The Road That Leads To You

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

I left for work very early, I had to. Mark was sitted in my desk when I arrived, hope and anxiety written all over his handsome face.

“Good morning Mark.’

“Good morning Tura. How're you?”

“I'm good?”

“Girl are you asking me?”

“I'm nervous Mark. What if it doesn't record any tangible evidence?”

“Don't fret girl. It will all work out.”

“I hope so, I haven't cancelled my show yet.”

“Don't cancel babe. We'll find a way to make it worthwhile and interesting. We can do a last minute research.”

“It still won't make sense or carry any weight. The audience and the guests will notice that I didn't come prepared.”

“Girl, your worked up is getting me worked up. Stop it! We haven't even checked yet and you're freaking out already.”

I did my duties, laughed and joined in conversations like I always do. I really wanted to isolate myself but I didn't, I didn't want to act differently.

“May I come in?” I asked, as I stood beside the HR’s door. It was ajar.

“Yes, you can.”

“Erm, I won't take much of your time I just want to know if there has been any progress in finding the culprit? I know I said that I've let it go, but I still believe that I deserve to know who did that to me.”

“I understand you Ketura, believe me I do. But, unfortunately I haven't found anything. Besides, business has been so demanding lately, thus, I wasn't really able to give all my attention to your case. Trust me, I'm still looking into it.”

“Thank you, ma'am.”

The look in her eyes were different from earlier. When I reported the case to her, she seemed not to care but now, her eyes were calm, steady and clear. There was sincerity in her voice and she wasn't tapping her leg on the floor. Mark and I kept ourselves busy, we took up more work and helped others with their tasks so that they would leave the office before us. We needed to be alone. Our plan was successful. I picked up the little pink teddy bear on my desk, packed up my belongings and left the office. Mark and I wanted to see the contents of the camera together so, he went home with me. Mark was a gentle driver, throughout our conversations whilst we were on transit to my house, his eyes were fixed on the road. He listened to me with his ears and not his eyes. We arrived at my flat at exactly 8:45PM.

“You have a beautiful home girl. I love the interior decorations; simple and classy.”

“Thank you Mark. Please feel at home, I'll get us some coconut cookies and yogurt.”

I went back to the living room a few minutes later with a jar of coconut cookies, strawberry flavored yogurt and two glasses. I gave Mark the Teddy bear and he removed its memory card.

“Are you ready gurl?”

“I am.”

He nodded, took a deep breathe and inserted it into my laptop.

“Oh my God! I knew it, I wasn't so sure but I suspected it and I'm right.”

The camera was able to capture Miss Gladys, the HR seated in my desk, and messing around with my personal laptop. She knew my password, she literally knew her way around my laptop as if it were hers. I checked my laptop and another of my article that I hadn't finished yet was missing. I gathered all of the evidence and decided that I would show it to the boss himself.

“If anybody could go that law, it would be that cat eyed witch and not the HR. I'm so shocked and disappointed.”

“Why would she do that to me? Why? Why take away my hard work?”

“All your questions shall be answered tomorrow my darling. Don't you see how slow she was with the investigation? Can you remember how she spent her lunch break with us so that she could know if you would let it go?”

“That's true. When she heard that I said I would let it go, she relaxed. That's why she wasn't tensed when I went to her office today.”

“What do you mean?”

“When I reported everything that happened to her, she didn't seem to care and her mannerisms were unusual. But today when I went to speak to her, she was calm, she maintained eye contact and her eyes looked sincere.”

“Well, like my grandma would say “Your enemy is always next door” at least we know who to hold responsible.”

“Thank you so much Mark for all your help.”

“You're welcome Tura, what are friends for?”

After eating our snack, Mark said he was going to pick me up the next day. I escorted him to his car and went back inside. I fed Blue, and went to the kitchen to cook. I made meat stew and basmati rice. I didn't tell Miriam about what happened, not because I didn't want to but she was too busy. I sent a voice note on w******p telling her everything that happened. My mum and uncle Ezekiel? I would tell them when I visit next week. I called Richard and told him everything. I loved how he paid attention to everything I said, he was so invested in the gist.

“I'm happy that you found the culprit.”

“Me too. I hope that I will be able to get my work back, I hope she didn't tamper with it.”

“Don’t worry too much about it.”

“What about you? Have you found another employee to replace the one you fired?”

“Nope. I have enough staff so losing one didn't affect me.”

“Ohh, okay.”

“Yeah. I’m not in a hurry, I want to take my time.”

“That's cool.”

“So about our conversation yesterday, what's your schedule like?”

“I'll be free on Saturday and Sunday.”

“Okay. Which of the days do you prefer?”

“Saturday is perfect.”

“Good. I'll make a reservation for us on Friday.”

“Where will you be taking me?”

“Rhonda’s Cottage Garden."

“Oh my! I've always wanted to go there, it's like you read my mind.”

“I'm glad you like it. Kate, I look forward to spending my whole day with you.”

“Me too, Richie.”

“Thank you for creating time for us, I will make it worth your time.”

“Your welcome Richie.”

“Sleep well, Kate.”

“You too, Richie.”

Mark picked me up for work as he said he would. I waited for our daily morning meeting to end and took the bold step. My boss was feared, I saw how people in the office trembled when he passed and how the whole office went quiet whenever he was around.

“Excuse me sir, can I talk to you for a moment?”

He eyeballed me, snorted and told me to follow him this office.

“Sir, I do not know if you are aware that my work was stolen from my laptop a few days ago, I–”

“Yes I am aware, the HR told me and she is looking into it.”

“She isn't, sir.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have evidence here sir, I know who the culprit is.”

“Sit down, Ketura.”

I showed him everything and told him how I got the evidence. He called his secretary and told her to call the HR.

“Sit down, Gladys. What were you doing with Ketura’s laptop the day before yesterday?”

She was stiff, she wasn't expecting that question. She tired to speak but couldn't.

“I'm listening Gladys, say something.”

“Sir, I was borrowing it.”

“Borrowing it in her absence? How did you know her password? Cos from this video, even though I can't see what you're doing, I know the sound a laptop makes when you input the password correctly.”

“Sir, I can explain –”

“Can you? She told me that another file was deleted from her laptop. Where are they?”

She began to cry. She went on her knees and began to beg, she begged him not to fire her, she wailed about how she really needed the job.

“She has a show tomorrow, where is it?”

“I haven't sold it yet.”

“Wait, you wanted to sell my article to another journalist?”

The boss ordered her to return what belongs to me and she did. She went to her office and came back with a flash drive.

“Take it,” she said, avoiding eye contact “it's inside here.”

“All of it?” I asked

“I only took the article.”

“What about the other file that you deleted?”

“That's what I'm trying to explain. I didn't take it, I just deleted it.”

“Why did you do this ma'am? What did I do to you?”

“Nothing. I was just jealous. I thought you'd fail when you came here, I always believed that your articles, social media audience and everything about you was a scam. I didn't want you here but the boss did so I had no other choice.”

“Okay, continue.”

“When you started working here, I realized that everything about you was real. I saw how you increased our popularity, how almost everyone liked you, how no one came to me to help them with their work, they all came to you. I tried so hard but I couldn't help it, I became jealous. I'm sorry Ketura, please forgive me.”

She was fired that day. The story spread throughout the entire building, even the security guard heard about it. My respect increased, and my bullies stopped bullying me. I was so happy, I went home that day feeling victorious.