Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Making Magic: Me,Steph and Greece...


Hello uhhhhh…. “ here I was , really excited to see him and still mumu enough to  pretend to have forgotten the name (yeah right!)
Steph”, he quickly added “Wow, great seeing you again. You guys refused to plan my sister’s wedding, abi?”
I really do apologise, but we had it coinciding with another wedding we had already been contracted to do” my explanation was a lie of course, you all know his sister’s wedding was the weekend before money bag’s wedding, but the planning was too intense for the latter that we had to weigh our options, and being true business women that we were, we followed the smell of real cash.
 Listen gorgeous,"  I felt like saying " we had someone ready to pay us twice as much as your sister would have paid us, so we dropped her like a boiling kettle!”
well , I left this part in my head and said this instead:
“we did explain to your sister why we couldn’t cater for hers and recommended someone we knew could handle it just as well ” I tried to explain lamely, truth be told, Nadine and I felt knew we were the best “hope it was a beautiful ceremony?”
“It certainly was. where are you headed?” he asked while stopping to rummage through his carryon for what turned out to be another mobile phone “my crew and I are doing a charter to Greece, we will be there for a week”
Are you kidding me? I am going to Greece too!  But via London, promised my sister I would spend a few nights before starting my vacation”  The day just kept getting better.
He turned around  to his colleagues, “I really have to run, we have to do a briefing before the flight” he said while making hand gestures to them “ can I have your number in London, will call to see if we can have drinks or see the sites in Greece
Numbers exchanged, we parted ways while I went to check in at the Virgin Atlantic counter, I knew the stay at my sister’s was going to seem like an eternity, because now, more than ever, I was looking forward to Greece and a little bit of Steph. Dont worry, I wont bore you with family visits, or talks about my sister and her two terrible adorable boys whom I love to bits, cos I know you cant wait to hear about Steph and I, well...truth be told , I am just as eager to share the story. Lol

I Meet Drop-Dead Gorgeous Steph Again...


In the spirit of valentine, I will talk about my vacation,Greece and Steph specifically. 

After “old money’s” wedding had been successfully executed, with Nadine and Ify staying completely out of each other’s way, and yours sincerely being the go between all through the event. We were so comfortable with our pot of gold that we decided it was time we put our feet up and relax.
We never travel at same time, as the business needed at least one of us to interface with clients, so Nadine took off for two weeks, while I held the fort .

Her first words when we saw was  “ so who is paying for the next vacation?” it  was always her line after spending too much money. When she goes on a shopping spree, she goes “so who is paying for all these items” kinda our way of saying a new client had to come in to fill the financial void such splurging had incurred.lol
I simply laughed and watched as she shoved a shopping bag at me, “now you can stop oogling this online” she said
Nadine has exquisite taste, so whenever she got you a gift, it was always something people would notice “awwwwww , that’s so sweet. What did you get me?” I asked while digging into the gift bag “Oh My God! Where on earth did you find this? “ my voice was quaking with emotion. It was a very rare antique styled Panerai Luminor wristwatch I had seen online, and I had mentioned that it looked like a collector’s piece, but it was sold out. I had no idea Nadine even noticed how much I wanted it.

“now don’t get all mushy on me” she said “it wasn’t like I went searching all over Milan for it, I just bumped into it” then she added “ I have to say this Dionne, for the price I paid, you are not getting a birthday or a Christmas gift for the next two years! Those silly watches are so frigging expensive!”
I was so touched, I ran to give her a bear hug, seriously I shouldn’t even expect a gift for 5years, those watches cost as much as $4,000!  With my obsession over watches, I still wouldn’t even buy it for myself!
That was Nadine, unpredictably sweet one minute and a Mord Sith the next.

It was the sign of better things to come, as two days later, a promotional first class ticket in hand, perfectly done hair, my  smile wider than Julia Roberts’  and my heart filled with thoughts of the sea and sun, then I saw him…still as drop-dead-gorgeous as the day he walked into our office only a few months ago. He walked in with the other members of the flight crew and he said. "well, well...if it isn't Raymond's cousin"
and that was how it all started....

