She was still outside when Jessica pulled up in a truck. She went around the car and helped Mati into her wheelchair. Jessica had assigned herself as Mati’s personal driver ever since the old woman had arrived. It was as though she didn’t want to be a second away from her.
“What are you doing standing in the sun all alone, Kimberly?” Jessica asked.
“Newton was here,” Kimberly said.
Jessica stopped short. “What? Which Newton?”
“The only one you know.”
“What was he doing here? What did he want?”
“Why are you so upset, dear?” Mati asked. “Who is this Newton?”
“Let’s get inside,” Jessica said. Her temper was already beginning to surface. “I’ll go get you water, Mati,” Jessica said when they were inside, and she left the two together.
“Who is Newton?” Mati asked Kimberly.
“Isaac Newton is the CEO of the company where Jessica and I work.”
“Is he your boss?”
“Yes,” Kimberly answered. But not for long.
“Jessica tells me that you plan to build a school here. If you can afford that, then you must be rich or well-off. Why do you work for him?”
Kimberly did not know the best answer to give to Mati. How could she explain to this woman without divulging too much about herself that working at BozCo had been the only alternative to sitting idly at home? And she would have rather died than sat idly at home. Her mother had been a housewife, and had had nothing to keep her sane or busy after her dad disappeared. Kimberly had not wanted to be like her mother, and BozCo had been the only company that was close enough to home where her mother could reach here easily.
“It was convenient.”
“What was convenient,” Jessica asked. She gave the water to Mati.
“Working at BozCo.”
“Not anymore for me,” Jessica said. “I have decided that I’m not going back.”
“Why not?”
“I want to stay here with Mati and I have decided to put an end to my escapades to the south as she calls it.”
“So, you will not be going back with us?”
“That’s the idea. I have a lot more to do here than I realised.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Don’t sound so crestfallen. I promise I will visit whenever I can, and you are always welcome here.”
“Yes, dear. The doors of this house will always be opened to you,” Mati added.
“Thank you,” Kimberly said but she was sad. She fought not to listen to the little voice that kept repeating that that was going to be one less person in her life.
“So, what did Newton want?” Jessica asked.
“He did not say, but it must be serious if he came all this way. He said he would come back to pick me up tomorrow so that we can talk.”
“And you agreed?”
“Well, yeah. It seems pretty serious to me.”
“That man is not to be trusted at all. You should know that better than anyone.”
“I didn’t say that I trusted him. Besides, what can he possibly do to me? I’ll hear him out and then that will be that.”
“Is Hussein okay with that?”
“He doesn’t have to be, it’s not his business.”
Jessica looked at her queerly. “Are you two dating?”
“No, we are not.” Kimberly whirled at the voice behind her.
“Oh, but I was so sure that you were,” Mati said disappointedly. “You look so good together.”
“Appearances are deceptive, Mati.” He kissed her cheeks. “I will be late,” he said to Jessica. “Tell Rueda not to leave supper for me.”
“I will.”
Hussein left.
“Back to square one, I see,” Jessica observed.
Kimberly merely sighed.
The restaurant was a number of towns away from Mapungi. It was not grand but it was spacious. Kimberly looked around the full room. Every table was occupied. They had been served a table in the corner, away from prying eyes.
“How did you find this place,” she asked Newton.
“A friend of a friend owns it.” Newton smiled. “Are you sure you don’t want anything? I’m told that their Tuozafi is a rare treat.”
“No, thank you.”
“Gosh, you must really hate me, Kimberly. And I was not even the one who did the breaking up.”
“I don’t hate you, Newton. I’m just sick of your games. Tell me what it is that you have to and let’s get on with our lives.”
“I can’t get on with my life now that you are not in it.”
The confession caught her by surprise. It was hard to believe that he had not already replaced her with one of his numerous side girlfriends.
“That is your problem. Now don’t tell me that is why you drove me all the way here, otherwise I’m going to be very upset.”
“I love you, Kimberly,” he said earnestly. “I realised that only after we broke up. I was foolish to have let you go.”
“You didn’t let me go. I walked out.”
“And I let you. You are the best thing that ever happened to me.” There was a little pause. “I want you back.”
“I don’t want you”
“I’ll make you happy, I promise. I’ll do whatever you ask.”
“Whatever I ask?”
“Yes,” he said hopefully.
“I want you to take me back to the Big House and never repeat anything you’ve said here to me ever again.”
“Listen to me, Kimberly Greene. I’m trying my best to accommodate your foolishness. Who do you think you are? Is it because of that bushman that you are talking to me like this? Do you think he loves you?”
