"Really? From what I remember you don't attend funerals, I mean Somto, your only sibling died and you weren't even present at his funeral," Grant laughed.
That was the moment where I felt every control slip out of my grasp and I slapped him hard across the face.
"Don't you ever talk about my brother like that. You have no right after what you did to me back then. I'll meet you at 6 pm," I said in a dark tone before walking out of his office, leaving him caressing his red cheek in anger.
I left the building, but not before saying thanks to Abigail. Slapping Grant was supposed to make me feel better, but I only felt even more furious. Who the hell did he think he was?
As I drove home, my mind took me back to what happened between us both back then in secondary school.
Grant had always been my classmate, but I only ever cared about competing with him for the top place in class, until the day when I mistakenly bumped into him and ruined his science project.
I apologised which was something I never did, but it seemed he never really accepted that apology.
He started getting on my nerves, following me around school, claiming that I owed him a date as compensation for ruining the project.
I wasn't interested in dating anyone, especially after just breaking up with Jackson, the dean's son.
It had only been two months since Somto died. I was still mourning and angry at everything and everyone around me, so having just another burden on me was too much.
I was already under pressure from my family to do better than Grant and ensure that he stays at second place while I remain the best of our year. I had to graduate as the valedictorian.
Mum was also recently sent to the psychiatric hospital the previous month, so I didn't know if I was possessed or something when I agreed to date him back then.
I wasn't sure why I finally agreed to go out with Grant after he asked me out for the fifteenth time that month. So, we agreed to go for a movie and for the first time in a long time, I felt happy, because we saw my favourite animation which my Dad felt was too childish for me to watch.
After the movie, Grant and I went to a playground near our school and we talked about our lives and school. He told me he was sorry about what happened with my brother.
At that moment, I broke into tears. He listened to me as I talked about the struggles I had with pleasing my parents who wanted me to become a surgeon just like my mum. He was actually very great company.
I told him about the fact that I didn't attend Somto's burial, because I just couldn't bear to say goodbye to him like that.
How then could Grant bring up Somto's funeral like that in his office when he knew me better than anyone else in school back then?
If I didn't start to trust him back then, if I didn't tell him about my struggles as the leader of the cheerleading squad, or even about how I didn't really think I had friends despite the girls who followed me around all the time in school, maybe then things wouldn't have happened the way they did all those years ago.
After being friends throughout that year of school, we went on a three-day school break. It was the last term of our final year of high school, I couldn't believe that all through our time in school, I only saw Grant as my opposition, so I thought it was high time I gave us a chance to be more than friends.
Grant had been suggesting that for a while, so I finally told him that I wanted us to go on a date on the first day of our school break.
He booked us a table at an expensive restaurant and we had so much fun eating and discussing that night. We had plans to meet the next day at a gaming centre.
When I went home to my boring family mansion filled with servants, my Dad as usual was out of the country, but I didn't feel lonely at all. I figured it was because I now had Grant whom I could talk with on the phone and who actually cared about me.
Grant sent me a text that night saying something came up and that he couldn't meet me at the gaming centre the next day, but I should meet him at another address instead.
It was an apartment, he said it belonged to his Dad, that he wanted to make dinner for me and also wanted us to study together because our final exams were starting in two days time.
I was disappointed, because I hadn't been to a gaming centre before, so I didn't reply and instead called one of my friends, Harper from the cheerleading squad and told her that Grant wanted me to meet him at an apartment.
In her opinion, he definitely wanted us to take our relationship further and probably expected me to spend the night together with him.
I was shocked, I had never done such a thing before, I was very serious about keeping my virginity until I was very sure I wanted to lose it and so I just decided that I'd go there the next day and tell Grant that I wasn't ready yet.
It was the same reason Jackson and I broke up, he wanted us to start having sex. After I told him, "no," he simply stopped talking to me and I eventually let go of our relationship.
Jackson was the dean's son, captain of the basketball team and the most popular guy in school, he was also good-looking, so he felt insulted when I rejected him. According to him, he could have any girl he wanted and I was a fool for rejecting him.
I later discovered it was for the best because he was kind of distracting me from my studies. I was also running for the top student of our school and my Dad had made it clear that I must win that competition, so breaking up with Jackson was best for me at the time.
Now with Grant, I wasn't being distracted because Grant always made sure we studied for at least an hour together everyday. I didn't even mind that Grant was also a member of the basketball team and how it was quite surprising for me to break up with the captain to go for a regular member.