Happy Valentine!

The Wedding, Nadine and Ify...


We had the event at LANDMARKin Victoria Island eventually, our other location might have been classier but we would have been a bit cramped for space as the fairytale wedding we put together definitely needed a huge venue, one of those events people would be talking about for years.
Quite sure no one is interested in all the nitty gritty details, So maybe we should talk a bit about the rift between Ify and Nadine. There is always another side to every story, but I will give you Nadine’s version of it, and Nadine doesn’t lie.  
They had both had a little culinary stint at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu, just fresh out of the University, Nadine wasn’t really interested in cooking, but she was smart enough to recognise that to be able to plan an event you needed to know Food, Wine, Décor and everything in between. So, she wanted to understand the art behind good food, so she could always know what she wanted. Ify on the other hand was actually very interested in cooking and everything that had to do with it. In spite of their different reasons for being there, they both hit it off initially, probably due to their Nigerian ties.

Well, two strong personalities as friends…hardly ever a good idea, they were competitive, academically and socially, then Ify pulled a stinker when she spread a rumour about Nadine being the mistress to a wealthy Arab business man. Not that it did anything to Nadine’s rep, cos when it comes to amoreux, the French had no boundaries. Ify had actually put out the gossip just so she could get the attention of the gorgeous Jacques Guillaume, who was the youngest chef at the time in the institute and he happened to have a thing for Nadine who he fondly called la deesse.
Well, I won’t bore you with all the in betweens especially, since I wasn’t in France to see for myself, but the bottom line is they stopped being friends. And even as successful as they both are, they still act like this Lagos is not big enough for both of them.

Suffice it to say that after the wedding we both  had earned one of those vacations many only dream of, Nadine to Milan and Barbados and I to Greece and Paris. Of course, when I picked Greece I did not reckon Steph would be my pilot! From the ancient and romantic Thessaloniki to the beautiful Katerini , Steph and I   in Greece beyond words…. but as always we will have to talk about this in my next piece.

We Keep Men Aside and Plan a Wedding


Of course when it comes to Money and business, men and all their drama will always have to take a back seat.  The excitement at the prospect of a blank cheque was enough to make us forget our pilot crush, at least for now. Steph was definitely a forgotten topic as I could almost see the creative wheels, churning out ideas in the factory that was Nadine’s mind. I knew she was going to be very quiet for the next couple of minutes dreaming up amazing ideas and after that she was going to bombard me with all the ideas, then I would have to start piecing them together. We made an awesome team, Nadine and I. 
I had started dialing to find out which of the large venues could be made available. Usually we love working with large venues like Landmark in Victoria Island annexe, cos its so spacious and you could do almost anything with it, create unbelievable themes as long as the client was ready to dole out the cash.
“I was thinking “ said Nadine “we have kinda used Landmark as a venue for too long, there is this new place, the one Ofure had her wedding in Ikoyi, maybe we should try securing it”


I had no clue what venue she was talking about.

 “I wasn’t at Ofure’s wedding Nadine, that was same weekend I had to travel for my  Aunt M's funeral, remember?” 
 I had lost a very dear aunt around that period and had to leave Nadine to handle the Client alone, and she was so frustrated having to deal with the tantrums of Ofure, who happens to be a dear friend of ours, but one of those very dramatic people who always saw a million ways things could go wrong. The wedding was a huge success, but Nadine wouldn’t speak to Ofure for an entire week after it, saying she could strangle her just to get even.Lol

“Well, Di you might have to call Ofure…or we could drive down there together”  its always better to see the place and visualize, and personally i would rather see the place when it was bare of decorations, i felt it helped you build your own ideas without distraction of decor.

“Works for me,” I said “and, I know you hate to hear this, but we have to let Ify in on this deal” even as I said it, I could already envisage Nadine’s reaction “what the hell for?”
Ify is a superb cake craft person, one of those kind who could make anything you wanted, and you would not have to worry, but according to Nadine, Ify was just an “overpriced cow, who had no respect for business etiquette” yeah, we both agreed she was very expensive, but  it was not my money and Ify was mixed breed, learnt how to make gateaux from some of the experts in France,  and when dealing with moneybags, I knew what would sell.

