1 Ms. Grinch

Adaora's fourth failed attempt to adjust to walking on six-inch stilettos instigated her decision to simply give up. She was never going to “get the hang of it” like her mother had nonchalantly said when she gave them to her, as though they were a pair of ballet shoes or Mary Jane pumps and not a sure ticket to the afterlife.

She tried to wonder why any rational human would design and market those suicidal shoes in the first place, but remembering that Chugo Ejike, her mother was the CEO of the company that had released the shoes the day before as their Christmas Special, she stopped trying to understand her. Her mother was far from being rational, quite evident of her approval of the Christmas project and joyful mood the previous day when she came to Adaora's company to drop off the present.

Well, she had called it a present, but those were weapons as far as Adaora was concerned, and she had no plan of wearing them. As though the shoes could hear her thoughts and weren't in support of them, her toes began to tighten around the constricting shoes, and Adaora slowly carried herself back to her Queen-size bed and removed them, flexing her toes at the new feeling of freedom she immediately experienced.

Lying back in the bed covered in soft white sheets, she thought of how to get strength and find her way downstairs, seeing as she had a lot of things to do at the office. The Christmas holiday would begin the next two days, and she had to ensure that everything from the forms she was supposed to sign to every document that required her attention was ready before then.

It was the only thing she found tolerable about the holiday- the quiet in the building which enabled her work from morning till night without being disturbed by anyone. Although her office was at the top floor and had been designed to bar a reasonable amount of noise, she still felt distracted by little things like her assistant coming to remind her of the different meetings she had and the documents that were behind their deadline for approval.

Now, the holiday was here again and Adaora was going to have time to herself to go through everything and sign every document before the new year. That way, she wouldn't have to stay till very late in the night at the office in order to meet up. Being the CEO of a cosmetics manufacturing and distributing company did have its advantages, but the responsibilities that came with it were much as well. For instance, she barely had time for herself, and if not that she had equally busy friends, she would have been left with a zero social life.

Sometimes she wondered how her parents who were co-owners of a shoe factory company found time to attend social events together, and although she never let the thoughts leave her head, she envied them for being able to balance keeping a successful business running with having a close family relationship and a healthy social life.

But whenever the thoughts crossed her mind, she consoled herself instead with the reality that she wouldn't have had a complex-designed duplex, heavy bank accounts, cars and assets ranging from lands to flat buildings at twenty-eight if she hadn't put in extra work. Many people she had graduated with from the university were still roaming around looking for jobs, while some others had such low-paying jobs they could hardly afford anything for themselves.

Yet here she was, dining in luxury and wining in affluence. Her room was twice the size of an ensuite, painted in white and decorated with the most expensive material shipped in from abroad. The architectural design of her home was top-notch, and the facilities the best of their kind. Her bathroom was an expansive hall that smelt of sweet perfume all the time and had a jacuzzi installed in it. The walls and floors were covered in golden marble tiles, and the toilet was a paperless one.

In general, she was impressively successful, and she had the result of her hard work to thank for that. Sure it was that the trust fund and other financial helps she had got from her parents had contributed to the successful start-up of her business, but she had risen to the height she was in now through her efforts, and so if giving up her social life was the price to pay for it, it was very much worth it.

With her trip down the memory paths concluded, Adaora pushed herself off the bed, adjusting her transparent lace sleeping robe as she slipped her feet into a pair of flip-flops. She was long overdue for feet and whole body massage even, and if she finished with the documents early, she would have her assistant fix an appointment with her masseur in her spa, or request for a home service. It would cost more alright, but it was nothing to her.

She walked past the vanity where different varieties of cosmetics ranging from hand cream to face products stood well-arranged with pride, as though mirroring her own emotions whenever she set eyes on them. All of them were produced by her company, and as she did whenever she felt that surge of pride burst within her, she returned to the vanity and brought her face closer to the mirror in front of it. It was what she beheld every day; a fresh spotless face which bore none of the evidence of her stress. Those products of hers were really effective, and it was time she started preparing to go to the office to review the plans for the next marketing strategy.

There was after all, no limit to success.

With this motivation in mind, Adaora pushed open the iron doors of her room, adjusting her sleeping robe which had been designed and gifted to her by her best friend, Darego. It had a bow tie at the back, and beneath it was a plain sleeveless dress which wasn't transparent like the robe. In over all, it exuded an aura of sultriness laced with a false decency.

Simi's song was playing in the stereo, a smooth calming music that was neither dull nor loudly disturbing. Adaora hummed to it in approval as she descended the marble stairs, pleased with the efforts her house help had made as usual. The floors although thoroughly polished didn't smell of detergents; she had worked long enough to be aware that Adaora found that raw fragrance irritating. The air smelt rather of fresh flowers and strawberry-flavoured air freshener, and coupled with the cool breeze coming from the air conditioner, the atmosphere was welcoming and calming. Just as she liked it.

She turned to the left and headed straight for the spacious dining hall which had a glass table with a length that covered a good part of it. Trays covered with silky white material had been set on the table along with cups and a complete set of cutlery.

She took her seat at the head of the table, uncovering the trays and unfolding her napkin which she arranged in place. As though on cue, Yemi, her house help walked in noiselessly bearing a cup of hot water.

"Good morning, ma." She began, her voice low as usual. Darego once asked Adaora if she had hired the petite oil-skinned woman because her voice wasn't loud enough to disturb her.

“Morning, Yemi.”

Yemi smiled widely, exposing a hollow gap in the upper part of her teeth. It wasn't the kind of gap girls took pride in, but the wide one which had obviously been occupied by a tooth in the past. It affected her speech, such that she wasn't able to pronounce the /s/ and the /z/ without making funny sounds.

“Thanks, I saw the work you did here." Adaora complimented her, pulling out a saucer filled with bacon. It had been fried to perfection.

“Thank you, ma." Yemi replied, but something was missing in her tone; it was the usual excitement that came with being complimented by the boss. It didn't happen every day.

"Did something happen?” Adaora inquired somewhat nonchalantly, but she was hoping in her heart that nothing had happened to the younger woman's husband. That wish of hers wasn't instigated by not wanting to be inconvenienced with having to do without a driver. She was an expert behind the wheels, but she preferred taking that time to review some documents in the backseat while she was driven to work. Saved time for her.

"No, eh, ma. “

Adaora halted in her task of cutting the bacon and looked up, knowing that something had to be wrong somewhere. Yemi had worked for her long enough to know how much she didn't appreciate stalling; it wasted her time. And time was of essence to her in her line of work.

“Ma, I. Your...” She stopped stuttering, pushing her scarf forward although it needed no adjustment whatsoever. It was already tight enough around her small head, so tight were they that her forehead shone each time Adaora saw her. Adaora often wondered what lay beneath that scarf, and whether she ever took it off while with her husband, Chide who worked as a driver for her.

“What happened?" She folded her arms over her chest, ready for the worst.

“Ma, your mother came and dropped something for you.”

Adaora didn't know where Yemi was going with this, but she was sure it didn't look good.

Without waiting to be asked what it was, Yemi tiptoed noiselessly to the stereo and pulled out a card from the top, carrying it with both hands to her boss.

As soon as Adaora took hold of the card and opened it, she understood why Yemi had been reluctant to give it to her.

Exactly why was her mother disrupting her perfect plans?