Hello lovely readers ? How are you doing? The plan wasn’t to keep you waiting this long but I had a lot of adulting stuff to do ? But I am back now. The circle episode three enjoy…?

 

Episode Three- Flames 

After their last conversation things got more awkward between Hazel and Alex. Shirley asked Hazel to help her with some possible interview questions so she could be fully prepared.

She met up with Hazel that evening after work and they worked on some questions. 

She knew Alex closes late so she was startled to see him eating alone in the kitchen when she went downstairs for a drink. Alex was on his phone and didn’t see Hazel. 

She wanted to quickly hide and go back to Shirley’s room but she heard Brigitte talking on the phone and coming down the stairs. 

She turned and cleared her throat to catch Alex’s attention. Alex almost choked on his food when he saw her.

“Ummm… Hazel? I didn’t know you were coming over?”

“ Shirley needed a little help with the interview so I came to help her. But I would be leaving soon” 

“ Oh, okay. I can drop you at home when you are ready to leave”

“ That would be nice but I have already asked a friend to come get me,” Hazel said quickly and went to get the drinks 

Alex couldn’t help but wonder if this said friend is Derek. 

Brigitte got downstairs and when she saw how quiet both Hazel and Alex were in the kitchen she immediately knew something was as off.

“ Do you need some help, Hazel? ” Brigitte asked 

“ oh, no. I am fine Aunt Brigitte. I am only getting us some drinks. We got a little thirsty” Hazel said

“ How’s it going? Is Shirley answering the questions correctly?” Brigitte asked 

“ There isn’t a right or wrong answer to these things. Sometimes they only want to get to know the interviewee better and so far her answers have been honest and explicit enough” 

“ Okay, good luck then. And let me know if you girls need anything” 

“ Sure Aunt. Thank you”

Hazel turned to look at Alex

“ Okay, Alex. I will see you around” she said and walked swiftly to the stairs.

She didn’t know Alex was still staring at her when she turned quickly to look at him. They locked eyes and that startled Hazel. She tripped on the stairs. 

Alex stood up quickly to ask if she was okay

“ Yes, I am. Thanks” she said and got up 

She embarrassingly picked up the drinks, she wished the earth would just swallow her when she saw Brigitte looking at her. 

She smiled and run up the stairs. When she got to Shirley’s room she burst out laughing behind the door and that made Shirley laugh too. 

“ What has this crazy girl done now?” Shirley asked

Hazel walked to her and gave her a bottle. 

“ Nothing, I just run into Alex and your mom and I don’t know I got nervous” 

“ Really? Since when have my brother and mother made you nervous? Come on, spill. What did you really do?”

“ Nothing okay. Let’s continue. Derek would be here soon” Hazel said and hopped onto Shirley’s bed

Femi’s assistant worked out his flight ticket and sent the details to his email. He was on his way home when he saw the notification.

He quickly checked to find out his departure time. He groaned when he saw it. He listened to some music to distract himself a little bit. He saw Kendra’s car parked outside when he got home.

“ Ah! Ah! Kilo de? This girl would be the death of me” he said to himself. 

He took in a deep breath before he got out of his car. Kendra was watching a movie when he heard him walk in. She smiled and looked at him

“ Hey baby,” she said 

“ Hey. How are you?”

“I am good. You look so tired. Want me to run you a bath?” she asked

“ No, Kendra. I am sorry, but is there something you need? I wasn’t expecting to see you tonight. You know I am traveling tomorrow”

“I want to tell you something”

“You are not pregnant, are you?” 

Kendra smiled and rolled her eyes.

“Wow! I can’t believe I didn’t see this arrogant side of you. You are really pompous and rude. It’s obvious you don’t love me. As a matter of fact, you never did, and I am sure you never will” 

“Kendra. I am too tired for your nagging. Can we wait until I get back then you can continue with this drama?”

“ No! Femi! No! I am sick and tired of this nonsense. Who do you think you are? Who do you really think you are? Is it because of your father’s money? What is it really? You are so full of yourself. So disrespectful. How dare you treat me like this just because I love you? Is it because I am not Shirley?!”

“ Don’t you dare mention her name, Kendra!”