Same way we have Glen, a white female photographer, not because she was better than people like, Sumi Smart-Cole or TY Bello, or but because Nigerians would pay us more if they saw a Caucasian, so we exploited their narrow mindedness shamelessly.

But that was not the only reason, Ify and Nadine had their differences from way back, when were both studying in Paris, and they had a history….a story I will have to share some other time, right now we have a wedding to plan.

The Patek Phillipe Client!


I could have sworn that the new client or rather potential client who had just walked in and eased the tension between Nadine and I could not afford our services, she had the disheveled look of someone who has lived a rather troubled/harsh life. Her skin seemed a bit sallow and wrinkled, she was most likely in her late sixties, but she looked like she might as well be eighty!
I could tell from the snotty look on my partner’s face that she was not amused; she usually left the “charity cases” as we dubbed them to me, I was the people person, so whenever we had people who wanted a million dollar services for a hundred, Nadine haughtily let me handle them.
‘Good afternoon ma’am’ I managed a smile ‘who is getting married?’ I asked heartily.
Her response was every event planners dream ‘my only granddaughter’ she said with so much warmth ‘and we are not sparing any cost’ she said with the excitement of a child.
The minute Nadine heard those magic words that symbolized a blank cheque, she became a lot nicer and joined in on the conversation. ‘She is such a lucky bride’ she said in her sweetest voice, a voice she reserved for the three F’s- Family, Friends and Fat cheques!
When I talk about Nadine, it’s not that I hate her, it’s almost impossible to hate Nadine, you might be angry, jealous, upset, want to strangle her sometimes, but you also had to admire and respect her for so many reasons-Nadine was the kind of girl you love to hate, and hate to love…she was an enigma.
One can rarely deceive the old folks, they aren’t called the old folks for nothing, they know all the tricks in the book, so Mrs. A was not fooled by Nadine’s charms, she knew Nadine was speaking to her cos she had said they were willing to spend anything.
‘I will be here with my granddaughter tomorrow, I just wanted to be sure you could do hers for the said date ‘she continued ‘she has some strange colors and ideas in mind, I don’t know the details…but I am sure they will make sense to you young ladies’ I smiled in agreement.
‘Whatever she wants, we can deliver’ Nadine cut in ‘I believe you must have….’
‘Like I was saying…’ Mrs. A continued like Nadine hadn’t even spoken ‘I am quite sure you ladies will understand and make it as perfect as she would want it, I saw the wedding you planned for the Kadiri’s last month, a very tasteful ceremony I must admit’ as she spoke, I smiled at intervals and did what anybody in my shoes would do, she was talking big, so I was accessing her to see if she seemed just as big, I am no jewelry expert, she wore a simple gold earring, an emerald cut ring, set in what seemed like white gold (possibly platinum) and she had on a Philip Patek watch! Ok, I had to scream about the watch, cos I love watches, and Philip Patek’s don’t come cheap.
While I did this, Nadine walked towards the window sulking, I could tell she wanted to see what car Mrs. A had come in, it was all part of the verifying her status process, after all, the ring might not me emerald and the Patek might be a fake!
Nadine and I locked gaze, and I knew whatever the ride was, she was veeeeery impressed, cos she was beaming all over.
Mrs. A stood up to leave and I stood up to walk her to the door “Thank you for stopping by ma’am” I was beaming too, cos I was so sure we had hit the jackpot “we’ll see you at 12 noon tomorrow’
Then she said ‘could we make it 11.am instead? I have a meeting to attend at 1.pm, and I know these things take time’
At the back of my mind I remembered we had the appointment with our Pilot guy’s sister for tomorrow, but what the hell…I could call them to reschedule for earlier or later, we could smell the money on Mrs A, then I heard myself say ‘not a problem at all ma, 11.am will be perfect’
And as she walked out the door, Nadine screamed “she came in a Rolls Royce Phantom!”

Nadine's Dad and I (2)....


