tucked in s.h.i.+rt, she combed her hair in a stylish

manner as she stared at her reflection from the

mirror in front of her. She hissed again on

seeing the high heeled shoe laying on the floor,

she would have changed it to a flatter one if not

that she wanted to portray herself as a average

stylish Nigerian girl.

She put on the suit jacket first and took another

look at the mirror to check if any part of her

dressing was conflicting with the other. After

confirming that her combination and choice of

cloth and accessories were okay, she put on the

shoe.

She felt awkward as she took the first four

steps with the shoe due to the fact that she

hadn't worn high heels for almost a year but her

body had been trained to fit into any situation

so she was quick to adjust as she proceeded

out of the room. She picked up her hand bag

from the table in the sitting room and walked

out of the house.

She walked a little distance from the gate and

stood by the side of the road to wait for a cab.

Her decision not to drive to the company was

based on her plan to present herself as a

student. She already prepared a forged ident.i.ty

card for herself and was going to the Company

to present herself as a student in the

department of pharmacy of the University of

Lagos.

She didn't stay on the road for long before a

cab stopped by and she got in. She negotiated

with the driver who didn't waste time as he

kicked off the fifty minutes journey

immediately.

The supposed fifty minutes journey was turned

to an eighty minutes journey because of the

traffic jam on the Lagos road. Tarasha wasn't

bored all through as she asked the driver

several questions along the way, the driver also

coperated well; providing answers and even

expatiating further than he was being asked.

Tarasha waved at the driver after he dropped

her right in front of the pharmacy; he waved

back at her happily and drove off. She brought

out the ID card from her bag and straightened

her suit before she faced the company and

walked towards the gate.

The guards at the gate didn't disturb her at all,

they clearly saw the ID card hung around her

neck and believed she was one of the students

on Industrial attachment. She greeted them

pleasantly and walked to the main building

where she saw the receptionist.

'Good morning ma' she greeted with a bright

smile.

'Good morning, how may I help you?' the slim

receptionist replied.

'I've come to make some enquiries about health

conference organized by the pharmacy'

'Which one?' She asked without paying much

attention.

'The one coming up on the thirtieth of

November, with Ken Benson and Lee Yung Cho

as guest speakers'

'Okay, what do you want to know about it?'

'I would like to see Dr Daniel Umaru, I need to

ask him something'

'Huh?' The receptionist looked at Tarasha's

face, surprised. 'What do you want to see him

for?'

'I have some questions and suggestions for him'

'Sorry dear, I don't think he's got that time' she

said and placed a small piece of paper

containing a web address on the shelf. 'That's

our website address, log on to get any

information you need about the conference and

send your enquires to the email provided there'

'I need to see him personally, I've already sent a

mail to the email address already but it's

important I see him'

'What? He doesn't have time for you, he's a very

busy man' the receptionist said with an angry

look on her face.

'But I know he goes around to supervise every

Thursdays and Fridays, he may be able to spare

some time for me today' Tarasha persisted.

'Please don't let me force you to leave, go and

wait for a reply to your email'

'No, you can't force me out' Tarasha raised her

voice, attracting several people who were

around.

'What's happening here ?' A short man in a lab

coat approached them.

'She says she wants to see Dr Daniel Umaru' the

receptionist answered him.

'Huh? Is that true young Lady?' He asked,

turning to Tarasha.

'Yes sir' she answered calmly. 'I really need to

see him'

'Come' he said after giving her a searching look,

motioning her with his head to follow him. 'Who

do you say you want to see and where are you

from?'

'I'm Samantha Osman sir; a pharmacy student

at the University of Lagos. I want to see Dr

Daniel Umaru ' Tarasha replied politely

'Okay' He replied, taking a look at the ID card.

'What do you want to see him for?'

'It's about the conference coming up soon'

'What about it?'

'Hum, I found out that he is the chairman of the

organizing committee and I want to ask him

some questions and show him some of my

personal research work as a medical student'

'He's a very busy man, so I don't think he would

have time to attend to you. You can visit our

website and send your enquiries there ; you can

even share your ideas with us there'

'I know sir, I already sent my enquires there but

I still need to see him personally' Tarasha

insisted.

