‘Oh, mum, if you’re
doing this because I’m traveling to Lagos, what will you do if I’m departing
for Canada, or Australia?’
She smiled wryly.
‘Don’t mind me, Simi. Make sure you’re very careful there.’
‘I will, mum.’
Titi too was shedding
tears. Now, wait a minute. I was only travelling to Lagos, a place less than
190 kilometers away, for God’s sake!
But the, I knew I must
not get angry with my sixteen years old niece.
‘Come, Titi, I’ll
always be coming back home.’ I gave her a thousand naira note. ‘Hey, get
something for yourself.’
I was surprised she
refused my offer.
‘I’m going to miss you,’
she said.
I was moved, so I
hugged her. She calmed down.
Titi and mum waved at
me as the driver moved the jeep out of our compound. I felt like shedding tears
too, and I almost did; but the presence of the driver who would imagine that I
was probably destined for a trip as far as Papua New Guinea, prevented me from
doing so..
We were soon at Mrs.
Shitta’s residence at Bodija. We didn’t stay there for long. Her suitcase was
soon added to mine in the booth and we set out for Lagos. I sat with her at the
back seat.
‘Simi, my daughter’,
she said. ‘I’m glad you and Bimbola accepted this offer. Just do your best and
see how you will be rewarded.’
I nodded. ‘I’ll do my
best, ma.’
‘That is good.’
She did most of the
talking, and she would caution the driver from time to time to cut the speed.
‘Hey, I’m not in a
hurry o. Even in London where their roads are better, I never liked speeding.’
About an hour later, we
got to Berger. The jeep veered off the expressway. I supposed in minutes, we
would get to our destination.
‘The hotel is like a
complex building,’ she explained. ‘The main building houses the lodging rooms,
restaurant, a bar, a conference hall and a club. Behind the main building is a
storey building. There’s a kind of suite on the first floor and that’s where I
stay. On the ground floor, there’re four rooms. You’ll be occupying one of them
for now. The problem of accommodation and transportation is solved.’
I nodded. We soon got
to the hotel, the Comely Hotel. It was a two-storey building with a side drive
that led us to the building at the back. The driver, whose name I had learnt
was Gideon, stopped the car and grinned.
We got down from the
vehicle. Mrs. Shitta stretched her legs. ‘To think that some people will travel
by road from Lagos to Kano!’ she exclaimed.
A young lady came from
the house.
‘Welcome, ma,’ she
greeted her.
‘Yes, Bimpe. How’re
you?’
Fine, ma. How was your
trip?’
‘Fine.’
I removed my suitcases
while Bimpe struggled with madam’s big luggage. Madam faced Bimpe.
‘Simi here is the
daughter of my good friend, and that means she’s my daughter too. She’ll be
working with me. Take her to the first room downstairs to drop her luggage.
That’s where she’ll be staying. Then bring her up. We still have some talks to
do.’
We entered the
building. It was a new building that looked and smelt new. I followed Bimpe to
the room allocated to me. It was a modest room, a little smaller than my room
in Ibadan, but still comfortable enough. It had a single bed, a desk and a
plastic chair, plus a stool. With the chair and desk, I could do some reading
and writing. There was an in-built wardrobe. Everything smelt new.
‘This is your room,’
Bimpe said. She pointed at an adjoining door. ‘In there, there’s a toilet and a
bathroom. You don’t have to use the other main bathroom and toilet at the end
of the corridor. I occupy the next room.’
I nodded. Bimpe, at a
guess shouldn’t be more than twenty-four. She looked friendly and I hoped we
would get along well.
‘Thank you,’ I said.
‘You’re welcome.’
I opened the wardrobe
and piled my suitcases inside. Later, I would arrange my things there.
‘Now, let me take you
upstairs,’ Bimpe said.
I nodded. She pointed
at a bunch of three keys hanging in the key hole.
‘Those are the keys to
your room. I’ll advise that when you’re not in, always lock the door.’
I nodded. We stepped
out of the room. I removed the bunch and locked the door. We climbed the tiled
floor up to the first floor. Immediately we got to the top, next to the stair
case by the right, was a large room that served as the living-room.
The black leather seats
looked exquisite. Mrs. Shitta was obviously a woman of taste. There was a flat
screen on, and it was showing a food and drinks channel. I watched and was
impressed with the sumptuous meals they showcased. Comely Hotel must strive to
excel if it must be at par with providing the kind of quality food shown.
Madam came to meet me.
She chose a sofa not far from my seat.
'Yes, Simi. Let me give
you some briefings on your work,’ she stated in earnest. ‘You're actually to be
the Deputy Business Manager. Yes, for now, I've brought a lady that will be the
substantive manager. She has working experience in hotel business. You will be
her deputy and you're to understudy her. The moment you've learnt the ropes,
you'll take over. I trust that you will learn fast.'
I nodded.
'Any time you want to
relax, you can come up here. Meanwhile, I will tell Bimpe to get us something
for dinner.'
She stood up and went
downstairs. I sat back relaxingly on my seat. Then, I remembered I had not
called mummy to let her know we had safely arrived Lagos. Promptly, I brought
out my phone and called her
I woke up early the
following morning, took my bath and dressed up for work. The black skirt, white
shirt and black jacket I wore fitted me well, without doubt. I was to go to the
living-room upstairs and wait for Mrs. Shitta. By few minutes after seven, I
was waiting for her. I stood up to greet her as soon as she stepped inside the
room.
'Good morning, ma,' I greeted.
'Good morning, Simi. You’re
looking good. I like your outfit. That's the spirit.'
I smiled coyly. 'Thank
you, ma. Your dressing is super, too.'
She seemed pleased.
Indeed, her dressing, though 'iro' and 'buba', looked good on her.
'Bimpe!' she called
out. Bimpe answered from her room and soon came up.'
Mrs. Shitta handed her
bag to her and turned to face me. 'Alright, let's go.'
I followed them
downstairs and outside to the waiting car. Mr. Gideon had washed the jeep and
it looked sparkling. Once again, I sat beside madam in the jeep. In less than
fifteen seconds we got to the front of the hotel. In the absence of Bimpe, I
assisted madam with her bag. I could see the hotel edifice clearly now. In its
modesty, it looked attractive from the outside.
We entered it and went
to the lobby. I could see the members of staff eagerly greeting Mrs. Shitta.
The interior was very
grand. Mrs. Shitta must have spent fortune to put that building in place. By
the lobby was a corridor to the right. We followed it to the last door by the
right. Madam took her bag from me, opened it and brought a bunch of keys out.
She went through the keys and finally decided on one to open the door. She
stepped inside the cool room. Her portrait was on the wall and a small Nigerian
flag was on her desk. This was Mrs. Maria Shitta's office.
She motioned me to a
seat while she went to sit behind the desk.
She opened her handbag
again and brought out her cell phone. Then, she put her eye glasses on,
scrolled through the saved numbers on the phone and called a number.
'Hello,' she said into
the mouth piece and passed briefly. 'Yeah, good morning. Are you in the office?
Come over to my office.'
She cut the connection
and put the phone on her big desk.
'I've just called the
Business Manager that you will be working directly with. Don't forget: you're
my eyes and ears in this place. You must always brief me about things that are
going on.'
'Yes, ma,' I answered.
The door opened and a
lady stepped in.
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