Mr Lanre Bakare

<<Ring Ring>>!!! the telelephone screamed!! "Damn it!!" he jumped
It startled him everytime the stupid thing rang! He had to remember to tell Gladys to change the ring tone.
"Hello" he gruffly answered, still slightly irritated
"Sir, there is someone here to see you, by the name of Chima Ahono" replied his elderly receptionist Gladys
He scratched his head trying to remember who the hell Chima was but nothing came up.
"Oya tell her to come inside" he instructed.

He looked up as she walked into the large office, she was looking down at the floor and did not realise as she walked into the sharp edge of the coffee table.
"Yeh" she exclaimed as she stumbled and rubbed her thigh where she had collided with the table.
"Pele oh" he laughed

And then he saw her face.

Not Chima but Chidinma, Chidinma with the beautiful skin, like warm buttery caramel that would melt in your mouth. She was beautiful, not in your regular Lagos fine girl way but in a very pure and innocent way, untarnished...

He remembered the day they met, he had been at the unilag campus speaking to his long time friend Professor Adegbenro about his daughter Adeife's educational plans... Adeife!!! His daughter who was at most three years younger than Chidinma! Oh God...

He saw that she was still standing looking at the the ground and he quickly beckoned her over.

"Come and sit down here" he said to her, she looked scared and was holding on to her purse like it was a life line.

"I'm happy that you decided to come, how are you? Can i offer you something to drink? he rambled
"No Sir, i'm fine, thank you" she whispered
It was clear that the situation was rather uncomfortable for both parties involved. Chidinma fiddled with her purse and wondered how on earth these things were supposed to work? Should she try to seduce him? If that was the case, she had no hope as she was inexperienced and clumsy. Luckily for her Mr. Bakare soon broke the ice.
"So how is school these days?" he asked her
Finally something she was confident enough to talk about, school, the only thing that kept her interested in what her life had become. She soon began to become comfortable with Mr. Bakare and told him all about her classes, her goals and her fears about school. It had been a long time since anyone had asked her the simple question "how has school been?"
Mr. Bakare noticed how animated she had become once she began talking about school, she stopped fiddling with her purse and looked like she had begun to relax for the first time since she entered the room. So he continued with the questions, infact he was enjoying this almost as much as she was since he really didn't have anyone to talk to these days.
"So what are your plans after your first degree?" he asked her, she seemed very intelligent and he hoped she had higher aspirations
"That depends on alot of things sir" and immediately tears formed in her eyes.
"Sir you see, this is the reason why I am here today, I.. I need help, the only thing stopping me from completing my education is my financial need, i have three younger siblings who need to attend school also and ever since my father passed away five years ago it has been one struggle after the other" she blubbered, by this time the tears were flowing fast down her cheeks.
He didn't know how to react at first and then he handed her a tissue and waited...
"I haven't come here to beg for free money, the truth is i don't know why i came here, I was just hoping, praying that maybe you would be able to help me...
She started to push her chair backwards, stood up and looked him in the eye for the first time since she arrived "I'm sorry that I wasted your time, but I just cant..."
Then she left his office.

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It was then he knew, that he would be the one to help her, at whatever cost...