“ I can and I will Femi. Shirley! Shirley! Shirley! Shirley! What would you do? Beat me up? I don’t know what you see in her and honestly, I don’t care! I am done with this relationship. I am so done. I deserve better and I don’t know why I thought you would change. I came to return your keys and to let you know we are over Femi. You can go back to Shirley or whoever it is you want. But your karma is coming. You would pay for all the emotional pain you have put me through! You have to pay!!” Kendra said angrily.

Her voice broke and tears filled her eyes. She quickly wiped her eyes and continued speaking 

“ I want absolutely nothing to do with you. You are the worst. Goodbye forever Femi Daniels, I hope you rot in hell!” 

Femi hadn’t noticed early on that Kendra had already packed a bag of everything she had ever left in his house. 

He was speechless and could see how hurt Kendra was and it really hurt him that he has put her through that. He  tried to get closer to console her and calm her down but Kendra pushed him away

“ Don’t touch me! I hate you! I hate you so much!” she said and gave in for her tears to fall. 

She cried as she packed her bag. Femi didn’t know what to say, he has never seen Kendra that upset.

She picked up her bag and walked out of the house banging the door loudly behind her. 

Femi rushed after her and stood in front of her.

“ You are too upset to drive let me take you home Kendra please” 

Kendra walked past him and unlocked her car. She placed everything in the back seat. 

“ Have a nice life Femi and all the best in South Africa”

She got into her car and sped off. Femi watched her until her taillights disappeared. 

Derek arrived at Shirley’s house and called Hazel. Alex watched from his window as Shirley escorted her out.

Hazel hugged Derek and he opened the door for her. He said a quick hello to Shirley before they left. Alex sighed and went to lie on his bed thinking about ways he could work things out with Hazel. 

Femi called his little sister Damilola when he had settled down.

When he is at his lowest point sometimes, she is exactly what he needs. 

“ Hello, Femi? Is everything okay? Now that you have called me out of the blue” she said

Femi chuckled. 

“ Ah! Ah! Didi. I call you often now, I get busy sometimes but you know that I try” 

“Well true. You do try” Damilola said and chuckled

“ So what are you up to?” Femi asked

Damilola yawned.

“I am studying, I have a test tomorrow. Remind me again why I decided to read Medicine”

“To make Bankole Daniels proud now, so he can brag about you to his friends,” Femi said and they both laughed. 

“Talking about Daddy, mummy told me he has plans of asking you to go to South Africa. So brace yourself and be expecting his call” Damilola said

Femi sighed

“I spoke to him early on today. I am so upset about it. And to add salt to injury, he wants me to go with Bisola” 

Damilola laughed

“I promise! Daddy would never let you forget what you did to her” she  said

“What did I do to her? We dated behind his back and it didn’t work out. Life goes on. He should let it go. I no kill persin now. Ah! Ah!”

“Talking about dating, how’s your girlfriend? Her name just escaped me. is it Karen?”

“Kendra…”

“Yes! Yes! Kendra. How is she doing?”

“She just broke up with me Didi”

“No way! You are kidding. Why?”

“ What I can say about my relationship with Kendra is that I wasn’t fully ready to date, but I thought she was what I needed to get over you know who”

Damilola sighed

“Femi, honestly I think you should stay single for a while. Take a year or more and use that time to figure yourself out. You can’t keep thinking you can find Shirley in other women. That relationship has run its course. Try and be happy. Do things that make you happy Femi. Golfing, tennis, swimming anything. Just focus on other things”. 

Femi sighed

“ She makes me happy Didi. Shirley is very different from the other girls I have been with, so letting her go is difficult, very difficult for me”

“ You should have thought of that before you ended things the way that you did Femi. You messed up. There is no coming back from that”.  Damilola said

“Maybe the time you take off dating would do you very good Femi. I miss you. I miss the old Femi not this broken and confused one that’s sad all the time” she added

“ I am not sad Didi ”

“But you aren’t happy either. Can I pray for you?’

Femi groaned

“I always forget this Mother Theresa side of you. See, I am fine Didi or at least I will be “

“I know you will be, but I still want us to pray. Please brother”

Femi agreed and Damilola prayed for him, her prayer almost moved him to tears, it reminded him again how very amazing his little sister is.

“I love you Femi. I wish I were in Nigeria so I could see you tomorrow”

Femi smiled

“Don’t worry. I have decided to come to the states for Christmas this year. I will see you soon”

“Really? Wow. Well, if that’s the plan, then I think it’s right I tell you that I met someone” Damilola said excitedly 

“Damilola Daniels! Are you serious?” 

