Chapter 4

"What is wrong? Who was that?" Dave asked the question on the mind of everyone.

"I guess it's the Chairman's secretary. She says the Chairman wants to see me." Kathleen said, her heart beating very rapidly with fear. What could he want? Or perhaps he wanted a refund of the money he had given her for the sandals? She wondered.

"The new one or the old one?" One of the ladies asked enviously.

"Why? Did you do something wrong?" Another one asked.

"You should just go and see." Dave suggested when he saw the way she was wringing her hands nervously.

"Let me just go." Kathleen said with a sigh and picked up her purse as she stood up, just in case he wanted his money back.

She walked slowly to his office wondering what the meeting was about. The moment she stepped into the office the secretary directed her straight to the chairman's office without bothering to give her any clue.

She pushed the door open very slowly and stepped in to see him standing by the window, what was it with him and windows anyway? Katty mused.

He turned to look at her and the moment he saw her face he remembered why the name had sounded so familiar. He smiled when he remembered his daughter had said she liked her the other day. She seemed like a pretty decent person and this was going to be a perfect arrangement for everyone of them if she liked being around children.

Why was he smiling? Kathleen mused, and decided to speak up since the air was becoming awkward. "Thank you for the other day at the mall." Kathleen started.

"That isn't why I called you over. Why don't you make yourself comfortable?" Pete said pointing to one of the chairs, while he walked over to his seat.

Comfortable ke? There was definitely no way she was going to be comfortable with him around, but Kathleen knew there was no way she could tell him that so she thanked him and took the seat opposite him.

"Do you like children?" Pete asked, startling Kathleen who looked at him with wide eyes. Where was that question coming from? Was he thinking of marrying her or he wanted her to be his baby mama? How could he even ask her such a preposterous question without first asking if she liked him? What was he thinking? That he was an hot catch and she would just agree to be in such a relationship with him.

Pete frowned as he watched the different expressions on her face, was the question so difficult that she had to think so deeply about answering it?

"Is there a problem?" Pete asked when she failed to answer his question but still had the frown on her face.

"With all due respect sir, I don't know how things are done where you come from, but don't you think you should at least find out if I even like you first before asking me such a question?" Kathleen asked, unable to keep her anger in check.

"If you like me? What has that got to do with you liking children?" Pete asked with a confused frown which quickly cleared the moment they understood what she was driving at. Was she possibly thinking he was asking her to have a child for him? That was a very funny way to interpret his question, but then again he wished people could learn how to answer questions at surface level instead of jumping to conclusions or searching for deeper meanings to the questions.

"Yes. Why would you ask if I like children?" Kathleen asked again, missing the flicker of amusement in Pete's eyes.

"Okay, do you like me?" Pete asked, deciding to humor her. He almost let out a chuckle when he saw the flicker of surprise in her eyes.

Kathleen cleared her throat, this was a odd question and not a conversation she ever would have imagined having with her employer, "Well, I don't know you well enough to know if I like you or not. But I'll like to know why you chose me." Kathleen said, making Pete's lips twitch with laughter. She must truly be a decent girl for her to not be proclaiming undying love to him as most desperate Lagos babes would have done had they been in her shoes.

"I didn't choose you, Clara actually recommended you." Pete said as he watched her thoughtfully, waiting to see her reaction.

"Your secretary recommended me? Why?" Kathleen asked in surprise. Was it possible that a single lady like Clara would recommend her to be their boss' baby mama or wife, when almost all the single ladies in the company were vying for that position?

"She says you're the most qualified." Pete said with a shrug. He knew he should answer all her questions at once, but he wanted to enjoy messing with her some more. This was the most fun thing he had done all day and he didn't want it to end too quickly.

"What am I most qualified for?" Kathleen asked, looking at him in confusion.

"That brings us back to my question, do you like kids?"

"Yes I do."

"How well do you get along with them?" Pete asked again making it clear to Kathleen that he was probably talking about his daughter. Was he going to make her his daughter's new mother? Was this the answer to her prayer?

"I practically raised my younger ones myself, and they were pretty stubborn. If I could get along with those two, then I'm pretty sure I can get along with any other kid." Kathleen said, in a confident manner which greatly impressed Pete.

"Okay. I want you to be my daughter's part-time babysitter. I hope the fact that you don't know whether or not you like me, won't affect your decision?" he asked, trying not to laugh when he saw the embarassment on her face.

"I'm sorry... I assumed..."

