The other woman's DAUGHTER

Chapter 15

Iman stared at the older men in utter shock about this sudden blow out of the blue. He moved his eyes towards where his father was seated, Alhaji Junaid had swiftly looked away. The beep sound that had deafened him had just cleared and he wasn't feeling dizzy anymore.

     "Young man, you've heard our decision. You're a young responsible man. But that is not enough to have you run this hospital in the future. You have to learn how to be responsible for others first" an old man from the board had stated. Iman swallowed a lump, he could not believe what he was hearing.

     "So, you have to go and think about it. You have three days, another board meeting will scheduled to hear your decision. With this note, I say we've come to the end of today's meeting. Meeting adjourned!" The speaker had stated and the nine older men filed out leaving the tenth one who is his father.

Iman stared at the man, he felt his heart churning and twisting in anger. He could not believe he had been lied to. He had been played. He combed through his hair with his fingers, it's due for a visit to the barbershop but that would not be possible at the moment.

     "Come and sit" his father instructed nervously. Iman scoffed and stood where he had stood throughout the meeting. These old men had actually stood him up at the centre of the boardroom like some criminal awaiting sentencing. Then each had stated a fact or two about him that they found displeasing, ofcourse he had countered each statement. But the last one had been so difficult to counter and soon enough, each and everyone of the board members started backing up the complaint and actually made it the star of the conversation.

     "What do you expect me to do now?" He had asked his father who had sighed again much to Iman's annoyance. His father pointed a chair opposite his and waited for Iman to comply. Iman remained standing because he needed to show his father how angry and affected he was about this current development.

     "Iman, I had no idea this would be their terms. I expected something rational......"

     "Why do they have a term in the first place?" Iman asked exasperatedly, interrupting his father. If Alhaji Junaid cared, he hadn't showed it.

     "You're going to take over the hospital sooner or later. Of course there would be terms......"

     "I don't want it then" Iman countered foolishly.

His father groaned tiredly. He owned half the shares and the other shares are distributed among the nine older men. Unfortunately having majority shares only meant no decision could be taken without his consent and he could not take any decision without the board. A decision could only be agreed on if seventy percent of the shareholders agree on it.

     "Listen Iman......."
Iman did not wait to hear what his father had to say, he had walked out on the older man. He was going home to address this issue with his mom.
When Iman went back to London to collect his license, he was thrilled to find out that his mother had already gotten a house for them. Apparently, her parents had bought the apartment for her, as a gift to welcome her back home. The interior was already done so she did not need to hire an interior decorator. She had specifically informed them about Iman's shoe fancy, so he had a shoe closet made for him.

Due to the fact that he had not completed his internship yet, his mother had done the packing and little by little, she had emptied their home in London. With a week to exhaust before concluding his internship, his mother left for Nigeria.

Iman stayed in Bash's apartment for the meantime and after a week, he concluded his internship and even got a job offer in the hospital. Iman knew his devotion and love would make them want to retain him. A choice he would have jumped on, but since his mother had shown her deepest concerns about him staying up here, he had declined the offer and had threaded down to Nigeria for the big hospital his father had promised him. Only for him to be criticised, peered at and taunted at. They all showed their deepest concerns about his dressing etiquette, as such he had worn a pair of black trousers and a sparkling white T-shirt, he didn't even wear one of his babies, he had worn a very shiny black office shoes as he calls them.  He had had enough of it, he will go back home to his mother to voice out his frustration.