Six

Waking up groggily from my odd sleeping angle with a pounding headache, I took in the state of my room and eyed my laptop on my bed. I remembered using it last night to look up the name 'Jide' on the internet. 

Found out the dude was strange because he was African. Those ugly barbaric set of people, Grandma had made me believe. 

Nothing happened last night between us. He gave me a curt glance and sauntered away. Like he was not afraid of me. Like he had risen from the ashes. It unrattled me. I was ready for a challenge of words, like we had at our first meeting but none came. 

I climbed out of bed and wondered where this banging headache came from. I searched in my bedside drawers for a bottle of Aspirin and swallowed three. I was not sure I could make it to work today. I did not feel too well. 

Looked like the party had a huge effect on me. I hated those functions. I had to be on my toes all the time, even when I was a kid. 

I picked my phone and laid back in bed. Sending a quick text to Cassidy, I ordered her to arrange all my meetings in a teleconference and find her way to my house by eight on the dot. I had checked the time before checking my mails and working on some reports. It was six fifty-seven am.

How did the Stone family cope with all these international businesses? And to think we were expanding rapidly. I had always been in awe. Being the CEO was definitely not a child's play and I had trained my whole life for it. 

My chief maid walked in and was surprised to see me in bed with my laptop. Normally, I would have called on her to prep me for work as soon as I was awake. 

"Good morning, Miss?" She greeted me. 

I punched in on the keyboard and gruntled in reply. 

"Would you want to get ready for work?" She enquired.

"No. I am not going to work today. I do not feel too well. Relay that to Grandma for me," I told her. 

She nodded and turned to leave. 

"And if my personal assistant, Cassidy arrives, show her to my room," I instructed. 

"Yes, Miss," she replied and exited while I continued to work.

Aunt Joan stopped by thirty minutes later, holding a tray of toasts and coffee.

"How are you feeling?" She enquired. 

I nodded, eyes still fixed on my laptop and maneuvering the cursor on the screen with the touchpad. Aunt Joan removed the laptop from my laps and replaced it with the tray.

"You should eat. We have sent for a doctor. He would be here anytime soon," she informed me and I nodded, taking a slice of toast. 

She kept her head at an angle, studying me. "You need to nod less and voice out more with me. It is unnerving to decipher what goes on in that pretty head."

I smiled, "There is nothing to decipher. I am fine. It is just a disturbing headache."

She smiled fondly at me, "You have never been a fan of parties."

I nodded. They tended to usurp my energy. My eyes raced to the door when I heard it forcefully open.

"Are you playing games?" Grandma's stern voice boomed. 

I cowered in fright, "N...no. I really do not feel too well."

"Were you drunk last night?" She interrogated. "Did you get drunk so you would not be in the office? You think this is horseplay?"

I shook my head vehemently, "It is just for today, Grandma. I promise to be fine by tomorrow."

Her eyes turned to slits. "So it is a prank."

"Mother," Aunt Joan massaged Grandma's shoulders. "You need to relax."

"Relax? Do you know what happens to all our international businesses if the CEO is absent for a day?" Grandma asked, her eyes still on me. 

"We know, Mother. That is why she had been working on her laptop before I arrived with breakfast. She is working from home," Aunt Joan implored. 

"Oh," Grandma relaxed. "Good. Dr. Albert is on his way. You must not be at home by tomorrow."

I nodded and she left, banging the door. Aunt Joan was by my side in an instant, massaging my tensed shoulders. 

"Breathe," she cooed.

My chief maid entered at that moment with Cassidy, who wore a blue dress. I was still in my pyjamas. I shrugged Aunt Joan's soothing hands away and composed myself immediately. 

"Thank you, Aunt Joan. I can handle the rest from here." 

She smiled at me. "Do not stress yourself too much." She reminded me. Getting to the door, she told Cassidy, "Take it easy on her."

Cassidy rolled her eyes but whispered loud enough for me to hear. "You should be telling that to her. I am so scared she will be so grumpy now she is unwell."

I scowled while Aunt Joan laughed heartily. 

"Take care of her." She told Cassidy and to me, she instructed. "Be good to her."

I grunted as she and my chief maid exited. 

"Do not just stand there. We have work to do," I bellowed at her. 

She frantically walked over to my bedside and sat on a nearby stool. 

"What do I have for the day?" I inquired, sipping my coffee and not offering her any. 

She read off her tab and I nodded. My chief maid returned with another tray of cookies and tea. 

"Tell Aunt Joan this would do for me. I do not need another," I told the chief maid. 

"I was told to give this to Miss Jones," she informed me and I cocked a brow. 

"Oh," I said brusquely. 

She handed Cassidy the tray and left. 

"You would have that later. There is so much work to do." I told her, munching on a toast. "Did you shift all my meetings to teleconferences like I told you to?"

She nodded, "You only have two."

"When is the first?" I asked. 

"By eleven am with Mr and Mrs Khoza," she told me. 

I nodded, "What is it about?"

"We need to convince them to be associates. They have quite a large farm here," she said. 

I nodded. I called my maids, had my bath and prepped for the day. Soon I was refreshed and Cassidy was done with breakfast. I led her through a door in my room to my study. Soon, we connected to Mr and Mrs Khoza for the teleconference. 

My smile almost faded when I discovered that these people were blacks. Did Grandma set this up? I thought she hated blacks. But I remembered in one of her lessons, she taught me that we had to do anything for business; even if it was not what we wanted. 

"Good morning, Mr and Mrs Khoza," I greeted.

They chuckled and greeted, "Good afternoon, Ivory. Your accent made our names sound quite funny."

I checked their time on my laptop. It was twelve thirty pm in Zimbabwe. Great! They are Africans too. 

I cringed, "Okay? So Stone Culturist would love to associate with your farm."

The man nodded, "Straight to the point. We are willing to do that also."

I cocked my brow. That was easy. But remembering what Grandma told me about blacks, I was wary. 

"Great. Do we draw up a contract then?" I enquired. 

The woman giggled. What was so funny? "Not yet."

"We have a condition," the man announced. 

"Okay?" I demurred in an uncertain tone. 

"You have to work in our farm for a month. If the workers and manager approves of you, you will get the deal. If they do not, then we are sorry we can't go through with this," the man said. 

What ridiculous nonsense was this?

"Lemme think this through," I told them. 

"Fine. Ring us up when you decide," the woman replied and hung up. 

I quickly found my way to Grandma's room. She was not there so I went to her study. I found her and complained to her about the Khozas' ridiculous bargain. 

"As much as I do not like blacks, I think you would have to do it. For the company," she threw the bomb. 

My heart fell into my stomach. My eyes widened in shock and my mouth hung open. So Grandma was really going to make me do this.