Damilola laughed out loud 

“Yes, I am. We aren’t official yet, but I am happy and that’s what matters. He is white by the way”

“Oyinbo?! Ah! Ah! In Bankole Daniels’s house? You are on your own o “ Femi joked

“Femi stop it now. He is a great guy. I will introduce you to him when you come”

“Sure thing. I will leave you to study now. Good luck on your test tomorrow”

“Thank you! Have a safe flight tomorrow and give mummy a kiss for me”

“Okay Goodnight love,” Femi said

Two weeks passed by, and Femi’s one-week stay in South Africa turned into two weeks because of how complicated the deal had turned out. He worked closely with Bisola and by the second week, the South Africans were willing to play ball. 

Kendra thought Femi would reach out, but she didn’t hear anything from him. Valerie on the other hand was glad Kendra found the strength to break things off with Femi. She consoled Kendra any chance she got because Kendra absolutely needed her. 

Shirley aced her interview and moved to Dubai to train for six months. He sent Femi a couple of messages informing him about it, but Femi was swamped with work in South Africa that he couldn’t make the time to go through all his messages. 

On this flight back to Nigeria, he read Shirley’s messages. It caught him by surprise. He replied to the message immediately but he was still on the plane so the message couldn’t deliver. His countenance changed and Bisola noticed it.

“Are you okay?” she asked 

Femi quickly nodded and turned to look outside his window, he wasn’t in the mood to talk.

He stayed a few days in Nigeria before going back to Ghana. Fitzgerald picked him up from the airport and they spoke about Shirley. Femi hadn’t heard from her since his last message to her.  

“I am pretty sure she is still settling down that’s why,” Fitzgerald said

“When did she even land the job?” Femi asked

“I have no idea, but I am guessing a couple of weeks ago,” Fitzgerald said

“All the way to Dubai for training. That’s intense and before you know it, the six months would turn into a year, and I might not see her ever again”

Fitzgerald laughed

“You are overthinking this Bro. If you want to go to Dubai to see her then do it. Whoa! Come to think of it, that’s a brilliant idea. You can go to Dubai for a bit and then make it in time for Christmas in the states. You are single now and as far as I am concerned, she is single too. Why don’t you make it work with her again? You love her and if you don’t do something about it now. You might live to regret it”

“I am coming out of a relationship Fitz I don’t know. I just don’t know”

“Do you love Shirley or not?”

“You know I do now. Come on”

“Then stop the dilly dally and go get your girl. Go and get your girl Femi” Fitzgerald said

Hazel decided to give Derek a chance when he officially asked her out that evening, she wanted so badly to talk to Shirley, but her number was still unavailable. She wanted to contact Alex to ask if he had heard from her, but they haven’t really spoken properly in a while. 

Femi freshened up when he got home, he was making himself a bowl of cereal when Shirley’s call came through. He thought it was his mother because he hadn’t informed her that he has arrived safely in Ghana.

He dropped the bowl on his kitchen counter and picked up his phone. His heart skipped a beat, but he answered it immediately.

“Shirley? Are you okay?”

“Yes, I am good. I forgot my phone charger in Ghana. I don’t know what I was thinking. I got one this afternoon. How have you been too?”

“I am alright now that I know you are doing okay. How’s the new office?

“Very good actually. Are you back from South Africa? How did it go?”

Femi went to take his bowl of cereal and sat by his dining table. 

“It was challenging, very challenging but I appreciate how much it pushed me,” Femi said

Shirley heard him chewing and asked what he was eating

“Just a bowl of cereal, just got home and I am tired to cook anything”

“I am sure Kendra would have made something nice for you. Does she not know you have returned?”

“So, Kendra and I have broken up”

Shirley stayed quiet 

“Hello, Shirley?”

“Why did you guys break up?” Shirley asked

“We just weren’t working out Shirley”

“I am sorry to hear that”

“Are you very sure that you are sorry?” Femi teased

Shirley chuckled and didn’t reply

“So, are you still just talking to people, or someone has passed the talking stage and things have gotten serious? Femi asked

Shirley sighed

“Nothing serious honestly. They are awesome guys I wouldn’t lie but my heart still loves a certain someone” Shirley said

Femi blushed and chuckled

“A certain someone still loves you too Shirley”

“I want to come and see you in Dubai. I want us to be together Shirley. Nothing makes sense without you. I miss you so much. I understand if this is too much, but I had to let you know. I have not moved on Shirley.” 