The next day, I went to see Grant at the address he gave to me, but when I got there, Jackson and two other guys from the basketball team were there with no sign of Grant.
They said that they were there because they heard that Grant and I were now dating and wanted to celebrate with us. Jackson even apologised for his behaviour the last time we spoke. He told me Grant was still on his way.
He even offered me a drink after I accepted his apology. I guess I should have known better than to drink it because a minute after drinking it, I started feeling dizzy and eventually blacked out.
When I woke up, I was in my underwear on a bed and Grant was sitting beside me, fully clothed with a very dark look on his face.
I was so confused and worried because I didn't want to believe that he was responsible for what happened. Did he gang up with his friends to drug me?
When I asked what was going on, he started calling me names and said he couldn't believe it when Peter one of his teammates told him that I was still dating Jackson and he had to come there himself to prove him wrong.
I covered myself up with the blanket, finally coming to terms with what was going on. Grant had set me up with Jackson, but why?
After asking him where Jackson was, he said he ran away when we were caught together. He called me a slut and other hurtful names and even denied ever asking me to meet him at that apartment. I tried to show him the text on my phone, but somehow, it had been deleted.
Grant laughed and kept accusing me of two-timing with Jackson and him, claiming to have never sent me any text.
I told him that he was the one who had to explain to me what was going on, that I was set up by someone, probably him, but he wouldn't listen to me.
He eventually left me in that room, saying it was over between us. That was the day, I started hating Grant.
Jackson eventually confessed that he asked Grant to date me in exchange for winning the top student competition.
Jackson's mum was the Dean of our school, so he promised him that he could manipulate things in Grant's favour. They only wanted to make fun of me since I acted all high and mighty, according to him.
For the entire exam period, I was threatened with pictures that they took of me in my underwear, until all of a sudden, the threats stopped.
I made sure to avoid Grant and luckily, still able to win that competition.
Taking my mind off the past, I wiped my tears as I made up my mind to ruin Grant for what he did to me.
GRANTAn hour after Muna left, I had just returned to my office after the meeting when my phone's ringtone went off. It was Mum again, she called at least twice daily and I wasn't in the mood to talk to her, but I just answered anyway."Hello Mum. How's the vacation going?""It's great, Grant. How's work dear? I'm sorry that your Dad dumped all the work on you like that. You should have had some time to rest after coming back to the city," Mum's chirpy voice made me smile.I could imagine how she was lounging by the pool with a romance novel and Dad beside her. Mum loved relaxing, just a bit too much."It's fine, I made that choice myself.""A good choice I can say, your Dad told me that you've earned double of the highest profit the company has ever made. We're so proud of you, Grant.""Thanks Mum.""Well, I'm sure you know that's not the main reason why I called. Have you finally got the courage to confess your feelings for Olivia? I have an idea for how you can do that," she laughe
If I ever felt like I wanted to die of frustration and anger, then it meant I was arguing with Grant once again- MUNAMuna almost choked on the piece of chicken in her mouth when she heard Grant's words."What? Do you think I'm such a joke? Who do you think I am? Some idiot you can just toy with? Engagement with you? I'd rather chew off my toes first," she said angrily."Calm down, I knew you were going to react this way, but face it, there's nothing you can do. Your father's fate, that of Rowland Galleries, and yours too, they all lie in my hands. I want you as my fiancee, that is the only condition with which I will remedy the situation at the galleries. It's the only way to save everything," Grant said in an icy tone, wiping the wine from his face with a towel.Muna looked at him, trying to gauge his true emotions. She just couldn't understand why Grant would want to get engaged to her."I don't understand this? What do you stand to achieve by all this? I get it now, you're just as
The thought of getting back at Muna is very charming, but definitely not seeing her cry- Grant."I can understand that you wish it wasn't true and that Somto wasn't such a person. Even I found it difficult to believe when I found out," Grant said, lifting a hand to rest on Muna's shoulder to which she simply brushed him off."Maybe this document will convince you that I'm right," he said handing her a black envelope."What is this?" She asked, wiping away tears. So much for not crying in front of Grant anymore."Open it. It contains details of transactions Somto had with his supplier. Your brother, though very intelligent and promising was only another victim of peer pressure and mixing up with the wrong crowd. He had been severely addicted to cocaine and I'm sorry to let you know this, but—" Grant hesitated."You've ruined everything haven't you? Just go ahead and destroy the precious memories of Somto I have left.""You know very well that's not what I'm hoping to achieve.""It's se
