Chapter 4

“Sorry, did you say something?” Mark came a little closer to be sure she repeat her question. The lady stood, her hand placed on her waist and she looked at him seductively. Her red lipstick giving her the look of a goddess.

When no response came from her, Mark didn’t force himself, he was standing in front of his door and kept gazing at the beautiful damsel.

She pushed him and came inside, stopping by the huge metallic board, “I just asked a question but you didn’t reply. Aren’t you struggling with your heater? Or you haven’t yet tried it out?" The second question came in.

Mark was taken aback as he assumed she knew what conditions the apartment was in, but still decided to rent it out without getting the problem solved.

“Do you mean you were aware of the heater having a problem but you still decided to have it rented without getting its problem solved?”

“You know fully how important the heater is at this crucial moment. We are in winter, I don’t have to remind you what it can cause if there’s the absence of a heater or if it’s ain’t functional.” Mark tried as much as he could to keep his tone lowered. He was avoiding a fight that evening. It was his first night in the place, and so he didn’t want his voice to be heard in the small neighbourhood.

“Exactly, I know what harm may occur when the heater isn’t available to be used,” Sarah said, taking three steps away from him. She reached where the heater was and touched it delicately.

“Humm, but you didn’t get this fixed? Has it been long? I want to know if it’s repairable or I need a new one,” He asked and the only thing she could do was to smile.

“There’ll be no need for you getting a new one. It got bad just a few hours ago,” She said, keeping the same scary face.

“You have at least…” He tried to speak up, but his words got interrupted.

“Listen, I’m the one who did the shit,” She halted before continuing, “I intentionally damaged the heater.” She finally spoke up.

“And why would you do that? And at what time did you get it done?” He asked surprisingly.

“I’m gonna begin with the last question,” She started, “I did when I remarked the dude left. You remember I asked you to wait outside for a minute? Yeah, that was when I damaged it.”

“Why did I do it? That gets me to the best part of the story. You see the man who paid for the yearly rent? He is the reason why I did that.” She acknowledged,

“What has he got to do with me? And why would that even have an impact on the heater?”

“Good question, you are quite intelligent. I want the dude’s contact . If you are willing to cooperate, then I’m gonna allow you spend the night in one of my rooms.” She explained.

“And where do you expect me to get his contact?”

Mark proceeded to ask, “I don’t even know him.”

“Seriously? You won’t tell me that a dude who spent over 7,600 bucks to get you an apartment is a mere stranger, you won’t get me with that.”

“It’s either you get me his contact and you get a night in my room or deny and spend the night here. You get to make the choice. I’ll be on the other side, when you are ready to speak up, you know just what to do.” She finished speaking and then left the place. Before she could close the door behind her, he requested for her attention.

“Why do you need his contact?” He asked calmly.

“That’s none of your business, it’s either you provide me with the information or you end up here,”

***

Mark gave out the number Sarah was after, but he didn’t accept to spend the night in her apartment. He had rather spent the night in his own apartment instead of mixing up with a stranger. Her attitude was a little toxic, that's why he preferred his cold environment.

He couldn't lay his hands on how a grown-up lady would make a human go under distress just because she was after a contact.

Several times she asked him to join her in her apartment, but he told her there’ll be no need. In his words, he made her understand that it was just for a night and that he would be okay.

The night was a tough one, although cold, he decided to keep his manly figure. He doubled a whole lot of cardigan and before he could notice, it was the dawn of another day.

The young man reached his newly installed office and opted for a pen and a clean sheet, where he began drafting a CV. He needed another job, since he won’t longer be working for the Carters.

After carefully drafting a well built CV, he took a bath and wore some clean clothes, looking a little bit more presentable than last night.

“Let’s go after a job hunt, we really do need one.” He said to himself after which he sauntered out of the apartment.

The streets were very busy, almost every one stepped out to offer their goods and services to the public. Mark’s presence was quickly noticed since the neighbourhood was not large.

He swallowed hard as he noticed everyone had their eyes on him. One thing he was hoping for was to get a cab quickly that was going to drive him to town. Unfortunately, dude found none. The only bikes or cabs that moved around were those that transported goods.

“Damn, getting a cab is quite difficult in this area, why didn’t I think of that in the first place? I’m gonna arrive late now,”

It took him a minimum of an hour before he got to the Main Street. already he left the house at a late hour, and unfortunately for him, there was no cab willing to deposit him where was heading to.

He gazed at his wristwatch and the time read 8 am. Well, that was no time when you were visiting a new office, as that was going to earn him the impression of not being a professional.

Standing at the login of the company where he wanted to drop his file, he held his documents tight and swallowed hard.

“I know what to do,” He said, bringing out his phone and dialling Badmun’s number.

“Good day, young master, I’m here to serve you.” Badmun replied on the phone.

“I need you at Johnson’s hotel, be here in the next set of minutes.” Mark uttered firmly, after which he switched off his phone.

Just as Mark has warned on phone, Badmun arrived in a short time frame, looking elegant in his usual black suit.

“Young master, I’m at your services.” After Mark entered the car, he proceeded and said. He knew his master would only call him out when he needed him to do something urgent.

“Drive me to a car shop, I need one for myself.” A brilliant smile appeared on Badmun’s face when he heard his master speak.

“I’m glad that you have finally come to your senses, young master. It’s good to find out that you will no longer be returning to that pothole.” His speech got interrupted when Mark gave him a dirty stare through the mirror.

“Badmun, I don’t know why you are excited, I only asked you to drive me out for a car purchase, I didn’t say I was gonna change my location. I need one for myself because the inner city has no place for cabs.”

Badmun’s smile vanished away into thin air. He was hoping that his master would change his mind, but it seems like there was nothing he could do for him.

“If that’s the case, let me know if you have some cash with you to make the payments, I have money I can sort that out,”

“No, that won’t be necessarily, I have the required sum for what I need.” As soon as he emphasized, Badmun kept his mouth shut and concentrated on the wheel.

The rest of the journey was calm until Mark remembered what occurred last night.

“Badmun, I'd like to know, did you receive a call or text message from an unknown number last night?” He asked, causing Badmun to raise his head.

“I haven’t really had time for my phone, young master, but I remember it buzzing last night at exactly 9 pm.” He confirmed.

It was at that hour that Sarah came in and demanded his contact.

“I see that she didn’t waste any time, she acts very fast.” He uttered beneath his lips.

“Young master, why do you ask? Were you expecting anyone to call?” The innocent driver pointed out.

“Humm…” He parted his lips and was going to reply to his driver when he stumbled on Hailey and Dave, having a public kiss.