Читать книгу Into the Sun - Takalani M - Страница 11

THANDEKA

I pack up the mugs and biscuits with Rudzani staring at me. I am in trouble with Ms Diana, I just know it. She found us in a compromising position. She has always said that we are here to work and not to flirt around the office.

Rudzani sighs deeply beside me.

I pay him no attention while I do my job. He will definitely forget about me once he has sexed me up. I came here to hustle, not to jump into a womaniser’s trap in just a month.

Yes, I know I was in the wrong too. I wanted him to kiss me. He was looking so good, he was being so kind listening to my thoughts. I let him kiss me. I pushed the thought of his womanising to the back of my mind. I was weak and now I’m so angry at myself I can cry.

‘Thandeka, listen …’ He walks closer to me. ‘Can’t you give us a chance to try this out? Please let me into your heart and let it decide for itself.’

I laugh coldly.

He really thinks he can fool me. He’s got it all wrong.

‘Oh, please,’ I say while packing up the sugar bowls and the flask.

‘You think you know me. You don’t know me. You know zilch about me,’ he says sternly. His eyes are burning with desire, but there is no trace of a smile. ‘Look, I don’t really understand why you keep pushing me away. Are you playing hard to get so that you can see how serious I am about you? Is that it? Tell me!’

‘I know that you just want me to spread my legs for you and leave me thereafter. I know it very well.’

‘Then you are very wrong. I want more than that from you.’

Ooohhh! So I am right, he also wants me to spread my legs for him? He wants that and more?

‘Listen, I am not the kind of woman you think I am. You found me in the village and you already concluded that I am stupid and desperate – I am not. I am better than that. I know about you sleeping around with different women and cheating on the ones you have a relationship with. I don’t want to be the next one you cheat on, or the one you cheat with. I know my worth … which you have no idea of. See, I deserve a better man than you. I deserve way better.’

‘Oooh, wow.’

‘Forget what happened a minute ago. It was a mistake. I shouldn’t have been so stupid. Please, excuse me.’

‘Thandeka, we really need to talk about this. Can we meet up after work?’

I shake my head. ‘No.’

His cellphone rings. He lets out a groan. ‘I have to take this, it’s urgent.’

As he answers, I quickly push the trolley out of the boardroom and go to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

I’m shaking – I don’t know whether it is from the sensational kiss or from the confrontation with Rudzani. If only he weren’t a player!

I dry the mugs and place them back in the cupboard. I put back the biscuits in the container. Seems like everyone is hungover. On any other day, they would have asked for more biscuits.

‘Hey, Thandeka,’ Phuti says from behind me. He yawns. He is one of the culprits.

‘Yes,’ I say.

‘The boss said you had a great analysis of the presentation for the boutique. He asked if you could run it through with me again so that the team can work on it.’

‘What?’

‘He said you picked presentation two but he didn’t give me details. He had to rush to another meeting, but he said you can run it through with me. Apparently, you came with a great angle.’

‘Oh … okay,’ I say while wiping my hands on the apron.

‘Do you have ten minutes to spare? Come to my desk.’

I push the trolley away to the kitchen store and follow Phuti to where he sits. I only come to this side of the floor when I have to collect the mugs to wash them twice a day – in the morning before they start and in the afternoon after lunch. I always admire their colourful cubicles. Phuti pulls out a chair from an empty workstation and places it next to him.

‘I can’t wait to knock off,’ he whispers when I settle on the chair. I giggle. He is not the only one who looks like he could do with some time off. I heard most of these people drank until midnight. Luckily the cleaners walk in first at six o’clock to make sure the office is neat before the bosses come in.

‘It is Friday, why didn’t you ask the boss for a half-day?’

‘Mr R was already pissed at us this morning. Asking him to give us half a day off was going to piss him off even more,’ he says, ‘So, what did you say to impress him?’

So, I impressed the boss!

