The love I hated

It had rained heavily a day before ,the morning was so cozy and snug under the duvet. Harry stretched himself and rolled from one side to the other, he wakes to the consciousness of the lady laying down next to him. It had been a rough night , not romantic but pleasure filled.

Harry wakes up from his gigantic bed, he pulls himself up and wakes up the lady he had picked from the club last night.

"Get up", he says and opens his drawal next to him, he takes a bundle of cash and throws at her.

"Wouldn't you want breakfast?" The lady asked.

" No , please ,just get out, I have a worker that attend to my needs",he keeps a straight face.

The lady quickly puts on her clothes , she wondered why he was so rash at her, he had been cool with her all night, so why the sudden change. Well she had her money and that was very vital to her, at least he paid well, she thought and left the room.

He had a very important meeting to catch up with. He is the CEO of NCN collections and never played with his work. He always went on time so he could get hold of the late staffs .

At his early 30's ,all staff they worked under him had great fear whenever they sighted him. He had this very cruel look that frightened all and to think that he was their boss and his company paid well, made all very submissive to his act.

He was chocolate, a bit huge and about 5.6 fits tall. He had a this charisma that attracted ladies to him. Although he was goodlooking his attitude was a mess. He had no regard for elders ,neither did he respect women , he believed he could order anyone and have his way with them.

"Ahhhh! My whole body aches", he said stretching himself while walking to the bathroom and yawns loudly. He had drank so much the previous night at the club and the lady he brought back home had made his night really long.

He wasn't a Casanova but played around at times, he had fully rejected having a girlfriend or having a wife, for reasons best known to him, but this didn't stop him from picking up random girls whenever he felt like .

Walking into the club the previous night, he had sat down for long drinking and nodding his head to the rhythm of the Afro song played, he then sighted this lady and decided to give his shot at her. She was carried away by his looks and they both drank and danced together at the club. He then asked if she could go home with him and she accepted his offer.

He had gone five rounds with her that night and she kept asking him for more of which he declined. He didn't want to go intimate with any woman, so chases them away immediately after sex, this was to ensure he didn't catch feelings with any.

"Life is best without women" he told himself. He believed women came with so many problems and he wasn't ready to associate himself with problems yet. He knew he had to catch his breath and rest for the day ahead.

"My God"! Looking at the time ,he discovers it already 7:30 am. He quickly rushes into the bathroom , picks up his tooth brush and paste. Moments later he walks out of the bathroom with his towel and heads to the wardrobe ,grabs his outfit and dresses up.

Realizing that his shoes weren't polished, he opens his door and calls out for Agatha his house keeper.

" Agatha ! Agatha! Where is that old hag that calls herself my housekeeper?" He says angrily.

"Sir you called, I'm so sorry I was downstairs " Agatha said , while entering the room.

She was a woman in her late 50's , she had worked for him for close to twenty years and knew that his call that morning was either to complain or scold her. However, she was fully grounded to recieve whatever he was about to display towards her.

He replies in an angry tone, " Downstairs doing what?

" I was making sure that there is enough foodstuff to last for the week, sir" she said.

He ignores her answer,

"Where is the shoe I asked you to clean for today's work?"

"Sir , it's there, I dropped it next to your bed last night",she points at the direction.

"I can only see a black shoe there,I asked for a brown shoe yesterday ,Agatha" he said.

" I am sorry sir, but you didn't ask for a brown shoe, you only stated the shirt and trouser you wanted. So I felt a black shoe should match, sir " she said

"Are you trying to say that I tell lies, or maybe I am mentally deranged,that I do not know when I say things anymore, he ranted.

"I am sorry sir, I didn't mean to upset you ", she said.

"Are you tired of this job? "He asked.

" No sir , please I am sorry.

"Have you served my breakfast? " he asked.

"Yes I did that before coming up, sir, she replies.

"Please leave", Harry instructs as Agatha opens the door , he follows her and bangs the door after her.

"Highly incompetent woman !who can't do simple task right, only here to get paid for not doing things right, I will soon put you in your place, very soon!".

He puts on the black shoes and adjusts his tie. Looks at the mirror and praises himself.

Smiling sheepishly

" Here comes Mr Harry Benjamin, CEO NCN collections, the number one African brand! None can be better than you. You've got this, so go and do as you always!"Admiring himself he puts on his wrist watch and wears his suit.

He gets hold of his car keys and suitcase, turns around to see if his outfit fits him properly and walks outs of the room.

Harry arrived his office quite late, the traffic had delayed him and left him worn-out, if there was anything he detested in life ,that was being patient under the traffic.

Lagos traffic on Mondays are not what one should laugh about,if you had to get to your destination in time, one had to wake up early enough to beat it .

The constant blowing of horns and big luxurious vehicles made his journey almost impossible. But this was what he faced from time to time, he was use to it and so he had to deal with it everytime.