"That I wanted you to be my baby mama or marry me." Pete finished for her, making her feel even more embarassed. What was wrong with her? What had she been thinking? It was Sharon's fault.

"I'm sorry for running my mouth and for jumping into conclusion." Kathleen said, unable to meet his eyes. And raised her head to look at him when it occured to her that he had actually been making fun of her, "If you knew it was a misunderstanding..."

"I should have stopped you? Nah. It's fine. So will you do it? I'm not asking you to quit your job, but being the boss I'll be able to let you off work when I need you to help me take care of her." Pete explained.

"Why not hire professional babysitters? There are companies that render such services." Kathleen pointed out to him.

"I don't need a professional. Besides she likes you, so it makes things much easier." Pete said with a shrug.

Kathleen considered it only for a minute before asking, "How much are you paying?" The money was more important than any other thing. If he didn't want a professional that was his business. She needed the extra money and less office hours. How difficult could taking care of a child that age be?

Pete was slightly taken aback by her question, "I'll pay you fifty thousand naira monthly, but you should also know it won't be so easy and you might also have to spend the night with her in my absence, or travel with us if it comes to that." Pete added.

Kathleen thought about it for a moment, this was what she had been thinking about before Clara's call came in. She had wanted a change in her usual routine, and this might just be the change she needed, but what about putting herself out? How was she going to ever get married if she did this? She was currently earning eighty thousand naira, and the fifty thousand naira would go a long way in settling some of her financial commitments.

"Is there a problem?" Pete asked when he saw the worry lines on her forehead, he liked the fact that she had a very expressive face.

"No. Why don't I think about it and get back to you before the end of the week?" She asked in a pleading tone.

"If you can't do it, it's absolutely okay. I could always get someone else..."

"Fine. I'll do it." Kathleen decided. She didn't want to lose that extra money. And who knows? Maybe her prince charming could be among his circle of friends or family.

After her conversation with Pete Kathleen returned to her office and tried to act like everything was normal despite the fact that she knew nothing was going to remain the same again.

"What happened? What did he say?" They all asked eagerly the moment she came within view.

"It's nothing, he just wanted to find out something from me." Kathleen said in a flippant tone, that told them to mind their business, as she returned to her seat.

After seating down she decided to formulate a new timetable for herself so she could function well in all her capacities. She twirled the pen in her hand as she thought about what to write in the journal, and after giving it a thought for some minutes she dropped the pen. Maybe it was time to stop planning every of her moves and just be spontaneous. What she needed was to learn to live more by taking each day as they come instead of making too many plans. So having come to that conclusion, Kathleen threw her journal into her drawer.

She tried to focus on the work in front of her and by the time she finished, it was closing hour already. It was as though everyone was waiting for the clock to hit 5 PM, because the moment it was 5, everyone stood up and picked up their bags or whatever they came to work with.

As they all trooped outside, they were surprised to see Pete standing by his car with his daughter, "There she is!" Amanda exclaimed the moment she saw Kathleen, making her colleagues look at her curiously.

Pete who had been leaning against his car straightened up when he saw Kathleen approaching, "Sorry, I told her about it and she wanted to wait and see you before we leave." Pete explained, looking slightly embarassed by the way the staff were looking their way.

"Let's give her a lift." Amanda suggested excitedly.

"No o! That won't be necessary, thank you." Kathleen said with small smile.

"Why not? Someone is coming to pick you up? Your boyfriend or perhaps an Uber?" Pete asked, making Kathleen want to laugh, Uber ke? Who dash monkey banana? She would have preferred to lie that her boyfriend was coming to pick her up, but she quickly reminded herself that she was a Christian. No telling of lies. Before giving her life to Christ she used to be a very good liar. She lied so well that people came to her to get inspiration when they wanted to tell lies.

"No. I just don't want to inconvenience you." Kathleen said with a polite smile. Of course receiving a lift from them was going to spare her so many stress. It was best to be stuck in traffic in a beautiful Mercedes-Benz GLK, than to be stuck in traffic in a bus, rubbing body with sweaty market women and dirty labourers, but she also didn't want them to know where she lived. She was just going to have to tell him to drop her in a different street closest to hers or probably a couple of compounds away from hers.

"That won't be any bother. I would like for you both to use the short time getting to know each other better." Pete said as he held open the car door for her to get into the car.

Kathleen's eyes darted to the side and she winced when she noticed that her colleagues were going green with envy. 'Well, I didn't ask for any of this.' She told herself as she gets into the back seat of the car with Amanda