Chapter Seven

On days Sabeerah spend with her brother at the office, she was almost tempted to let him head the companies so that he'd run it down with his lack of knowledge and her father would see how much of a complete idiot his favorite child was.

She couldn't though, Shar'ib would keep getting successful as long as she was her father's daughter.

"Why would you ever talk to them like that? You're supposed to be gentle in your dealings." She chided.

He rolled his eyes at her. "Gentle with them? They need our help, not the other way around."

"No that's where you have it all wrong Aakhil, we need them to sell their land to us so we have to persuade them that we're the best among all the other offers they've received."

"Fuck them! We're the best, we're offering a whopping sum of fifty five million, who else has offered such?" He asked sitting up.

"Can you just listen? I know these things more than you so just listen and not use swear words with me." She said irritatedly. They were in his vast office space and she just wanted to walk out of here, she had outdoor activities planned for today but thanks to her stupid brother who'd insulted the owner of a land they were trying to buy, they were now on the verge of losing it.

"Miss know-it-all." Aakhil said mockingly.

"You're just a spoilt brat and I'm wasting my time with you." She said standing up.

"A case of pot calling kettle black, ask everyone who works under you what they think of you." He said with a sneer.

"At least I'm useful to the company still, you're just here on this seat because of Baba."

"And you're just jealous, you wish he'd look at you the way he looks at me." He said laughing.

"Delusional bastard." She spat out before walking out of the office, her brother's laughter lingered in her ear. Her assistant Sarah was outside Aakhil's office waiting for her.

"Ma'am I just received information that the land has just been sold." Sarah informed her. Sabeerah sighed, Aakhil was a fool and he had nobody to make him realize, the most annoying thing with losing this particular land was the fact that her father would one way or the other look for how to put the blame on her.

"I expected it, anyways call Matt to meet us at the mall site at Guzape. Wait for me in the car, I need to see my dad." She instructed before walking to the opposite direction.

"Good day ma'am." Her father's secretary greeted standing up.

"Is my father in?"

"Yes but he has a visitor now, could you come back please?"

"No, I need to see him now." She walked past the secretary's desk and knocked on her father's door thrice before entering, the thick scent of a feminine perfume hit her nostril.

A lady was seated cross-legged opposite her father, she was beautiful and young, Sabeerah suspected she was older than the lady.

"Assalamualaikum, ina kwana Baba- good morning Baba." She greeted.

"Sabeerah, what're you doing here? Didn't Fatima tell you I'm not receiving visitors now?"

Her father was tall, light skinned and very handsome with his grey beards. Sabeerah knew her father had extramarital affairs but very discreetly, seeing the lady seating here, she was sure she was another of her father's girlfriend.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to let you know that Aakhil had caused us to lose the land at Maitama, there was nothing I could do." As she spoke, she noticed the lady assess her with her sharp eyes, Sabeerah glared at her before turning back to her father whose face had turned angry at the news.

"You can go now Salma, I'd call you." He said to his guest.

"But Alhaji I only just got here." Salma protested.

"I said go!" Her father screamed at her, she flinched before picking up her bag and stumbling out in her six inches heels, the scene was almost comical.

"If you're going to cheat on Umma, you could at least do it with someone classy and older than me." Sabeerah said spitefully as she sat on a chair.

"Be careful Sabeerah, be very careful." Her father warned. He'd never had to tell her to keep his affairs a secret from her mother, she just had to, her mother didn't deserve the heartbreak from knowing her husband was cheating on her with numerous women and even girls her daughter's age.

"Sabeerah, your brother is still learning, he has a long way to go which is why you're there to guide him, you've been here longer than him so I don't understand how you could allow him cost us the land at Maitama."

"He insulted the owner of the land, what could I have done?" She argued.

"What're you there to do if not clean up his mess? Aakhil is learning but you? You're not and..."

"But Baba this is in no way my fault, there was nothing I could do."

"Of course there was something you could've done!" He said banging a fist on the desk. "You could've offered them more money."

"It's not all about money, he insulted the owner so it's about dignity, he isn't selling his dignity alongside his land." She said boldly, she was getting tired of her father.

"You're talking back at me?" He asked glaring at her.

Sabeerah lowered her gaze. "Kiyi hakuri- I'm sorry."

"Where are you headed now, the real estate company?"

"No I'm going to the mall site at Guzape."

"That's good, I'll have a word with Aakhil, you be careful out there okay?"

She nodded before she stood up and left.

At the mall site in Guzape, Sabeerah, Matt and Sarah were surveying the building when they'd come upon an old man shoveling gravel into a wheelbarrow. He looked exhausted and weak but he kept on albeit very slowly.

"Aren't you too old for this job?" She'd asked looking at him intently.

"No ma'am." He'd said shaking his head as he began working with vigour scared he might be fired.

"Give me that." She'd ordered stretching her hand for the shovel.

"Please ma, I'm not too old, please don't fire me ma." The old man pleaded immediately falling to his knees. The rest of the workers tried not to stare at what was going on so as not to seem tardy.

Sarah and Matt stood by Sabeerah's side looking at the man with pity, they knew their boss was unpredictable so they had no idea what she wanted to do to the old man.

"Yes you're too old for this kind of job, don't you feel pity for your body? Don't you think your body needs rest?" She asked her face turning red in anger, the old man cowered.

Things like this pricked her heart, seeing people work so hard even at old age but with barely anything to show for it.

She grabbed the shovel from him before turning to her assistant.

"Sarah write him a check of three million from my personal account."

Matt and Sarah stared at her jaw slacked.

The old man fell on his knees, "thank you ma, thank you so..."

"No! Stand up now! I don't need any of that, don't ever do that again, why'll you kneel for me?" She asked with genuine anger, the man stood up slowly, afraid he'd annoyed her.

"Take the cheque and I don't want to ever see you here working or anywhere else doing jobs that are strenuous again, do you understand?"

"Yes ma, yes ma." He collected the cheque and left after thanking her heavily again, the workers who'd witnessed it looked at her with admiration.

Sabeerah picked up the shovel and continued the man's job, Matt continued his survey with Sarah next to him, they were used to Sabeerah doing these type of jobs when she comes to the site.