The CEO'S syndrome

CHAPTER FOUR: Proper birthday dress for a birthday girl

Angela murmured some curses as she struggled to push the heavy doors. The security man was not there, this time to do the pushing.

She murmured a few greetings to some workers she's familiar with, as she covered the short distance to the elevator. She pressed the number four and patiently waited for the short ride to end.

She got to her apartment and entered her passcode, before cussing again for being so forgetful. She hated the dark. How could she have forgotten to switch on the light in the foyer? Again.

"Happy birthday!!!", Angela is taken by surprise by the large congregation that squeezed themselves to fit into her little living room.

Her house in entirety is not small, she enjoyed the space she called her habitat, even though people had frequently called it a studio to offend her.

But it seemed too tiny for the many people in the room. Sophia was at it again. She had invited the whole news station for her birthday.

Her best and only friend, Ali Sophia, hails from Nigeria, whose expertise is caregiving and celebrations. She enjoys organizing parties. In other words, she is a typical party animal. If she were not a reporter, she could make ends meet as an event planner. She is gleeful and always wears a smile on her face but can sometimes be harsh if one should get on her bad side.

Most times, getting on her bad side meant intimidating her friend who's naturally naive and humble. She's like a solid rock to Angela, blocking oppressors from reaching her friend. Like a shield, that's what she calls herself.

Angela raised her hands to cover her mouth as she squealed in delight. A cake is presented to her to make a wish before blowing the candles out. After that, someone took the cake from her hands as everyone clapped for the birthday girl.

Her friend gave her the first hug before disappearing to talk with people.

Her colleagues start to approach her, hugging her and stopping by, for small talks. Some are headed into the kitchen to get refreshments.

She continued to mutter a friendly, "Thank you for coming" as she made her way to Sophia.

She pinched her friend to divert her attention. Sophia rolled her eyes and followed her best friend to her room. Angela can sometimes act like a timid child. Who nowadays, pinch their friends to get their attention?

Shutting the door, Sophia questioned "What now?"

Angela laughed nervously and said, "Thank you for the party but don't you think it's a bit.... too much?"

"Babe it's your birthday! Have fun! Now let's get you into a proper birthday dress"

Sophia forced her into a dress and permed her hair as she continued to drool over Angela's long and curly hair.

Sophia's hair is thick and full and takes a lot of time to perm and straighten. 

"The birthday girl is ready! Let the party begin!", Sophia shouted as they rejoined the party. A DJ Angela had not noticed before filled the room with loud booming music.

Some people in the room made happy noises as they danced to the music.

Angela was scared of getting complaints from her neighbors, for polluting the environment with the loud noise.

With that thought in mind, she opened her front door and closed it, but surprisingly, all she could hear was muffled sound, nothing too audible to call noise.

Going back inside, she enjoyed her party drinking, dancing and conversing.

…

When Angela woke up the next morning and walked into her living room, she saw her friend waking up some colleagues, who were too drunk to leave after the party, so they spent the night in Angela's house. She helped her friend as well as she bid them goodbye and thanked them for making her feel special on her day.

When they were alone, Sophia collapsed on the floor and lamented, "Now, all we have to do is clean up"

Angela stifled a laugh as she schooled in her friend's appearance. Her hair is sticking all over, her blouse has some weird stains on it, with the seam of her pants loose around the leg area, Sophia must have danced and rocked all night. She looked like someone who had just hit a truck or came out from a rampage.

"Or we could rest a little and clean later. You look worn out", Angela provided an alternative.

Sophia murmured a quiet "Love you bestie and I'm curious about the interview with Mr CEO" before heading into Angela's room to sleep.

Although Angela hates it when her place is messed up, it's okay if her friend is too tired to clean up.

The two ladies slept and woke up three hours later. They ordered pizza and ate in their dirty surroundings, with Angela constantly glancing around the room. 

How she hated a dirty environment.

After their food, Sophia snapped her fingers as she yawned. "Girl! Spill the beans. What happened in Mr handsome's office?"

Angela scoffed as she stood up to pick some empty bottles on the floor, she hid her face from her friend and answered hurriedly. "Nothing happened. We just did the interview and I left afterwards". 

Sophia laughed and she feigned to be lost in thoughts "Odd. Every lady who comes in contact with Mr Joseph, always has something to say".

Continuing her speech, "Except...", appearing in front of her friend, she happily announced, "You guys already have history. And I do not know about it. I'm so hurt", Sophia whispered as she wore a sad look on her face.

Angela tried to deny, but was cut short by her friend, every time she opened her mouth.

Dropping all the bottles, she had managed to pick, she huffed in annoyance and spoke in one breath "Fine! He is the one I slept with at the party".

Sophia made a choking sound. Did she hear Angela right?

Mr CEO turned out to be the one guy she tried so hard to forget. The guy who listened to her, even when he seemed like he had some other place to be and advised her. Yet, his features somehow, happened to be engraved on her memory forever. She could not forget him.

Angela quietly sat on the floor as she wiped her tears away. She wished she'd refused Jake's invitation to the party, at least, she would have been exposed to his callousness in a responsible environment. She wished she had stayed somewhere else other than the poolside, she would not have met the stranger or Jake and his new lover. She should have just gone home after the break up.

Crossing paths with Jake at the poolside, was the reason why she allowed Joseph to be intimate with her. She wanted to prove to Jake that, just like he had dumped her for another, she could be with another too.

And she had proved her point. Her eyes met Jake's, as Joseph had his wicked way with her.

But Jake had no decency to even feel guilty. The nerve of him! He had taken his eyes off her and moved forward with his next victim, happily trailing behind. He did not seem jealous or angry with the fact that she was sleeping with someone else a few hours after they had broken up.

She continued to cry as her friend patted her back.

What exactly was she thinking? She should have told Joseph to stop, when Jake had passed. But she began to enjoy the sensations he filled her with and only stopped when they were both spent.

"Hush! hush!! Babe. He is not the only guy in the universe. You will find someone else okay?", Sophia consoled.

Angela felt heartbroken beyond repair. It felt like her heart was turned into shreds. Nodding her head, she worked with her friend and transformed her apartment into its former state before the party.

Afterwards, Sophia made African Jollof rice seasoned with stock fish and pork-just the way Angela liked it- and served her friend with a chilled bottle of coca cola to step it down.

African food always cheered Angela up. She devoured her meal and thanked her friend for the special treatment.