Texts

Later that evening, back in the quiet of his duplex, Daniel sent Bisi a text:

Dat_yung_boi: Hey, it's Daniel. The guy you gave your number to today.

Her reply came quickly.

Bisi: Hmm… Which one though?

He grinned. The banter was natural.

Dat_yung_boi: You got jokes huh?/*Laughing emoji*/

Bisi: Okay okay, you caught me. What's good?

Dat_yung_boi: I'm cool. Just figuring out some plans for world domination.

Bisi: Wow. I want in.

Dat_yung_boi: Oh that's not a problem. You just have to pay a token of 2k for registration/*Laughing emoji*/

Bisi: Umm… Pay for me?/*Watery eyes*/

Dat_yung_boi: Ain't no way shawty. I don't make the rules.

Bisi: Pretty please… I'll, um, dance.

Dat_yung_boi: How could I say no? Welcome to the team/*Salute emoji, Laughing emoji*/

They continued texting each other for the next few days, and he got a new understanding of this person called Bisi.

Smart, funny, and witty.

Daniel found himself looking forward to her messages, enjoying the banter and the laughs. He was just looking for a fling at first, courtesy of Cassandra, but now he was more invested than what was considered safe.

Amidst this developing social connection and the ongoing demands of managing Rocket Funds (which was now nearing 2000 users and generating close to N1.5 million daily for him), Daniel started the very preliminary stages of talent scouting for PeDan Investments. He knew he couldn't build a legitimate global empire alone, and MH, for all its power, couldn't sign contracts or attend board meetings. He needed a human team eventually.

He started by creating a discreet, professional-looking LinkedIn profile for 'PeDan Investments', listing it as a "private investment firm focused on emerging technologies and African growth markets."

He used some of the N5k RF fee income to run very small, targeted LinkedIn ads seeking "Expressions of Interest" for future roles – financial analysts, legal counsel, tech researchers – emphasizing innovation and a dynamic work environment. He didn't list specific vacancies yet; this was just about gathering a pool of potential candidates, seeing who was out there, what kind of talent was available in Nigeria. He used a secure, anonymous email address linked to PeDan for responses.

The initial responses were a trickle, mostly recent graduates or mid-level professionals. He didn't reply to any, yet. Just filed them away in a secure folder, making notes on promising CVs. He used MH's analytical capabilities again, feeding it anonymized data from some of the more impressive public LinkedIn profiles he found, asking it to assess for key traits like "strategic thinking," "risk assessment capability," and "ethical conduct" based on their career history and published articles or posts.

MH's outputs were, as always, concise and surprisingly insightful. This was long-term planning, planting seeds for a team he might not fully assemble for another year or two, when he was legally older and PeDan was more formally structured.

His personal life also saw another upgrade in convenience. While the BMW 3 Series was perfect for his daily campus commute and city driving, he found himself needing something larger and more rugged for occasional bulk purchases for the house, or for potential future trips that might involve less-than-perfect roads outside Akure. Plus, having a second vehicle just felt like another layer of practicality (and a man's romance. Never forget that).

He decided to get a nearly-new Toyota Hilux, the Vigo Champion model, known for its durability and off-road capability. It was a workhorse, but a comfortable one. He found a 2023 model with low mileage at a dealership specializing in trucks and SUVs in Ibadan, listed for around N28 million.

The purchase process was similar to the BMW: communication via PeDan Investments, payment through layered accounts funded by MH, and then delivery to his Akure duplex.

Now he had two vehicles: the sleek German sedan for style and daily driving, and the rugged Japanese pickup for utility and a different kind of presence. It was another quiet acquisition, another piece of his rapidly expanding personal infrastructure. He parked the Hilux in the second spot in his duplex's small driveway, the two vehicles sitting side-by-side, giving him endless satusfaction.