TOLU
Finally, I showered, dressed sharp, feeling fresh and left Eko hotel. The drizzle had slowed to a mist. Sliding into my 2020 Mercedes Benz E300, I was damn happy with the life I lived — free, happy, fulfilled, hustling, and making ladies smile.
It was better than nothing.
It was better than my university days when I did a lot to put food on my table, since I never focused on my studies.
I chose to do better, hustled harder, ran so many errands for business men, politicians, and women of higher caliber until my hard work payed.
Today, I am living in my dreams as the owner of Quilox Club which I recently bought.
Also, I bought my first apartment and I have other businesses registered under my name.
I worked for it, and I earned it.
I've Always wanted to be a business man and I can say that I'm doing better, working harder to achieve more. Moreover, reuniting with an old school mate turned billionaire, who has it all, is not a bad way to keep my pockets filled.
Barely five minutes on the road, traffic swallowed me whole. Not an ordinary traffic; this one looked permanent, like it was built there. Cars jammed, horns screaming, Okadas squeezing themselves through spaces that didn't exist. A bus conductor hanging from the door, shouting at another driver like they were in a wrestling match.
I leaned back and signed. "See my life. Billionaire destination, beggar traffic."
A hawker materialized at my window, carrying gala and drinks like they're luxury items. He kept up with my car as I crawled forward inch by inch.
I muttered to myself, "This man has turned into my travel companion. If traffic continues, we'll soon exchange family histories."
My phone buzzed, it was Fred again.
"You've not arrived?" He asked.
I glanced at the sea of cars around me. "Arrived where? I'm currently a citizen of Third Mainland Expressway. The traffic here is so loyal, it doesn't move."
Fred bursted out laughing. "Well, at least you have AC. Imagine what the guy selling gala is going through."
"True", I said. "But at this rate, I may just hire him as a co-passenger. At least he has food".
Finally, after what felt like a United Nations summit, the traffic melted. I pressed the accelerator like a man released from prison. Lagos skyline flashes past tall buildings, polished glasses, the wealthier side of the city showing off as usual.
When I eventually rolled into my friend's luxurious penthouse, the guards saluted like I was visiting royalty. Marble floors, glass elevators, the air smelling like money and imported scented candles.
Parked my car and grinned to myself. "This is the kind of environment where you forget Lagos traffic exists. Suffering and enjoyment are really neighbors in this city."
The evening was Lagos at its finest; traffic honking outside but up here in Victoria Island, money was speaking in low tones and Italian marble.
I adjusted my shirt collar as the elevator doors slid open. In one hand, I clutched a bottle of champagne. "Imported, not the one sold in traffic with biro-written labels," I muttered to myself, practicing how to brag when the time came.
Two muscular men in sharp black suits flanked the entrance of the penthouse, earpieces blinking like they were auditioning for a James Bond movie. One gave me a suspicious look.
"Good evening, sir. Invitation?"
I chuckled, shifting the champagne like it was my visa. "My brother, if you no gree me enter, na this drink go waste o. Abeg, call Oga make him come identify his shareholder."
The guards exchanged looks, then nodded me through.
Inside was a different planet; floor-to-ceiling glass, chandeliers glittering like heaven had mistakenly dropped some stars, and a leather couch that looked like it cost at least five semesters of school fees.
FRED
I watched him walk into my penthouse through my window, grinning like a child who just won a toy gun.
The feeling was mutual; happy, and healthy. Seeing him again brought me so many mixed emotions that I almost teared up, but I shook it off, and gulped down the last whisky in my glass cup, then headed downstairs to get a proper look at him.
Then, from the grand staircase, a familiar figure appeared. Smiling wide, belly leading the way, it was Tolu, alive, grown, healthy, happy and masculine.
"Ah, ah! Tolu! My guy!" I boomed, spreading my arms. "Welcome to my small corner. Just something manageable."
He dropped the champagne carefully on the side table and bursted into laughter. "Small corner?
My friend, if this is a corner, then the rest of us are living inside potholes. Even the air here smells different. Did you import oxygen too?"
I laughed and hugged him tightly. "Same as you from campus. Still running commentary. I swear, if sarcasm was a degree, you would have graduated with first class but you vowed not to take your academics seriously."
We sat down on the leather couch, which practically swallowed him whole. He bounced lightly and raised an eyebrow. "This chair is too soft. If I relax too much, you might need to call an excavator to dig me out."
"Please sit well. Don't disgrace me in front of my furniture. That couch cost more than your first car."
He clutched his chest dramatically. "My guy, so you still remember that my first car? The one that used to start only when pushed downhill? And yet, that car carried us to every exam. It was a loyal soldier."
"A solider that fainted every two kilometers, with you who never attended classes but wrote exams!"
We both laughed, remembering our student days.
He readjusted and said; "Speaking of those days, do you recall how you used to borrow my sardines? You would pretend to be fasting until I opened a tin. Suddenly, you'd find the strength of Samson."