I believe I am just as respectful as the girl next door, my folks did their bit in bringing me up proper, but my niceness has it limits and Chief had just crossed it.When Chief put his hands on my thigh the first time, i politely pushed it off, out of respect for my friendship and Partnership with Nadine, but when he tried to force a kiss, and had his hand gropping all over me, i totally lost it and WHAM! my enormous Jimmy Choo handbag came in contact with his head,before he even new what hit him...but that was not even the bad part, i had a scissors in the bag and it made a deep gash just above his eyes, one big bloody mess as i recall.
I still do not know how Nadine and the rest of the family heard about it, if the only witness( the driver) told madam, or if Chief confessed himself, i have no clue but everyone heard, and they all kinda believed that i had nothing to do with Chief, since he was already known for being randy, everyone blamed him, the news didnt do my relationship with Nadine any good, she never blamed me, but you could tell she wished it had never come to the open like that, so you can imagine how it felt, how we could both see in each other's eyes, that Steve was going to be another male, come to rock our barely steady boat.
"He seem rather cocky" Nadine said " Bet he's one of them guys who thinks, he's the answer to every woman's prayer" she scoffed.
"I dont agree with you, he was rather friendly, and it was a sweet of him to come book an appointment for his sister, most guys wouldn't even do it for their own wedding!" i refuted
she gave me the damn! you- are -gullible look even before she said "stop being naive Dionne, because he talks to you like he would a girl with a crush on him, does not make him sweet" she said in an acrid tone " He sensed you were all mushy over him, so he went for the kill"
she was so close to the truth, i went red in the face "are you implying i threw myself at him?"
she smiled cynically "you said it"
"Just because he decided to spend more time talking to me, u are just being bitchy" I whinned, I hated the fact that i was beginning to sound like a little girl who was about to cry cos she was being bullied, but i have to hand it to Nadine, she was the queen of mean...she could hurt you with or without words.
"Do you have any idea how lame that sounds?men will take whatever is given to them...but will still rather have the thrill that comes with the chase" before i could respond to Nadine's caustic insult, a potential client walked in and we had to put off the fight for later....

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Nadine's Dad and I....


It's been almost three years since another man had almost caused a major rift between Nadine and I, and it wasn’t like we were both fighting over some guy…it was worse, her father had been the bone of contention, how? He just couldn’t keep it in his pants. With more money than they could spend, her father was used to getting his way in general and with women in particular, and from the minute he saw me, a roll in the hay was all he could think of (you’d think Nadine and I looking like sisters would deter him), but the randy old goat was and still is a randy old goat, the good part is, he has decided to go stick it elsewhere!

We had just started work on our third client and she was a relative of Nadine’s, as part of his contribution to his niece’s wedding, Nadine’s father decided to hire us to plan the wedding. As a rule, when it comes to family and personal friends, we always allowed the other handle it, so being Nadine’s family, I had to handle the financial details, which meant talking to her cousin sometimes, and ultimately picking up our cheque from Chief, her father.

I had met Chief a number of times, at functions and he knew me as his daughter’s business partner, so going to his office to get a cheque did not seem like a big deal, but on getting there, from the hostile reception I got from his secretary (I can bet my partnership, that he was and probably still is sleeping with her) and from all the gist I had been hearing about Chief, his escapades and his famous generosity to his women, I started thinking maybe coming here was a mistake, but then I thought, I am just picking up a cheque, what’s the worst that could happen?

I waited for a while, he was in a meeting and he had some other people waiting to see him, but finished with them and even attended to those I got there before, I was really getting upset, I hated being kept at the reception like I was coming there to collect an allowance from a sugar daddy. Eventually, he finished with them all and asked me to come in.
“My dear, I am so sorry to have kept you waiting” he gushed giving me a hug that seemed a bit far from fatherly “have you had lunch, I am famished”
“Not yet sir, but i…..” I tried to say I would have lunch at the office but he interrupted…
“Then you must join me for lunch, I am just about to head for REEDS on Awolowo Road”
I looked at my Cartier, it was almost 4pm, I was actually hungry, so I said okay. And as we got to the car park, chief insisted that there was no point taking my car, after lunch we would come back here and I could pick my car. It made sense, because my office was on the opposite side, which meant I would still have to drive down this way, with all this fuel wahala, why waste mine.
I figured he would give me the cheque after lunch, but as we descended Falomo bridge from V.I, he asked the driver to drive straight to a place that sounded more like a guest house/ hotel.
“sir, I thought we were going to REEDS, staying on the bridge means we are heading towards Kingsway” I said. He just smiled and said,” I know a better place, it’s very private and really comfortable”

