EPISODE 19.
💫THE BODYGUARD💫
(c) Judytex_Stories
Flashback.
A lot of underground work was done to guarantee the victory of Mr Nicholas in the just concluded election.
A few days before Micheal attended the board meeting, he made sure Mr Nicholas visited 50 per cent of the members of the board of directors as well as some of the large shareholders who were close with his late father.
He presented his late father’s will to them as evidence that he was chosen by his father to govern the affairs of the company. And as such, he urged them to help him grant the dying wish of his late father who was good to them when he was alive and had helped them in one way and the other. He also promised to be a good leader if elected.
Micheal on the other hand, went further to sing praises on Mr Nicholas as a means to tell them the need for them to vote for him in the upcoming election.
He also advised Mr Nicholas not to bribe any of them with cash like Chief Anthony and Silas had already done. Rather, he asked that things be done in his way.
And by his way, he meant running a secret and detailed background check on each of them. That way they can easily identify with them at the point of their needs.
So after the secret investigation, they used the information they got on them, to provide different solutions to their major and pressing needs, which were way bigger and more memorable compared to giving them cash.
And in the end, Mr Nicholas was glad he did as Micheal Advised. Because the kind gestures he showed to the members of the board of directors as well as the shareholders, helped him to win their hearts and prevented them from questioning his absence during the board of directors meeting.
And also, on the day of the election, Micheal was still able to win the hearts of other directors and shareholders with the drama that ensued between him and chief Anthony which aided Mr Nicholas’s win.
At the end of the election, Chief Anthony who went all out to buy the votes of most of the members of the board of directors, as well as the shareholders, was deeply hurt by how some of them ended up betraying him by voting for Mr Nicholas even after receiving money from him.
He was so vexed that he returned to his office and angrily scattered everything that was on his office desk.
“How dare those scoundrels take my money and then turn around to vote for another? Who does that?” He raged angrily pacing around his office with his brother trying to get him to calm down.
“Anthony you need to calm down,” Chief Silas said trying to pacify his anger. But it grew the more.
“I can never be calm until I get hold of what rightfully belongs to me. Over my dead body will I be alive and watch that bastard steal my glory. My birthright !” He raged angrily slamming both palms on his table which was now empty as everything was scattered on the floor.
“Look, I think we just need to accept the fact that Nicholas outsmarted us in this one. So I think, instead of getting all worked up, we should, first of all, calm down, think things through, re-strategize, and then find a way to strike back” Chief Silas said.
“I am going to crush them one after the other. Beginning from the least of them to the strongest. I will make sure I leave no table unturned. Nicholas just asked for war and I hope he is ready for what’s coming for him. Because by the time I strike, I doubt if he will be able to withstand the heat. I am Chief Anthony and no one. I mean no one messes with me and go scot-free” Chief Anthony said with rage in his eyes.
“I trust you brother. Let’s leave them merry in the meantime. So that when we finally strike, they won’t know what hit them and what angle it is coming from” Chief Silas said.
“Exactly. And as for that bodyguard that stepped on my toes today, I’m sure he is already dead by now,” Chief Anthony said with a grin.
Just then, a call came in from the terminator.
Seeing his name appear on his phone screen, Chief Anthony couldn’t help but smile excitedly.
“Speaking of the devil,” He said picking up the call.
“Hello, my terminator. How did it go with the moron who doesn’t know how to mind his business?” He asked as soon as he picked up the call.
“I’m sorry chief. I missed the target” The terminator revealed.
Hearing this, Chief Anthony’s smile was immediately replaced with a frown.
“You did what?” He asked with a renewed fury burning inside of him.
“No one left the company wearing a blue suit chief,” He said.
“So, are you trying today that I don’t know the colour of the suit that I saw at the meeting?” Chief Anthony asked.
“I’m sorry chief. I guess It was my fault. I should have been more alert” He said.
“You moron. All you know how to do is name prices like I produce money. Yet, you couldn’t fulfil a simple task that was given to you” Chief Anthony raged.
“I’m sorry chief” He apologised.
“Keep your sorry to yourself you incompetent fool. I’m so disappointed in you. You call yourself a terminator yet, you couldn’t take down a single man. Get out of my phone you fool!” He yelled after which, he angrily ended the call.
“What’s going on?” Chief Silas asked.
“That good for nothing terminator couldn’t kill the idiot bodyguard I instructed him to gun down. What rubbish! Why do they keep failing me?” Chief Anthony asked with pain in his eyes.
(Back at Mr Nicholas’s house)
Micheal returned home and was warmly welcomed by the entire family of Mr Nicholas who already heard the news of his win.
