THE MIRACLE I NEED : Episode 21 – 30
EPISODE 24
“The sauce looks like it’s going to taste nice.” Kimberly said with am uncertain smile as they both stood in front of the gas cooker looking into the pan of egg sauce she had just finished preparing. She couldn’t believe he had actually made her prepare the egg sauce herself. He had simply leaned on the counter close to the gas cooker while calling out all the instructions to her. She never would have tried it had he not challenged her anyway.
*About Forty Minutes Earlier.*
“I’m really surprised you can’t cook though, just saying.” He had said earlier when they were done preparing everything needed to fix the meal.
“I beg your pardon?” She had asked with a raised brow.
“Maybe it’s just me. But I assumed you to be a lady who can do anything and everything… So it’s disappointing to know that you can’t even prepare a meal as simple as this.” Eric said, wanting to bait her into falling in his trap.
“It sounds offensive when you say it that way. And just so you know, I can cook if I decide to put my mind to it. But I’m really not just interested in cooking.” She had said, raising her chin proudly.
“Nah. I don’t think you can. If you could have done that. But nevermind, I guess we all can’t be perfect.” Eric said dismissively as he took out the pan and placed it on the gas cooker.
“I said I can!” Kimberly insisted stubbornly making Eric’s lips twitch in amusement, but he maintained a straight face.
“Can you? You care to prove it?” He asked without turning to look at her.
Kimberly could tell he was underestimating her, and she guessed he didn’t bother to look at her because he believed there was no way she could prove it. “Yes. I will prove it!” She told him as she moved over to where he was standing and edged him out of her way.
Eric hid his smile as he let her take over from him. He was beginning to really wonder about her kind of person. She seemed really innocent and naive at heart, and she also was a very simple person to manipulate so how was she anything like the kind of lady Ali had described?
“Are you sure you can do it? You really don’t have to prove anything, you know? You can’t be all that good. I’ll just prepare it myself so we don’t end up wasting the yam and eggs.” Eric said, acting like he really didn’t want her to do it.
“I said I will do it.” She told him stubbornly. Her pride has been wounded and she needed to prove to him that she was capable of doing whatever she set her mind on. She picked up her phone and opened to YouTube.
“If you insist on doing it, then I have no choice than to let you do it. I’ll just tell you how to go about it since I’m sure you haven’t done it before… No need checking YouTube videos when I’m here to teach you.” He assured her when he noticed she was on YouTube.
THE MIRACLE I NEED : Episode 21 – 30
Although Kimberly felt embarassed by that but she nodded her head in agreement, “Okay.” She said as she dropped her phone and she tried holding up her weavon since she was feeling very hot already.
“This your wig, aren’t you tired of wearing it? Or do you wear it to bed?” He asked when he noticed the way she kept trying to get the wig out of her face.
“How can you tell it’s a wig?” Kimberly asked, raising her hand to touch the closure wig she was wearing.
Eric chuckled at her self-conscious move, “I’m very close to my mom and sister, so I know about these things.”
“Oh! I guess that is a good thing.” Kimberly muttered, wondering how that was going to affect her part of the contract where she stated she didn’t want his family in her house.
“So you haven’t answered my question. You’re sweating so much already and it is sticking to your face, you’re sure you don’t want to take it off? Don’t tell me you’re leaving it on because of me.” Eric asked as he picked up a rubber band from the stack of rubber bands he had see in a bowl in one of the drawers. He could guess they had gotten them from the multiple take outs they had purchased.
“I’ll just do that when I’m ready to shower.” She said as she focused on pouring the olive oil into the hot pan.
“That is enough. We don’t want the oil to be sailing over the egg like you’re making stew.” Eric said, placing a hand over hers to stop her from pouring more oil. Kimberly’s heart skipped a beat and she sucked in her breath at the contact. She swallowed and nodded her head as she dropped the gallon of olive oil on the counter.
Her reaction to his touch didn’t miss Eric’s watchful gaze, “The onion goes in next, and then the pepper, before your tomatoes.” He said as he placed a hand on her shadow making her stiffen in surprise.
“Go on. I just want to help you with your head.” He told her softly as he packed her hair up in a ponytail and used the rubber band to hold it in place.
Kimberly held her breath until he moved away from her. What was he doing to her? Or better still what was she doing to herself? What sort of sexual awareness was this? Was he deliberately flirting with her, or was she reading too much meaning into everything he was doing? She wondered as she slowly poured the onion inside the pan of groundnut oil, while Eric balanced himself by the counter as he watched her.
Why wasn’t he seeing the part of her that Ali had talked about? He could tell she was sexually attracted to him. He could see it in the way her eyes seemed glazed, and he had felt it when she stiffened and held her breath earlier. If she had this much self-control to behave herself around him, why was she living recklessly and sleeping around with strangers? Eric wondered.
“Don’t you want to change out of those work clothes?” Eric asked in concern when he noticed her chiffon shirt was sticking to her back.
