There was no way she could return it, it was already gone, “Just because I didn’t stress it out three days ago doesn’t mean I stole it!” She stood up to leave, more of make a run for it, even though she knew there was no place to hide anymore.
His hand shot out and grabbed her arm in an iron grip just as she made a turn.
Anger flared in his eyes as he looked up and it was directed at her, “I thought we were past the lying phase?”
She clenched her teeth in an attempt not to slap him across the face because for a moment she saw red. “I advise you let me go, you might be rich and powerful but in the last few weeks I’ve worked here, I’ve really made friends who will fuck you up just because it’s Monday.” She warned him.
A few people were walking around the spot and she just had to do was lift her voice.
“They would do no such thing the minute they realise you’re a thief, I think most of them would vote that you get locked up.” He answered without any humour in his voice.
“You have no proof of what you claim.” She said more to herself than to him.
He silently dipped his hand into his pocket and he brought out his iPhone and scrolled through something before lifting it to her.
There she was in the picture holding the Rolex in Usman’s shop while talking to the man and that was three weeks ago.
At the revelation, she stared up at him, her heart nervously beating and just like three days ago, he had her backed against the wall. She swallowed on nothing as she lost words to say in response to his words.
He must have noticed it too because he let her go and “Sit,” he commanded and though she didn’t want to, she did as she was told.
He dropped his phone and entwined his hands on the table, “Tell me, does Anita and George know you are a thief?” When she remained silent, he continued, “I doubt that because she spoke so fondly of you. Do you steal from them too? Take advantage of their trust and take their cash or things, or do you only steal from people like me?”
She winced at his assumption and felt very much uncomfortable and in easy sitting with him, “Why didn’t you just report me?” She seethed unable to sit and bear him mock her.
“I don’t know,” he shrugged, stretching his legs out and resting his back against the chair. “maybe because I felt that this was better.”
“This is better?” Her brow rose, “This is torture and I want it to be over, so what do you want?”
She knew it was only a matter of time before he found out who she was, and how dumb she was to have stolen from him. He saw her face and heard her voice those were two solid reasons not to try and steal from him but she needed the money and she was desperate and her attention was on the Rolex she was intended to steal and didn’t take it to mind the man she was dealing with and now here they were.
Jasmin was quiet, wondering what he was planning, he was unpredictable, which she already knew.
“You made a proposal three weeks ago,” he reminded her.
“Which was?” She said a lot of things she could no longer remember so he had to be specific about it.
“You said you would steal my heart if I paid you to.”
“I said that because I wanted to seduce you and steal your Rolex.” She replied and picked up the buns wrapped in a serviette and took a bite of it. Thank God that Phillip packed her favourite and thank God she didn’t leave because of anger or she would have missed the delightful buns.
Something flickered in his eyes as they stared at her, “What if I was willing to pay you one million dollars to do what you said?”
She almost choked on the buns halfway through and she placed her hand to her mouth and swallowed slowly. He wasn’t talking about naira, the currency she was familiar with, he was talking about one million dollars.
“Pay me to do what?” Her voice came out wrecked and shaky and she didn’t know if it was because of his words or because she almost swallowed the buns wrongly.
“Steal my heart, but in your case, pretend to steal my heart. That means you will agree to get into a relationship with me and after one year, I will pay you one million dollars.”
His offer couldn’t be real, there had to be a catch, they were always a catch to such things, people don’t just throw one million dollars at stupid things the way this man seated across her was doing now. “Okay, first off, I do not want to pretend to steal your heart because there is no such thing, second of all, I already have a normal job why would I need a complicated one?”
She read enough about him, Cainan Inferno once billionaire playboy, turned hopeless romantic, turned widow and for the last three years he hadn’t been seen in a romantic relationship with another woman. Some sources claimed he was cursed to never find love and others said he swore to his dying wife to love no other but her. The death of his wife took a hard turn on him as he was barely seen outside for a whole year after her death and when he finally decided to come out to the world, he was a shadow of himself and would spend countless hours at the graveyard where his wife’s body was laid, the source claimed he still visited her every month.
He was a strange and creepy man, handsome and somewhat nice but strange and creepy and that wasn’t what she wanted in her life right now.
“Because you stole my Rolex and I am willing to let it go if you do this in return.”
“Is there nothing else I can do in return like being you PA or your secretary for those twelve months?”
“I already have people filling those positions, besides you do not have the qualifications to be my secretary, but my lover…” He trailed off then nodded.
“I can’t do it.” She got up from the seat, “What other option do I have?”
“It’s either that or you could get me my Rolex back from Usman,” he started.
She was about to ask him how he knew the name of the man she pawned the Rolex with then she remembers he had a picture of her with Usman and that must be how.
He continued speaking. “But the things is, Usman no longer has my Rolex, he sold it back to me,” he pulled down his long sleeve and on his wrist was the Rolex she stole and sold. “So if you’re going to pay back, you will have to give me back the money I paid which is two hundred thousand naira and I’ve got receipt if you want to verify.”
“Two hundred thousand?” She exclaimed unable to stop herself and her eyes nearly popped out. “He gave me sixty thousand!”
“It’s expected, you’re a thief, not a businesswoman you don’t know how the buying and selling business works.”
She didn’t know if she should be angry or sad at his words, but one thing was sure, she was not going to escape what was coming.
She sat back down again and placed her hands on the table before her. “You believe I’ve got what it takes to be your make-believe girlfriend. Why?”
“Yes and that’s because you were a very good actress, I saw that in you three weeks ago in my office and also a few days ago at the dinner.”
“Why,” she asked, this time asking why he needed a pretend lover, not why he was picking her and he seemed to figure that out as well.
“Because I have been told I need stability in my life, the kind only a relationship brings.”
And yet here he was proposing a relationship to a thief. She thought.
“What happened to the lady with you last week? What was her name?”
“Faith.” He knew who she was referring to, “Well like I said earlier, I need a lover that will follow the rule, not an actual one. You can take twenty-four hours to think about it, but not more than that. I will be back by this time tomorrow with the agreement contract.”
