Linda stood at her big office window and stared blankly at the orange-painted sky, then shifted her focus down to the bustling CBD street courtesy of her 200m building, the traffic was getting heavier signaling the start of a rush hour. She gazed at the sunset for a while, thinking of how his uncle was linked to every near-death experience in her life. The long silence was followed by a long sigh, and then she replied, "I know so, trust me on this. That man is evil...pure evil fueled by greed and envy."
Kim could hear the pain and anger in her voice, 'she must have suffered a lot' she thought, "Okay! I will keep searching, I promise you I will find something for you soon. I wil-", Linda cut Kim off to ask for one more favor, "Oh, Kim, also, I think there is a leak at the main mansion, I need to find out who it is...", she said pulling the chair that was in front of her,
"You don't have to say it twice, what do you plan to do with them?", Kim eagerly awaited Linda's response, for as long as she had worked as her private investigator, she had never seen her show mercy to anyone who betrayed her trust.
Linda calmly responded, "That will depend on how much they know. I have to go...",
"Okay, will be in touch soon", with that, Kim hung up the phone.
Linda put the phone on her table still deep in her thoughts, she knew her uncle was up to something, and she needed to figure it out fast. Her gut was telling her that her marriage request may have opened a window of opportunity for her uncle. A call from Jackie snapped her back to Earth, her eyes lit up in anticipation and anxiousness accompanied by a violently beating heart as she answered the phone, "Little Jackie, did you find it?",
Unlike Linda, Jackie sounded extremely calm and in an extremely good mood, "Oh, no hello Jacqueline, how is college? How are the classes? Do you need money?", Linda sighed defeatedly, calming herself in the process and humored Jackie on her game, "Hi Little Jackie, the most competent hacker in the world,"
Jack giggled upon hearing that, "Not competent, but prestigious! And yes, I found it! And not only that, I also found who stole it and who sold it!", Linda was overjoyed, the thing she had been searching for almost 15 years has finally been found, "Where is it?"
"Your mom's final art piece from her "My Angel" series is at the Rivonia Art Gallery, Sandton, in South Africa, I will text you the address", Linda could hear chewing sounds from the other line, normally, she would scold Jackie, but today, she finally achieved one of her longest dreams, reuniting the "My Angel" art pieces together and just in time before the family charity gala. However, the main reason for searching for the final piece was to read the hidden message her mom left for her.
Linda felt extremely grateful to Jackie, "Thank you so much Jackie, let me know if you need anything", Jackie was surprised that she didn't ask who the culprit was, "Don't you want to know who did it?"
"I think I may have a pretty good idea,", Linda confidently replied with only one name in her mind, 'Uncle John'.
Jackie giggled again and said, "Uhm, okay then. You don't need to get me anything else, you are already paying for my fees, I have a job lined up, and you are looking after my mother. If anything, I owe you. You saved my life", her voice became more gentle and softer. But Linda was not accepting it, in her eyes, her mom's painting was way more than everything she has ever given to Jackie, "Come on, ", she insisted
In that split second, Jackie's voice went from a mature lady to an infatuated high school girl, "Well, if you insist, can you please ask Freddy for his numbers?", Linda could feel her blushing through the phone
Just then, Freddy walked in with Linda's lunch, "Ma'am, your food got delivered but I don't know if you will still eat it, it is almost time to go home."He placed the takeaway bag on her table.
"Freddy, Jackie is asking for your number," she said on purpose ,
"Ooh, he is there?!", the excitement was loud enough to make Linda move the phone away from her ear,
"No! tell her I am too young for relationships", he ran out of the office leaving Linda with a smile on her face, "You heard that, I think you need to give up"
"No, not going to give up, you know I can easily get all his personal information, but because I am being sincere-. You know what, I am drafting a new contract, You have to help me get Freddy. bye." she hung up.
"Kids these days are so persistent. Maybe if I was half as persistent with my previous crushes I would be married by now", Linda's heart sank in disappointment as she thought about the ways she was going about finding a man, "Now I have to buy my husband"
Linda packed up for the day and informed Sharon that she was on her way home, she found Freddy also getting on the elevator. "Good work today, especially when it came to handling uncle. How did you come up with Mr. Felixton?", she asked
With a wide smile, Freddy replied, "Is called 'thinking on my feet', so will I get a promotion or raise". The elevator door opened and readied to transport them to the reception area
"Don't push it, Freddy, or I will give little Jackie your number.", she said looking at the numbers as they countdown from 15,
Freddy widened his eyes and replied, "No, you wouldn't", causing Linda to shift her eyes from the monitor to the shocked look on his face,
"Do you know that if she wants your details, she can easily get them, this should give you a glimpse at the type of person she is", a ding sounds could be heard from the elevator indicating its arrival and the door opened, "by the way, tell Aunty that I love those sample Jimmy Choos heels she got me"