CHAPTER 3: PURSUE YOUR FEAR

At the hotel, she had very little work to do because very few people had checked out in the afternoon. Her shift ended earlier than she had expected so she finally had a few minutes of rest. She called her father and when she was sure he was comfortable, she relaxed. It was now time to meet this man who had been a pain in the neck all day. The address was only a short drive away from the hotel so it took a few minutes to get there. She was surprised when she arrived at a large luxurious facility that was calm and serene with beautiful landscaped gardens. She walked to the large house and was ushered in by an armed man in a suit. Before she could satisfy her curiosity about this place, she was led into a large room filled with young people. Drinking and dancing seemed to be the main agenda and everyone was in a party mood. She could not believe the amount of noise that they were making, considering it could not be heard from outside. Here she met the man from earlier and he was dancing with a girl who looked drunk.

“Sir, your guest is here,” the guard said politely tapping the man’s shoulder.

“Jessica,” he shouted with a big smile.

“Jess is fine, she said.

“Come with me,” he said leading her away from the rest of the people. They walked through a long corridor and ended up in a room that looked like an office. It was luxuriously furnished like the rest of the house, but it was surprisingly quiet. Jess wondered about what kind of amazing sound proofing this house had installed. The owners spared no expense for their comfort. This was Jess’s first experience with luxury, so she looked around and tried to seem aloof.

"Do you want something to drink?" he asked.

"No. I'm really tired so I just want to know about the job then I can go home," Jess said. The man sat at the desk and pulled out a small package. He handed it to Jess and then said. "Here is some money. I need you to keep it until someone collects it from you."

"Excuse me?" she asked with a sudden feeling of dread.

"I thought that was pretty clear," he said.

"And I thought the job was at NextGen. This sounds like some shady business, "she said. He burst out laughing then he stood up and came closer to her. He sat on the chair opposite to hers then he looked straight into her eyes.

"First rule of business, is there is no business here. You just hold on to some money for me then you give it to the person who comes for it. I'll let you know when it will be picked. Second, there is nothing shady about giving a person money on behalf of another person. Third, the NextGen jobs will not be filled this fast. The applications are open for one month. Lastly, I know you are behind with almost all your bills. I don't even know how you managed to graduate. But I know you are a hard worker and you are smart. You will do as you are told and you will not raise any eyebrows. In return I will pay you the total of all your shifts, in exchange for each delivery you make. How does that sound?" he asked.

"Not bad apart from the fact that I don't understand." Jess said after a short silence.

"You don't need to understand anything. I give you the money and you give it to whoever shows up. It's that simple." he said.

"How do I know who shows up?" she asked.

"I'll text you a couple of minutes before."

"That won't give me any time to get anywhere," she said.

"Well, this is the best part. My people will find you so I need you to keep your hotel and waitressing jobs. They are respectable people that will not raise an eyebrow coz they will just be having a meal at the restaurant, or checking out of the hotel. The only shift I will need you to drop is one of the afternoon ones. I'll need you to pick up the money at that time. Then you can close the day cleaning the hotel while you do your first drop," he said.

"So, I don't need to move any drugs?" she asked

"No drugs. Just the money and then you occasionally deposit in the bank when I tell you."

" Is this a delivery for one person?" she asked turning around the package in her hand.

"Yes. I need you to deliver 5 each day," he answered.

"So, you'll pay me five times each day?" she asked still doubting this arrangement.

"Exactly! You catch on pretty fast," he said getting up and going to his drawer. He took out another four packages and gave them to her. "See you tomorrow same time."

Jess hesitated for a minute then she asked, "Aren't you afraid that I'll run away with your money? "

"You are not that stupid, plus I know where you live," he said with a huge grin.

"How and when do I get paid?" she asked not believing that the job was this easy. She knew it must have an illegal aspect but she was too desperate to care.

"End of day every day."

"What about the money you gave me today? "

"Use that to fix your car so that it doesn't attract so much attention with all that noise," he said chuckling. She rolled her eyes and stood up.

"You can stay for the party.  Loosen up a little. We just graduated," he said.

"I need to get out of here before I change my mind," she said walking away. He caught up with her and walked her to the door. When they got to the door, he opened it for her and then surprised her by grabbing her and giving her a long hard kiss." He held on to her as she tried to push him away and then he whispered, "You have to look like my girlfriend do we don't raise any suspicion." He kissed her again but lightly this time and then he walked away as though nothing had happened.  She got into her car fuming and then drove off.

