Page 79 of The Marriage Agreement (Agreement)

“Thanks for coming home, Luke,” she says. My hand trails her back. She snuggles closer to me.

“Always, Ayo mi.”

“Is Baba okay?”

“He’s fine. I told him you were working extra hours, so don’t be surprised if he presses on you to work fewer hours.”

“Noted,” she says, just as her stomach growls. We both laugh.

“Guess it’s time to feed you.”

“That would be a good idea. Can we go out?” She sounds like herself now.

“Yes, we can. Get dressed up nice; I’ll take you somewhere special.” She kisses my cheek and rolls off the bed to the bathroom.

As soon as I hear the shower running, I get up. My phone pings with messages from my PA. I read them, and shit is hitting the fan with this project. Pulling my pants on, I head to my office to turn on my computer. I call Kevin on Zoom. He starts breaking down the report, and everything is going crazy: massive cost overruns and delays that look like they’re going to continue unless we act soon and figure out how to block the areas causing us to hemorrhage.How the hell did the guys not catch the errors in spending?

Kevin and I dive into the numbers and pull the team into the call to discuss the situation. The more I look through it, the more it becomes clear: I’ll need to travel to fix things. I need to speak with certain powerful players, otherwise, this project is toast. By the time I hang up, I realize I’ve been on the call for the last two hours. Leaving my office, I turn toward the sound of the TV in the living room. She’s in my T-shirt and shorts, her hair pulled up in a messy bun.

“I’m sorry, Dele. Stuff was going crazy.”

“It’s okay, we can stay in. I already ordered and waited for you. I did eat the bread, though; my stomach wasn’t going to wait that long.” I chuckle.

“Come on, I’m starving too.” She gets the food out and we sit to eat, watching the espionage movie she had on.

“I called Baba.”

“Good. What did he say?”

“Nothing much, just warned me to work fewer hours and stop by soon. I told him I’ll stop by tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

We finish our food, clean up, and return to finish the movie. Dele gets in position: her head on my lap and my hand on her ass. Our moment of comfort and trust.

As the movie wraps up, she sits up.

“I might have to travel soon,” I say to her.

“When?”

“I don’t know yet. I’ll find out when and how long tomorrow.” She nods.

“You’re starting to own my heart,” she says, surprising me. Not the words I wanted to hear, but they’re getting warmer.

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

“Depends.” She lays her head back on my lap, facing the TV. I move so she can sit up. I lean in and nuzzle her neck, moving closer to her ear.

“You’ve owned me since that day on the balcony,” I say. She pulls out of my cuddle and turns to face me. I’m short of words as we lock eyes.

“Let’s go to bed,” she says, getting up. I take her hand and we head to her room. She still refuses to sleep in the primary room. I’ve left it alone for now.

“Will you be fine while I’m gone?”

“Yes, I’ll be fine. Osei called me today. He only checks on me from time to time, but I think he’s probably dumped the new girl.” I laugh. It sounds right.

“You guys hang out, but don’t let him drag you into his craziness.”

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