Chapter 344 – Beginning with a Daring Encounter

“What was I supposed to say when she wasn’t talking to me? If you were in my shoes, what would you say?” Celsie asked, and Benne shrugged.

“I would mark my territory. Introduce myself as your man in a way that will have any other man backing off,” Benne said, and Celsie laughed softly.

“How would you introduce yourself to make them back off?” Celsie asked curiously as they both stepped into the elevator.

“Like this. Hi, I’m Benne, her man,” Benne said and then pulled her forward and kissed her deeply before pulling away. “Or this. Hey, babe? Who’s your friend?” Benne said as he squeezed her ass, making her giggle.

“You will do that in the presence of others?” She asked in amusement, grateful that they were in the elevator.

“Yeah. Don’t try me. That’s how I mark my territory. So if you don’t want me to do that to you in public, don’t let anyone flirt with you,” Benne said with a wink.

“So you knew she was trying to flirt with you?” Celsie asked, and Benne nodded.

“She already said she liked me before now. So it wasn’t unexpected,” Benne pointed out as the elevator door opened and they walked down the hallway to his office.

“So tell me, why were you acting that way before the meeting started?” Benne asked, turning to spare her a glance.

“What way?”

“Like you were avoiding my gaze, or you didn’t want anyone in the room to know about our relationship,” Benne explained, and Celsie sighed.

“I was nervous. I didn’t want to screw up,” Celsie explained.

“Because then they would all think you got here because I am interested in you and not because you deserve it?” Benne asked, and Celsie nodded.

“How did you know?” Celsie asked, and Benne smiled.

“How can I not know how you think by now?” He asked with a grin.

“Thanks for addressing the issue.”

“Don’t worry. I gat you always,” Benne said as he turned to her and kissed her forehead.

“You shouldn’t have called me that in their presence, though,” she said, hitting him playfully.

“You shouldn’t have pretended not to know your boyfriend in public,” Benne fired back, and she giggled.

“So that was my punishment?”

“You got that right.”

Once they walked into Benne’s office and shut the door behind them, Celsie faced Benne when she remembered the offer from the foundation. “Uhm, I need to tell you something.”

“I have something to tell you too.”

“Let’s talk before we eat,” Celsie suggested, and Benne gave her a nod as he led her to one of the comfortable sofas in his office.

Celsie dug into her handbag and took out the letter the women had given her, “Two ladies came to see me earlier on. They’re from the She Can Heal Founda…” She stopped talking when she noticed the slight frown on Benne’s face.

“What is wrong?”

Benne shook his head, “It’s nothing. What did they want?” He asked, feeling even more suspicious of them now.

“They want me to be the face of the foundation and also work for them on weekends, so it doesn’t interfere with my job. The benefits are listed here,” Celsie said, trying not to sound too excited as she handed the letter to Benne.

Benne tried to gather his thoughts as he read through the benefits. Once he was done, he turned to her, “I have a confession to make.”

“What confession?” Celsie asked with a curious smile.

“I already knew about them. I spoke with Alicia earlier this morning, and she told me about it, but I asked her not to tell you about it. I’m sorry,” Benne said apologetically.

“Why? Why didn’t you want me to know about it?” Celsie asked with a slight frown.

“I know it was not my place to make that decision for you. I was just worried out of my mind and didn’t want you out of my sight since we are yet to take care of Anita,” Benne explained, and Celsie just stared at him without saying a word.

“Are you only telling me this now because I already met them? Or would you have told me about it even if they had not come to see me?” Celsie asked, hoping that the latter was the case.

“I was going to tell you about it and explain why I think you shouldn’t work with them,” Benne said to her relief.

“Okay, let’s assume Anita wasn’t a problem. How do you feel about this offer?” Celsie asked after some time.

“You were forced to share that dreadful experience only because of the scandal, not because you were ready for it. They can’t just come to you like this. I don’t like the fact that they contacted you so soon and couldn’t even wait for Alicia to talk to you first. Their action reeks of desperation, and it is never a good sign,” Benne finished, and Celsie looked at him with a slightly raised brow. He hadn’t said the one thing she had expected him to say first.

“How come you didn’t complain about them asking me to work during weekends when I’m supposed to be with you?” She asked, and Benne shrugged.

“I can’t be selfish right now. I’m trying to think of what you want, not what I want,” Benne said, and she smiled, pleased that he was thinking about her while she was also trying to think about him.

“The benefits look too good to be true, though,” Celsie said, and Benne gave her a nod.

“If something looks too good to be true, then it’s probably not true,” Benne said, and Celsie giggled.

“Here I was thinking you were true,” Celsie teased, and Benne chuckled.

“I’m not too good to be true. If I were, I wouldn’t have deceived you from the start,” Benne reminded her.

“Good people sometimes do bad things. That doesn’t make them bad,” Celsie said as she touched his face, “I still think you are too good to be true.”

“I guess I’m the only exception to the rule,” Benne said, and Celsie hit his arm.

“You’re supposed to say that I’m too good to be true too,” Celsie pointed out, and Benne chuckled.

“I don’t think you’re too good to be true. I know you are true,” Benne said as he kissed the tip of her nose, and she giggled.

“Tell me honestly, do you want to accept their offer?” Benne asked, looking deeply into her eyes.

“The offer is quite tempting.”

“I could give you all that is offered there and more if you want. The car, the house, the all-expense-paid trips, you name it,” Benne said, and Celsie smiled.

“But it won’t be the same as something I worked for. Besides, if I accept their offer, I can actually affect the lives of other young girls too,” Celsie explained.

“You don’t have to work for them to affect the lives of young girls. We can establish a foundation in your name if you want,” Benne offered, and she smiled as she leaned into him.

“It won’t be the same. I don’t want my success to be tied to you,” Celsie said, and Benne sighed.

“You don’t think that everything you do now might be tied to me whether or not you want it to?” He asked as he held her shoulders and gently pushed her away from him so that she faced him.

“Celsie, I understand how you feel, and I know how much your career means to you, but I also need you to understand that we will have little or no control over how people perceive you and our relationship. People are going to have a lot of things to say about us both behind us and in front of us. It is something you will have to learn to accept,” Benne said, looking into her eyes.

“And you should know that being your man; I wouldn’t also just stand aside and watch you struggle to get stuff done. I will always try to make things easier for you, and I won’t be pleased if you turn down my help just because you don’t want people to think that you’re successful because of our relationship. Whether or not you let me help you, people will think whatever they choose to think,” Benne pointed out.

Celsie gazed into his eyes, and she knew that he was right. Whether or not she liked it, every time she did something for herself now, people would always think that it was thanks to her relationship with Benne. She would have to work twice as hard to show people that whatever she got was earned, and it wasn’t because she had Benne beside or behind her.

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