Page 3

My phone had been going off nonstop for the past hour.

At first it was just a bunch of random people on the internet assuming they knew better. They had their own thoughts and opinions on what should or could have happened.

I turned on the notifications for the company social media accounts on my phone so I get notified whenever someone posted something or tagged us.

Shortly after the review went live, my mom called; she turned on the notifications too. If I was being honest, I was not ready to hear her tell me that I should have been nice or I should have just sold it to her in order to avoid bad press.

After ten minutes of her blowing up my phone, I sent her a one line text.

“I’m not sorry, she was a bitch.”

She stopped trying to call me after that and I put my phone on silent.

I was in the middle of sketching a new dress when my door flew open. A tongue lashing was at the edge of my lips, but I looked up and realized who it was.

“Did I interrupt something?” her tone was light and teasing. She knew she just interrupted me and she knew I was just about to lose my shit.

Olivia Balogun was the closest thing I have to a sister. We met each other in college when she almost stabbed me in the eye with a pencil while she was arguing with a bully.

It was a very funny incident, I thought she was bat shit crazy, so imagine my surprise when I walked into my dorm and saw her sitting on one of the beds. I almost called my dad to come pick me up.

I honestly thought she would murder me in my sleep.

We honestly hated each other at first. I found her to be an annoying party girl who was loud and messed up my schedules. She thought I was a stuck up, obnoxious brat who had control issues.

We were both right, we just learnt to live with each other and it helped that we both Nigerians who couldn’t speak our language. She had a valid excuse though, her dad didn’t speak Yoruba either and her mum was Greek.

I liked to think that God paired us up for a reason because we both tried numerous times to have our rooms changed .

Fast forward a few years later and I can’t imagine my life without her. She has engrained and intertwined herself in every single thing that concerned me. She is in every core memory that I owned.

She had the most flawless tawny skin that I have ever come across in my life, and she barely even did anything to take care of it.

It used to drive me absolutely nuts for a while. I would have to spend half an hour to do the full on exfoliating look for my skin to glow while she would just get out of bed and look flawless.

She had long curly brown hair, full lips and bright hazel eyes. Her entire aura screamed innocent and pretty, but she could judo flip a man twice her weight. I’d seen her do it on multiple occasions.

She also had curves to die for that she always made an effort to show off using pretty sun dresses or skin tight jeans.

“What are you still doing sitting down?” she took her sunglasses off and hung them in the neckline of her yellow sundress. “You called me to help you relax, so here I am. First step is to get out of that chair.”

“I just need to finish-” I was barely done when she took the sketchbook out of my hands.

If it was anyone else, they would have been fired or thrown out of my office in a second. But it was Olivia; I couldn’t do much when it came to her.

If I even tried to call security on her, she’d beat my ass.

“Get up, we have 2 hours to turn you from ‘awesome CEO’ to ‘hot grown woman’.”

“I can do that in an hour.”

“What about me? Don’t I deserve a Cinderella moment too? I need at least an hour and a half. ”

I pinched the bridge of my nose with my thumb and pointer finger. Olivia will be the death of me. “Liv, just give me a few minutes to finish my sketch.”

“Nope, your few minutes is my equivalent of three hours.”

“Your equivalent of three hours is everyone’s equivalent of a lifetime.” I deadpanned and she stuck her tongue at me.

“Liv,” I groaned but she cut me off.

“Come on, we don’t have all day.”

I begrudgingly stood up, all the while wondering why I even called her in the first place. An incoming text from my dad telling me to call him soon reminded me why.

I tried my best to tidy my table top, and then draped my coat over my left hand.

“What happened to that? It smells like stale coffee.”

“I bumped into a stranger and he spilled his drink all over it.”

“That sounds like the beginning of an epic love story.” I snorted, “Don’t worry, I will make sure to mention this at your wedding speech.”

“Please Liv, there is less than a one percent chance that I will get married to this guy.”

“You never know what fate has in store for us.”

I walked ahead of her but that didn’t stop her laugh from echoing across the walls.

We walked past Marissa’s office and I decided to poke my head in before leaving. “What are you doing?”

“Just going over some documents before I send them to you,” She didn’t look up from her laptop, “it might take a while though, there are some errors and I know how much you hate that. ”

“Okay, but if I hear that you’re still in here at six, then you’re fired.” I told her.

