The battle line has been drawn (I)

Dear Di,
Last week was fun with Carlos Mendez. We saw him off at the airport when he was ready to leave with the team he came and it was a riot. I used to think that Nigerian ladies were different from their American counterparts who scream and rush at Hollywood stars.  It was when he decided to take off the sunglasses he had on to take a final picture that one lady recognised him and screamed “Alejandro,” his name in the soap opera. People turned and it took security personnel to get him away.
“Ladies, I have to go. I’ll keep in touch,” he promised as they whisked him away.
One lady rushed up to me.
“Please, do you know him? Can I get his number?”
I was about to give her a reply when Nosa grabbed my arm and steered me towards the exit.
Many of us don’t know that being a celebrity comes with a price – little or no privacy, but it sure has its benefits.
The next day, Aisha was supposed to go pick up the cheque for the work we did with Mr Ajibade. We were to get 70 percent of the commission because we brought the job and executed it with little input from Mr Ajibade, so he decided to give us 70 percent. He is to get 10 percent, while his company will get the remaining.
When Aisha called me to come down to the office, I was a little irritated.
“Aisha, how difficult is it to pick up a cheque, cash it and come back. We have a meeting with a client in the next hour, in case you’ve forgotten.”
“Mr Ajibade is not around…”
“So?” I interrupted her. “Go to the accountant’s office and pick it up.”
“Tola says she’s filling in for the accountant who took three days off. She said nobody told her about any cheque.”
Aha! I calmed down.
“I’m sorry for snapping at you. Just leave her alone. Come back to the office, please.”
If Tola wanted to humiliate us, she was in for a big surprise.
When we had finished the meeting with the client, I asked the ladies to get ready as they would be accompanying me to Mr Ajibade’s house.
“Are you sure we’ll meet him at home?” Abike asked.
“Yes, I have his personal schedule. Monday evenings are always spent at home, except there is an emergency. We’ll leave at 7pm.”Later that evening, we headed for Mr Ajibade’s house. I stopped at a supermarket to get him his favourite fruit wine and cashew nuts. I also got a clutch bag for his wife. When we were almost at the house, I called his private line, telling him I sent someone with some documents for him to sign.
“Why didn’t you come yourself?” he asked. “I would have loved the company,” he seemed to mutter. I smiled.
The gateman opened the gate when I honked.
He was happy to see us when he opened the door.
“This is indeed a surprise.”
“Where’s everyone?” Aisha asked.
“Oh…the maids are in their quarters, my wife is in the bedroom and I asked Dapo to take Tola out for ice cream or whatever, so I could have some quiet time to think,” he told us as he led the way to his parlour.
Perfect!