THE BLACK MARRIAGE
©Ralph Angel
EPISODE 4
Even as Andy alighted from the car about an hour later, he was still boiling in anger. Jessica had guts, he could give her that. No woman had ever confronted him hands down the way Jessica constantly did.
She had the talent of getting him angry whenever she felt like. The frustrating thing was that he somehow felt that she was right.
Self-centered, he muttered to himself with a grim face.
As he matched into the massive building, he did not notice the intense surprise on the faces of the security men; neither did he hear their greetings. He entered the office like a soldier instead of the calmly measured steps he was used to. The surprised looks he got from his employees made him aware of his environment. He returned their gaze with a stern glare and they all started pouring greetings and congratulations on his just concluded wedding, before returning to their duties.
Andy felt the eyes of staff on him as he entered his office. Again, Jessica had been right; coming to work was a stupid thing to do.
However right she was, he told himself that he ought to be at work, if not, his workers would run the company to the edge of bankrupsy.
He hadn’t even sat down when the door opened. He was not surprised when he saw Tunji, his best man and his assistant, standing at the entrance with a bewildered look. “Hey man” Andy called.
“What is the meaning of this Andy?” Tunji asked, closing the door.
“The meaning of what? Andy sat down feigning ignorance.
“What are you doing here? You ought to be with your wife, this is your honeymoon man; the company is not running anywhere”
“My wife and I decided to use this time wisely instead of wasting it on a leisure beach. You know the challenges we have been confronted with by our competitors, staying back would just be useless”
Tunji was glaring at him. “So you could not trust me enough to know that I would handle the company properly till you are back?”
“Come off it man, I trust you; still it is scientifically proven that two heads are better than one. My being here gives us more chances. I don’t want to have another lengthy meeting with displeased shareholders” he powered his desktop and centered his attention on it.
Tunji shook his head. “If I were a woman, I surely would not envy Jessica.” With that, Tunji left, leaving Andy with a measured level of anger.
===
Jessica walked barefooted on the beach sands that same evening as the breeze blew at her packed hair. She wanted to remove the bond and have the breeze blow her hair into disarray but she quenched the wild feeling. She had long ago stopped leaving her hair. In fact, she had stopped everything that could make her look attractive to the opposite s*x long time ago. She wore oversized clothes, packed her head tightly upwards and used almost no jewelry at all except the occasional stud she had resorted to. Men had made her life a living hell and she had resorted to living her life alone with only her family and friends, until Andy asked her for a contract wedding.
Why Andy had decided to pick her, of all the women in the world still remained a mystery. Even at that, the thought that she could be bought with money, no matter the amount would have made her laugh but here she was, in an agreement to stick with a rich handsome workaholic for the sum of 20 million naira. Tears stung her eyes but she blinked them away. She had stopped crying a long time ago, she wasn’t about to start now.
“Hey lady” she heard a guy call and she turned. He walked up to her. “I am not lying when I say you are the most beautiful woman I have ever set my eyes on”.
From the physical outlook of the guy, he looked like someone within her age bracket. He was very slim but handsome, nonetheless.
“Should I say thank you?” she asked.
He smiled. “I am Jack. You look vaguely familiar”
She took his hand. “Jessica”
“Cool. J.J; Jessica Jack. We are a perfect match” he murmured grinning.
“You dream a lot” She responded.
“Every reality started with a dream in mind”
Jessie seemed to think about that. “Not every dream sees the limelight”
“What are you doing dressed like this on the beach? You should be in shorts” he asked, changing the subject.
“What are you doing talking to me then? There are a lot of women here in shorts”
“Well, it is very easy to notice an outstanding woman”
“Why don’t I believe you?”
“Do you ever smile?”
Jessica noticed that she had heard that question for the second time that day. Andy had asked her that same question but she hadn’t given him an answer. She was about to give an answer when she heard a voice behind her.
“Hey sweetheart”. She did not have to turn to know that it was Andy. His voice was far different from every other guy’s. She swallowed and turned. He had a smile on his face but she sensed the anger beneath. “I have been looking for you” he said with his eyes on Jack who had become rigid.
“I came for a walk on the beach” Jessica responded sweetly as he stunningly placed his arm around her waist.
“I knew I had seen you before. Your wedding was carried by almost all the TV stations” Jack’s eyes were on arm Andy put around Jessica’s waist until he forced them upwards with a frozen smile.
“Congrats” he murmured.
“Thanks” Andy said stiffly.
This struck Jessica as awkward as she swallowed bile that formed in her throat. The silence that followed was so uncomfortable and Jessica decided to put an end to the awkwardness. “Drew” she called, turning to him and placing her slender palm on his chest the way only a woman could. “Why don’t you walk with me?”
Andy felt a great sense of victory that stunned him. He looked into her eyes and quickly looked away. She was dressed in an unappealing way but the shabby dress looked to him like a challenge. He wanted to see what she was hiding underneath. But the idea vanished immediately it came and he mentally made a note of never allowing his mind to go astray. He kissed her forehead. “As your ladyship pleases” he gave a slight bow which had her grinning.
“It was nice meeting you” she murmured to Jack. She would have mentioned his name but she realized that she could not even remember his name. Andy’s arm around her waist was disturbing.
Both of them walked for a long time without speaking. “That was an excellent drama you displayed back there. You could make it in the movie industry” she stated.
“Uhn?” Andy could not understand what she was saying
“I don’t suppose you were genuinely jealous, or were you?”
“Who is that guy?”
“You met him too, right? You know him just as much as I do” she said with faint amusement. The response did not satisfy Andy but he said nothing. “We are far from prying eyes so you can remove your hand from my waist now” Jessica said.
Andy extracted his hand instantly, like her body suddenly caught fire. He had forgotten his hand around her. He swallowed hard as he stared at the beach, wanting to dive inside for a swim. He ran his hand through the tiny waves of his hair as he got back to the beach house. He marched into his room without looking back……..
TO BE CONTINUED…
