Lazying about in bed one morning I got a strange call…“My name is Eric, I want to have a conversation with you and hopefully if what I say makes enough sense, you can feature me in your popular 'Confessions write-ups' on myjoyonline,” the caller said.

I smiled, tossed the word ‘popular’ in my head for a moment and savoured the feeling it came with. Really? A vain part of me tried to take over. Who doesn't like a nice compliment? Show by hands?

Okay focus, focus focus. This story is not about me. It's about Eric.

“If you’re less busy, we could meet now, I will be at the Coffee Shop in 15 minutes” he answered. I checked the time, it was 1:30PM…”that’s fine, I’ll be there in 30.”

“Okay, see you then. Look for the guy in red top and black jeans, ” he said and ended the call.

I brooded over the call for some minutes. Setting up a meeting with a stranger doesn't happen that fast with a woman with a 'beware-of-men' training. But well, like Eric said, it was going to be about a sorry story so nothing to worry.

Eric was seated in a red and brown leather sofa in the far corner of the coffee shop. I walked straight to him. We exchanged pleasantries, cracked a couple of jokes about our looks, ordered a drink and settled down for our discussion.

“Okay, I’m here now ‘shoot’,” I said, with my notepad, pen and recorder on the table ready for business.

Nina, the National Service Personnel who became an over-night star

"Exactly a year ago, my parents broke my heart and i have been unable to forgive them especially my dad. With his overbearing posture and my naivity, my three-year old relationship died and i have since been looking for love," Eric said.

My girlfriend – Nina – worked as a sales executive with one of the most thriving indigenous banks in the country, a job she secured after National Service. Her boss was fond of her after she secured a $2 million account which seemed almost impossible to clinch.

Until today many people in the company, including her boss have been unable to fathom how she got the deal so easily when senior staff were turned away.

Nina herself did not understand it either. I still recall vividly the look on her face when she narrated how a simple good deed landed her an account of a lifetime.

“What did she do?” I interjected.

She said she was standing in front of her gate one Monday morning waiting for a taxi to work when an SUV pulled over, Eric continued. The driver rolled down the window on the passenger’s side and asked “Hi, please do you live in this house.” She answered in the affirmative. Then the gentleman asked, “can you please help me with my shirt. I’m going to a business meeting and I’ve accidentally spilled the coffee I was drinking on my shirt. I wish I could go back home, but I may not make it in time if I did, and no boutique is open at this time. Can you please help me clean this up”? Nina had about 30 minutes to spare. She always got to her office an hour before her official reporting time. Eric said Nina, who is naturally caring but sometimes naive, didn’t even bother to ask who he was or even his name. She hurried into the house, opened the gate for the distressed man to drive in. With no questions at all, she took the white shirt the gentleman had taken off and rushed into the house to get it cleaned. In about 20 minutes she emerged with the shirt neatly ironed, handed it out to him and watched while the grinning gentleman dressed up.

He thanked her and asked where she was heading. Office, Nina answered. Fortunately Nina's office was on the same route so he offered, to drive her to work. That was the least he could do for taking her time. Nine obliged. It was during the drive to Nina’s office that he asked for her name and apologized for not doing so earlier.

Nina also found out that her ‘driver’ was called Frank – a known business mogul who owned businesses across Africa.

When Frank found out that Nina worked as the sales department of a bank, he wanted to invest his money, he mentioned that although he had declined an initial offer to open an account at her bank, he had rescinded the decision because of her act of kindness.

That’s how the fresh graduate came to manage a $2 million account. Well, back to the real story. After dating in secret for a while, Eric decided to take Nina home, introduce his future wife and inform them about his decision and make things official.

Father and son clash over a girl

His family – mother, sister and father – received Nina with warmth. Like every family, she was asked about her parents and other things, but most importantly her job. When Nina said she was a sales executive, Eric said he noticed a change in his father’s demeanour. His fingers curled tightly around the fork he was using and his face dimmed.

“ I noticed right away that he was unhappy about something, but he said nothing,” Eric said.

Eric was left alone in the dinning hall with his father while the ladies did the dishes in the kitchen. It was there that he raised objections about Nina. “Son, I am happy with the step you have taken. It is a bold decision, however, I am not pleased with your choice, especially because of the job she does. I have heard stories about girls who are sales executives and the unpalatable things they do to strike deals. Your girlfriend looks like someone who is well-bred but I don’t trust her. I cannot accept her into this family,” Eric reproduced in his father’s exact words.

Eric said for about 10 seconds he could not utter a word. Had it not been that the man sitting in front of him was his father, whom he revered, he would have slapped him. For him the stereotype was so meaningless and it was shocking that his father bought into it.

“Dad these claims are really unfounded, the fact that a couple of girls behave in a certain way doesn’t mean Nina will do same. She is a good girl and I can bet my last on her. She is not like that,” Eric told his father.