“I’ll just change out of the clothes and shower after you leave.” Kimberly said in a choked voice. She hurried towards the backdoor when she wanted to sneeze, and then sneezed several times before returning to wash her hands.
“Very neat. I like that.” Eric said with a smile making her roll her eyes.
“How long am I to let it simmer before adding the egg to it?” She asked him politely.
“How can you think of adding the eggs when you haven’t even added your spices. Have you added salt or any seasonings to it yet?” He asked making her gasp in surprise.
“Oh! I forgot about that.” She said as she quickly rushed over to where the salt was kept.
“You can’t add too much. We don’t want it to taste like Lot’s wife had her bath in our egg sauce.” Eric said with a grin making Kimberly giggle.
“Wow!” Eric said as he watched her laugh.
“What?” She asked with a frown.
“You look really pretty, but you laugh even prettier.” Eric said making Kimberly’s heart skip a beat, she looked away from him since she was suddenly feeling embarassed.
She was going to have to add ‘No flatteries’ to her list of don’ts, “Thanks.” She said without meeting his gaze as she added a very little quantity of salt to the sauce.
Eric smiled as he watched her. He could tell she was feeling very embarassed. He liked that he could read her face and guess what she was feeling. He decided he had been right to come home with her instead of going out or just talking in her office.
*Present.*
“It’s going to taste nice, trust me.” Eric assured her confidently.
“Why are you so sure? This is my first time preparing this.” Kimberly said nervously making Eric smile at her. He actually felt like patting her hair and telling her ‘well done’, but he refrained himself by dipping both hands in his pockets.
“Because I know you gave it your best. So why don’t you go and freshen up before we eat? Shower, take off the wig and change into something more comfortable. I’ll clean up the kitchen and set the table.” He offered.
“But it’s your first time here, I can’t just…”
“You can ask Prisca to come clean up with me if that will make you more comfortable.” Eric said as he turned her towards the door to stop her from protesting, “Just go and shower, you look more beautiful when you’re not sweating.” He said, knowing that would get her.
“Prisca will join you soon.” She said before hurrying away self-consciously. Eric smiled as he watched her leave.
They had both learnt something in the kitchen tonight. She had learnt how to cook, while he had gotten to know her better. And one thing he was very sure of was that she was going to be needing him in her life even more than she had thought.
THE MIRACLE I NEED : Episode 21 – 30
__________
Amanda fixed her eyes on the television and acted like she couldn’t see Chidi or hear the conversation he was having over the phone. After Chidi finished with his phone call he looked at Amanda, “So how old are you Anita?” He asked with a smile but Amanda pretended not to hear him.
“Anita?” He called making her turn to look at him with an innocent expression, “Are you referring to me? I thought you were still on the phone.” She asked innocently.
“No. I was asking how old you are.” Chidi repeated.
“My name is not Anita. It is Amanda.” Amanda crossed her legs before correcting him.
“Oh! I’m sorry, I thought you told me Anita earlier.” Chidi said with a small smile making Amanda scoff inwardly. Why wouldn’t he hear wrongly when he had been too busy trying to befriend Kathleen? Amanda asked herself.
“I’ll be eight years old on Christmas day.” Amanda said making Chidi raise a brow.
“Why didn’t I think of that? You sure look like a beautiful gift from Santa Claus.” Chidi said with a wink making Amanda giggle.
THE MIRACLE I NEED : Episode 21 – 30
Pete joined them in time to hear Amanda giggling and rolled his eyes. So much for her complaint of not liking him, he thought as he headed for the door.
“Dad? You’re going out?” Amanda called, standing up from her seat the moment she noticed her father heading for the door.
“Yeah. There’s something I need to talk to Miss Kathleen about. I’ll be right back.”
“Why not use your phone. Or chat her up on WhatsApp.” Chidi asked, turning to look at Pete.
“It’s faster talking to her in person.” Amanda said with a mischievous smile as she returned to her seat. There would be no need escorting him to Kathleen’s apartment since she wanted them to spend more time laughing together.
“Yeah. She is probably right.” Chidi said when he noticed the mischievous smile on Amanda’s face.
“I’ll be right back then.” Pete said as he headed for the door. What could have prompted her to ask for the contract document all of a sudden? Could it be because of their exchange at the office earlier? He wondered as he put on his slippers and stepped out.
He stood by her door and tapped on it gently making Kathleen who had just stepped out of the shower look at the door with a frown. Without thinking she slipped on an oversize polo and tied a wrapper on her waist as she headed for the door to see who was knocking.
She was slightly taken aback when she saw Pete standing there since she had assumed for a moment that it was probably Amanda. Was he here because he hadn’t responded to her text earlier? She wondered.
“Hi!” Pete said as he looked her over once, and realized he probably shouldn’t have. Because of the way she had tied the wrapper, the oversize shirt now hugged her body tightly making the outline of her npples visible.
“Hi!” Kathleen responded, wondering why he was standing there, “Do you want something?” She asked when he didn’t say anything.