When listing out my problems, Grant must always turn out to be linked to them all- Muna "Hello Muna, it's been a long time since I set my eyes on that beautiful luscious figure of yours. I missed your beautiful brown eyes, and pretty face," the tall man said with a flirtatious smile. "I don't need compliments from you Jackson. What the hell are you doing in my gallery?" "Oh darling, is that the tone you use for your ex-boyfriend? I must say this place looks amazing, it seems to be doing so well, isn't it?" Jackson asked. He was very tall and seemed to have started working out. He wasn't the lean and lanky Jackson from secondary school whom she had once dated for an entire term. Muna had done everything possible to avoid him since she left school. What was this about? She had absolutely no idea why the guys she hated from her past, were just showing up one after the other. She wasn't sure why, but Jackson's appearance irritated her more than Grant's did. They were both the same ma
Staring at Muna for long would only lead to irrational behaviours from me- Grant.Twelve Days Later...GRANTI was working on a proposal when I heard the phone on my desk, ringing."Mr Stephens, Ms Rowland is here to see you," Abigail said as I answered the phone."Send her up and please hold all my calls until I say otherwise, thanks.""Right away, Sir."I counted the steps necessary for Muna with her long shapely legs to get to my office and she arrived at the exact moment I expected her to.I stared at her, taking in her beautiful appearance. Today, she had her hair packed in a high bun and she wore a fitted white shirt with black pants. They flattered her shapely figure so well.She looked so elegant and just like always, when she walked into my office, I was hit with the sweet fragrance that she favoured ever since we were teens."Before you ask why I'm here, I'll tell you. I have a few questions for you," she said in her usual husky tone."Go on then, sit please. I assume you ha
Underestimating Grant's Level Of Ruthlessness Would Only Lead To Undesirable Situations Like Moving In With The Enemy- MunaMUNAI had no idea why I welcomed that kiss from Grant, but as soon as he said what he did after pulling away, I got back to my senses.I raised my hand to give him a tight slap, but he dodged before my hand could connect with his cheek."You succeeded in hitting me the other time, but not now. What I said is reasonable," he smiled."Reasonable? I'm sorry about hitting you, but trust me, you're the only one who inspires such violent behaviours from me," I almost choked on the words."That's exciting, it means I'm finally getting under your skin. Listen, what I said is reasonable, you need the money, I also need the money your father borrowed back. You need to save the three galleries and I need to secure such a genius under my company before someone else does. I must be the investor that Adewale turns to for expanding his work. We will be helping each other if yo
I'm not very sure why I asked Muna to live with me, but I couldn't possibly say there's nothing more attached to it-Muna.GRANTI watched all the colour drop from Muna's face as I said that. "Did she really think I was going to leave any loopholes in our pretend relationship?" I thought to myself as I studied her."What nonsense? How dare you make decisions for me just like that? Who the hell do you think you are? Why would you move my things to your place without my consent?" She queried, nose flaring in anger."Calm down, my dear, we are supposed to be a loving couple now. I know about the fact that your rent has been due for a while now. I'm sure with what's happening to precious Daddy, you don't have the necessary funds to pay up your rent, so I'm doing you a favour. You can stay at my house, it's big enough," I replied, smiling.She let out a scoff before saying, "I don't care about how big your house is, but there's no way that I'm going to live with you. I don't trust you one b
I guess nothing can prepare me for Grant's fury. Picking a fight with him will only result in me getting hurt anyway- MunaMUNAI woke up the next morning in an unfamiliar room. The pink walls and lilac coloured bedsheets was something I definitely disapproved of. Grant knew that I wasn't the girly type who favoured pink or purple, so I'm sure he designed this room this way just to piss me off, which he clearly succeeded at.Every single item was either in pink or purple. I touched my head, trying to remember what exactly happened yesterday.I remembered the terrible migraine that gave me signals while I was talking with Mr Flint and Mr Moore. I had always suffered from migraines, ranging from mild to terrible ones. Yesterday's episode fell under the category of the latter, it started about a year ago. I had an episode at least twice every month.Yesterday was the worst so far, I had felt as though drumsticks were being used on my head. I know I was at the office lying on Grant's co