Taken By a Mafia King, Hlengiwe Mathebula [top business books of all time TXT] 📗

Chapter 1

I’m lying on the coach watching my favourite series for the hundredth time when someone knocks. I look at the time it’s almost midnight. Who might that be? I pause the DVD player. This is my favourite scene, I’m so annoyed.

“Who is it?” I ask looking at the watch on the wall just above the TV again.

“We’re looking for the mechanic” replies a male voice.

“Come back tomorrow at 10am. It’s almost midnight. I closed the workshop almost 5 hours ago” I reply. He doesn’t say anything.

Who needs a car mechanic at this time of the night?

He left, I’m about to press play when there’s a loud knock on the door. I asked my neighbours so many times not to direct people to my house. Stupid neighbours.

“Open the damn door. We need to see the mechanic” comes a very deep voice. If I wasn’t this annoyed I was going to be charmed by it.

“Come back tomorrow at 10am, I’ll see what I can do since regular clients have booked appointments” I reply.

“Open the damn door young lady” the voice threatens, but I’m not having it. Just because they are going to be paying me doesn’t mean they have to disrespect me like that. I press play and watch my favourite scene. Just when I think they left, they continue banging the door. I’m so annoyed if I had a gun, I’d open the door shoot and kill the guy. I walk over to the door. As soon as I open the door, the atmosphere changes, wasn’t I feeling hot just now? It’s like it’s suddenly winter right in the middle of a summer night. A very powerful tall guy is standing there looking at me. He’s so annoyed if he was a cartoon character I’d see smoke coming out of his ears, but guess what? I’m also pissed.

“How can I help you Mister?” I ask him.

“I need to see the mechanic, right now” he commands.

“You’re looking at the mechanic and I told you to come back tomorrow morning at 10am. Which part do you find hard to understand? You look like a very clever guy” I reply really pissed. He doesn’t answer instead I hear someone laughing, he’s not alone.

“I’m not here for your stupid games. I said I need to see the mechanic” he tells me still looking pissed and very handsome I must say.

“Come back tomorrow, I need to rest” I tell him closing the door, but he puts the tip of his expensive shoe to block the door. That’s the problem with rich people they think they can order us around because we are not loaded like them.

“Hello. My friend here doesn’t know how to speak. We are on our way to Free State. We have a very important meeting, and our car broke down. We really need your help. We have to be there by 10am, so can you kindly call the mechanic for us” he tells me smiling.

“I’m the mechanic” I reply. I get that a lot. A 24 year old female mechanic is not something common.

“Okay, can you please help us?” he asks smiling like he doesn’t believe me.

“Okay let me change to my overalls. Give me 5 minutes” if he didn’t ask me so nice, I wasn’t going to help them.

“I’m not going to allow you to fix my car” Mr Deep Voice comments when I’m heading to my room.

I change and take the car keys, I’m not going to use their car. I don’t even know why I’m going with them during the time of the night. I take my dad’s Toyota Tazz and I tell them to follow me. I drive to the workshop. It’s a 10 minutes’ drive.

Ten minutes later, I open the roller door at the garage. They drive in. I wasn’t expecting this kind of a car, I mean the guys look super wealthy and the way they carry themselves but I guess you can’t judge a guy by the way he dresses or the way he carries himself. They are driving a Toyota Conquest. No wonder it’s giving them problems these cars are very old. I turn to the driver, since he’s the one driving he’ll tell me what’s up. I look at the car because the driver doesn’t know what’s wrong. It’s the starter, they are so lucky I have new starters here because most of my clients drive this model and their most common problem is starter so to make things simple I buy a lot of starters for them.

“Here’s your cheque” the driver tells me handing it over. I’m so pissed I don’t even look at it I put it in my pocket. They leave I lock up and head home. As soon as I get home I head straight to my room and I fall asleep immediately.

                        *

I’m walking home after a long day. I was writing my last paper today. Soon I’ll be working for a publication company, I can’t wait. I just need to sleep as soon as I get home. I know my dad did all the chores. He came back home 3 days back. He’s been helping around the house since my mom left with his best friend 20 years ago. He raised me alone with help from his family and some of our neighbours, he didn’t want to remarry even after I told him to. I don’t want him staying all alone in this place. He was retrenched 6 years ago while I was doing matric so I had to take a gap year after matric and get a job before I could study BA Degree in Literature. He didn’t want me to take a gap year but I did anyway. This other guy hired me to assist him with the paper work or give him the tools when he couldn’t reach them. Few weeks into the job his assistant decided to quit and he was desperate for a new assistant I decided to step in. He was hesitant at first but I’m a fast learner. I worked on the workshop full time for 2 years. After 2 years, I went to Varsity and I worked at the workshop when I didn’t have classes and on weekends plus recess or study break. It hasn’t been easy but I had to and my dad has been very supportive.