“Two threats in one day; do you really want me gone that badly?”

“I’m serious, Marissa. Go home early. Work ends by 6, you should be out of the door at 6: 30 latest.”

“I will, I promise.” she assured me. I was about to leave when she stopped me. “Adira, there is one more thing.”

“Is it going to piss me off?”

“No,” she said and I sighed in relief, “The artists are supposed to submit their sketches today, remember? I can stay back and look through them if you like.”

“No, you’re not going to stay back late.” I saw her deflate slightly, “But, tomorrow you can go through them, filter all the ones you know are terrible and get the rest on my table.”

“Will do, have fun Adira.”

Olivia finally pulled me out of the office while assuring me that everything will be fine if I take an evening off. After she was sure I wouldn’t run out of the car, she settled herself in the passenger seat.

“You are literally the best boss,” she pouted, “Meanwhile I’m stuck with a reincarnation of Cruella DeVil.”

“Your boss is not that bad.”

“I work in HR but she has me filing up her documents and fixing her office. She is the absolute worst.”

“I know some people who would refer to me the same way.”

“Please, you are better looking than Cruella.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at her observation.

“You flatter me Liv; your place or mine? ”

“Yours,” she said immediately, “What’s the point of having a best friend with a massive closet if I don’t take advantage of it?”

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

“Do you think this will be my size?” Olivia’s voice broke through my concentration and I accidentally drew my liner too far.

Some days, I’d rethink my decision to be friends with Olivia.

Today was one of those days.

I turned to glare at her and she shot me a sympathetic look.

“It doesn’t look that bad,” she began and following another glare from me, she zipped her lips shut.

I gestured for her to show me the dress and she lifted it up. It was a white sleeveless satin dress that stopped around mid-thigh. I’d never actually worn it and to be honest, I forgot I even had it.

From where I was sitting, it looked really stretchy.

“Try it on;” I said finally, “I’ve never worn it so I wouldn’t know.”

“I don’t want to rip it.” She admitted, “I’ll just look for something else.”

“Try it on, Liv.”

“What if it rips? It looks expensive.”

It was. “I’ll get another one.”

She contemplated it for a second before finally pulling it over her head. It took a few tugs but it fit perfectly over her frame. It stopped a little higher on her though, just below her ass .

“You look gorgeous,” I told her and she beamed.

“Are you sure?” she asked, “It looks a bit much, and if I bend over, I’ll flash the whole of New York.”

“That’s why you’ll make an effort not to bend over.” I turned back to the mirror and righted my wing liner. “But it looks awesome on you; you should keep it.”

She rushed back into my closet, probably to get heels to pair with the outfit.

I was right because she returned with silver strappy heels on her feet.

“Hurry up,” she whined as she flopped on the bed, “We’re going to be late.”

“I’m almost done, don’t rush me.”

“If you would have done your makeup first; we wouldn’t be late.”

“That’s a lie and you know it.”

Olivia and I couldn’t be anymore different while dressing up. I preferred to get dressed first then do my makeup, but Olivia does her makeup first before getting dressed.

I tried her way once, and I got a huge foundation stain on my dress. I have no idea how she always manages to pull clothes over her head and face without getting a single stain on it. If you ask me, it’s an awesome superpower.

I felt bad about not being able to use her style and I got her to try my way. Somehow, she managed to pour liquid liner all over her dress; it was pure white.

I put the finishing touches on my lip gloss and put the tube down. “I’m done now; you can relax. ”

I stood beside her and took a mirror selfie for my feed. As I posted it, I couldn’t help but marvel at how different we looked.

Her in all white, silver heels with minimal makeup, and me in a black corset top with black leather pants and a matching leather jacket, black boot heels and glossy lips.

“We look good,” she mused, “Me as an angel and you as a-”

“Don’t even think about it.”

My reaction caused her to laugh.

“We are going to have so much fun that you won’t even remember what’s his face.”

“I didn’t call you because of him.”

She looked surprised by that, “I just thought-”

“It’s been a week Liv, I’m way over it.”

She looked like she didn’t believe me but chose not to comment on it. Instead she cleared her throat and changed the subject.

“Do you have a purse that will go with this dress?”

“I have a bunch of white clutches in the top left drawer at the back.”

“Let’s call an uber before we’re late.”