“No,” Kimberly said, “but I know that the bushman is a better man than you can ever dream to be.”
His nose flared and for a moment she panicked at having said more than she should have. He did not look so calm and sure of himself now.
“I have been patient long enough. I thought allowing you to take this trip would give you more time to realise your mistake. I see I was wrong.”
Kimberly did well to put her anger in check. Newton really did believe he controlled her. “Really, Newton,” she said, “allowing me to make this trip? You don’t own me and you’re not my father. When will you get that into your thick skull?”
“Well, it’s a good thing your father is not here to see what you are throwing away.”
She slapped him hard enough to echo and make her palms sting. The room hushed instantly and people glanced their way. He sat dumbly in shock, his left palm covering his cheeks. “Don’t ever talk about my father.” She knew she had to get away from him as soon as possible. She got on her feet and made it out of the restaurant as quickly as her dignity would allow.
She was almost at the door before she realised that she was hundreds of miles away from Mapungi. She was still judging the odds when Newton emerged from the restaurant. He only glanced her way before addling away to his car. She was completely sure that he was going to abandon her there in the middle of nowhere.
Newton swerved his car and stopped in front of her. “Get in.”
She hesitated.
“Get into the car.”
She weighed her options quickly. She could not trust Newton but she was not prepared for a marathon walk either. She got into the car as fast as possible before he could change his mind.
“You will regret your actions today,” Newton said. “That I promise you.”
Kimberly kept quiet. She knew when not to argue. Even better, she knew when the odds were not in her favour.
They drove the rest of the way in complete silence.
Newton parked his car in front of the Big House and followed Kimberly out.
“You don’t have to come in,” Kimberly said.
“My dear Kimberly,” he grinned sardonically, “not everything is about you. Like I told you yesterday, I did not come just for you.”
“What else are you here for?”
Newton smiled, and then his countenance changed. He caught her shoulders and whispered, “Oh, I’m here for more, my love.” And before Kimberly knew what was going on, he landed a crooked kiss on her lips.
Kimberly was stunned and enraged, but she saw that Newton was looking past her shoulder, a satisfied smile playing on his lips. Instinctively, she turned and caught sight of Hussein just before he disappeared behind the house. A part of her nearly called out to him but she was not about to give Newton the satisfaction he desired.
“He did not look too pleased,” Newton confirmed, extremely pleased with his antics.
Her palms itched to give him another slap but she restrained herself. That would only make him believe that he had ruffled her feathers.
“You’re a filthy pig, Newton Bosman,” she said coolly before she turned on her heels and marched into the house.
He followed her into the house. “You will not be with anyone besides me,” he whispered into her ears. Inside the house, her colleagues were gathered around a table playing a game of ludo. “Oh look,” Newton said aloud, “everyone is gathered here. It makes my work easier.”
“What are you doing in my house?” Jessica demanded getting to her feet.
“I will get to that in a minute,” Newton replied flippantly. He produced a brown envelope from his coat. “I took the pleasure of doing the honours myself,” he said as he opened the envelope. He took out four white envelopes and gave one to each of them with their names written on it. “From BozCo,” he said.
“These are ten days earlier,” Kuma said. “Are we being called back?”
“Find out for yourself.”
“I won’t,” Jessica said and handed the envelope back to Newton. “I’m not going back.”
Newton tore open the envelope and read the contents of the single paper. “You were not called back,” he said with a smile. “Not that I fault HR.”
“You mean you,” Jessica said, “and since you are done with what you came for, I suggest you leave.” She had never liked Kimberly’s ex-boyfriend and she made no secret of it.
“Remember love,” he said to Kimberly, “none besides me.”
“I never liked him,” Ladipole said after Isaac Newton had left.
“It’s not an uncommon feeling,” Kuma added as he opened his envelope.
“Are you going back?”
Emma read the content of the paper in his hand. “Yeah,” he said.
“Man you surprise me at times. Are you going back to letting that airhead walk all over you again?” Ladipole said.
“I may not like him but I love what I do. And I have a family to take care of.”
“Did you get called back?” Jessica asked Ladipole.
“No, and it makes no difference really. I already have plans under way to open my own cosmetics shops across the country. As a matter of fact, I’ve got quite a number of promised customers already.”
“So it’s just me and Kimberly going back,” Emma stated.
“I don’t know if I’ll go back to working at BozCo.”
“You did get called, didn’t you?”
“Yes, but after today I don’t think I want to be seeing so much of Newton ever again. I’m going to take a shower.” She already felt sticky from all the heat coupled with Newton’s uncomfortable presence.
