Love in the Bar

By Maggie Smart

After spending five years at the university, and an extra year in law school, not to mention Nigerian Universities’ rigorous, stressful study schedule, I am ready to take on the justice system in Nigeria.

However, nothing—absolutely nothing—prepares me for what the day brings when I start a new job. What is it about arrogant asshats that press my buttons?

Anyway, I’m not about to be deterred. I’m ready to take on the world. God help anyone who wants to stop me, arrogant asshats inclusive.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Love Africa Press
• Release date: May 27, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005823139

Maggie Smart

Maggie Smart is a passionate storyteller. She has the uncanny ability to keep her readers on their toes, creating an unusual sense of suspense.Her stories are fictional yet real enough to help every reader, and she writes with a great deal of professionalism and excellence.She has helped many writers become authors through her expertise and is passionate about seeing Nigerian books read all over the world.A lover of books and ice cream, she writes to influence her world.

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First Published in Great Britain in 2022 by

LOVE AFRICA PRESS

103 Reaver House, 12 East Street, Epsom KT17 1HX

www.loveafricapress.com

Text copyright © Maggie Smart 2022

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

The right of Maggie Smart to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act, 1988

This is a work of fiction. Names, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

BLURB

After spending five years at the university, and an extra year in law school, not to mention Nigerian Universities’ rigorous, stressful study schedule, I am ready to take on the justice system in Nigeria. 

However, nothing—absolutely nothing—prepares me for what the day brings when I start a new job. What is it about arrogant asshats that press my buttons? 

Anyway, I’m not about to be deterred. I’m ready to take on the world. God help anyone who wants to stop me, arrogant asshats inclusive. 

CHAPTER ONE

I start my job at a law firm today. I am a lawyer who has been called to the Nigerian bar.

After five years in the university, a year in law school, and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) as the last phase, I earned the right to be addressed as Barrister Leona. I don’t care what those striped-coat-and-tweed-jacket-wearing, stuffy professors say about it. According to them, you need to have practical experience before calling yourself a barrister. But, I have earned my stripes, darn it.

My tummy does cartwheels as I think about my new job. I wonder what the day will bring. Will I assert myself enough? I have the tendency to burrow my head in the sand if things don't go my way. Will I make new friends? It won't do to be a lone ranger. I hope my outgoing nature is enough to help me through this day.

This job signifies the end of an era, the beginning of a new journey, and the continuity of a process. It is the end of run-down classrooms, the beginning of shiny offices, and the continuity of learning, albeit from people and not from books.

If you’re a lawyer, you’ll understand what I’m talking about. The exhilaration of getting out from under the shadows of professors and their archaic methods of practising law and the thrill of applying 21st-century regulations. It’s like an aphrodisiac to me.

Don’t get me wrong. I love my lecturers … maybe. But I’m glad to be done with them, definitely.

So, my day starts really well. My dad is dropping me off on his way to work. This will become our routine—he’ll drop me in the morning, and I’ll find my way home at the close of work. I don’t mind. It’s less stressful for me, as ‘travelling’ from Surulere to VI every day can be tedious, especially with the unpredictable traffic situation in Lagos. Also, I’ll have some time with my dad every morning.

Of the five children my parents have—yes, five—I’m the first girl, but the second child. I have an older brother who lives in Canada. He left Nigeria as soon as he was done with his NYSC. I have two younger sisters and a boy as our last born.

Although it’s strange to be back home, living with my parents, that’s all I can afford for now. I don’t have the means to rent an apartment yet, even though the sensible thing would be to get a place on the Island, closer to my new job. However, it’s not so bad as my sisters—the constant pebbles in my Louboutin—are back in the university. My baby brother, who is still in secondary school, is fun to be with. Being back home is surprisingly enjoyable. Besides, my parents' house has enough rooms to accommodate everyone with no stress.

Today, I'm dressed in what I refer to as my power outfit. A cream silk shirt with long, ruffled sleeves, chocolate-coloured pencil skirt, and four-inch nude stilettos. Although it's a new job, I want to make a good impression. Giving myself a final cursory look in the mirror, I take an inventory of my overall look.

A gorgeous blonde wig—not too long and not too short—the perfect length for work, which compliments my ebony skin tone perfectly. Minimal makeup to enhance my features—I paid particular attention to my eyes, giving them a subtle smoky look. My wide lips are painted a lovely shade of pink, and I’m wearing dangling silver earrings. Everything comes together perfectly, giving my slightly elfin features a bolder look. Most people say I'm a doppelganger of Willow Smith. I'll take it—she's gorgeous.

After having a chocolate beverage and some toasted bread, we set out. Naturally, we leave early to beat the traffic. In this megacity, you have to be very proactive because of the jams. You learn when to leave the house to drive against the traffic flow and when to leave work to avoid rush hour, even if it means staying later than you should have, knowing you won’t be paid overtime. Such is life in Lagos.

Despite the precautions, I get to the office late, just a few minutes after eight. I rush into the reception and present my badge to the receptionist. She is a cute lady