Zahara tied her faux locs away from her face and smothered lip gloss all over her lips. She slipped on her blazer and grabbed her wedges from under the bed.
"Kasey!" She yelled out.
"No, I didn't make you breakfast." Kasey yelled back.
"Shit," Zahara mumbled and grabbed her bag. She closed her bedroom door and made her way down the stairs of the house that belonged to both her and her sister. She was late as usual for her job, but she knew that her boss would never fire her. She was amazing at her job, but it didn't stop her boss from complaining.
"Aw, you made me breakfast. You're amazing." Zahara kissed Kasey's cheek causing her to squirm. Despite the two year difference between the two sisters, Kasey basically helped raise her little sister. Their parents did music and were always on the road either separately or together. Either way, Kasey was always the one to babysit her little sister and it was tiring.
"You're late again and you reek of weed."
"Girl, bye," Zahara waved her off. "I know, I was up all night."
Kasey rolled her eyes and watched as Zahara took a bite of her bread and placed it down. "Yeah, I heard all that guitar banging from across the hall."
Not only did Zahara work for a car company, but she also gave instrument lessons to children. She didn't get paid much for it, but she loved doing so. Ever since she was a child she loved playing the guitar, piano and almost instrument you could name. She remembered her parents taught her how to play and she grew a passion for music. Soon she wanted to showcase in and teach others how to play any instrument they desire to play.
"I was just trying to figure out what song was suitable for beginners to learn." She slung her bag over her shoulder and grabbed her keys. "I'll see you tonight."
"Later."
"Quickly, Zahara ran to her car and slipped inside. She made sure that her umbrella was in the car because she knew that it was going to rain that entire day. Her hands gripped onto the steering wheel as she reversed out of the driveway of their small townhouse and drove off.
Her workplace wasn't too far from the house which she was happy for, but for some reason she felt like she needed to drive a bit faster. She felt like she was going to miss something- something important. So, she pressed her foot onto the gas and drove a bit faster.
After a few minutes of driving, she parked into the parking spot and grabbed her belongings. She slipped out of the car and ran her hands over her local as she stepped into the building.
"Hey, Jane." She smiled at the receptionist.
"Hey, Z. Late again I see."
"What do I say?" Zahara shrugged and handed her an apple. She headed towards the open elevator and pressed the designated floor. The sound of her shoes and her presence caused the well known employees to stare as she got off the elevator and made her way down the hall.
She waved and smiled at the few people that she spoke to regularly.
Placing her purse on her desk, Zahara plopped into her seat as her back was supported by her fuzzy pillow. Her entire cubicle was designed to her liking. From the LED lights around the perimeter, a mini fridge under her desk, pictures of her family and a bunch of drawings she drew whenever she was bored. Some being explicit, but all so alluring everyone had to look. Her cubicle was like her sacred space, especially since she'd been working for her boss; Rob for years. He was her go to when it came to sales. Although, she did whatever she wanted on her own time, when she was in the zone... she was there.
"I will start paying you to be here early if you keep leaving me here with all these damn white people."
Zahara chuckled and looked at her cubicle neighbour; Chris. They'd been friends since they both got hired together. They were never close until Zahara showed up to work hungover and Chris got her all the way together. He helped her clan herself up and made sure that she was on top of her work so that she wouldn't get fired. Ever since then, they'd been good work friends and sometimes hung out, outside of work.
"He's not lying."
Avery looked at her from the cubicle beside her.
"I'm sorry, I keep losing track of time." Zahara shrugged and picked at her nails. "It's not like anyone's working anyway."
"I hope sex is the thing that made you late today." Chris eyed her suspiciously.
Rolling her eyes, Zahara slouched into her seat. "No, it was not. I was actually up putting together some chords for the kids."
"Aw, how sweet." Avery smiled at her.
The trio talked for awhile before Zahara began to get to work.
"Hello, Rob's Rolling Wheels."
"Hi, I'm interested in purchasing a car from you guys."
"Can I get a name?" She chewed on her crackers. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she heard the line go silent.
"Ma'am."
"Are you eating in my ear?"
"Sorry about that. It's just the static over the phone." Zahara said as she chuckled over the phone. "Sir, what's your full name?"
Once she was finished checking his credit, she advised him to book an appointment and gave him the next steps that he'd have to go through with another department.
"Don't tell me that you were eating in that man's ear?" Avery looked at her with disbelief. She wasn't surprised that she had done so, but she couldn't believe that she continued to eat after she was confronted.
"I didn't even get to eat a full meal this morning." They both began to laugh and soon stopped when they heard whispers around the room.
Zahara looked around frantically and watched as three policemen walked around the cubicles. Each and every one of them took their time as they asked the employees as many questions as they could.
"What's going on?" Zahara whispered.
"Hello, ladies." One of the officers walked over to them. He rested one hand on his waist as he looked at the two women.
"Do you guys know where your boss Robert Jacoby is?"
"Um, no. He wasn't here when we arrived." Avery spoke up. The officer continued to ask them questions while Zahara zoned out. She didn't understand what Robert had done. What could he have done to make three officers come to the workplace in search for him? She prayed that whatever Robert did, didn't affect any of them.
