He doesn't like to be called old

“How dare you?” Chief Amadi shouted at Ewa, holding a hand to his cheek. There was a slight bloodstain on his lips, and rage could be seen in his eyes. His three bodyguards surrounded Ewa, menace written on their faces. Joke watched them briefly before continuing her job. Customers and other workers in the restaurant turned to look at the cause of the noise. Inaya, rushed to the scene while Tofunmi, stopped chewing on the gum in his mouth as he looked at the scene from the bar with worry in his eyes.

“Sir, please forgive her. She’s not feeling well,” Inaya pleaded.

“Forgive who? Do you want another one? They’re quite abundant on our menu, old man,” Chief Amadi spat back.

“Ewa!” Inaya shouted in horror.

“I’ll make sure you’re fired,” Chief Amadi barked. At that same moment, Mr Kolawole, the restaurant owner, walked in, wanting to know the cause of the noise. His eyes widened in horror when he saw Ewa and Chief Amadi holding his cheek.

“Sir, just allow us to deal with this girl,” The first bodyguard said.

“I don’t mind putting this whore in her place,” The second one replied, revealing his true colours.

Mr Kolawole added two and two and realized what had happened. It was at that moment that Ewa realized the gravity of what she had done, but she didn’t feel sorry. Instead, she felt scared, scared of losing the job she had worked so hard to get.

Chief Amadi waved down the bodyguards. He called one of them and whispered into his ear. The bodyguard nodded and signalled one of his colleagues, and they proceeded to look around the restaurant, making sure that no one was recording the scene. The last bodyguard followed Chief Amadi as he stormed out of the restaurant.

“Please sir, come with me. We can talk about this,” Mr Kolawole begged as cold sweat trickled down his back.

“Talk about what ehn? After she embarrassed me? There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Please sir, let’s go to my office. We can talk about this.”

“I’ll make you regret your actions. I promise you!” Chief Amadi said as he stormed out of the building with Mr Kolawole on his tail.

He soon came back into the restaurant with a tired expression on his face to meet the customers grumbling and complaining.

“We’re very sorry for the inconvenience. Please carry on with your meals,” Mr Kolawole said, bowing to the customers as everyone turned to face their meals while murmuring under their breaths. “You, see me at the end of today,” he directed at Ewa, who felt a cold chill run down her spine.

Tofunmi gave Ewa a sorry look as she left the dining area with her head down. The customers pointed and made all sorts of remarks about her, but Ewa cared less about any of their opinions. All that mattered to her was her job. If she lost it, it was over. How would she pay her rent or buy her drugs?

She worked two jobs but was still struggling with bills. Despite the financial difficulties, she had refused to accept money from Kunle throughout their relationship and yet he had dared to accuse her. She thought back to the money Kunle had offered her and shook her head. There was no way she would have accepted that money. Taking it would be selling her dignity and she wasn’t ready to give it to him on a platter of gold.

'Haven’t you done that already?'

Tears welled up in her eyes, but she took a deep breath, blinked the tears away, and continued with her job. The murmuring had reduced and she assumed most of the customers who witnessed the incident had left. By 11:00 pm, her shift was over and she sighed as she walked into the workers’ lounge. The others came in after her after changing the restaurant’s Open sign to Closed.

“We did it, girls!” Tofunmi squealed as he slapped Inaya and Joke on their backs. His action earned him a stink eye from both of them while Ewa gazed at him with an amazed look on her face.

“Toto, you could pass for a girl you know. We’ll just need a little bit of Inaya’s mascara and Joke’s adulterated Christian Louboutin heels.”

Joke eyed Ewa as she went on to remove her apron, “At least I can afford an adulterated one. You can’t even buy yourself one.”

“Oya, that’s enough. I know I’m pretty but that doesn’t mean both of you should fight over me. All we need is one big hug.” Tofunmi said with a huge smile on his face.

“You’re one of a kind,” Inaya said between fits of laughter.

“Oya now, let’s go off to see the old man.”