As he said those words private and comfortable, I could detect from the undertone and that ever familiar glint in the eyes of a man when all he can think of is how to get to the fastest place for a quick fix, like my friend Nandir would say, because according to her, a man with a hard on is like a junkie in need of a fix.
“Chief, I have a lot of work to do back at the office, so maybe if you could just sign the cheque, I can easily grab a cab, go pick up my car and head straight back” I said trying to act cool about it, the last thing I wanted was for Chief to say anything, to avoid that uncomfortable feeling. Much like when a guy who is your buddy suddenly falls in love with you, you know he is looking for a chance to tell you, so you do everything to make sure he never says it, because you know your answer is going to affect your friendship.
Then he put his hand on my laps! “sir, please lets act like this is not happening, I really don’t want to be disrespectful, you are like a father to me” I said, barelytrying to contain my anger and disgust.
“But I do not see you as a daughter” he said shamelessly “you should be used to men falling at your feet, with a body like yours…what man can resist” his cheesy line were as repulsive as he was right now, all I could think of was getting out of the car, then he made a very stupid move....

How We Met Drop-dead Gorgeous Steve...


You know how it is with some people, they walk into a room and the entire room becomes a stage, and they become stars…that was Steve, the minute he walked into our office, simultaneously I had two things going on in my head, 
1. I had Norah Jones’ come away with me playing in my head and
 2. I wished Nadine would suddenly disappear or at least be in the inner office. 

The first thought was because Steve was exactly the kinda guy you actually think of running away with, standing about 6’3, perfect dark chocolate skin, eyes that seemed to squint and see through your very soul and a smile that had this cynicism that was damn right attractive, and the second thought was because I felt plain besides Nadine, and if he was like most men, he would be hitting on her pretty soon.

Don’t get me wrong, I have more than my fair share of admirers, but when with Nadine, I always felt like I was second choice, or a consolation price for the schmucks who didn’t have the guts to step up to her. I was secretly hoping this extremely good looking guy would have a flaw somewhere, then he spoke and all I could say in my head was thank God I am sitting down, because I couldn’t feel my legs anymore, his voice was deep and calm at same time, like he could hypnotize you just by talking.

“You ladies must be the wedding planners right?” he addressed both of us, but was walking toward s Nadine, okay I’ll have to be fair to him, Nadine was closer to the entrance, so it was only logical that he’d walk towards her, not me. “I am in a bit of a rush, cos I have a flight in two hours” he continued.

“Yes we are, but we are going to need more time if you are going to plan a wedding” Nadine said standing up to attend to him “I am Nadine and that’s my partner Dionne” I could not exactly trust myself to speak, so I nodded and smiled my hello from the end of the room.

“I am not the one getting married” he said “I promised my sister I would stop by to make an appointment for her before heading for the airport, that’s why I am here”
Nadine’s face lit up in an enthusiastic smile, “oh, then just fill out this slip and voila! Your sister has an appointment” the smile told me a lot, she was just as smitten by him as I was, only she was cold and calm enough to handle it better. ”so you are travelling, you live outside Lagos?” she asked

