Prelude to kisses

Chapter 31

Clarity.

 That's what she had as she signed the paperwork for her company. For the first time, life began to make sense. All those questions she'd asked herself countless of times seemed to have an answer. It was like coming home after a long day, holding a loved one against your chest. It was like walking into an empty church and finding yourself in God.

The next months were quite busy, between overseeing construction, managing her businesses and spending time with her family. She still kept her assistant job but was planning to resign as soon as the apartments were finished to sorely focus on advertising. It was only three months until they were ready for tenants to move into the apartments. She had visited a few apartments and flats to get a feel of what people liked as well as looking up appropriate pricing.

Jackie had become so consumed in crossing out days until everything was done and dusted, and tenants could move in that she hadn't realized her interior designer was delaying everyone. He left the site anytime he had a personal matter to take care of and just wasn't doing his job the way he was supposed to.

"This will delay construction by months if you don't talk to your designer. And that's going to cost you more money than necessary", Tariro was telling her. As the construction manager, he had pulled her aside when she went to the site one afternoon. 

"It's not easy to find a new interior designer on such short notice. It was even hard to find the one I have".

"I know someone who is very good, if you're interested".

"Really?".

"I will send you her number".

"That's great, thank you".

==

Mahita was half asleep and half-awake when the phone rang. It was almost impossible locating the phone among scattered papers all over the bed.

"Hello?"

"Hi, this is Jackie Tanaka. Is this Mahita?"

"Yes, this is her".

"I got your phone number from Tariro Gamba. I'm interested in your work and would love to meet and speak more about it in depth."

"Oh yes, one minute", she said and grabbed her book planner, "I'm free tomorrow afternoon".

"Great, we could grab coffee during my lunch break, say twelve pm".

"Perfect, send me the address and I will meet you there".

When the caller hung up, she put her phone on the nightstand and got up to put the papers away, before writing the appointment for tomorrow in her planner. She was still in a robe, the kitchen was a mess, and she hadn't done laundry in a week. She looked at the laundry basket and decided to call the cleaning lady. Marvin was over at his grandparent's house for the holidays. She had no reason to get up early and no one kept her on her toes making sure everything was in place. It was such a relief having them taking care of him so she could fully focus on herself and the company.

Exactly twelve o'clock the next day, Mahita was seated at a nearby cafe on the chairs neatly placed outside. She ordered a glass of water as she waited, taking out a book in the process. She was halfway through Camilla Way's Little Bird. It was quarter past twelve already and the other woman hadn't shown up yet. She checked the massage she'd send her again. She didn't think anyone could miss her in the bright red blazer and black dress she'd said she was wearing. She looked around her, but no one seemed to be looking for anyone around her. She went back to her book.

A moment later a small, lithe woman was standing across from her. Her braids were tied on the top of her head in a high ponytail. She looked no older than twenty-seven. She had gorgeous golden-brown skin, the black jeans made her red top pop, drawing all the attention to her upper body. She extended her hand in greeting, "I'm sorry I'm late. We had a difficult customer at work".

"No of course, please take a seat".

She sat down and looked around for the waiter, she spotted one and ordered a coffee and blueberry muffin. Mahita ordered a cup of coffee and cake. Jackie went back to looking at the menu before setting it back on the table.

She looked at the time on her phone and informed her that she had less than thirty minutes before she had to go back to work.

"I took a look at your website and fell in love with your work. I'm in the business of apartment building and would love to have you working with me. I had to let go of my interior designer suddenly. It's been a bit of a chaotic week".

"What style are you going for?"

"Romantic, serene. Those are the two words that come to mind. I want people to feel at home as soon as they walk through the door and even if they decide to go for someone else, I'd still like them to leave with an impression".

Mahita was already scribbling down in her notes as Jackie spoke. "I'd have to visit the site to see where I can pick up from?"

"Of course, will tomorrow be too soon? I'm sorry, I'm in a bit of a desperate situation here".

"Tomorrow sounds good".

After having a bit of a discussion about how far they along the construction was and the nitty gritty, Jackie stood up. Mahita stood up too and they shook hands before the other woman was out of sight, her small frame disappearing among streetwalkers, taxis and cars in the street.

The next morning, Mahita was in the car driving to the location Jackie had send her. It was twenty minutes out of town, about a five-minute drive from a college. When she arrived, everyone was hands on, walking past her with tools and materials. The three-storey building apartment stood elegant and very neat. The serene walls gave off a stylish and cozy feel, Mahita found herself smiling with excitement to be a part of this project. Very few projects could excite her anymore, but there was something about this that made her yearn to get started as soon as she could. maybe because this was only the second time in two years that she had ever worked on apartments.

Jackie walked out, wearing a blue hard helmet and a lime green vest. "Hi, how are you?"

"I'm okay, thanks. So, this is it?"

"This is it. Here", Jackie said, handing Mahita her helmet and brightly colored vest. Mahita put it on, before being led inside.

They were busy with pasting and a few last-minute touches. They went around the floors, Mahita taking notes and asking questions to get a deeper understanding on what was expected of her. when everything was done, they sat at a cafeteria close to the college. Jackie handed her the budget, Mahita quickly went through it before her eyes darting back to the woman in front of her.  

"This works, but I need to go over it again and think about it before I make a decision. Speak to my team, if you will."

"Of course, call me when you've come to a decision. Unfortunately, I have to go back to site".

"Of course,". She watched the woman close the door of a taxi before it drove away. As she watched the car disappear, it was like something had changed. A switch came on, something invisible only she could feel. It was quite disturbing, unsettling even. She had met so many clients since she first started this business. Shook hands with hundreds of people, but this meeting left a feeling inside she couldn't quite explain.

As she sat at her office later that day, she went over the budget again. It was definitely not a small budget. She had done her research and had the funds at hand, Mahita noted. Curiosity got the better of her, she couldn't stop herself from reaching for her phone and dialing the person that had gotten her in all of this.

"Mahita?" his voice came through the speaker. It was past seven, he'd probably only gotten home.

"Hey, are you free tomorrow?"

"Yeah sure, what's up?"

"Can you make it to dinner, bring the kids too. Marvin is not back yet but I'm sure they'd love to see their aunt".

"Of course, I will see you tomorrow"

"Say hi to Neiko for me".

The call ended, calling it a night she went to bed. Sleep came easily as soon as her head hit the pillow.