The elevator chimed causing everyone to look over. Zahara watched in slow motion as it opened and Robert walked out of it with his briefcase in his hand. A wide smile- a joyful smile on his face, because he was ready to make money. As he did everyday.
He had the house and the cars to prove it.
"Alright, who's ready to make some money?"
"Oh, shit. He better run." Chris smirked as he plopped into his seat.
"Oh, shit." Robert looked around as he took in the three officers.
Suddenly, he turned around and pressed the button for the elevator to open it before it closed, but he was too late. The short man was already on the floor and being handcuffed.
"Oh, that was a hard fall." Zahara winced.
"Robert Jacoby, you are arrested for fraud, gambling and theft..."
One of the officers turned towards the employees and clasped his hands together. His eyes held empathy as he spoke.
"This man has been stealing money from client and also has been using different names to do so. He's going through bankruptcy with his company and because of these claims, the business is shut down."
"What in the hell?"
"This man's a criminal."
Zahara looked around as the entire floor went into rage. She felt like her entire body wasn't able to function. She didn't know what to say, but she was livid. After five years of working for a con artist, the business was now closing down and she'd be left with nothing. The main source of income that she had.
"I'm not a criminal, I'm an artist!" Robert yelled out. "Read about me."
"We'll be reading about his ass on the news when he goes to jail." Zahara scoffed and plopped into her seat. Her eyes widened as she stared at her computer in silence, while her employees bickered over one another. She was now jobless.
"We all just lost our job." Avery scoffed in disbelief.
Zahara was distraught and not only for herself. She felt sorry for the people under the company that had children and had to provide for them. There were people that flew from their home country and came to work under Robert for a better life. There were people who didn't have anything and dedicated their entire life to Robert- one of them being her.
-
Zahara kicked her door open after twisting the key and entered the house. She plopped the boxes onto the floor and closed the door behind her. The scent of apple cider candles made her sigh heavily.
"You're home early." Kasey called out with her feet crossed on the couch. Her schedule was different from Zahara since she worked as a yoga instructor and Zahara worked in an office.
"I'm gonna go take a shower and I'll be back." Zahara headed up the stairs and walked into the bathroom without hearing her sisters response. Her mind was running frantic because she didn't know where to start or what to do. There were many places that just weren't hiring.
She slipped on her pajamas and tank top before she headed down to the living room. Plopping onto the couch, she grabbed the bowl of popcorn and shoved a handful into her mouth.
"What's up with you?" Kasey looked at her weirdly.
"Well, the business shut down because Robert couldn't keep his shit on the low- or keep his small ass clean." Zahara explained to her what Robert got arrested for and how all the employees had to clean out their cubicle and search for new jobs.
"That's so fucked up." Kasey looked at the TV with wide eyes. " I mean- I expected him to be a con artist, but-"
Zahara glared at her. "How am I going to find a job?"
"Apply for different jobs starting tomorrow, and do it before mama and dad find out."
Shaking her head, Zahara looked down at her socks and sighed heavily. Her parents always knew when something was wrong, even when the two sisters didn't say anything. It was as if they felt something was wrong and they were always right.
All Zahara knew was that she had to find a job before her parents found out and came knocking on her door.
"Maybe you can get me a job at your place?" Zahara followed her sister in the kitchen as she placed another bag of popcorn into the microwave. "I'm pretty flexible and I'm good at teaching or whatever."
Kasey turned around from the microwave and looked at her. "I don't think you'd do good at my studio, if I'm quite honest."
"Why not?" Zahara frowned with her hand against her chest.
"For one, you don't know how to come on time, you act as if you don't have an ounce of responsibility and you're careless."
"I am not careless." Zahara rolled her eyes and grabbed the marshmallows from the cupboard. Kasey handed her the bowl of popcorn and watched as she smashed the marshmallows into it. It was one of their favourite things to eat.
"When was I ever careless?"
Kasey placed a piece of popcorn into her mouth and placed her finger against her chin. Suddenly, her eyes widened as she frantically slapped her hand against the counter.
"That time when daddy bought us Coco."
Zahara winced at the thought of the dog that their father bought for them when they were kids. She remembered taking the dog for a walk at the park and got so consumed in her friends playing double dutch. She wanted to show them new tricks that she'd practiced with her sister. So, she loosely tied the leash around the swing bar and walked off. What she didn't know was that the dog had gone loose and ran off.
It took the family months to find a new dog and even then Zahara could never stop coming up with excuses. She completely forgot about the situation and turned a blind eye to the fact that her own pet could've been harmed because of her carelessness.
"Well, Coco should have stayed still."
"You see?" Kacey chuckled. "You're still careless. Just look around for some jobs and if you can't find anything then I'll see if I can get you a spot at the studio."
Zahara watched as Kasey patted her shoulder and walked off.
She hoped that she was able to find a job and one fast before she would have to dip into her savings.
______________________
hey guys!
this is the first chapter of The Blind Eye. I really hope that you guys enjoy it.
discussion: what do you guys think? thoughts on Zahara so far? do her and Kasey have a good dynamic? should Zahara tell her parents about not having a job anymore?
vote, comment & share for more!
if you'd like to read more of my content when im not updating, you can purchase the full version of Agape & Home on amazon. I also have a series on wattpad called; Colours Of Imagination.
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love you all!