He finally got to work , packed his car and walked into the building in a hurry .

Quickly entering the elevator ,he came across his secretary who joins him.

she had a book in her hand ,which contained his schedule for the day.

She was a fair ,average ,slim lady who spoke so fluently . She always appeared smart and that was what Harry liked must about her. Her very curvy figure which added to her elegant beauty was one all could take note of when she's seen.

She had been with him for more than six years already and knew how to plan and handle his schedules.

Most staffs believed he would have asked her out , because they knew how he sacked lots of people from time to time without any consideration, but hers was different.

Working with Bianca for this long, must have meant something, they all thought within themselves.

"Good morning sir", Bianca greeted , collecting his brief case.

"Are the creditors here? he asked

"yes sir, they arrived two minutes ago"

"So why wasn't I called!" he thundered.

"I was about doing that sir

"so where are they now?

"At the conference room sir . You also have a meeting with the J&C brand by 11am sir. Your materials just arrived from China, about 30 minutes ago , the papers are on your desk" she stated from the files she had in her hands while they exited the elevator.

"All these can wait till I'm done with this meeting" Harry said.

"okay sir".

They both walked into the conference room to meet the guests. Harry greets them and takes his seat.He try to be in his best mode of conduct,by trying smiling very often,he apologizes for not being there in time .

Welcoming them once more and this time they all shook hands together.

" please sit gentlemen, I am so happy to see you are here today. As you all know, NCN collections is very unique , we are the best in Africa. We offer you the best imported fabrics and no client has ever doubted our credibility. Working with us won't be a mistake but we would both benefit mutually."

"That's the reason we've come to the best" ,One of the men said. They all laugh as he continues his speech .

"We once worked with your father , Oh! may his soul rest in peace, and our partnership was worth it, this is why we believe yours shouldn't be different."

"Yes, we trust this collection and we look forward to doing more business in the future," another commented.

"I am so happy gentlemen and I promise to deliver". He shakes hands with them again.

Harry's late father Benjamin Franklin , had started the business when Harry was just a year and six months, he had handled and managed the company till it got to the height it was presently.

Sadly he lost his life to a ghastly motor accident when he was returning from a trip with the German suppliers At Abuja. His father's death had really been a torn on his flesh.

He was only nineteen when he lost his father, what could a university undergraduate who had no experience do.

He had to mange the business and go to school at the same time.

He is the only child of his father and never met his mother, they had been separated when he was barely three , so he had no idea what she looked like .

His father had told him on how he was sick and paralyzed while growing up and how his mother had abadoned them because she couldn't deal with a sick child and a broke husband.

It was months after she left that his father had hit the jack pot which made his business successful.

Ever since then ,it's been just the two of them until his death.

His father's death changed everything about him and the way he saw life. He was successful and made gross profits but became so proud because he felt he pulled through on his own and didn't need advice from anyone.

He missed his father very often and wished he was there to see how far he had managed his business for him.

He had no relatives close by and had to run things alone, He only had Martins who tried on supporting him and giving him countless advices which he hardly took.

Martins had always been there right from when he was seven years of age. Martins was a year younger than him, their fathers had been great friends at the gym , where they both met for the first time and then passed their friendship over to their sons.

Unfortunately , Martins lost his father at the age of fourteen, he was left with his mother.

Harry had decided never to set his eyes on his mother ,even if she returns one day. He so much detested her and wished she was never the one who birthed him.

His father told him a little about his mother and how she had remarried a solider who died two years after their marriage. He decided he wasn't going in search for her and didn't care if she was still alive or not.

He vowed to make his father proud even though he was dead and gone.

He knew his father would expect so much from him, and he didn't want to fail him in any way, his father had suffered to gain his wealth and he wasn't going to let that sly.

His father's death made him very broken and turned him into so many things he wasn't before, he became a hard man and hot tempered.

He couldn't control his feelings in the first years of his father's demise. Most times he thought to commit suicide and end it all, but when he remembered what his father had worked hard to build ,that stood as his only consolation and made him keep living and dreaming.

He graduated from the university with good grades in Business management studies and decided to uphold the family's business instead of going in search for new jobs. This was to keep on his memories and dreams of his father.

it's been more than a decade since his father's death and he was very successful and independent .

He had chains of cars and houses at different locations and was very comfortable . He never had a reason to lack anything .

Rose discusses their boss's attitude with in the kitchen. She stated how she detests his behavior so much.

Agatha had entered the kitchen to ensure that Rose was done cooking. Their boss,Harry , would soon be back from work and he was going to let the heavens loose if his food wasn't ready and served on the dinning table.

She had asked Rose ,who happened to be the fourth cook in a space of six months ,if the food was ready . Rose tells her she was almost done with it.

"Please hurry! , we do not need any query from Harry , not this time around", Agatha tells her.

