On Wednesday morning, the moment Kathleen walked into the office the first thing she observed was that her female colleagues were all giving her a cold shoulder. It would have bothered her had she been friends with any of them, but she didn't even know their names, so their attitude didn't bother her.
She ignored all the snide remarks they made about her, claiming she was an hypocrite, one said she pretended to be innocent whereas she was a man-eater. She had been curious enough to search for the meaning of 'man-eater' and had almost laughed out loud when she saw it.
As though they weren't angry enough, she received a call directly from Pete this time, asking her to meet him in his office. Kathleen couldn't stop the laughter that erupted from her when she noticed the way her female colleagues eyed her maliciously when the telephone rang, and they heard her say 'sir'.
"Remember me in paradise." Dave called after her as she stood up to leave, making her laugh even more.
"I hear you jare, let me find out what he wants." Kathleen said as she walked out of the office, ignoring the hissing sounds that followed her.
Clara didn't bother to stop her as she headed for his office. "You sent for me, sir." Kathleen said the moment she walked into the office. She noticed another handsome young man was seated in one of the chairs, while he motioned with his hand for her to sit on the other one.
"Ken, meet my daughter's caretaker, Miss Okorie, this is Mr Kenneth, My friend and lawyer." Pete said while Ken took Kathleen's hands in her own.
"I see you took my advise." Ken said as he winked at Pete before giving Kathleen a flirty smile while holding her hand longer than necessary.
"You didn't tell me she was this pretty." Ken said when he finally let go of Kathleen's hand.
"Because I didn't think it was your business. That's not the reason I called her." Pete said dismissively.
He had observed the way Ken was trying to flirt with Kathleen, and had also noticed how uncomfortable Kathleen had looked. "We both have to sign some documents concerning your job and as my lawyer Ken needs to be here." Pete explained to Kathleen who was already becoming restless.
"You mean like a contract?" Kathleen asked.
"Yeah. These are the terms of your job, read through it and sign." Pete said as he handed her the documents.
Kathleen really wasn't in the mood to read anything. She just wanted to sigh on it and leave. Something about the way Ken was staring at her was making her very uncomfortable.
"You're still paying me fifty thousand naira right?" She asked curiously as she pretended to read the documents.
"Of course."
What could be written there other than many unnecessary English? How hard could babysitting a grown up kid like Amanda be? She asked herself as she flipped from page to page and then signed on the last page without reading anything.
"Here." She said as she handed him the document.
"You're done?" Pete asked with a frown. He had expected her to argue with him over some of the things that were written there, or even make some amendments.
"Yes." She said confidently.
"You read through everything? And you agree?" Pete asked just to be sure.
"Yes." Kathleen lied.
"Okay then, you can return to your office. Thank you." Pete said dismissively, and waited for her to leave before looking at Ken.
"She didn't read it." Ken said before Pete could say a word.
"I thought so too. But why didn't she read it?" Pete asked with a frown.
"If I were you I would use that to my own advantage. By the way, the babe is damn hot! She resemble half-caste." Ken said with a grin.
"Get your eyes off her. I don't want you toying with my daughter's caretaker." Pete warned.
"You sure? Abi you want her for yourself?" Ken asked suspiciously.
"You should know that is the least of my problem right now."
"That reminds me! Guess who I saw on Saturday?" Ken asked with a grin.
"How am I supposed to know?"
"Kimberly! You remember her? That babe in your sister's class? The one you used to have a mad crush on when we were in secondary school. Her father is Senator Abamba." Ken said.
"Oh! Really? Where did you see her? Is she married now?" Pete asked with interest.
"We met at Fred's wedding on Saturday. You won't believe she even asked about you." Ken said.
"It's a lie!" Pete exclaimed.
"I swear. I was equally surprised that she remembered you. I told her we could all meet at K2 club for Thank God It's Friday." Ken said making Pete frown.
"But I can't be there at night with you guys. You know I have to be with Amanda." Pete said with a frown.
"Why do you have a babysitter now? Of course she would watch over her while you go and catch fun. Just relax jare."