Azara had been lying on Nkechi's couch for eleven days.
Not that she was counting. Okay… she was counting. But only because Nkechi had started leaving small notes on the fridge, the kind that sounded polite but weren't really polite. Things like: "Job sites load faster when you sit upright." So yes, Azara was keeping track.
The apartment was small. Very small. The kind of place where two people always feel like they're in each other's way. And they were.
Nkechi worked mornings at a dental clinic. She always came home tired and very direct. Those were the two things Azara found most exhausting about her.
Azara, on the other hand, worked on a different kind of schedule. One that could only be described as "whenever she felt like it." The problem was, she hadn't felt like it in about five Years.
She wasn't lazy. That was what people didn't understand.
She was just… selective.
She was waiting for the right opportunity.
She was manifesting. I mean, Always Manifesting...
That Tuesday night, Nkechi had gone to bed early. Zara was doing what she always did, scrolling through her phone. The room was dark except for the light from her screen. A half-eaten bag of plantain chips rested on her stomach.
Instagram was boring. Engagement, photos, skincare ads. The same motivational quote she had already seen three times that week.
She was about to retire to bed and just sleep when something new appeared.
A post from a verified account. from the delectable Adekunle Adrian Cole.
She almost scrolled past it.
But she just didn't.
The photo was simple. A man standing in front of a tall window. Lagos stretched out behind him in the dark, full of lights like scattered coins.
He wasn't looking at the camera. He was looking outside. One hand in his pocket. Jacket off. Sleeves rolled up.
The caption had only one thing.
A date. Three days from now.
Azara sat up quickly. The plantain chips fell to the floor.
She clicked his profile.
Adekunle Adrian Cole. Thirty-four. Founder and CEO of Coleridge Group. Real estate, tech, logistics… it looked like he owned half of Victoria Island. He had been listed by Forbes. People said he was very private. Three million followers, but he never really spoke to them.
Except maybe this time,
Azara went back to the photo.
Then forward.
Then back again.
She zoomed in on his face, even though it was turned away and mostly in shadow.
There was nothing to really see.
She still took a screenshot.
By 2am, she had gone through four years of his posts. She read interviews. Watched a panel he spoke at in 2021.
"I don't believe in luck. I believe in systems."
She watched that part seven times.
By 3am, his photo was her phone wallpaper.
By 4am, it was on her laptop too.
She fell asleep with her phone on her chest. His face on the screen. And something new growing inside her.
Something a little dangerous.
When Nkechi woke up at six to make tea, she found Zara sitting on the floor, surrounded by printed photos.
"Where did you even print these? We don't have a printer.
"The business center downstairs opens at five-thirty."
Nkechi looked at the wall. Then back at Zara.
"You went out at five-thirty in the morning… to print pictures of a man?"
"He's not just a man. He's Adekunle Adrian Cole."
"I don't know who that is."
Azara turned to her, shocked. "He founded Coleridge Group. He's worth twenty-one billion naira. He's all about vision and discipline and...."
"oh my gosh, Azara!
"He said he doesn't believe in luck, he believes in systems, Nkechi.."
"Azara." Nkechi placed her mug down. "You've been on this couch for eleven days now."
Azara Responded, I know..
"I've been very patient with you...
Azara responded again, You have, and I appreciate..."
Please find a job! Nkechi yelled.
Azara unbothered, looked at the photos on the wall. His sharp jaw. His rolled sleeves. The Lagos skyline behind him like something he built himself.
She thought about what he said.
Systems.
She thought about how he started his company at twenty-six with nothing but an idea and determination.
"I'm going to," she said.
And this time… she actually meant it.