HOSTILE TAKEOVER (PT.2)

Nolan had been by-passing the Chalalambus Business Park all

his days and had never drawn near enough. This time he had

to; the premises were fenceless with a large expanse that was

covered with interlocking pavers whose shape resembled little

crosses. His eyes ascended to the upper floors as he strolled

across the paved parking space towards the main entrance.

The building appeared taller the nearer he drew. He awkwardly

passed through the glass automated doors; it was a first for

him in the presence of an ambience so highly formal. There

was a wooden receptionist’s desk right in front of him shaped

like a crescent, it was furnished with a granite counter top. The

floor was vinyl tiled and about eight meters from the

receptionist’s desk was a stack of cubicles that were half

wooden and half glass housing suits too busy to notice anyone

walking in. Opposite the receptionist’s desk was a set of coffee

brown interconnected settees that would accommodate at least ten people. He walked over to the receptionist who quickly regarded him.

‘Good morning.’ He greeted.

‘Afternoon you mean,’ the young lady in a black blouse sitting

behind the desk replied with a smile so warm it would hatch an

egg. Nolan glanced at his wrist watch and embarrassingly

forced a smile; it was twelve passed one.

‘I lost track of time,’ he replied.

‘Evidently, what can I do you for?’ she asked still smiling. She

had a simple, not so pretty but welcoming and amusing face

and a smile that triggers a smile back. She had locks for hair

that were styled in such a way you would only notice they were

locks if you stared long enough. She seemed to be in her early

twenties with dark and smooth skin and even though he could

only see half of her body, his arteries were constricting.

‘On which floor can I find Suseyi & Semayi Associates?’

‘Ooh, what did you do?’ she leaned forward placing her left

elbow on the countertop in a gossipy manner, with her chin in

her palm she stared inquisitively. A gesture that retained

Nolan’s arteries back to dilation so quick he felt like all the

blood from the waist up had drained to his lower limbs.

‘I’m not in trouble,’ he replied with a chuckle.

‘Well we’ll see, 4th floor.’

‘Thank you,’ he said smiling.

‘Good luck.’ She added.

Nolan half waved as he walked away heading towards the

glass elevator. There was no one else there, he pressed the

green button and the doors chimed open so he stepped in, a

few seconds later the doors closed. It was in this moment that

he remembered he had never been in an elevator before. He

had been seeing them in movies and at shopping malls but

never once attempted to use them; he preferred an escalator.

The elevators he had seen in movies had numbered buttons

which people would press according to the floor they were

headed, but this one, this particular one seemed a little

different; there were no numbered buttons inside, not even a

similar green one like the one he had pressed upon arrival so

he waited.

‘Perhaps it starts on its own,’ he thought.

He shifted in the direction of the reception desk and caught her

staring.

‘Oh God please, let it ascend.’

His eyes searched again for a sign, anything, trying not to look

lost. But all he could see was steel and glass. He was stuck in

a glass box with steel supports looking stupid, two eyeballs of

a nice lady fixated on him; soon it would be a crowd and that gave him shivers. He resorted to the one trick he hoped would

spare him from embarrassment: pulling out his phone and

pretending to take a call. Every so often, he leaned against the

glass and chuckled, as if the imaginary caller had just said

something amusing. Fortunately, after what felt like an eternity,

an elderly woman approached the elevator, pressed the same

button he had, and stepped inside. She glanced at him briefly,

then, as the doors closed, walked past him to the opposite

side, directly across from the doors that had just shut. There,

she pressed a small, silver, unmarked button Nolan hadn’t

noticed. A hidden panel lit up with circular LED indicators—it

was a touch-sensitive screen.

This elevator, it turned out, had two sets of doors: you didn’t

exit through the ones you entered. Nolan continued his fake

phone call as the elevator began to rise, resisting the urge to

glance back at the receptionist and silently praying that his

phone wouldn’t actually ring against his ear.

Suseyi & Semayi Associates was sandwiched between

Madison general insurance company and Chako’s Real Estate.

Mr Suseyi was clearing out his desk as the wall clock hit

1:18pm. He had had a long day looking through penal codes

and the web in search of case law for an important case that

was weighing on his conscience. He locked the files in the

drawer, threw the key in his brown Briefcase and darted off,

passed the conference room and through the sliding glass doors to the hallway. He felt his pocket vibrating, and dug in
quickly.
‘I’m already on my way.’ he said when he picked up and then
hung up.
His desire was to brisk through the building, take an elevator
down and drive to Café Wani.
‘Mr Suseyi!’ a voice called from his side and made him stop
shot.
‘Hello,’ he replied searchingly, the face was familiar to him.
‘Nolan… I was in your business law class last year.’
‘Yes, Nolan! How are you? What are you doing here?’ he
asked.
‘I actually came to see you.’ Nolan replied.
‘Oh can this wait? I’m going out right now and I’m already
running late.’
‘It really can’t wait? I need your help Sir, just a few minutes.’
He said.
‘Nolan I’m meeting a client for lunch, come through tomorrow.’
he said half-walking away.
‘We found Arista!’
Suseyi stopped and examined the slender man in front of him,
he looked depressed and exhausted. 

‘Where?’ he asked in fascination.

‘He needs your help,’ Nolan added.

He looked behind him, looked at Nolan, then at his black belted

wrist watch and sighed.

‘Let’s talk in the car.’

A red Toyota Mark X 2023 cruised out Chalalambus Business

Park with Nolan on the passenger’s seat. There was always an

awe-inspiring energy around Mr. Suseyi that intimidated him.

The last time he saw him was eight months ago at the funeral

of Arista’s mother and young sister and now here he was

looking majestic as ever.

‘Nolan, talk.’ he said impatiently.

‘Arista made an appearance last month, he wrote me a text

and I went to meet him; I couldn’t believe my eyes.’ He said.

‘Well how is he? And where the heck has he been for God’s

sake?’ Suseyi asked.

‘Apparently he was staying with one of his father’s friends; his

godfather. And he’s not well.’

‘What is it Nolan? Tell me.’

‘We need your help, your attorney help, to represent Arista.’ He
replied.

‘Represent Arista? Why on earth would arista need an

attorney?’ he asked curiously as he sped through President

Avenue.

‘He robbed a bank.’ Nolan replied looking at Mr. Suseyi who in

turn looked at him.

‘You’re kidding?’

‘I wish I was.’

‘So The Noisiv was Arista?’ Mr. Suseyi asked.

‘Yes.’ Nolan replied.

‘Good Lord!’