“He only asked to see Joke and me,” Ewa muttered as she settled into one of the seats. “And better don’t let him hear call him that.”

“Yep, he doesn’t like to be called old.’’ Inaya chipped in.

“Same goes for other old people. I learnt the hard way with my mum.” Toto said massaging the back of his head.

“You’re so weird.” Joke said laughing.

“But Ewa, why did you slap that man….”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Ewa said cutting in with a frown.

“Okay o. I’m leaving now. It’s been a long day.” Inaya said with a smile.

Ewa felt anxious when Joke went into Mr Kola's office, leaving her alone in the lounge. After twenty minutes, Joke came out and hugged Ewa briefly, while telling her to take care of herself. She took a deep breath and walked into Mr Kola's office. However, Mr Kola’s face looked far from pleased.

Back at the lounge,

Joke went in and was surprised to find Tofunmi lazing around.

“You’re still here?”

“Yes, I’m looking for something”

“Alright, happy searching. Goodnight.” Joke said mockingly. “Foolish men” she muttered under her breath as she exited the restaurant.

----------------

"Good evening sir."

The greeting died in Ewa's throat as Mr Kola's eyes bore into her, hostility radiating off him in waves. "What is so good about the evening ehn? Tell me. You almost ruined the reputation of this restaurant, just because of what? Tell me, what did he do that warranted that sort of reaction?"

Ewa's mouth went dry as she tried to explain, "Sir, he tried to..."

"Tried to what?...tried to what? Are you that innocent? He didn't sleep with you or rape you yet, did he? He didn't even really touch you."

"But Sir..."

"But what? But what? Are you telling me that you still don't understand the nature of your job yet? This place is not a church Ewa. Don't bring your holier-than-thou manners here. Here, we do everything and anything to please our customers. Look, I don't think I have a choice. I'll have to lay you off."

"Ah, sir, please. Sir, I beg of you. Sir, please don't do this." Her voice broke as she begged him, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. If she lost this job, what would she do? Her life would be over and she'd be out on the streets and jobless again. Her babysitting job could barely feed her for a week.

"What do you want me to do ehn, Ewa? I'm just a mere manager. My hands are tied. The safety of my job lies in your hands."

"What do you mean sir?"

"Your actions tonight made Chief Amadi angry. He is one of our biggest shareholders - remember he was seated in the VIP area. He's promised to stop funding this place. Once my bosses hear of that, there'll be a huge problem."

"We'll both be laid off?"

"So it seems."

"Hmm..."

"The ball is in your court. I'm just worried because Bisi is sick."

"She seems okay to me sir. She spoke to me this morning."

"She has Goitre and she'll be needing surgery." Mr Kola said, worry evident on his face as he took off his glasses.

"So what do I need to do? Isn't an apology he wants? I'll do it."

"It's not that simple Ewa."

"What do you mean sir?"

"You should understand what I mean."

"Sir, do you mean he wants me to... to..." Ewa stammered, unable to complete her statement.

"Yes, and I won't force you to do anything. Think about it and get back to me latest by the end of the week, okay?"

Ewa nodded in response, her throat tight with anger and disgust. "Ewa dear, you know I consider you as my daughter, but our fates depend on you. You can leave now."

Ewa stepped out of her boss's office feeling defeated. Her pride was deflated and her heart broken. She couldn't even stand the thought of apologizing to someone who had publicly harassed her. It was so obvious that he had no respect for women, and now, she would have to... she couldn't even think about it. The mere thought of it disgusted her. She couldn't even stand that man. He was old enough to be her father. There was no way she was going to do that - but then she thought of Mrs Kolawole.

That woman had always been kind to her since she moved into the neighbourhood. But now the thought of the woman suffering because of her actions filled her with overwhelming guilt. Kunle had just left her, her job wasn't secure, she was going broke because of the cost of her medication and on top of it all, a crazy old man had taken an interest in her. Her life had turned upside down in ways she never expected. She could sense a headache coming and she just felt exhausted.