“I live here in Lagos, but I fly a lot. I am a pilot” he said, not taking his eyes of the form as he scribbled his sister’s details. Then he looked up and caught me staring, I felt like killing myself.
“Dionne right? You kinda remind me of a friend of mine , Raymond, we were in school together” as he spoke, he walked closer to me, then he mentioned Raymond’s last name and I finally found my voice “he is my cousin, same last name
“The resemblance is uncanny!” he exclaimed “difference is you are definitely better looking, Raymond never told us he had a beauty queen for a cousin” he teased. I must have blushed all shades of red; here I was a full grown Lagos Island big girl, blushing like a teenager over a mere compliment.
“Her appointment is for 11am” Nadine interjected, my guess was she wasn’t liking the tone of our conversation, and the fact that I was stealing the spotlight away from her, was definitely not her idea of fun.” Do ask her to inform us if she will not be able to make that time, so we can reschedule” her voice was no longer sweet and flirty, but succinctly polite and officious.
“will do” Steve said “and here’s my card, please ask Raymond to give me a call, it will be really nice to hear from him again” he said looking me straight in the eyes, and something told me the card was meant for me, and Raymond was simply a decoy, maybe I was right, or maybe I was just listening to the butterflies fluttering in my stomach.

As soon as Steve left our office, there was a certain tension in the atmosphere, a tension so thick you could almost cut through it with a knife.we both did a flashback simultaneously...it had been almost 3 years....

Nadine and Dionne, How it All Started...


Nadine and I met three years ago at a friend’s Christmas party, she was one of those people who would walk into a room and you just could not help but notice, flawless skin, graceful mien and an aura that reeked an almost intimidating confidence. I was there with another friend and from afar, we watched as some wimpy guy who was totally smitten by her, drooled from afar. To woo a girl like Nadine, you had to be confident.
Some hours later, I heard her husky voice behind me, “you must be Dionne” she said, it didn’t sound like a question so I just smiled, and she went on, “I figured it had to be you, have been hearing all night how we could pass for twins” she said it, and gave me a sweeping look, a look that seemed to say, I was the ugly twin. I was very irritated, I knew I didn’t take as much care with details as she did, I was not into all the elegant details, I was lot simpler, I was beautiful…but Nadine, gorgeous! I decided there and then not to like her. Just when I was going to excuse myself and walk away, an acquaintance of mine walked up to me and she was all whining about her forth coming wedding and how it would be great if she could get a wedding planner she could trust with all the details, and before I could even respond, I heard “Dionne and I can handle it”, I turned to see Nadine stretch out her hands, introduce herself as my friend who is into events and weddings, and she painted a picture of a fairy tale wedding there and then, and voila! We had our first wedding to plan. 
It was crazy, on some level I was furious, what the heck was she talking about, I hated events, I barely attended much less plan, but worse still, I disliked Nadine and her pushy, cocky, arrogant self, on some other intriguing level, I was excited and fascinated, then I turned to glare at her, and she said “trust me, this will work like a charm” and it did, and I have never had a cause to look back. The business is actually owned by Nadine, I am more of a junior Partner, because the money and the ideas are actually hers, like she would say I am the sanity in the partnership, I keep her from strangling annoying clients, ours was a ying –yang type thingy.
She came from old money and me from no-money, by old money I mean those born into wealth and all the privileges, so she was never intimidated by the arrogant rich, because it was the world she grew up in, I must admit I got intimidated sometimes. The nouveux riche (new money) they were the best clients to deal with. Those who had made some serious money legally or illegally, but they always felt they had something to prove, so they would spend in this crazy fashion, trying to prove that they have arrived, but the still lacked the aristocratic confidence of the old money bags. We had mentally shared them in two categories, Lekki(new money) and Ikoyi, the real blue blood. We got away with our pretty faces, suave charisma and Nadine did not go to a Swiss finishing school for nothing, she makes weddings into fairytales! i studied French, and Nadine had lived in Paris for some years, so in the razz mattazz to make us even classier and more elitist, (which the nouveux riche fell for all the time, and for which we charged them like crazy!) We would throw in a few French phrases here and there, mention Bordeux a lot with the wine details, make mention of hors d’oevres , when planning the meals, talk haute couture and generally drop some French terms like joie de vivre,dejavu and savoir faire, …. There is something about French language that simply screams class without even trying.