‘Oh, I was telling him that presentation two looks more inviting and very different from what you guys would usually go for.’ We discuss the presentation and I expand on it, suggesting ideas of what to add to it. He likes my suggestions as well. Phuti asks me to pick the clothing items that would work best for the magazine spread.

I pick a pink suit with a pink formal blouse. Also a few playful dresses. What girl doesn’t like trying on dresses and high-waisted skirts and pants? I pick a few of those as well.

‘You have an eye for these things, hey. Mr R was right about you,’ he says.

‘Thank you.’

‘Oh damn, look at the time!’ he says when he notices his colleagues packing up. I am still enjoying our session. We can do it all day, all week, as far as I’m concerned.

‘Do you have to go?’

‘I need to sleep,’ he says. ‘I will incorporate your ideas with the team and present everything to the client on Tuesday. By Wednesday we should be doing the photoshoot for the magazine. You should come by and see how we do things.’

* * *

This is my very first weekend alone in our flat. I don’t have plans, so I spend the whole Saturday just lazing around. Maria called me last night, telling me that she is not coming back. Her mother is still in hospital and very weak. Her recovery will take long and there is the risk of a second heart attack. I am worried. I cannot stay in this room alone. Already the guys sleeping in the living room are starting to look at me funny. I cannot afford to move to the new flat alone.

‘Look for a new roommate,’ Maria said last night. She said she is resigning to care for her mother. I understand. I’d do anything to have my mother alive again. Even if she were on her sickbed I would care for her until she was fine and well. I truly understand.

On Sunday morning I head to the Shoprite just across the street. They have a board with roommate listings. Down the road is a Caltex. I go there as well to get a few numbers from the board.

I see an advertisement for an evening cashier. Maybe I can apply for this job and use the extra income to cover the rent for a safer flat.

‘How does your nightshift work?’ I ask an old petrol attendant sitting on a crate.

‘Six to six,’ he says.

It won’t work. I catch my morning bus at five-thirty. It would be impossible to make it work.

‘Thank you,’ I say and walk back to my flat. The more I walk up the stairs to my flat, the more I know, I need to move out of this dodgy place if Maria is not coming back. The whole building is a mess.

* * *

I am looking forward to today. Mostly because Phuti will tell me if the team liked and agreed to my ideas. It is half past six when I am changed into my uniform and ready to start my day. I walk to the kitchen, open the drawer to see my week’s schedule. We have three meetings in the second-floor boardroom. It is not a hectic Monday.

‘Morning,’ Sis Judith, one of the cleaners, greets.

‘Morning, Sis Judith,’ I say while walking to the kitchen store to get the trolley to start my daily routine.

‘Thandeka,’ she calls, ‘I was told to take care of tea today.’

‘What? Why?’ I ask.

‘Ms Diana was here on Friday afternoon looking for you. She told me to take care of the tea for the boardroom today.’

‘What about me?’ I ask and she shrugs.

I take off my apron and head to the fifth floor. There is no one. They will be here after seven-thirty. I take a seat on the couch closest to Ms Diana’s office.

In a few minutes, her PA walks to her desk, followed by Rudzani’s PA.

‘What time is Ms Diana coming in?’ I ask the PA, who tells me she will probably be in within thirty minutes.

I sit back on the couch and wait for her to show up. I hope Rudzani shows up first so that I can tell him that Ms Diana has given my job to another cleaner. This has everything to do with him. Maybe he can do something.

The elevator opens and I hear the shoes before Ms Diana appears. She is in high heels, pulling her laptop bag on wheels and a small handbag is hanging on her wrist. Her dress is short and white. She sees me but doesn’t acknowledge me, just walks right past me.

‘Ms Diana, I am here to see you,’ I say, walking behind her.

She goes into her office. Her PA shrugs to let me decide if I want to go in after her or not. I choose to walk in. I need my job.

‘Ms Diana, I wanted to find out which floor you allocated to me.’

‘You are fired,’ she says, focusing on plugging in her laptop.

‘What?’ I whisper.