Bra Simon the owner decided to retire last year leaving me with the workshop, every month I send him money.

When I get home I see an old car. I told my dad so many times that he shouldn’t bring clients inside the house. I didn’t sleep, I had to work and study I was hoping I’d go straight to bed as soon as I get home. I open the door, the house is full. I greet everyone and I look at my dad, he looks very angry.

“How was the paper?”

“I nailed it. Just wait for the results. Have you eaten?” I ask him. He shakes his head.

“I’ll go make a quick meal” I tell him heading to the kitchen.

“She has grown” someone comments. I wonder where they know me from for them to make such a comment.

I cook rice, mincemeat with cabbage my dad’s favourite. I dish up as soon as I’m done. I walk to the lounge I start serving my dad, then the rest of the visitors. I keep wondering who they are until I see my mom. I don’t know how to feel. I don’t know how I look but she smiles at me. I feel like going to my room but I don’t want them to think my dad didn’t raise me well. I was so hungry but now I lost appetite and I don’t want my dad to be worried so I force myself to eat. I think my dad can see that I lost my appetite because he mouths “are you okay” I just nod. I’m lying and I think he can see that by the way he’s looking at me.

“Mzukulu (grandchild), we’re here to talk to you and your dad. It’s about my daughter, your mother” says an old lady.

Funny how I don’t remember these people. It’s like they disappeared with her. But at least I had my dad and his family. At some point I kept looking at the door thinking she’ll come back apologise and things would go back to how they were. But when I turned 16 I realised she’s not coming back and I accepted that. And now that I did, she comes out from nowhere and smiles at me like everything is okay? The nerve.

I just continue eating, I’m not going to say anything. I have many things to say and questions to ask but I’m not going to waste my time. It’s pointless, it’s not going to change the past.

“You must have wondered who she is because she left when you were very young” she continues talking. I look at the clock it’s 12 in the afternoon, I need to go to the workshop, and I need to work on a car. The owner will fetch it first thing tomorrow morning.

“It’s been a long day, I have something important to do later in the evening. I need to sleep” I tell them.

“You need to rest. Don’t worry about the dishes, I’ll wash them. Rest then we’ll go to the workshop later” my dad tells me.

I walk to my room and I go straight to bed and fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.

                        *****

I wake 5 hours later. I wash my face and brush my teeth then I go to look for my dad. I find him sitting at the lounge starring at the TV. I know he’s stressing about my mom. If he thinks I’d want to leave with her then he’s wrong, I’m not leaving him no matter what. I don’t want anything to do with my mom. She had 20 years to fix this and she didn’t. Just when I complete my studies she comes back? Some mothers we have. I’m still tired but I have bills to pay so my dad accompanies me. He tells me that he’s tired so I need to drive, my dad and I usually talk all the way to the workshop and today he’s quiet and I’m worried. But I don’t say anything. When we arrive at the workshop he decides to sit in the car which is strange. He’s been my assistant since I started running this place. If something happens to my dad, I’ll never forgive my mom and her family because clearly they’re the ones stressing him.

                        *******

It’s been 2 weeks since my mom and her family came by and I got all the results. I passed all my modules with distinctions so automatically I qualify for Honours. Making my dad proud has been my number one goal.

“You’ve made me very proud. I couldn’t have asked for a better daughter” he tells me smiling and hugging me very tight like I’m going to run away. Maybe it’s time I told him how I feel about my mom and her family. I open my mouth to say something but quickly close it when there’s a knock on the door. My dad and I hardly have visitors and when they visit they call us. Maybe it’s one of the people who need their cars fixed real quick, but I left my contact details at the workshop after that powerful guy came here. I didn’t want to but I don’t feel comfortable with people coming here that’s why I left them. I open the door and I’m tempted to roll my eyes, it’s mommy dearest and her family again. These people are going to annoy me. I don’t know whether to let them in or tell them to