Fred then waited for his wife, Mandy to return home.
“Mandy, you will have to quit from that your job. How much are they paying you sef? Just N70,000. You will have to quit please, I have another better business opportunity for you.” Fred speaks to himself, assuring himself of the candid reasons for his wife to resign from her job.
So later in the night, he Informed Mandy of his intentions of making her quit her job.
“But Baby, why? Why are you asking me to quit my present job?”
“Because I have another job offer for you, the one that will get us rich quick” Fred says
“Really? Please tell me, I’m so interested, once its a legit business” Mandy says, smiling, eager to hear the new job offer.
“You are a strong fan of Lili’s collections, right?”
“Yes… Yes..” Mandy answers
“I will secure a job for you there.”
“Really? But I don’t know how to sew cloth.” Mandy replies
“No, you won’t be sewing any cloth”
“Really? OK, what will I be doing there? As a sales rep or a marketer? Because I know there is no vacancy for such positions, if there was any, they would have announced it on their site. But do you know anybody there?”
“Mandy, if I tell you that the owner is my ex-girlfriend, you won’t accept to work there.” Fred says in his heart
“Baby I am asking you, do you know anybody there” Mandy repeats
“No dear, but you can apply for the position of a cleaner, just tell them you don’t have any means of livelihood, I’m sure they will employ you.”
And Mandy smiled hard looking at Fred: “Baby, are you alright? I mean are you suffering from malaria? You actually expect me to quit my present job and apply for the position of a cleaner at Lili”s collections? I don’t think you are serious, please when you have a better offer, you let me. I’m returning to the kitchen” Mandy says walking to the kitchen
And Fred looked on with mixed feelings.
“What was I thinking, or am I loosing my mind? How did I arrive at this outrageous idea, asking Mandy to apply as a cleaner? Fred, if you must ruin Linda, you better come up with a better plan and not this ridiculous one. Mandy was right, asking her to quit her job to start working as a cleaner in another company is like demeaning her social reputation and worth. I will need a better idea. I really need to have someone infiltrate the company. I need to have an insider so as to be keeping informed about her day to day activities and know the appropriate time to strike. I seriously need to have an insider, but how do I achieve that?” Fred asks himself and started making plans on how to get his wicked desires work.
Linda’s success stories were making waves on the internet and because of that, Fred decided to avoid the net. He stayed clear off the internet, because the more he heard about Linda, the more envious he became. His ambitions to ruin her reputation increased. It got to a point he started loosing his sanity: “Just look at me, I’m looking thinner day by day, I can no longer sleep in peace all because of Linda. I can’t browse the net freely without seeing things relating to her online, everywhere, Lili’s collections.Their advert is all over the social media. You switch on the television to watch a program, you see them, you decide to read the news online, you see them, WTF! No, I won’t allow Linda humiliate me like this, I won’t allow her steal my sanity away.
I should have been the man behind her success, but since she decided to shut me off, I won’t allow her succeed. She must remain that Linda that I used to know, she should remain in that zone, only then will I be comfortable” Fred determines
As days went by, his envious tendency began gulping his conscience. There was a day he almost sacked his workers.
He came to the office, and saw three of his female workers with their phone, browsing through Lili’s collections, searching for an Asoebi style they will sew for the wedding of one of their colleagues.
“Is that Lili’s collections they are watching in my office?” He fumes
“What is going on here, how many times have I warn you people against using phones while working?”
“Sir, but we are on break, we decided to use this period to agree on the style we will use for the manager’s wife Asoebi” one of the female workers answered
“Shut up your mouth there, I can see you are now wagging mouth, abi? Three of you, be ready to receive your sack letters tomorrow morning. I won’t have anybody coming here to browse Lili’s collections” he angrily says, leaving
And the ladies ran after him, begging to have mercy on them, that they won’t repeat the mistake ever again.
And some of the workers began wondering
why he was so pissed off like that.
“Babe, what happened to him, I have never seen him in such a bad mood before. And recently, I have noticed that he hardly laugh like he used to. Who knows what’s happening with him”
“My dear, please o, you better mind your business, we are only here to work and receive our salaries. We shouldn’t bother ourselves with whatever that is wrong with the boss” the other colleague said and continued eating her food.
“Hmm, you self, that is why I don’t like chatting with you, you hardly flow socially like others” she felt ignored because her colleague failed to gossip with her
While in his office, the three girls were still begging him, he then asked them to leave.