She turns to exit the kitchen , Rose taps her on her shoulder and askes her if their boss's attitude wasn't giving her concerns.

" The way he carries himself , commands everyone around like we came from the pit", Rose said bitterly.

"Rose! you don't have to complain. He is our boss , please face your duties in this house and stop discussing him. Please return back to what you were doing" , Agatha replied.

Rose frowns at her reply.

"why are you behaving like all is well, when you know all isn't. A man who doesn't see his workers like humans , should be questioned! Look at the way he speaks to you with no regard, not minding the fact that you are old enough to be his mother.Still here you are defending his actions?"

Agatha laughs lightly.

"I am not defending anyone Rose,I am only minding my business. Please get back to work".

They hear a horn at the gate.

" That should be Mr Harry, please hurry up and set the table!"

"I will" Rose replies and hurries up.

*******************************************

Harry kept horning at the gate consistently, James his gateman runs out of the security post to open up the gate.

Harry drives in speedily and parks.

" Come here James!" Harry shouted.

He closes up the gate and runs towards Harry in fear .

"Go....od eveni...ng si....r", James stammered.

Harry realeases a slap on his face.

" What kept you from opening this gate for the past three minutes ,I have been outside".

James holds his face in pains.

"I am sorry sir, I have been having this severe headache since morning, I had to take some pain relief sleeping pills, I didn't know you've been at the gate".

"Stupid man! I pay you to watch over my gate and to open it when needed ,and all you had to do is take sleeping pills! Have you gone knots?" Harry gingered.

"I'm sorry sir, I promise this won't happen again". James pleaded

"Rubbish, let this never repeat itself again. I can't be paying you this much only for you to be lazying around " Harry said and walked out.

He enters into the living room and Agatha welcomes him .She collects his brief case from him. He ignores her greetings and asked if his food was served.

" Yes sir", Agatha replied and she takes his suitcase upstairs to his room ,while he sits down at the dinning table.

Rose comes out from the kitchen and welcomes him, while she opens the dish to serve him.

" What is it for dinner?" Harry asked.

"pounded yam and vegetable soup sir" she replied smiling .

"Then dish out the food and stop being dramatic" , he said, noticing the way she smiled sheepishly at him.

She frowns a little and serves him ,then exits.

He take a boll of the pounded yam after washing his hands ,which he deep into the soup and then swallowed . Immediately he calls Rose again.

" Yes sir ,you called, " she answered as she rushes to the dinning table again.

"Why are there no snails in this soup? I thought I instructed you to always put snails in my soup?"

"Sir , you said either snails or beef , so I had used beef instead, Rose managed to say.

"Are you high? You now claim rights with me in my own house?"

"No sir, I can't do such, why would I claim rights with you sir?".

"You dare ask me a question? Take this rubbish out of my sight, and you are fired!

"Sir , please I'm sorry, I can't claim rights with you sir, I am very sorry" , Rose begs falling down on her knees.

"Get out of my sight!" he stands and leaves the dinning.

Rose cries bitterly ,she places her both hands on her head, and continued pleading for his forgiveness.

Although she knew he was a difficult man to tolerate but she had no other job to start at that moment.

She had a sick mother and a younger brother who was in school which she knew she had to care for.

She thought about where she would go from there and how they were going to cope, without money.

Her house rent was due and it was just the beginning of the month, they had already exhausted her past salary to depths that they owed people.

What she feared the most had finally happened and she was so confused at that point in time.

Agatha heard her voice and quickly approaches her to know what had happened.

Rose tells her that the boss had fired her. Agatha asked her why and she narrated the ordeal. She blames her for not doing what the boss requested and promised she would plead with the boss on her behave.

Moments later, after Rose had left , Harry sits down on a sofa going through his phone ,when Agatha begs to have a word with him. He doesn't look at her at first and asked her what she wanted .

Agatha pleads on Rose's behave and tells him that Rose didn't do what she did deliberately , she tells him that Rose had a sick mother to care for ,who she was looking after and needed the job at that time.

Harry asked her how that was his business and tells her he doesn't want to hear anything about Rose or her mother . He tells her that she should have thought about that before preparing his meal.

He asked Agatha if she also wants to quit her job too and says she could give her job to Rose and go home as well. He orders her to leave his presence.

"I am sorry sir" Agatha replied as she left him, she was very disappointed and wondered what Rose would do to keep her family safe. She understood very well the lady's predicament and only prayed she could scale through.

She knew her boss and his decisions. Once he decides on a particular thing, he hardly goes back on it. She knew he wasn't going to call Rose back to duty, so she gave up on begging him so she doesn't loose her job as well while trying to save that of Rose.

She had been the longest working staff Harry had , right from when his father was alive , and she kind of understood him better than anyone . She knew the trauma he went through as a child and all that made her stay back in his house.

She had withstood his insults and attacks for a long time and she tried advising new staff that worked for him to do so.