Black Coffee (Tara's Dream)|Dearest Diary, - Book 1 (unedited)

Chapter Seventeen.

"I promise, I'll come. You have my daughter as collateral." My mother gives me a look and i can tell that she is not done saying what was on her mind.

"Fine. Make sure she comes!" She says turning back to Troy. "And you! Don't think i have forgotten all your lying. I'll deal with you later." I nod and start waving  goodbye at her. A hand snakes around my shoulders and i turn to look at him with a smile.

"Should we get you back to work?" I nod and we turn back to the waiting cars. With the big size of the family it had taken us two cars to get them all to the airport.

"Race you to the office..." I give the man a bland look as I step into Bridget.

"I am not playing tag with you. You always cheat." The man laughs and steps into Camilla.

"If you win i'll pay for Dom's holiday to the Maldives. I give him a look before throwing Bridget into drive as i begin to race out of the parking lot.

***

"You two are crazy. You are like two kids now that your daughter is no longer here." David remarks as i step out of Bridget with a victory shout.

"Did you see that? I won."

"Because i let you and you blocked my entrance there at the gate."

"You did what?" I ask incredulously. "I blocked you because you were behind me!"

"If you two are done bickering...Attara you have that 11 o'clock board meeting."

"Oh it's Monday..." I say turning to face David at last.

"Yes. What would you do without me?"

"I have a planner and a reminder..."

"Which you have all set for eleven."

"How did you know?" I ask him in surprise.

"It's linked with Aoko's and she sent me to remind you since we sent her on that other errand."

"Oh, the awards." I say with a flat tone.

"It seem you two are very busy." Troy says with a smile.

"It's your fault. I'd have remembered if you hadn't challenged me to the race."

The two men lock their gazes with each other before they burst out laughing.

"She couldn't resist it." Troy tells David between laughs.

"What did you offer her?"

"Dom's holiday to the Maldives..."

"She definately couldn't resist that. If she's not making money, she's busy saving it."

The two continue laughing and i frown at them.

"You know that i am still here. Right?" Irritated, I say and begin to walk away.

"Let's go before she loses her temper." I hear Troy tell David as they all begin to follow me into our new business complex.

***

To say that I was unprepared for what happened that afternoon is an understatement. I have never been so clueless in my and then again, in this side of the world search engines are never the best way to find out about a person's character especially if the characters were as ancient as the ones we were dealing with.

So, what am I getting at? The Mwangaza's bid to have Davis as the next Editor in Chief failed miserably. I am not sure how I feel about it but I kind of understand how those old cronies feel about entrusting their hard earned money to someone they take to be young and as inexperienced as Davis. At the same time I sympathise with the guy, after all the rallying they did its hard to watch your hard work go into the drain. So, as it is now Dr. Mwangaza will have to say there just a little bit longer as the board consults on the best person to take over his position and for me, that is welcome news. This issue of Mr. White's birthday and the award has already been weighing me down too much without having to think about my investments and who is in charge of what in my biggest earning venture.

"So, what do you think?" Linda asks me as we exit the rather packed executive boardroom. All the investors were in today and being of a totally different generation, there was a rather long string of secretaries and personal assistants taking notes in the room.

" I don't know. I feel sorry for Davis though." I answer her thoughtfully. My mind is still going over the details of the recently concluded meeting.

"It was an ambitious bid but knowing how and who the board of directors is."

"Still..."

"Don't sweat it. I am sure he knew what he was doing. On the plus side that little presentation he made will surely make a mark in his favour. If not now, maybe in the nearby future when he has more experience on matters corporate." At that I perk up. Davis has been very helpful and instrumental in making my investments into what they are today. I'd hate to see his great plans and ambitions for the publishing house to go to waste especially after he has worked so hard to get it that far.

"So...about the award?" Linda rounds up on me and I look up at her surprised.

"I have had a lot on my plate and I haven't had much time to think about it. However, I do know that I want to keep my identity a secret no matter what."

"But Attara..." Linda looks at me with a look of frustration. "The president requested to meet you personally." My eyes narrow as I turn to study her.

"I do not have time for games Linda."

"Do I look like I am laughing?" She stares back pointedly at me. " The letters of invitation will be issued out soon and you will see. I only know this because I have contacts and they assured me that it is true." I throw her one more look and walk out to Bridget feeling quite flabbergasted.