You see ehn, life has a way of surprising you when you least expect it. When I first resumed at my new job, I had only one mission: do my work, collect my salary, and mind my business. Romance was not in my plan at all.
There was this guy in the office; tall, fine, soft-spoken
and always well-dressed like he was going for a board meeting with Dangote.
Everybody seemed to respect him. Whenever he entered the room, people would adjust, greet him extra, “Good morning, sir,” with fear and trembling.
Me? I didn’t send him o. In fact, I even thought he was a bit too serious for my liking. He was the “no-nonsense oga” type in my head.
The only time we ever spoke in those first few weeks was when I was fighting with the office printer. Paper jammed, I was sweating, and this guy just walked up calmly, pressed two buttons, and boom, the printer obeyed.
He didn’t even say much, just smiled faintly and walked away. I remember thinking, “Okay, thanks, Mr. Engineer.” And that was it.
Or so I thought.
Fast forward a few weeks, and HR announced “Team Bonding Friday.” Honestly, I didn’t want to go. Lagos traffic had already humbled me that week. But something in me said, “Just attend, you never know.”
So, I went. When I got there, guess who sat beside me? Mr. Serious. I sighed helplessly and in my mind, I was like, “Ah God, so out of all the chairs here, this is my portion?”
But omo, na there my eyes opened.
The moment we started talking, I realized this man had another side. He was funny! Sharp wit, sarcastic comments that had me laughing so hard, my colleagues were looking at us like, “Wait, is this the same quiet oga?”
That night after the hangout, he offered to drop me home. Normally, I’d say no. But Lagos at 10pm no dey hear “independent woman.” I entered.
My people, the car ride changed everything. The gist flowed non-stop. From work stress to family drama to hidden talents. By the time I got home, I was thinking, “Wait o, why do I feel like I’ve known this guy forever?”
And then the routine began.
Random morning texts like, “Don’t forget to eat breakfast.” Lunch breaks that mysteriously aligned. Silly office memes that kept me laughing during boring meetings. He slowly became the highlight of my day.
But the real turning point came one late evening. We were both stuck at the office, finalizing reports. Suddenly, NEPA struck.
Darkness everywhere, and what was wórsè, the generator refused to come on. It was just the two of us.
While waiting it out, we started talking. Not office gist this time; real, deep conversations. He told me about losing his dad young, the pressure of being the first son, his biggest fears, and his quiet faith. And me? I found myself opening up in ways I hadn’t done in years.
Even when the light was restored, we kept talking. It was glaring that neither of us wanted the conversation to end.
At some point, there was a pause. He looked straight into my eyes, voice low but firm.
“You know… I’ve admired you for months. But I didn’t know how to say it.”
My heart skipped several bèats. But me being me, I tried to play it cool. I raised my eyebrow and said, “Months ke? And you’re just saying it now?”
He laughed and shook his head. “I wanted to be sure it wasn’t just an office crush. But now… I can’t hide it anymore.”
Inside me, butterflies were having a convention. But my face remained calm. “Well… now you’ve said it.”
We both laughed, but from that night, something shifted. I took time to pray about it and felt an indescribable peace within me.
Never judge people by the version you first see. Some of the most amazing connections are hiding behind ordinary interactions.
Today, when I look back, I laugh at how I almost missed out. Because what started as a boring office acquaintance became one of the sweetest chapters of my life.
