(Series written and edited by Peju Akande and based on true stories)
True story about my boss’ wife.
Full disclosure.
I’ve never been the type of woman who got her own man…no, let me rephrase
that. I did have boyfriends but they constantly cheated.
The only types of men who were always attracted to me and I had lengthy
relationships with, were those already in relationships. I swear, I do not go
looking for them.
Right from my secondary school days, whenever I went with my friends to
their boyfriends’… if for instance, my friends left the room, either to go to
the toilet or kitchen or outside, immediately, the boyfriends would begin to
toast me, “…how come a fine girl like you doesn’t have a boyfriend?”…I
would like us to be close…do you mind being my secret lover?”
stuff like that.
I would be so shocked, I mean, my friend is in the next room!
But they never stopped until I gave in. I know it is easy to say, “You’re a
loose woman yourself…”
Maybe, I am.
I had unfaithful boyfriends
The boyfriends I had were never faithful either. I didn’t feel any
obligation to remain faithful to guys who I knew were constantly cheating on
me…and as for my friends…well, I wasn’t popular with them for long…story
of my life!
Anyway, I was already working at a bank for my NYSC and in a relationship
with…you guessed right, a cheating boyfriend.
I didn’t mind, it was two and two and we made four. He cheated, and I did
the same.
It was at the bank I met this man. He was married with two children at that
time and he was obsessed with me.
I mean, he was my direct manager on those days we went looking for new
clients with a target on our backs. I was attached to the team that went out
for new clients but after a few months, my boss asked that I stay behind and
did office work instead.
I didn’t at that time realise he reassigned me so he could have access to
me.
Anyway, that’s how the affair became full-blown and I am sure a good number
of our colleagues knew we were seeing each other because the other single guys
in the department and the entire branch avoided me.
My colleagues avoided me
They were cordial but none came to ask me out.
Anyway, that’s how I began to see my boss.
He was always looking for means to have sex with me and these came with
several perks…it wasn’t for free.
Even if he went out for any assignment, he would rush back for quickies,
either in the bathrooms, the store, or anywhere we could get a few minutes of
privacy…it was like that. Heady and mad.
I was young and to me, it was just fun.
To my boss who kept telling me he would leave his wife and kid…I never
believed him, though, I just gave in because…what else could I have done?
I needed to be retained at the bank after my service and I was making money
beyond my wildest dreams…
He would never marry me, I knew that. I was never fooled by his fake “I will
leave my wife for you…” so it worked for both of us.
Then one day, I heard a lot of commotion outside our office and word came
back to me that my boss’s wife was causing trouble.
I was told she knew her husband was seeing a girl in the office and she had
come to warn her off.
I almost pissed in my pants because though I knew she would never be able to
get into the office…we had security guards and all. They knew her as the boss’s
wife but maybe because they saw her agitated state, they told her, her husband
was not in the office and so, they didn’t let her in. It was her anger at not
being let in that caused all the noise outside.
My boss was in. Apparently, the woman had told him earlier at home that she
would come to cause trouble at the office, he had instructed the security
guards not to let her in.
Then she found out about us
At that time, to be honest, I was grateful because, though the woman didn’t
know me, she knew about me and virtually everyone knew about me and my boss,
even if many pretended it wasn’t their business. I’m sure if it came to
pointing me out, some of our people could snitch and I would be in trouble.
You see, when all the noise was going on, people were peeping from their
office windows and laughing and talking loudly about my boss and I.
When I saw her, from my window, the woman, surrounded by security men, was
huge, big boned…she would crush me with just one hand. I almost fainted from
fear. I ran to the bathroom and stayed there for a long time. One of my fellow
corp member came to call me out to say the coast was clear.
You would think this incident should deter my boss and me…it didn’t. I know
it is mad but it didn’t…we continued…not immediately, of course, we stayed off
a few days and before you knew it, we were back to snatching moments in the
store, the bathrooms, empty offices, going out to hotels for a short time…you
know?
Ok, so you know, in most offices, you buy stuff and pay at the end of the
month?
You buy clothes, makeup, jewelry…especially when the seller has foreign
goods… shirts, shoes…you know, now?
They lured me with a scent
So we had many people coming in. If one staff member likes your stuff,
he/she can introduce you to her colleagues and we are all buying from the
person.
So one day one lady came, with perfumes, wristwatches…bangles…female stuff
for sale. And I am a sucker for nice perfumes and bangles. The lady said
someone told her I liked them a lot. I said yes…meanwhile, she had spoken to
some of our colleagues, so I didn’t suspect anything.
When she came to me, she said, I have something special for you in my car.
She said I should come to see more in her car. She would show the others if
I didn’t like them. You know, like I was a special customer…I followed her!
It was a trap!
At the place where she supposedly parked…outside the office premises…which
isn’t usual. Many times, customers parked outside the premises because they
often had trouble driving out if someone had parked to block everyone else. So
I followed her…
As soon as I got to where her car was, two other women just sprang on me and
began to beat me. I was too shocked at the beginning to even scream. I was
like, “What is this…who are you? Why are you hitting me…?
I walked into a trap!
Then I saw my boss’s wife emerge from the car…
That was when I knew I was in trouble and began to scream for help.
But we were far from the gate of my office.
The women, about four of them, dragged me and told me to shut up or they
would kill me.
They pushed me into their car and drove off!
I was crying and begging them
They didn’t listen, they were all talking at the same time. My head was
bowed because I needed to prevent more blows to my face.
I bowed and begged them.
They beat me like a mad dog!
They said, “Small girl going for big… pri3k!”
“So you want to spoil another woman’s marriage….ashawo…”
There was no name they didn’t call me and though my head was bowed, they kept
hitting me. One even pulled at my breast, the other removed my wig and
tossed it out of the window!
I was crying and begging them.
All the time, they were driving and pulling my ears, trying to remove my
blouse to strip me naked!
Then my boss’s wife called her husband and put it on speaker. She told him
they had me and she would deal with him later…
I heard him begging her to drop me off. He told her she could be charged
with kidnapping if he reported it to the police…I think that was what made her
change her mind about whatever she had planned for me.
She was screaming, of course, cursing her husband and cursing me as well…
I was just begging them and crying.
Anyway, after some time…you know with Lagos traffic and all that…they
dropped me off.
No, not back at the office but somewhere far from the office…which was good
because I wouldn’t have wanted to go into the office looking disheveled. no
wig, one shoe, blouse with missing buttons…nah!
Thankfully, my phone was in my pocket. They missed that one.
My boss later came to pick me up and take me home to clean myself up.
I was crying so hard because, in all my life, I had never experienced
anything that scared me so much.
I learned my lessons
After that episode, I couldn’t continue working there.
I think somehow, our colleagues got to know…I don’t know how that happened
but everyone knew and I just couldn’t live with myself in that office anymore.
Thankfully, it was a few weeks, 6 weeks, maybe, before my last days as a
corper. I just stopped working. My boss promised to give me a letter of
discharge with my full pay at the end of the remaining months to the end of my
service year.
I was so traumatized by the whole episode. I vowed never to be involved with
any man in a relationship…
Several years down the line, I found out my former boss divorced his wife
after she caught him with another woman. They were both hospitalised because
they had a physical fight and almost killed each other.
That’s not my business anymore.
I have learned the hard way.
(Series written and edited by Peju Akande and based on true stories)