I waved a hand, chuckling. "Please! That sardine was community property. Besides, you were eating it with seven slices of bread. I was just helping you balance your diet."
He leaned back, looking around again in mock awe.
"So this is where sardine stealing has led you. If I had known, I too would have stolen more. Maybe by now I'd own an island in Banana."
"My brother, you still can. The door is open. But first, let's see that champagne you brought. At least you didn't come empty handed." I said; staring into his face smirking.
He lifted the bottle proudly. "Imported, my dear billionaire. Not the kind they serve in traffic, with corks that pop and injure somebody's eye. This one is for important occasions."
I smirked again, reaching for the bottle.
"Very well. But don't be offended when my butler brings out another champagne that opens itself. We are in the future here, my friend."
He rolled his eyes.
"Fred let me warn you. If your champagne starts opening itself, I'll automatically disappear into thin air. I refuse to drink with ghosts."
We bursted into loud laughter, our voices echoing across the vast apartment.
Just then, one of my suited guards peeked in curiously, probably wondering why we were laughing so hard over sardines and Tolu's old car that he inherited from his father.
Tolu noticed him too and shouted playfully. "My friend, close the door! You won't understand this kind of joy. This is billionaire humor, entry is by invitation only."
The guard quickly disappeared, and we clicked glasses, still chuckling like students who had just discovered a new joke in the hostel.
After a few glasses of champagne, I stood up and gestured for Tolu to follow me.
"Come on, let me show you around properly. You've only seen the sitting room. This is not even half the story."
"Ah, I knew it! The sitting room alone looks like the reception of five star hotel. So where exactly are we going now, the west wing?"
"Yes, my brother. West wing, east wing, even the rooftop. Don't worry, I won't charge you gate fee." I responded, grinning.
We walked down a long corridor lined with art pieces. Tolu paused at a painting.
"Wait first. This painting... is it original?"
"Yes. Picasso."
He paused for a moment. "Picasso? In Lagos? My God. I'm living my live, thinking I've almost gotten to my destination, and you're here living with Picasso on your wall. How do you even sleep at night? Don't you dream in Spanish?"
I roared with laughter leading him towards the indoor swimming pool. The lights reflected beautifully off the water.
He stared in wonder. "See pool! This is not a swimming pool. This is Atlantic ocean, part two. If I dive inside, please don't forget me."
"That's why there are lifeguards." I reminded him.
We continued the tour, finally entering a sleek home office. I sat on the edge of my massive desk while Tolu collapsed into a leather chair.
"So Tolu, enough about my house. What's happening with you? Last I heard, you were managing some clubs?"
He straightened his posture immediately, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Managing? My brother, I am not just managing. I am the life and soul of nightlife in this city! I own Quilox now, and this club is where dreams are made and sometimes destroyed by 3 a.m."
"Here we go." I said, laughing.
"I'm telling you! Big men, politicians, footballers, even up-and-coming musicians that can't sing... they all come. My club is like the United Nation of Lagos nightlife. Everybody has one goal: to forget their problems and find a fine woman for the evening."
Shaking my head. "Tolu! You haven't changed. Still chasing women. That was how you got caught up yesterday and forgot we had an appointment."
He immediately raised his finger. "Correction. I am not chasing. I am simply... facilitating destiny. In fact, I must take you there one night. We'll give you the VVIP treatment and not VIP. You'll sit on a throne, champagne on the table, and women will queue like they're applying for visas."
I mocked seriously. "Queue for visas? You want to spoil my good name? In fact, I'll like to keep a low profile."
"Good name? Please, abeg oh sorry, Mr low profile. Look Fred, even if you want to hide, women will find you. With all this billionaire aura, once you step inside my club, I promise you, we'll need crowd control."
"Eh, eh. So this is your plan, to use me to attract women to your business?"
Placing his hand in his chest, feigning offense; "What? No! Of course not. You're my brother. I only want you to enjoy life. But if your presence happens to double my profit for the night, who am I to argue with divine providence?"
I shook my head, still laughing. "Tolu my man you never cease to amaze me. I'm glad we have same interests at heart because that is one of the reasons I invited you."
He curiously looked at me, one eyebrow up. "What do you mean?"
I cleared my throat so he could hear me clearly. "You know the story my man. You know how boring my school days were because I never partied nor enjoyed myself. I only had interest in my studies to achieve what I have now".
"True. At a point I envied you. I wished I studied like you did, but we were built differently". He added, Throwing his face off the window.
"Yeah Tolu, I knew what was at stake, so I was focused and determined to achieve it. Now that I've done that, I want to give myself some breathing space for some time, before I take over my late Father's company he left in his Will for me".
He shook his head in awe and shook my hand with a broad smile on his face. "Well done my guy. You've done well, and you've made your father proud. For now, welcome to my world, I'm going to show you many things that you don't know. That is if you're interested and willing to explore?"
Grinning back at him, I nodded my head and shook his hand again as we laughed and walked out of my office, heading back to the sitting room. Our voices carrying down the hallway, as though the mansion itself was entertained by our banter.