Dearest Diary,
I am so happy. I know I know, you told me, but it feels good to see it for myself. So, the court case was a success. (It was thrown out before it even got there).
Then there is that little issue of my sanity. I know, I questioned it a few times myself, but I have to agree with my father. Our plan is a pretty solid one and if we wait and pray had enough, everything is going to play out perfectly.
What? I can't just give you the details. Keep guessing and may you will get close enough for me to spill the beans.
Until later,
☆ALD☆
"“You sued his mother?” David asks me looking at me as if I have grown an extra head or something. I shake off the memory of my latest diary entry and prepare to respond to him.
“David, she started this. I am only retaliating as I see fit.” I reply herding the monstrosity that is Bridget into the afternoon traffic.
“What about your relationship with Troy?” he ripostes.
“Seeing as he is the one who told you about it, you tell me?”
“He is shocked Attara! As any man would be when the two most important women in his life are fighting. To honest, I thought you would be the bigger person and bow out of this gracefully.” David reprimands and I smart within me. If I wasn’t driving right now I would have turned and I fixed him with a scathing glare.
“Bigger person? David, that woman dragged my name through the mud and unless I get a written apology, there is no way I am going to withdraw that court case. I thought you would have known better having studied business and all.”
Instead of getting mad or continuing to reprimand me like I expected he would, the man laughs sending a confused look to my face.
“So this is about business. For a moment there I thought we would have to deal with that issue of bitterness again.”
“Of course it is about business. What good is the company if we are already labelled as crooks? No good self-respecting merchant will want to deal with us. Worse still, we may end up attracting the wrong kind of business.”
“From all that, I gather that your father had a hand in this.”
“Yea,” I reply turning to look around to make sure that Shea is not hidden anywhere in our vicinity. “But don’t say that in front of my mother or we are going to spark a fight between the two of them. For some reason mother insists in believing that Monica still has some good in her and supports her despite everything. Dad on the other side, he just loves being sneaky.”
David cracks out into a fit of laughter and I shoot him another glare as I pull Bridget into Mombasa road and towards our rented warehouse. I think through the events that have happened in the past one week and a grin forms on my face.
With the evidence that I had provided, not only had the judge thrown out the case before it had even reached courtroom, but he had also unwittingly given me the idea of a countersuit and that is exactly what I am pursuing. Of course there is always danger that that would cement my image as a gold digger more permanently, but my father and I have yet another trump card that will prevent that from happening and hopefully teach that Monica that I am not to be messed with.
Then there is the part where Troy was not aware of my plan and he was seemingly furious at the sudden turn of events. He has not spoken to me yet, but from what David has told me, thing are sure to get rocky.
“What do you think will happen?” I ask David as we come to another stop before a roundabout.
“About the shipment?” David asks turning back from the road to face me.
“No. Troy!” I reply agitatedly.
“I do not know. I guess you will have to just wait and see. There is a price to pay for everything after all.” He says turning his smirk on me.
“You look ridiculous.” I tell him pointing at the look that he has plastered on his face.”
“Seriously Attara.” He responds, a looking more sombre look taking over his features. “I hope that at the end of the day, all this will be worthy it.”
I force a grin on my face and turn back to the road with the same thought on my mind.
“A good name is better than riches, right?”
***
A few minutes later, I drive into the warehouse parking lot and a jovial Aoko bounds out to greet us with a wide smile plastered on her face.
“Attara!” she cries out and pulls me into a tight hug that leaves me feeling quite uncomfortable and suffocated.
“Hi Aoko. How is everything?” David asks moving round the car to greet her with a smirk on her face. He is laughing at me and I can tell it.
“It’s great.” She replies releasing from her death grip to shake hands with him. “The containers are fully loaded and their company representative is busy sealing them.” She replies turning back to face me.
“That’s great. You are doing a wonderful job here.” I reply smiling back at her.
“Thanks Attara and thanks once again for trusting me with the job and an opportunity to advance myself.”
“It’s nothing.” I reply patting her gently on her shoulder and David gives a look that say that I am too humble.
“If only you knew David, if only you knew. I am the proudest peacock on the block; I just keep my feathers to myself.”
“Shall we?” Aoko asks us and David and I nod our heads, before following her through the massive double doorways and into the massive space where several containers are being loaded onto a number of trucks.
“Mr Khan, their company representative is by that one.” She says pointing to a container that is being sealed by two men.