They went on to embrace him one after the other and of course, his embrace with Alisha was the longest of them all.
“Thank you for helping my father fulfil his late father’s dying wish. You really do not know what this means to us. But all the same, I’m immensely grateful to you. For taking it upon yourself to see that today’s victory was achieved” Alisha said with a smile on her face.
Hearing this, Micheal pulled her into another embrace. This time, he rested his chin on her shoulder while she rubbed his back.
“You all are now the family I never had. And I will do my best to be of help to you in any way I can” Micheal said.
Hearing this, Alisha couldn’t help but blush from ear to ear. While they were still locked together in each other’s embrace, Alisha’s father walked up to them.
Then clearing his throat, he said,
“Excuse me love birds. We have a sumptuous meal that is waiting to be eaten” He said.
Hearing this, they both quickly freed themselves from each other’s embrace.
“Come on daddy, we aren’t lovers but friends,” Alisha said with shyness in her eyes.
“Is that so? But why does it feel like there’s a feeling already brewing inside your hearts?” Mr Nicholas asked slightly pushing her head with his finger.
“No daddy. We are just friends. Right, Micheal?” Alisha asked turning to Micheal who began to stammer in response.
“W-e-l-l, y-e-s, I mean…absolutely,” He said with a shrug and an awkward smile.
“Okay, I will blindly agree with that. But for now, I need you two to join us at the dining table” Mr Nicholas said pointing to the table where his wife and jane were already sitting.
A while later, as Micheal was eating with them at the dining table, he was almost moved to tears by their earnest show of love and acceptance towards him.
And before he left their house, Alisha’s mother made sure to give him extra food which she had carefully packaged in a food flask. Handing it to him, she instructed him to store it in the refrigerator.
While he stepped outside and was about to enter his car, Alisha ran up to him and gave him a brown envelope.
“What’s in it?” He asked staring at the envelope.
“The pictures of our fake wedding of course,” She said.
“Did the photographer bring it here instead of my house?” He asked.
“Yes, actually, the photographer contacted me earlier today. And, since you weren’t at home at the time he called, I then told him to bring it over to my house instead,” Alisha said.
Meanwhile, it was Alisha who contacted the photographer and instructed him to bring the pictures to her house. That way, she was able to do away with every one of her pictures that weren’t beautiful enough in her eyes.
“Oh, is that so? Well, thank you,” Micheal said taking it from her hand with a smile on his face.
(Back at Micheal’s house)
Later that night, when Micheal was done taking his shower, he sat on the edge of his bed and reached for the envelope which had their fake wedding pictures in it. And one after the other, he went through the pictures with a bright smile on his lips.
Seeing how excited his mother was in all the pictures, gave him a feeling of fulfilment. And when he saw the picture of Alisha smiling brightly, he confessed for the first time that she was indeed beautiful.
“Is it my eyes or has she recently become more beautiful than usual?” Micheal said admiring Alisha for the first time.
“She isn’t as bad as I thought though,” He added laying his back on the bed while still staring at Alisha’s picture.
Meanwhile, back in Alisha’s room, she was also busy staring and admiring a picture of her and Micheal.
“We sure do look good together,” She said smiling from ear to ear.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Present day.
Micheal arrived at the police station and waited for Mrs Ifemi, who later came out to meet him in the visitor’s stand with a police officer accompanying her.
Immediately Micheal saw her coming, he waved at her with a smile on his face.
“Hi, longest time no see,” He said smiling brightly at her.
“And, who are you?” Mrs Ifemi asked sitting opposite him with curiosity on her face.
“That’s quite unfortunate. What should I do? My heart is broken from not being recognised by my mother’s aunty” Micheal said with his hand on his chest.
“Who is your mother’s aunty? I don’t even know you. So what exactly are you talking about? Please there’s a mistake somewhere” She said quickly standing to leave.
Just then, Micheal said,
“Then I guess you still remember the little boy you gave this picture to 25 years ago,” Micheal said pulling out his mother’s picture from his b****t pocket.
He slowly passed the picture to Mrs Ifemi who immediately fell back to her seat with her jaw dropped in shock as soon as she recognised the picture to be the exact picture she gave Bunmi’s son 25 years ago when he was sold to his adoptive parents.
“How?” She asked with her body trembling in shock.
“How did I return? Or how did I find out that it was you who sold me off 25 years ago and made me believe that it was my mother?” Micheal asked crossing his legs.
“You are that Adekunle? No this can’t be. This isn’t right” She said shaking her head in disbelief.