“I said leave here at once!” He orders
And they ran out wondering what their offense was that could warrant their sack.
Fred then slapped his head and asked himself what was happening to him.
“Why is it that I can’t get hold of my self anymore?. Why, why, why? I can’t allow Linda destroy me like this, seriously, I can’t. I really need to do something, but how do I achieve this? I will need my right hand person to be closer to her, but how do I get Mandy to do that?….. How……..” He was still thinking deep, an idea popped in…
“Yes,,,,, why is it that I have never thought of this before? Yes!”
So later in the night, he called his wife: “Baby, there is this serious issue I would like us to discuss, are you busy?” Fred asks
“Hmm, not at the moment, so what’s that?”
Fred then paused and took a deep breath.
“Baby, how much are they paying you in that your job?”
“I thought you know what my earnings are?” Mandy asks
“Just answer me”
“OK, it’s N70,000”
“Imagine! Just 70k and you are so comfortable with it. Hope you know that with this present economy, 70k can not sustain us as a family especially when the children start coming”
“But I have you to support, and besides, you are the head of the family, it’s your duty to provide for the family. I, as a wife, can support, but only when it seems necessary, so why should I worry about that?” Mandy replies
And Fred was shocked at Mandy’s response, he then paused, looking for the direction to make her play his biddings
“Baby, I know its my duty to provide for the family, but if you become the likes of well respected ladies who have made it in the society, will the world break into pieces? Won’t you like to be rich like them? Won’t you like to be like Linda Idoha?”
“Hmm, I like to be like her, and I also like her, but one need a great deal of talent to achieve that?”
“Who told you its talent? Its only practice my dear. It requires a great deal of practice” Fred says, remembering when Linda was going for Tailoring school and then continues: “That Linda you admire so much, didn’t you read in her Bio that she attended one tailoring school like that?”
And Mandy nodded: “Yes she did”
“OK speaking of talent, what is your own talent?”
“My talent is singing” Mandy replies
“Singing? But you don’t have a nice voice?”
“That means, you haven’t heard me sing before, OK let me sing for you” she then cleared her throat and began singing.
“Arrrrrr!”…. Fred felt irritated, asking her to stop: ” You call this singing? Have you heard toad sing before? Thats the exact way your voice sounds”
“So you are insulting me now” Mandy asks, frowning
“No, I am not insulting you. I’m just trying to make you understand something. Do you know that if you start going for practice, your voice will become better and sweeter? So everything is practice, because practice makes perfect. There is nothing like talent, its all great effort of practice, that’s all.”
“Hmm, alright, so what are you driving at?”
“Baby, don’t bother about money. I want you to be the next famous fashion designer, a fashion designer that will pull down Lili’s collections and make them go down the drain.”
“I don’t understand” Mandy asks
“Baby, I want you to enter into fashion and designing. But you will be thought by the reigning Lili’s collections so that you will learn all their tricks and everything about them, so that you will use it as an advantage to rise above them. Baby, don’t you want to be like her? Don’t you want to be more famous like her? Don’t you want to be rich easily like her? Baby, you have been working for years, but nothing to show for it, why not accept this opportunity? You are a fast learner, I’m sure that two months is enough to learn all about tailoring” Fred incites
“But Baby, I don’t have passion for such business. I don’t think I can make it?”
“Don’t be so negative my dear, you can make it, trust me. In order to make it fast, you will have to become more closer to Lili. Wash the floor for her even if it deeme fit, get to know about her, become her favorite apprentice, believe me, she will not hesitate to teach you all the necessary things you will use to destroy her”
“Destroy her?” Mandy asks
“No, its not what I meant, I was talking about surpassing her. Becoming the next fashion icon. Mandy collections, doesn’t that sound great? Don’t worry about money for establishment, I already have that in control. All you need is just to accept”
And Fred went on, trying to get Mandy to accept the proposal, but she was unaware of his reasons. She never knew he was hatching for a means to ruin Linda’s business. Having Mandy closer to Linda will help him to be updated on her daily activities.
“And when I finally destroy her, my wife will become the next fashion icon. I trust you Mandy, you are more wiser and smarter than Linda. If she can achieve such a great height in just two years, that means it will take you only 9 months to achieve all that and make name for yourself, and I will be proud to be called the husband of the reigning lady in town…” Fred dreams in his heart.
So after much persuasion, Mandy accepted to learn tailoring at Lili’s collection. But the problem posed on how to get into Lili’s fashion industry.
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To be continued
