Perpetual

Sasha

I find myself fixing my face, spraying some deodorant and mouth spray. I am embarrassed that I am doing this when it’s Leo coming to the office.

My assistant tells me that Mr. Mweemba is here to see me, so I tell her to prepare some refreshments and bring them a few minutes after him.

‘Come in.’ I say after I hear a light knock at the door.

He walks in. He still looks very good for someone whose financial statements are in shambles.

‘It had to take a few bad numbers to get you to come and see me huh?’ I ask facing him. I am wearing a turquoise body hugging dress and white heels. I feel and look good.

‘Well here I am and I am going to pay you for your services.’

‘But of course. Who would do this for free?’

‘I know Sasha.’

‘Please take a seat.’ I say with a wide smile on my face.

The assistant brings the refreshments and seconds later leaves us alone. I tell her to cancel anything that is on my schedule until I am done with this meeting.

‘So tell me how you ended up in this situation.’ I say to him.

‘I really don’t know hey. There were investments, I thought would bring in returns but I guess things just didn’t work out as I thought they would and now, here I am.’

‘So you are telling me that you have not been going through your records?’

He shifts in his seat uncomfortablly and I can tell that this is not a conversation that he wants to have.

‘Leo the only way I am going to help you is if you lay it open for me. I need to know how exactly you got here. I need to know what you are willing to do to get out of this situation because clearly you are about to lose everything you have worked hard for.’

There is silence for a few minutes. I can see that he wants to open up but contemplating whether it’s a good idea to do so or not. And seeing that we are not going anywhere, I decide to ask some personal questions just as an ice breaker.

‘How is Pearl doing?’

‘She is much better now, I can tell that she wants to go back for work but her hand still needs to heal before I can allow her.’

‘Maybe you should allow her to start working from home because she will become depressed if she stays in the house for a long time.’

‘She needs to heal.’

‘You sound like a possessive lover.’

‘Everyone wants what’s best for their partner Sasha. I wouldn’t be okay with myself knowing that she is working and not okay.’

‘You do love my cousin don’t you?’

‘With everything in me Sasha, I have never met anyone that has made me want to be a better man. I want to be the best version of myself, I want to take care of her and everything that concerns her. I would go above and beyond for Pearl you know.’

‘And is that why you have been making all these investments in her name?’

‘Yes Sasha.’

‘Leo you have an accountant in the company don’t you? Didn’t they advise you against making some of these decisions?’

‘I did everything with my brains on my sleeves, I was only thinking with my heart and I thought if I could secure her future, she would know what exactly I felt for her. I didn’t want her to ever feel like she was alone, to feel like she would go back to the life that she was living and what I didn’t realize was that those were very bad financial decisions. Of course the intention was good but I should have thought it through.’

I can tell that he realizes how bad this is and in this business, the first part is always recognizing how bad the situation is. Then we can move on to finding solutions.

‘The board wants me out, I don’t know if I can bear the thought of giving up everything I have ever worked hard for. This has been my baby, this has been everything I have ever wanted. Sasha I am an engineer by profession but I decided to take this route. I just can’t bear losing it all.’

His eyes have turned red, I can tell a minute from here he will break down.

‘I can get you out of this situation.’

He looks at me, some light in his eyes now.

‘How can you do that?’

‘It won’t be something legal but I can do it.’

He is now attentive.

‘I will cook your books.’

‘What do you want in return?’

I smile at him. I am glad he knows that this will come at a cost.

I walk over to where he is seated and whisper my terms in his ears. There is no way that he is getting out of this without losing a hand.

…

Kwenje’s Girl

Winnie

🙇🏾‍♀️