“Well, I just stopped by to be sure that you are indeed paying for your crimes. You know, this place suits you so well. And one more thing,” He said leaning in. Then whispering into her ears he said,
“Don’t waste your time waiting for help because help will never come. For I will personally see to it that you spend the rest of your life in prison. So don’t even bother dreaming of leaving here. Because if you do, I will come for you and I will kill you myself. Keep that in mind” He said.
Then standing to his feet, he smiled at her and said,
“One more thing, I heard you are looking for Pablo Rodriguez your supposed foreign client,” Micheal said with a smirk.
Hearing this, Mrs Ifemi raised her head and stared at him with her jaw dropped in shock and disbelief.
“How… did… you…know Pablo Rodriguez?” She asked with her heartbeat racing faster.
Hearing this, Michael simply smiled and then leaning towards her, he whispered into her ears.
“Do you trust Chief Anthony? Are you that daft to think that he will come to save you? Well in case you don’t know, this is his way of getting rid of you for good. I’m quite surprised that in the end, the trickster got tricked” He said.
And with a smirk, he stood upright and said,
“You know, I would have loved to exact my vengeance on you. But thankfully, Chief Anthony has been doing a good job on my behalf. So all I have to do now is sit back and watch him finish you off the same way you did to my mother” He said.
“How do you know chief Anthony?” She asked shivering in fear.
And with a mischievous smile, Micheal walked away without answering her question. And this left Mrs Ifemi in utter surprise and shock.
When it seemed like the whole thing was too much for her brain to digest, she simply screamed out like a mad woman with both palms covering her ears.
“No. This isn’t happening” She said shaking her head in denial.
When Micheal stepped out of the police station, he bumped into Simi (Mrs Ifemi’s daughter) who had come to the police station to visit her mother.
“Hey…..! It’s you” She said pointing at Micheal with excitement on her face.
“Wow! What a coincidence” Micheal said acting all surprised.
“What’s that your name again?” Simi asked racking her brain.
“Micheal Pedro. And you are?” He asked pretending not to know her name.
“Simi. Simi Ojo” She responded flipping her hair.
“So simi what brought you to the police station?” Micheal asked pretending not to know her reason for coming.
“I came here to check on my mother,” She said.
“Your mother? Why is she here?” He asked acting surprised and curious.
“Well, she was set up and wrongly accused of a crime she didn’t commit. And since then, we have been tirelessly working tooth and nail to make sure she comes out of the mess” Simi said.
“Oh, that’s so bad. I feel so sorry for you. Is that why you haven’t called all these while?” Michael asked.
“Actually, I had mistakenly misplaced the card you gave me,” Simi said.
“That’s bad. Maybe fate brought us together again for a purpose you know” Micheal said smiling effortlessly.
“I can’t argue about that” Simi said laughing in affirmation.
“Alright then, can I have your contact? This time I’m definitely doing the calling. How about that?” Micheal asked pulling out his phone.
“I don’t have a problem with that you know,” Simi said blushing effortlessly.
When Micheal was done inputting her phone number into his phone, he dialled her number and asked her to save his contact.
“Alright. So, what about you? What brought you here?” Simi asked.
“Well, actually, I was told that my friend was arrested and detained here. So I came to check up on him, only to be told that he had been discharged a few minutes before I arrived” Micheal lied.
“Oh, then I guess it must be fate’s way of reconnecting us together,” Simi said smiling.
“Yeah. I thought as much. Alright, dear. I wish to run along now. Let’s talk further on phone” Micheal said.
“Okay. Take care” Simi said waving and smiling at him.
“You too. And by the way, you look very beautiful in that dress. And don’t forget to send my regards to your mother” Micheal said.
“Oh wow. Thank you. I will” Simi said blushing effortlessly.
When Micheal got home, he met Samson and Alisha already waiting for him in his living room.
“Guess what guys,” He said with excitement on his face.
“Alisha also has something to tell you,” Samson said pointing at Alisha who had been smiling at him since he walked in.
“Okay…, you go first,” Micheal said urging Alisha to speak.
“Okay, Mr Wale Ojo just called me and a few minutes after I finished speaking with him on the phone, his son also called and guess what? They both want to meet,” Alisha said.
“Wow. What a coincidence. I just ran into Simi Ojo a while ago and we exchanged contacts,” Micheal said.
Hearing this, Samson stood up and said,
“Hold on guys. What in the name of a family reunion is going on here?” He asked staring at the both of them in disbelief.
“What’s your plan, Micheal? What do you intend to do with the Ojo family?” Alisha asked staring at him.
“It’s about time we give them a taste of their poison,” Micheal said smiling mischievously.
“I think I like the sound of that” Alisha said smiling at him.
A taste of their poison, I wonder what Micheal is up to this time