"Ohh...did I? That was just a joke, sorry!" He chuckled. 'Did she really expect me to tell her what I do for a living the first time we met?' He thought to himself with amusement
"A joke? You lied to me the first day we met and called it a joke!" She said pointedly.
"I didn't lie per se... I just didn't say the truth. I have my reason you see..."
"No, I don't see and I don't care about your excuses because it doesn't matter to me you see..." She replied to him sarcastically. 'Who lied about their work? What's the big deal in telling people what you do for a living.'
"Okay, I'm sorry..."
"I don't care"
"...and I'm a Colonel,"
"You are a colonel!?..." She repeated with surprise. 'that explains the guards then...but isn't he too young to be a colonel?' she thought and wondered how old he was.
"Close your mouth before you caught a fly".
Abby snapped her mouth shut. "How rude!...but aren't you too young to be a colonel?"
"Too young you say? You must have not been paying attention in the history class..." He replied with a smile and a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah right," Abby rolled her eyes, not knowing what to say to him this time since she didn't know anything about military life and ranks.
"Come lemme show you around" he interrupted her thoughts.
"Please let's start from the kitchen, I'm famished" and as if on cue, Shegz came in with the groceries while they walked towards the kitchen area.
"You may leave Shegz, I'll call you when I need you" He smiled thankfully to his bodyguard.
"Yes sir!"
"Thank you Mr. Shegz," Abby said thankfully.
"You are welcome ma'am" Shegz replied, he was surprised she talked to him and at how polite she was, the others that he had personally driven home on numerous occasions had never spared him a glance talkless of saying thank you for chauffeuring them around.
'I knew there must be something special and different about her for the boss to have brought her home' Shegz thought while walking out of the kitchen.
"Wao!..." Abby stood at the entrance of his kitchen with her mouth hung open. " Oh my god, this is great!..." She said as she walked inside and looked around... " This is really lovely"
She went around, trailing her hands on the white marble tabletop and opening cabinets to see what was inside. Kitchen is one of her favorite place to be in a house and she totally loves this one
'How could he own this kind of place, even on a colonel's salary?...what exactly is he into?' she wondered.
She was amazed yet again at the beauty displayed around her. The kitchen was also black and white themed, a couple of white chairs stood against a black marble table. A door in the kitchen led to a large floor-to-ceiling, built-in empty pantry cabinets.
"For someone who doesn't have even a box of cereal, your kitchen is top-notch, ultra-modern..." She said in admiration her trail of thought was quickly forgotten at the moment.
"Hmmnn...thank you ma'am " he bowed to her mockingly.
She noticed a big mortar and pestle at the corner of the pantry "What do you need this for?" she asked jokingly pointing to the mortar. He doesn't look like someone who would love food that comes out of a mortar
"What else?... So my wife could pound yam for me one day.
"Oh really!?" Abby arched her brow at him "do you know how to eat pounded yam?"
"Of course, I'm proudly Nigerian. Have you ever seen a man from Ondo state, who doesn't love pounded yam?"
"Huh, what!?... Y-You're from Ondo state!? You are Yoruba?!" She stammered out her words, her eyes widen with shock.
He nodded at her question with a smile, amused at the look on her face.
Abby winced. Aghast at her stupidity. She wished the ground would just open up and swallow her whole.
'Omg! He understood Yoruba!... But I thought he was Igbo... What kind of a stupid assumption is this? What's a Yoruba demon suppose to look like, if not drop-dead gorgeous? When am I going to stop making myself look stupid where he's concern. ' She thought to herself with irritation.
'This annoying man heard and understood the conversations between me and D'Glamour! He saw how I jealously claimed him as my man to prevent D'Glamour from getting his attention.
'Ughh! How embarrassing and pathetic! I bet I'll never hear the end of this'
Tunde laughed heartily at her discomfort "I'm not a gentleman you know, so I won't pretend I didn't hear anything back at D'Glamour because I understood Yoruba perfectly and also speak it fluently...
Especially the part where she asked you if I was your man and you replied; 'Yes! But he doesn't understand Yoruba and doesn't like to talk too much, so you need not talk to him" He finished then continued after some seconds
"I must say I'm really flattered that you think of me as your man, but tell me... What was that all about!?" He asked because he really wanted to know why she staked a claim on him when she had already made it clear to him that she had a boyfriend.
"What kind of girl would stake a claim on a man she has no intention of dating Abby?" He asked amusingly
Abby couldn't answer him. She wished she could dig the ground and bury herself out of shame. She was caught red-handed and it was so embarrassing.
"Are you just going to keep standing there blaming yourself for...whatever you are blaming yourself for right now or would you please answer my question?" He interrupted her thoughts in a perfect but accented Yoruba language.
"You are such a liar!" Abby accused when she finally found her voice. She ignored his question and used the attacking tactics instead.
"Why? How am I such a liar? You were the one who jumped to conclusion, I just choose not to correct you." He said and shrugged innocently. "And you should answer my question please"
"What question, you're even supposed to thank me for saving you from a man-eater"
"Really!? Does it look to you like I need saving?... Just admit you like me. You don't have to be embarrassed about it you know"
"Just shut up, please"
He laughed "Oh...and since we are clearing the air, you should know that Paul is my middle name. My first is Tunde and I prefer Tunde to Paul. Ola-Tunde Paul Beckley. He stretched out his hand to her.
"Get Lost, asshole!" Abby shouted, turning her back to him and started unpacking the groceries with shaky hands.
"Yes ma'am" He guffawed loudly, as he walked out of the kitchen.