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Shirley said

“It’s happening. Believe it. I am crazy about you”

“Can I have some time to think about this? You know I am now far from you. I am not sure we can survive a distant relationship”

“I don’t mind a distant relationship, Shirley. By God’s grace, I can afford to come to wherever you may be. Don’t worry your head over that. I just need us to be together. Let’s give us another chance. Let’s make it work. Please Shirley”

Shirley smiled over her phone

“Are you serious Femi?”

“As serious as a heart attack Shirley. I am not joking oo. I no go use you catch cruise. Never”

Shirley laughed

“I love you Femi. I almost forgot how very happy you make me. I thought I have lost you forever. I can’t believe this is happening but yes Femi I would want us to be together. I miss you too, a lot”

“Yeeesssss!” Femi said excitedly

“I will start planning my trip to Dubai. I want to ask you to be my girlfriend again properly”

Shirley laughed

“That would be nice.”

“You have made me a very happy man. I can’t wait to see you. I love you”

“I love you more,” Shirley said and blushed 

It was getting late so Femi promised to call her again and thought about her all through the night. 

Hazel finally got hold of Shirley by the afternoon the next day and she was over the moon for Hazel. 

She wanted to tell her about Femi too, but she decided to keep quiet about it because she wanted to be a little more private about her relationship with Femi until they both figure the relationship out properly. 

“Announcing it now might jinx it,” she thought 

She listened to Hazel go on and on about how amazing Derek is and how happy she is to be his girlfriend. 

“I hope and pray the relationship lasts. I am so happy that you two are official now” Shirley said

Someone knocked on Shirley’s door, so she ended the call with Hazel and opened it. 

It was Kwadwo, one of the directors of the company who liked Shirley the moment he saw her in the Accra office. 

“Hello Mr. Afriyie-Boateng”

“Hi. How are you doing?” 

“I am okay Sir. How are you doing too?”

“I am well. Thanks for asking. I was checking in on you to know if you were comfortable. Are you sharing the room?”

“Well, for now, it’s just me but I am hearing there are more people coming in from Kenya and Cameroon. I am sure there would be someone in there who will be my roommate” 

“Were you assigned someone when you checked on the list?”

“No, for this room it was just my name on the list” 

Kwadwo nodded 

“Alright. I made sure of that. Okay then, do have a great rest of the day. And Goodluck with your training” he said and smiled 

“Thank you, Sir,” Shirley said and closed her door 

She called Hazel back and narrated to her what had just happened 

“What does he mean by he made sure I had a room to myself? ” Shirley asked

“Did you tell him something along the lines of wanting some privacy?”

“No way! This is man is my boss. I have spoken to him just once. He was part of the people that interviewed me. That is all. I hadn’t seen him again until now”

“Maybe he likes you? Is he old?” Hazel asked

“No. He is young. Quite young to be a director if you ask me” 

“That’s nice. You should just wait and see. Maybe your performance at the interview caught his attention and he would like to mentor you”

“Anyway, I won’t worry my head with that. Let’s talk about you. So, what now for you and Derek? Are you going to tell your colleagues at work too?”

Hazel laughed

“No way. I want us to enjoy this in private honestly”

“Yeah, I get you. Congratulations and I wish you all the luck in the world”

“Thank you. I have a date with him tonight. I want to go and get ready”

“Sure love! Have a great time”

Kendra saw Femi’s car when he drove past her house in the early hours of the morning, she has secretly been looking out for his car for weeks. 

She thought Femi would care a little about her even though she was the one who ended it, but the way Femi didn’t care really hurt her.

She was trying to catch up on some sleep when she heard Valerie upset on the phone. Valerie was talking at the top of her lungs in her room, waking everyone in the house up. Their mother rushed to Valerie’s room to check on her.

“Valerie what has gotten into you?!” Pamela said

Valerie started to tear up and rushed down the stairs still talking. 

Pamela and Kendra went after her to make sure she was alright; she was beginning to scare them. Valerie has always been the quiet and collected one, so this behavior was really unlike her. 

 

Sorry for keeping you waiting. I hope you enjoyed this episode. Have a good night lovely reader. ?