The minute she got home, she began to regret the deal she had just made. She imagined herself being handcuffed and led out of the hotel with the wads of cash being displayed as evidence. Then she pictured her father falling sick as he attended her hearing in a crowded court. “I can’t do this.” She said to herself. “Jess, I didn’t hear you come in.” her father said.

“Hi dad,” she said hugging her father as he joined her in the living room. “How was your day?”

“Busy but I’m so glad it’s over.” They chatted for some time and her father told her all about his day. He had managed a walk in the park and he was glad to be able to talk with some of their neighbours as he walked around. She also told him about how late she was and how she had to clean the room where a party had been held. He then showed her a few job applications that he thought were a perfect fit given her qualifications. Margaret had turned the left over from the party into a delightful meal and Jess warmed it up. They had dinner together and then decided to sleep early so that Jess would not be late for work. Jess showered and changed into her pyjamas and then she arranged all her things for the next day. As she carefully placed the cash packages in her bag, she felt a cold chill run down her spine. However, she felt a little comforted by the money she placed in her savings box. She really needed this money desperately but what good would it be if she got arrested. This was her last thought before she fell asleep.

The next morning was much better for Jess. Jess woke up on time and she was more energetic than usual. She made some breakfast for her father, and then left some vegetables prepared for him to enjoy supper. She was about to take the bus but she remembered that she was carrying a lot of money. She debated within herself whether she should drive and then she remembered how noisy the car had become. The car needed to be fixed but she couldn’t think of a time when she was free to attend to it. While she was thinking about this, her father came down the stairs just when she was thinking about this. “Morning dad. I was just about to head out,” Jess said with a smile.

“You left the car keys,” he said as she got to the door.

“I’ll take the bus today,” she said then left. She didn’t want her father to know that the car had developed some issues because he often blamed himself for his helplessness. The bus ride was uneventful, but Jess felt anxious because of her packages. As she walked through the service entrance, her phone rang. She read Pete on the phone monitor and she answered with a bit of confusion. She didn’t know any Pete.

“Hallo,” she said.

“Morning babe. Are you ready for round one?” the caller asked. The familiar voice brought her back to reality as she remembered her new boss.

“Sure babe,” she replied rolling her eyes.

“I sent you a pic,” he said then hang up. She opened her phone and saw the picture of a tall dark gentleman. She walked into the hotel and changed into her uniform then began working. Her schedule was more packed than yesterday but she was lucky to find relatively clean rooms. When she was cleaning the last room, she became anxious about the drop she was to make. She had not seen any man anywhere and she was worried about getting the deal wrong. She finished cleaning the bathroom and was about to close the last room when she saw a man signal to her to go back into the room. She recognized him from the photo and she took out her carefully hidden package. The packages were carefully attached to her dress and she took out the relevant one and handed it to the man. They then parted ways without saying a single word to each other. The man left as discreetly as he had arrived and Jess completed her shift uneventfully.  As she was getting out to head to the restaurant, the second call came when she was walking out of the service entrance and into the parking lot. It was the registration of a car that was parked close to hers. She placed the package in the dashboard of the open car and then left. When she was on the bus ride, another text message came in and a lady moved from a back seat and then sat next to her. She looked like the person in the photo and she glanced at Jess impatiently. Before Jess could make up her mind, the lady stood up and got off the bus. She was followed closely by another lady who sat in front of Jess. This time Jess looked at the photo again and recognized the second lady as the correct recipient. The lady seemed uninterested in Jess until when it was time for her to get off the bus. She followed Jess off the bus and stretched out her hand as they got off. Jess quickly handed her the package and they went their separate ways.

At the restaurant, things were a little bit more complicated. Jess was nervous all through her first and second shift. This made her clumsy and careless, which made some of her customers irritable.  As the two shifts ended without communication, Jess’s anxiety rose to fever pitch. She was so nervous that she went to the bathroom more times than usual. It was during one of her bath room breaks that she got a text attached to a photo of an old man. ‘Two for one now then it’s a wrap’. She sighed in relief and then went back to work. The man in the photo was sitting next to the exit. Jess took the cash to him by placing it in a takeaway bag. He simply opened the bag then, confirmed its contents then left. Jess finally had some piece of mind as she concluded her shift. She was not going to continue with this arrangement. It was not worth the years of therapy that she would need to cure the day of anxiety that she had endured.