I’ve never really taken time to admire my bedroom. Yeah…Patel bought me a decent home if you are wondering. I lay in bed staring at the beautiful floral designs on the ceiling and the glamorous lights. I kept imagining how skillful and determined this guy was. Speaking of determination, I realized that this was the time in my life I needed determination more than ever. I shot out of my bed and freshened up and got ready for departure.
The company today seemed weird. Everyone was looking at me as if I were a ghost. Even the dog at the gate was no exception. As I got to Patel’s office, I met with Katiku at the door. I stretched out my hand for a handshake, but he held it as if my hand was leprous. Patel on the other hand looked stressed and I knew Katiku had something on him. I walked up to him, took a seat and asked him what was wrong. ‘Katiku knows my secret and he is threatening to use it as leverage to get you out of this company. He hates you and I cannot choose you over my family. I have helped you enough for you to take care of yourself.’ This statement sent shivers all over my body. ’Listen Patel, you have helped me so much and I need you to trust me and let me take care of this. If it is not taken care of by Monday, then go ahead and fire me.’ The deal was sealed and I officially proceeded with mission number two which I knew nothing about but to just follow Katiku everywhere he went and see what will work.
It was on Friday and I only had three days to determine my destiny. I followed him everywhere on Friday and Saturday but there was nothing I figured out. Sunday morning began in earnest and I was standing at the mirror in my bathroom. I remembered the days I used to look at myself in the rear mirror of the car in the garage. This was my last chance and I had to get something or else…
I’ve never been to church in my life and the first time I thought of God was when I was in Patel’s car at the brothel. For a moment I thought I would be hammered dead because of the sins I had committed but I remembered a certain pastor in the market who said that God loves us regardless of who we are. This gave me confidence and I sat at a strategic point where Katiku could not see me. The sermon was so moving and I was almost stepping forward to get saved but this was not the day. I decreed to myself the benediction at the end of the service and prepared myself to fetch news from Katiku.
After a few minutes I saw him walking restlessly with his wife. I approached one of the congregants who told me that his daughter was nowhere to be found. My heart leapt for joy because I now knew what I would do. I approached Katiku and pulled him aside. I was the last person he ever wanted to see but I didn’t care. ‘You are going with me to the company right now!’ ‘What! Are you insane?’ ‘Listen I am telling you this because I have your daughter. You either follow me and do what I ask then get your daughter safe and sound or you disobey and you can imagine what an army of chokoras can do to your daughter when I make this call.’ He had nothing to say rather than follow me to the company.
‘You are going to make a post in the website about how you met a genius in the street and you decided to teach him and hire him. You are also going to prepare an affidavit swearing that you will never use Patel’s secret against him ever again.’ He did exactly that and now my bright future was sealed in stone. Immediately he finished signing the affidavit he received a call from his wife informing him that their daughter had accompanied her friends to their home and her friends’ parents had now brought her back and were very sorry for causing so much panic. Katiku looked at me in spite but I didn’t care about what he thought, my destiny was sealed. My bluff had worked, yessss!
The first thing I thought of when I got home was my dad. I’ve never seen my dad since I left Murang’a. Was he dead? Was he sick? How was he living? I left him with nothing. There was only one way to find out…
Manenoz 