Back to the boring snotty client that started this whole series, she kept going on and on about how she had attended a wedding in England, and the theme was all white and snowy…snowy! How the heck where we supposed to get away with that, white and crystals could make a place look heavenly and dreamy, but she kept going on and on about the snowy look, at some point I could tell Nadine was no longer there mentally, she was so bored it showed…me, I was the nice one, so I had to keep an interested look, while she yapped away, and I did the whole “she’s your boss, she holds your pay cheque” mantra, thinking of clients as bosses helped me tolerate them.
As soon as she left, just before my mystery pizza delivery, Nadine yelled, “Can you believe the old hag? Her daughter isn’t even here; she came ahead of her daughter, THE BRIDE! to come tell us what she wants! Who does that?” when hysterical or upset, her usually husky voice, gets high pitched and a bit shrilly, I smiled and said “you are the wedding miracle worker, do your thing girl”
“I can’t make a snowy look, she will just have to make do with lots of white and soft textured fabrics” I could almost hear the wheels in her brain working it out, she loved the challenge, she would make it so damn good, the lady would think she was in the north pole!
I knew how to work on her ego, I made her feel she could pull anything, and truth be told, she could pull almost anything, just while we tried to figure out all possible details, he walked in… and that’s a whole different story…

The Client Who Would Not Stop Talking.


She went on and on, talking about the same thing over and over,  not even smart enough to use different words, I guess she had never heard the word “REPHRASE”.
 I was so bored, and it took a lot to keep myself from screaming, I had to keep telling myself, "she is your boss, and she has your pay cheque" 
I said it over and over in my head like a mantra, then the phone rang, her phone…and we had to put an end to the meeting.That was one of our nose in the air, snot faced, old money client in Ikoyi.

At the other end of the table,Poised, elegant and as cold as ice, sat the owner of my firm, for this diary we’ll just call her Nadine, because it’s a beautiful name, and it reminds me of those beautiful, cold, vicious Russian KGB, Mossad type babes in the movies, or better put for those of you who are fans of the series Legend of the seeker, she kinda reminds me of the “mord sith” She is like a cross between those mean little fishes in South America, piranhas? And a graceful eagle, don’t ask me how that works, my imagination can be warped at times.

Moments later, a delivery guy walked in…from my fave pizza spot ,Debonair, he had a delivery for D. That was stran
ge, cos I am D, and I would remember picking up the phone and ordering a pizza, so I asked;
“Are you sure?” 
And to prove how sure he was he quoted my mobile number.
Still a bit surprised, I drilled him a bit more. “What’s the name of the person who placed the order?”
“Madam, he didn’t leave his name, he just paid and said we should take it to you”
Enough with questions already, I quickly grabbed it, said thank you and asked my colleagues to join in the surprise feast before we find out it was a mistake… still curious about the sender though.

I looked at my watch, it was 3pm… asides the pizza, it has been one crazy day, customer service can be fun and exciting, but it also tries your patience, being a manager in an establishment that deals with women and all the crazy frenzy of wedding planning,Yes, we are wedding planners) I have also had to reluctantly double as a marriage counselor! 

People tend to find it easy to confide in me, maybe it’s because I never have the heart to call people off on all their bulls**t, so I have to listen to reluctant brides, happy brides, bitchy brides and anything else that comes my way…and by anything I mean pushy mothers, nosy mothers in law, crazy friends, jealous friends and any of the female species that walks in, not forgetting the impatient groom in most cases who hate being there but have been forced to come in by their brides. It’s a crazy world in our business and for someone who is cynical about marriage, I must say Nadine does an excellent job. Nadine and I are as different as night and day in personality, but physically we could pass for twins, me being the nice one and she…,the b***h.

I think Nadine loves me being with her despite the fact that she thinks I am too soft,( and in a strange way that’s also my selling point), I keep the customers with my charm and sweetness, while she satisfies them with her excellent wedding planning skills. I grew up in Nigeria, while she had been in one of those fancy Swiss finishing school, and has experienced the glitz and glamour of Paris, before deciding to bring all that glitz to the Nigerian wedding Industry, like she puts it.

I will tell you how I met Nadine, and how this all started……