“He also asked me to give you this “She says handing over a folder to me, before disappearing to check on the status of the other trucks.
“Mr David!” a portly man with a mop of black curly hair shouts out and his voice reverberates throughout the entire expanse of the warehouse after his eyes land on us. David reaches out to greet him with a smile on his face and his voice full of laughter.
“Hello Mr. Khan. It’s nice to see you again?”
“And likewise.” Mr. Khan replies taking in my appearance with an appreciate look in his eyes. “And who is this lovely lady with you today?”
I smile at that, despite the discomfort I was feeling some seconds earlier.
“This is Miss Durnham, my partner.”
The jovial Asian man smiles widely at me and I reach out my hand to shake his.
“How are you Mr. Khan? I see that everything is in order?” I ask pointing to the remaining containers in the warehouse.
“Yes, ten containers of Hass avocados ready for shipping. Only this three are remaining and we will be out of your hair, just for the time being.”
“I like the sound of that.” I reply still smiling. The man grins back at me until his eyes land on the folder that I am holding and he gaze turns more serious and more business-like.
“So you’ve gotten our next order?” I nod and he goes on to add. “We know that it’s a little bit bigger, but the bosses have faith that you and believe that you can deliver.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence Mr. Khan. We’ll go through it and get back to you on the matter.”
The man nods back at me and moves to one of the nearby remaining trucks. He calls out to the driver who hands him another folder and I realise that those are the documents we need to close this particular deal.
“I just need you to append your signatures to the fact that you have released this cargo and I can get going.”
I nod and David takes the folder from Mr. Khan’s hands. He reads through the stacks of paper piled inside it before appending his signature on a dotted line below the wordings on each page. He then hands over the folder to me and I read over the simple words before dropping my own signature, below David’s, on my own dotted line.
I return the folder to my partner and he retrieves our company seal to stamp over the two signatures before handing back the folder to the now Mr. Khan. The company man repeats the same process as us before taking out one of the files to hand us a copy of the completed deal.
“So, this is it?” he says with a smirk on his face. “I’ll see you next time you two.”
We nod back smiling back at him and he gets on into one of the trucks ready to leave.
“That went well.” David tells me and I nod, watching as the last of the trucks leaves the premises with Mr. Khan on board. “Shall we?” David addresses me again and I nod once again before allowing him to lead the way to the little office at the back of the warehouse.
Once we are settled down and Aoko is off to do God knows what, I lean back on her seat and open the other folder. I quickly skim through it and as the numbers register in my mind, I let out a gasp and drop the papers back onto the desk.
“What?”
I do not reply. Instead, I push the papers over to him and chuckle as I hear and see him mirroring my own reaction.
“That...that…Khan!” he mutters in disbelieve and I let out another chuckle.
“For a moment there I thought you were going to cuss?”
He gives me a strange look and I lift up my hands in apology.
“He said a little bit… This here is like ten times the original order!”
“I know.” I riposte. “And I do not know whether to be thrilled about or to run around in panic! I mean, we will need more tracks, more scouts and this space is not going to cut!”
“I guess this is the point where I quit my job.” David tells me looking dazed.
“David! Are you planning to quit on me?”
“Relax. Not this one. My other job!” he replies and I breath out a sigh of relief.
“In that case we will need a better office and more warehouses.” He nods and we set out to plan.
‘We will also need to get out more sacks. Meanwhile, as I plan to go such details, you should go over the paper work Aoko and get everything in order.”
I nod at his suggestion and set out to find my missing friend."
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
"What a dream!"
"I know, right? It was so vivid it felt real." I reply placing my strawberry flavoured frozen yoghurt back on the bench. We are with Linda, in one of the city's malls having some girl time.
"So, what are you going to do about it?" Linda asks staring out at our brood of children playing by a set of swings.
"I know that I do not want to sue her. It's too much drama and I think that dream was some sort of warning." I reply
"True, but isn't it great that your business gets to boom?"
I nod. My dream wasn't exactly a nightmare but it was disturbing enough to get my mind going.However, even I can admit that the issue of Mr Khan was good problem to have. All of a sudden, Linda bursts out laughing and I turn to her with what I an sure is a bewildered look on my face.
"What?"
"We are turning into them." She tells me still laughing.
"Who?" I ask her with a frown on my face.
"One of those people who believe in dreams?"