‘You are fired.’ She opens the drawer, takes out a brown envelope and throws it on the table, next to where I am standing.

‘Please, Ms Diana. I need this job,’ I say.

‘You should have thought about that before opening your legs for the boss.’

‘I never … I never opened my legs for the boss!’

‘Where did you disappear to with him after the meeting? After I found you two making out?’ she asks.

‘I … I was with Phuti because he wanted me to …’

‘You think I am stupid, don’t you?’ she asks and my tears drop. I cannot lose this job. ‘I brought you from the village to work but you decided to backstab me, huh?’

‘Backstab you? I don’t know what you mean.’

‘Take the money. Advance payment of next month’s salary. I don’t want to see you here again,’ she says rudely. ‘Take the money. You are going to need it to catch a bus back to where you came from.’

‘No, please.’

‘I have work to do. Go take your stuff and leave.’

My tears do not move her. I pick up the envelope. I am going to need this money if I am fired. I walk to the door.

She clears her throat for my attention. ‘I don’t ever want to see you with Gundo ever again. I hope we are clear.’

I turn to her. ‘Gundo?’

‘I don’t ever want to see you with him.’

What is she talking about? Gundo? Rudzani’s older brother? I have never seen Gundo here before. Does he also work here?

‘I don’t know what you are talking about.’

‘I will make your life a living hell, do you hear me?’ she snaps angrily. ‘Get out of my office.’

The PA stares at me with pity eyes when I walk out. I am so confused right now.

Who is Gundo?

‘Where is Gundo?’ I ask the PA who is pretending to be looking for something in her drawers. She snaps her head up and darts her eyes toward Diana’s office before turning to me.

‘I think he is travelling this week. Cape Town. Ask his assistant,’ she mumbles and points at Rudzani’s personal assistant.

What?

I am confused! So, so confused.

I stride across the floor towards Rudzani’s office. The PA has her eyes on the laptop.

‘Sorry, sisi, where can I find Gundo?’

‘The boss is travelling this week. He flew out this morning. He might be back on Friday afternoon. If not, he will come to the office on Monday next week.’

Why is she calling the boss Gundo?

‘What is the boss’s name?’

‘Gundo Radzilani!’ she says with her brows raised.

‘I mean the one who uses this office?’ I direct my finger to Rudzani’s office.

‘His name is Gundo.’

What? I stare at her, shocked. She drops her eyes back to the laptop and leaves me staring blankly into space. My eyes catch the name next to the office door. A tiny signage I never took notice of before. Mr G Radzilani is written next to the door.

Everybody calls him Mr R.

Not Mr Rudzani, but Mr Radzilani. Mr Gundo Radzilani.

Oh, my God!

Ms Diana’s door opens. I shut my eyes and pray that I am not in more trouble.

‘He fucked you just right, didn’t he? What did I tell you?’ she spits and crosses her arms. Both the PAs gasp at the news.

I run blindly to the elevator. I want to cry. I want to talk to Gundo, right now. Gundo?!

How could I’ve been so foolish? All the signs were there. He was so perfect. He is not his womaniser brother. I searched for the bad side of him and never found it. Still, I convinced myself it was all an act.

The elevator opens at the same time that Ms Diana’s door shuts. I hurry back to the PA, trembling at the guts I have to piss Diana off even more.

‘Can I please have Gundo’s cell number?’ I beg. I need to call and apologise, again. I need to take back my words – all of them. All the hurtful words I told him, thinking he was his brother.

‘Are you crazy? I don’t want to get fired too.’

‘Please, it is very important. I need to get hold of him,’ I whisper to her.

‘Sisi, please excuse me. I don’t want to get into trouble. Please don’t involve me.’ She shrugs and shakes her head. ‘I advise you to get out of here before you cause more damage. Ms Diana is not going to allow anyone to come between her and Mr R. After all, they have a daughter together. She wants them to be the perfect family and she is just about willing to kill for that.’

What?! Gundo and Diana have a daughter?