But the big man would not budge. He insisted that Nina is dropped because as far as he is concerned, “any girl who is into sales is a bad girl.”

The ladies walked in. Eric’s mother noticed the tension and asked if everything was okay and both men nodded in affirmation.

Later on when Eric left to drop Nina off at home, Eric’s father discussed the issue with his mother, who like her son could not make any logic out of her husband’s conclusions.

Faith, Eric’s sister, who until now has given every girl he dated a tough time objected to her father’s concerns. She vouched for Nina and said her father should take her on if they find out later that she was anything close to what he thought. “Dad, you can even disown me,” she dared.

A silly test?

“According to my mother, when she noticed that my dad was bent on me not marrying Nina, she proposed a ‘test’. She proposed that Nina is set up with wealthy businessmen who were friends with my dad. These men were to pretend to be interested in opening an account with Nina’s bank, but they should request specifically for her services, Eric narrated.

These wealthy men informed about the plot, the purpose of the deal and what exactly to do.

The deal was set. The first gentleman Nina met - Olusegun - was a supposed wealthy oil and gas mogul from Nigeria who wanted to venture into oil and gas exploration in Ghana. As instructed, he called Nina’s boss and told him about his intention to open an account with his bank and will deal only with Nina. This surprised Nina’s boss, especially because there were more experienced hands in the business who could effectively execute the task.

The manager whose business thrived on money could do nothing but agree. Nina was called into her managers office and the instruction was passed on to her. Not having any idea what had been planned, she took Olusegun’s number, called him and scheduled a meeting at the hotel he lodged during his stay in Ghana.

Nina arrived at the hotel 30 minutes earlier – typical of her – walked to the receptionist and made her purpose known. She was ushered into one of the hotel’s exclusive suits and asked to wait while Olusegun was fetched. About 15 minutes later a tall, handsome but imposing figure walked into the room.

“Hello, you are Nina, I’m glad you could make it and I hope I entrust my money into your hands,” Olusegun said in his husky but somewhat charming voice.

“Nice to meet you, sir, and of course your money will be well catered for. You have nothing to worry about once I am involved,” Nina replied.

Olusegun who was already impressed by Nina’s looks smiled and responded, “I really hope so.”

They both settled over a cup of tea that was delivered by the waitress and Olusegun started providing all the details needed for the opening of the account. While he was talking Nina noticed a change in his attitude. He started flirting with her, complimenting her looks, her lips, the size of her eyes, which he claims is what draws him to a woman.

The change in conversation, the compliments, although nice, made Nina uncomfortable so she asked “are we here to strike a business deal or talk about my looks. Mr Olusegun I would appreciate it greatly if we concluded on the deal, it’s getting late and I need to get back to the office” she said in a stern voice.

“Stop being childish. This is a key to my room if you really want this account, meet me there by 8 and I promise you won’t even have to lift a finger in your entire life, yet you will be comfortable,” Olusegun replied with a look that said ‘you know what I mean’.”

Nina stormed out of the room and didn’t look back. Her boss was furious about having to lose all that money, but advised her to try and not let such juicy deals go next time.

With the first unsuccesful attempt, Eric said he implored his father to abort the deal, but he refused. For him, until after the third try, no conclusions could be drawn.

The second date took a different format. Nina met James one afternoon at the entrance of the bank when she was returning from her lunch break. She approached the gentleman who looked as though he needed someone to talk to and asked if she could be of help.

He smiled and told her about him wanting to ‘dump’ some money he had no use for at the moment with the hope that it will make some meaningful yields by the time he is ready to make use of it. Nina who was delighted at the opportunity to clinch another account without sweat, ushered James into her office and started explaining the processes to him.

Impressed by what he’d heard, he filed the required forms and impressed upon Nina to pass by his office and collect the remaining documents the next day. Nina walked into JNH Holdings in high spirits. “After a fruitless encounter with that Nigerian man, I hope this works out,” she said to herself as she walked to the reception. She was ushered into James’ office by his ‘extremely’ nice secretary who apologized for being unable to keep her company while her boss concluded a meeting in the next room.

She, however, assured that her boss will be in in no time, “here’s the special edition of the Business Today magazine, this issue was done exclusively for JNH, it’ll keep you company,” she said, cracked a smile and walked out of the office.

After 5 minutes, Nina got bored, she got up and walked to the window and she was welcomed by an impressive view of the city. She soaked in the beauty of the city from the 10th floor of the impressively built JNH building and wished she owned the company. She jolted out of her dreamland when she sensed an arm around her.

She turned around and noticed it was James. She tried to free herself, but it didn’t work. James took advantage of the situation and started kissing her neck. Nina pulled away with all the strength left in her, pushed James, who fell on the floor and picked her bag. “You don’t have to play hard to get, you want something from me and I also want something from you. It takes two to tango you know,” James said as he pulled himself up from the floor.

James 'it takes two to tango' comment conspired with her boss' 'next time' advice to sober Nina from giving off some 'no-nonsense' reply.

