Tuesday came and went. Another successful session.

You know that kinda feeling where you’re so convinced of what you’re being sold? Yeah, that was the general aura I could feel around the room.

I said he has a good vision for the farm, right? Yeah, I used the wrong word.

He has an EXCELLENT vision.

I mean, I already knew about the business plan and stuff. I knew he had done the market analysis, selection of the kinds of fish we’re rearing, that sorta stuff. But his presentations, his explanations, his breakdowns… astounding. I could see so many of the participants nodding excitedly and taking notes as he spoke.

He revealed to us that he was once an Aquaculture lecturer at Ghent University in Belgium. Chale, If he was my lecturer back at the University of Cape Coast, I swear I’d never miss any of his classes. Sure, he rattles off words faster than Kylian Mbappe running, but you still get the import of his words.

It’s safe to say that once the session ended at 3:00 pm, a lot of us were excited about this project. From me and Mr. Kumah to the grassroots guys, we all looked hyped up about this farm. With the plan fully explained to us and virtually all the necessities in place to make it successful, we couldn’t wait for this thing to kick off.

And of course, Ellie heard it all when we spoke later that night.

“Chale, Jay Djinn really do me well with this connection ooo. Coz this Sebastian guy really knows the aqua industry inside. And he’s done his research big time. This is definitely no dude with some azaa motives; he knows what he’s all about, and this can become really big. I’m so glad my venture into this aquaculture industry is with this guy, coz he’s got the passion running through my veins!”

“That’s awesome, honey. I’m happy to hear you’re all in with this. I mean, what’s the use of following a vision you have zero passion for? That’s a total waste of life. Life has meaning when you wake up and you have something that drives you, you know? Something that has you waking up excited and ready and raring to go. So chale, babe, go all out! You’ve got this!”

I nodded, a smirk on my face. “True, true. You know, I really like the philosophical vibes I’m getting from you, Ellie. This celibacy thing is really helping you, eh? Maybe you should do this more often-“

“Richard Kobena Kumi Acquah!”

You know you’re in trouble when your wifey calls you by your full name like that. Especially when she says it in a low and menacing tone.

***

Wednesday came, and Sebastian continued to wow us with his sensational breakdown of the plan.

For this session, he shared his story with us, and the numerous mistakes he had made and the huge amounts of money he had flushed down the toilet as a result. That made us see why his plan looked so excellently crafted and thoroughly thought-out; it was the result of years of failures and errors.

And the figures he mentioned losing? Chale! Millions of dollars gone down the drain, and some were due to the most basic of errors.

By the end of the day’s session, we all understood the reason why everything concerning Bons Farms looked almost perfect. And quite frankly, we were super inspired.

“But chale, Mr. Ahmed’s tenacity is on another level!” Mr. Nathan Frimpong, the one to serve as Operations Manager, commented as we packed our stuff. “To have failed that many times and still keep going, that’s something else!”

“Yes ooo! Chale, a lot of people would have thrown in the towel and just walked away by now,” Mr. Kumah agreed.

“It’s conviction, chale. You can see the man knows he’s destined to succeed in this field, so every failure is just a way of honing his vision. It’s serious,” I added. “Honestly, we couldn’t have had him at a better time. With all those battle scars, he knows where he’s going. And chale, we really it owe to him and to ourselves to make sure this works, coz really, the only thing between us and becoming the biggest fish farm in West Africa is ourselves. We’ve got all the tools we need to win, so we should definitely make it happen!”

“Most definitely!” the two agreed.

***

The rest of the day went by pretty normally. We went to our rooms after lunch, rested a bit, then went to have dinner later on.

I went a little later, around 8:30 pm. By the time I was done, I had a call from my favourite human being in the universe.

“Yeah, just had my dinner,” I informed her, my AirPod in my ear as I made my way to the stairs. “So I’m just gonna get into the room and relax now.”

“Oh good, good. So you relax for a little bit, then call me later, alright?”

“Alright, my love. I’ll call you before I sleep. Bye.”

“Bye, my king.”

I smirked as the call ended. I really like it when she calls me that.

I went up the first flight of stairs, then the second.

As I walked through the corridor to my room, I noticed a suitcase outside the door of Room 204. The room right next to mine.

“Oh okay, someone’s checked in,” I said to myself as I continued to walk along. “I wonder who-“

Yeah, I was wondering who it was. But that was answered for me by the persons who stepped out to bring in the suitcase.

One of the concierges.

And a young woman.

And man, I had my eyes on her for about 2 seconds before she moved back in. She didn’t look in my direction, but I got a proper view of her face.

She was stunning!

A cute, slightly babyish face, with the most delicate physique.

I passed by the door just as it shut.

I shook my head. “Damn! That was one fine babe,” I commented to myself. “I wonder who she is.”

Then I shrugged as I moved to my door and unlocked it. “Not that I care, though. I’ve got a fine babe of my own to think about.”

Well, looks like Richie has a neighbour. Who is she, and what’s she gonna be all about?