“can’t I come in?” He asked with a frown. He had been waiting for her to invite him inside the house but it seemed like she had no intention of doing that.
“Oh! Sorry! I thought… Never mind.” She said as she held out the door for him to enter the house. She almost smiled when it occured to her that back at her former house she never would have stood by her open door for that long. If she so much as tried it, those grab Lagos mosquitoes would have flooded into her tiny bedroom and she would have been a three course meal for them.
She shut the door the moment he walked in, and then offered him a seat, “I’ll be right back.” She said as she quickly hurried inside her room. She stood in front of the mirror to check her appearance since she hadn’t been able to do that before she went out to see who was at the door. She glanced at her appearance with a frown especially when she saw the outline of her npple, he hadn’t seen that, had he? How could she have gone out to open the door for him and even let him see her without her undies on? She quickly took off her polo and wore a b.ra before wearing the polo baak on. And then she picked a three quarter short in place of the wrapper. When she checked the mirror again and was satisfied with her new outfit she returned to the living room.
“I hope I didn’t take too long?” She asked politely as she sat down on the couch opposite him. Pete didn’t miss the fact that she had changed her outfit and was looking more presentable now even though the man in him wished she was still dressed in just the polo, without the wrapper though.
“It’s fine. Once again I’m sorry about earlier… The situation really couldn’t be helped and you were the only one I could rely on to come to my rescue.” Pete said apologetically since he figured her message earlier was a subtle way to remind him they had an unresolved issue.
“It’s fine. I understand.” She told him with a shrug making him raise a brow.
“You do?” He asked with a frown.
“Yeah I do.”
“But you seemed pretty upset earlier and you even hung up when…”
“It wasn’t you… Or you just added to it rather.”
Kathleen said with a sigh.
“Okay, tell me about it.” Pete said looking at her with interest. Maybe what he needed was to understand the person he was working with. She had seemed like a sweet person the first time she had come into his office and then he had thought so too the other time at the mall, so why had she suddenly become so rebellious always wanting to challenge him?
“About what?” Kathleen asked with a confused frown.
“Tell me whatever I did to upset you. You’ve seemed like a different person since the night I picked you up at your place to watch over Amanda at night, and I need to know why. Is it that you don’t like the job? Is that why you want to see the contract? You are thinking of quitting?” He asked making Kathleen give him a questioning look.
She would have sworn he was the one who had become an entirely different person the moment she signed the contract, so what was he talking about? “Different person how?”
“I’m sure you know what I mean, and we both know I’ve been more than fair and even lenient with you. Most Nigerian bosses would fire you for less, am I wrong?” Pete asked making Kathleen shift uncomfortably in her seat. Was that why he was here? To put her in her place or to fire her? She had just called her mother and asked them to start making plans towards bringing Isioma over, and she couldn’t afford to call them back to cancel the plans.
“You’re right.” Kathleen said without meeting his gaze.
“So because I am someone who likes to take responsibility for his shortcomings, I’d like to know if I did something to deserve your…” he paused as though to find the right word to describe her character, “Did I do something to deserve this rude attitude?” Pete asked again watching her closely to see if what he was trying to do was working.
“Don’t worry. Feel free and talk to me. Let’s clear this up and get it out of the way.” Pete said in an encouraging tone.
“I honestly don’t mean to be rude, but I’m someone who likes planning everything I do to the detail. I’m not a spontaneous person, so I don’t appreciate my plans being changed at the last minute. It disorganizes me.” Kathleen said apologetically.
Pete paused to consider what she had just said. Amanda’s mother had been that way when he had met her for the first time too. She put labels and tags on everything, she didn’t like the toilet seat up, she didn’t like to see anything out of place, she didn’t like to see dirty plates in the sink. And he had found all of that to be boring, but he wasn’t going to be the one to tell Kathleen that she was boring.
“I see. But those weren’t regular occurrences. And I didn’t mean for them to come up either. And if I can’t call you in the case of such emergencies when I can’t be there for my daughter, why then did I employ you?” Pete asked politely.
“…”
“I will really like for us to work well together… If for nothing, but at least for Amanda’s sake since she likes you so much and I know she wouldn’t want me to get a new caretaker. So please can you let go of anything you hold against me and just give me your best for Amanda’s sake?” He pleaded.
Kathleen didn’t need to think much about it, she was being ungrateful and unnecessarily stubborn. And like Sharon had said, this was a typical case of ‘see finish’. If she hadn’t gotten this close to her boss she never would have been bold enough to speak to him as she had been doing for the past couple of days.
“You’re right. I’m sorry for everything. I promise to change.” She said remorsefully.
“Thank you then. I’ll take my leave.” Pete said with a smile as he stood up to leave. He was more than grateful that his plan had worked and he had been able to get the idea of the contract out of her mind.
Kathleen opened the door to let him out, and waited until he was out before asking, “So when am I getting my copy of the contract?”
THE MIRACLE I NEED : Episode 21 – 30
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