But she was frightened enough by the sudden sex suggestion and - stormed out of the office breathing like a horse who had just finished a furlong. Feeling disgusted by James' filthy hands over her body and his unwanted lips on hers, she went straight to the house to take a scrubbing bath as if sex actually happened.

Eric said he was so angry he called his father and demanded that the deal be ended immediately. He refused and his excuse was that if Nina could come this far, then one more man should not be a big deal.

So the last man was sent in. Kweku, was the youngest son of one of the best friends of Eric’s father. He, like Eric’s father – although young - was an accomplished businessman who owns a chain of restaurants in Accra and was hoping to open other branches in Nigeria. He wanted advice on how to manage his account so it is able to cater for both chains in Accra and Nigeria.

“I have given him your number, he wants to go with you to Nigeria later this evening. I have spoken to Eric already and he is not bothered about the trip. Please speak to your boss, go home and park a few things because he will pick you up from your office at 6. Expect a call from him soon,” Eric’s father said. Without waiting for a response, he wished Nina a good day and ended the call.

“How, who does that? Go to Nigeria this evening,” the stunned Nina asked herself and looked at her time. She walked into her bosses office and informed him about the development. She asked her to go on as long as it was business related, “make sure you clinch the deal, he added as she walked out of the office.

Because Nina did not know how long she was going to spend in Nigeria, she parked for three days. Just when she was about to leave the house, she got a call from Kweku who asked where he could pick her up since she wasn’t in the office. She directed him to the closest landmark in her neighbourhood.

After about 20 minutes Kweku showed up. “Oh boy, he looks damn good. God help me,” Nina said to herself when Kweku stepped out of the car. His driver took Nina’s luggage from her and put it in the booth, while she settled in the back seat with Kweku who, after little chit chat went ahead to give more information about what he really wanted to do.

A private jet was waiting at the airport, they hopped into it and before she could say Jack, there were in Nigeria. They checked into a very luxurious hotel that evening had dinner and when Kweku saw her to her room later, she said “get some good sleep, we have a long day ahead tomorrow.” Since they had gotten quite familiar, she stepped forward a gave her a friendly hug and said Goodnight.

Nina tried Eric’s line endlessly until she fell asleep. No messages sent were replied either.

The next morning, she heard a soft knock on her door. The knock was so soft it felt as though the person knocking was scared of the door falling off its hinges if it was harder.

“A minute please,” she replied, pulled her dress on and zipped it. “Good morning beautiful, breakfast is ready I’ll be waiting at the restaurant. We’ll be leaving straight away to meet my business partners so come prepared. "

Things went well on that day, only that they had to stay some extra days because one of the most important people needed for the deal to be closed was out of town.

As they drove to the hotel, Nina told Kweku she’d have to go back to Ghana since there was no need for her to stay but he retorted saying it will be prudent if she stayed on. “I’m sure your boyfriend would understand,” he said.

Just when Nina walked into her hotel room, she got a call from her boyfriend. Excited to hear from him, she told him everything that had gone on while he was in “absentia”, she added that her stay might be longer than she anticipated and his response was “I trust you, I know you won’t do anything bad.”

The response baffled her so she asked, “what do you mean by that? Eric replied, “oh nothing,” and changed the subject.

After four days and several failed attempts at getting Nina to bed, Kweku called Eric’s father and told him he wanted out of the deal because “the girl is a good girl and I don’t feel good about how you are treating her.” But Eric’s father insisted, he told Kweku to try other alternatives. He did, but they also didn’t yield any fruits. But a failed attempt to kiss Nina caused Kweku to flare up and he spilled the beans.

Nina was left speechless for almost a minute without moving. She had all along been playing a role in a reality show, one produced by his husband to be and directed by his father-in-law to be. It all made sense now but she looked stupid to have been played this way.

When she finally sprung out of her shock, she budged out without uttering a word. She parked the few things she had brought and walked out of the hotel. He said he followed the cab that drove her from the hotel to the airport where she booked the available flight to Ghana.

For nine months I tried my best to get in touch with Nina, but they all failed. She changed her job and moved out of her parent’s house. Her parents, who were obviously incensed about how I treated their daughter didn’t even want to see me, not to talk about allowing me into their house, Eric said with teary eyes.

We bumped into each other at this same place two weeks ago and she was with Kweku. They had gotten married and Nina was already pregnant. Instead of rage, I was happy. Happy because she looked happy, Eric smiled as he took the last sip of his third cocktail.

Eric said he has not been able to forgive his father. For nine months they have not spoken and he hasn’t gone to see his parents, although he met his sister from time to time.

It was his hope that this story is shared for parents to read, learn and trust their children to live their lives, make mistakes and learn from them without the powerful hand of a father meddling in it. He also hopes that men will be bold enough and stick to their decision and not let their parents decide for them.

For him, he hopes to find love again, “and when I do, I will not let go.”