'Hmmm well…' The Doctor took another look at

Tarasha, as his attempts to wave her off didn't

work. 'I'm also part of the planning committee

but I can't attend to you now. You'll have to

come back tomorrow, is that okay?'

'Oh! Thank you sir' Her face radiated happiness

as she thanked him. 'What time do I come?'

'Hmmm, let's make it…' the Doctor paused to

think for a while. '11am should be okay; I can

go through whatever you have and give you a

response'

'Thank you sir, How do I get to you when I

return tomorrow?'

'Just ask of Dr Hammed Sheriff' he answered,

showing her his name tag on the lab coat. 'And

make sure that it is something that really

worths my time, I won't be happy if your

research isn't something reasonable'

'I promise you it would be worth your time'

Tarasha a.s.sured with a smile.

'See you tomorrow then' the Doctor concluded

and walked away, leaving her behind.

Tarasha glanced at the receptionist who kept an

eye on them all through. The receptionist looked

away immediately their eyes met and fixed her

gaze on the book on her table.

Tarasha walked up to her stand and placed her

two hands on the table, smiling.

'What do you … ?' She almost shouted, but

stopped on seeing the annoying smile on

Tarasha's face.

'I just came to apologize, I'll see you tomorrow'

Tarasha turned and walked out of the building.

She removed the ID card hung around her neck

immediately she got out of the gate and threw it

into her bag. She brought out her phone and

dialled Chief Gab's mobile number.

'h.e.l.lo Chief'

'Hi Tarasha' came the reply

'I called to tell you that I'll br moving into that

house by 7am tomorrow morning, so get

everything prepared before then'

'I'm on it, I already ordered for the lab

equipments and paid the officials who are going

to set it up. The equipments would arrive this

evening'

'Good one Chief, that's very good of you'

'Thank you Tarasha, but it costs me so much to

do this especially because it is needed urgently'

'I'm sorry about that Chief, but you should know

that this job requires urgency expenditures

always' Tarasha replied with no note of pity in

her voice.

'Alright, I'm in the house now but I'll be leaving

for my office soon. Where are you? Maybe you

can come around to inspect the arrangements'

'That won't be really necessary, I would still

rearrange the place myself'

'Okay'

'Yea, and there's one more thing left'

'What's that?'

'I need another person who can cook very well'

'That's no problem, I already made preparations'

'Thank you' she ended the call and walked up

the road to board a cab.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

++++++

**6pm, same day**

Chief Gab and his friend, Chief Nonso laughed

heartily at the back seat of the Lexus 2026

model jeep as they cracked jokes about the

day's job. They looked very happy and the

source of their happiness could only be traced

to the several millions they made from their just

concluded illegal business.

The bodyguard and driver occasionally looked at

the front mirror and smiled to themselves as

they watched the two elderly men play like like

kids.

'Don hasn't seen anything yet, he doesn't know

that this girl is a fresh one from Russia, he has

been here for long' Chief Gab joked.

'Don't mind him, he even asked for Tarasha to

work with him' Chief Nonso added. 'I asked him

to screen the two guys very well before he

brought them'

'Sure, they have to be fit enough to work with

Tarasha, I don't want any mistakes in the job'

Chief Gab said as he looked back at the car

coming behind them. That was his own car

which conveyed two of his thugs and the two

men sent to them by Don to work with Tarasha.

He brought out a device and punched a b.u.t.ton

on it as they got to the house. The gate opened

up and they drove in.

'Here is the place I prepared for Tarasha' Chief

Gab stated, adjusting his Agbada as he came

out of the car.

'This place is big o, is she planning to bring in

her husband and children?' Chief Nonso

commented playfully.

'Hehe' Gab chuckled, 'I don't know for her , let's

just provide everything she needs'

The four guys in the other car walked up to the

Chiefs and stood by the side, waiting for

instructions to be given.

'Come here' Chief Nonso ordered the new guys

who walked closer. 'Tarasha would move in here

tomorrow morning by 7am, you guys should be

ready to work with her'

'No problem Chief' the guys smiled at

themselves, their faces beamed with

confidence.

'The cook will join you here before 7.30, she

went to get some foodstuffs' Chief Gab added.

'Don't allow anybody else in except the cook

and be very careful with Tarasha'

+++++++++

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