Chibuzor gestured to the seat opposite him and then pulled out a paper with the names of the eligible women he had shortlisted. "I need you to investigate these women, one by one, for good character, likability, and traits of a good wife."
"Someone elderly people would approve of. Most importantly, they must not believe in love and marriage. And don't tell anyone about this, not even the women involved!"
"..."
At this last point, the housekeeper was taken aback.
'How am I supposed to find a young woman mature enough to marry who doesn't believe in love and marriage? And still manage to trick her into meeting you?!'
He sighed internally. 'This job is getting quite difficult.'
Unaware of his housekeeper's inner turmoil, Chibuzor continued, "I'll be freeing my schedule to get the marriage certificate with the lady by this day next week. I believe it will be ready by then, right?"
The housekeeper, despite his fury, nodded helplessly, his head bobbing up and down listlessly as he began strategizing how to meet these nearly impossible criteria.
'I could just find one of those women from the households of Arinze family enemies....'
-----------------------------------
Seven days later...
Chibuzor carefully chose a grey shirt from his perfectly organized wardrobe as he prepared for his blind date.
He loved being neat and well prepared, so he had already practiced the words to say, and of course, he had a contract just in case words failed.
'I can't believe it's come to this! I'm actually going to marry a woman I'm meeting for the first time today. Mtchww.'
He arrived at the restaurant's private room, the meeting point, and waited for his potential bride.
Olaedo rushed into the same restaurant thirty minutes late. She was still dealing with the aftermath of her scandal, so she had to work while eating and driving to the restaurant to meet the investor.
'I hope the investor hasn't left.'
A waiter directed her to a private room. She rushed in, guilt written all over her face, sliding her phone into her purse.
"I'm so sorry for keeping you waiting, sir!"
Chibuzor looked away from his phone to see what kind of "responsible" woman had kept him waiting for thirty minutes. To him, this was a major red flag!
Wait, red flags are for people in love, right?
Since they weren't in love, he decided to forgive her for this minor infraction. He studied the woman in front of him, feeling like she looked strangely familiar.
Olaedo, too, looked up, and her eyes widened in shock. 'Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! CEO Arinze! The investor is actually CEO Arinze!'
When an elderly man had called her few days ago, telling her that someone was willing to invest in her company, she had assumed it was a joke. But at this point in her life, any joke about money was worth taking seriously until proven fake.
'Thank you, thank you, thank you so much God!'
Seven minutes passed. The two CEOs kept staring at each other, one wondering where he knew her from, the other internally doing cartwheels with joy at this great opportunity.
Five minutes ago, the waitress, who had arrived to take their orders, had simply stood there, waiting. This was getting weird.
'What is wrong with these two? Is this the new way of communicating business deals? Gosh, I need to upgrade my knowledge!'
Finally, the waitress cleared her throat.
"Ahem..."
The two CEOs snapped out of their thoughts, and Chibuzor rose first, introducing himself. "Good evening, my name is Chibuzor. May I know you?"
Olaedo nodded gently and, with a smile, introduced herself. "I'm Olaedo. Good evening, sir. I'm so sorry for keeping you waiting. I have no excuse!"
Chibuzor nodded, 'Great, she has good manners.'
His lips curled into a barely noticeable smile as his expression softened just a bit. He gestured to the seat across from him and waved the waitress over. "We are sorry we kept you standing for so long."
The waitress waved her hands frantically. "No problem at all, sir! May I take your order?"
Chibuzor picked up two menus and handed one to Olaedo. "Order whatever you want. Don't be shy about it. It's my treat."
'No no Mr. Money Bags. I like being shy while ordering,' she thought to herself. There was no way she was going to order something extravagant and leave a bad impression on this walking money tree.
Olaedo scanned the menu, carefully picking a few not so expensive dishes, but still dishes that an average family might never be able to afford.
She didn't want to order only cheap dishes, as that would make it seem like she was looking down on his wallet. On the other hand, ordering ridiculously expensive dishes would make her seem greedy. So, she chose to play it safe.
They chatted about surface-level topics while waiting for the food to arrive, but grew silent as soon as they started eating. Olaedo wasn't used to such silence.
At home, meal time was always a chaotic affair with food flying across the table as her brothers argued about the best football team. Here, she had to remember to chew with her mouth closed and not get caught staring at the bread basket for too long.
But seeing Chibuzor eating in silence with enviable elegance, she remembered that he came from an aristocratic family. He was the oga kpata kpata of rules and regulations, the general overseer of discipline and self control.
'Oh gosh, I must not look like a slob!'
She had grown up eating with her hands at home. Gravy stains on the tablecloths were practically a family tradition. But here? Here she was supposed to behave like a lady, whatever that was.
'Maybe I should start with not using my napkin as a bib.'
Her hands, which had been steady just moments ago, now fidgeted with the edge of the napkin. She couldn't remember the last time her mouth had gone this dry, and she was certain it wasn't from the food.