CHAPTER FOUR: YOU'RE IN OR YOU'RE IN

Jess coffee sat in the staff lounge drinking a cup that she had just bought from the vending machine. She was tired after a long day of double work. As she sat replaying the activities of her day, she could not help but marvel at her poor sense of judgement. She had agreed to work for a stranger just because she desperately needed the money. This business made no sense and she was sure that it had some element of illegal activity. Which adult in their right mind would hand over envelopes of money to perfect strangers who she had never met? What if something went wrong and the cash ended up in the wrong hands? What if someone denied that that they had received their package? What would she reply if the police asked her what she was doing? Why did this man pick her and not anybody else for this job? Jess could feel her head spinning from the endless possibilities of disaster that she had just exposed herself to. She tossed the empty disposable cup into the dustbin when she finished her coffee and then looked at her ringing phone.

   Since she had not cancelled any of her shifts, she had not met with Pete at the agreed time. She had been ignoring his calls and texts as she wondered what to do. She was planning on going to his house after the hotel shift so that she could tell him this wasn't possible. She walked out of the hotel while practicing the words that she would use to resign from her one-day job. To her surprise, the first car she spotted in the parking lot was Pete’s. It was no surprise that he had found her because he could track her location, but she was distressed that he had come to her instead. She found him sitting in the car with the window rolled down. He got out of his car and opened the passenger door. "Get in, "he barked without the slightest of smiles. She obeyed and they drove out of the hotel.

"I can't do this anymore, "she told him before he said another word.

"Do what? Pick my calls?" He asked.  He was visibly angry and he scared her a little. "I’m sorry I didn’t come to meet you when we had agreed. I didn't cancel my shifts coz it was short notice," she said trying to cool his temper. He did not say a word and instead, he drove on. When they neared his house, he drove past it and accelerated.

"Where are you taking me? "She asked in horror.

"Someplace nice," he said.

He did not speak again and they drove for about an hour. All sorts of thoughts run through Jess’s head as she imagined how this man would rape or kill her. She almost burst into tears as she thought about who would take care of her sick father when she was gone. In her mind, Jess began to think of how she could convince him that she didn’t know anything about him or his business. If he thought she was harmless then he would let her go. Just when she was composing herself so that she could start begging, the car slowed down and then came to a stop. He had driven into the compound of a luxury hotel and parked there.

“Get out,” he said.

"What are we doing here?" She asked.

"Don't ask me any more questions. Just try and listen from now on," he said as he got out of the car. She got out of the car and followed Pete in the direction where he was going. They walked past the lobby as the receptionist greeted and welcomed them. Jess felt like Pete looked at home here because several other hotel staff members recognized Pete and greeted them warmly as they walked towards the elevator. They got in and the lift attendant selected the pent house. As they went up, Jess smiled to herself thinking how ironic it was that she would die in such a beautiful place. Pete was preoccupied with his phone all the way up and he barely paid her any attention. The elevator stopped eventually and it opened into a beautiful apartment. The entrance was tastefully decorated with granite fittings and the walkway had a mixture of granite and epoxy. The walls were hand crafted with beautiful carvings made of real stone. They walked into a beautiful lounge with luxurious furniture and thick floor rugs. Jess could not help but look around in awe. She had worked in a hotel before but this kind of luxury was beyond her exposure. A lady walked out from one of the bedrooms and Jess snapped back into reality.

“Good evening, sir and madam,” she said politely.

“Good evening,” Pete replied. “Did you get everything I asked for?”

“Yes sir,” she replied.

“Fine. Then show madam to the bedroom and help her with anything she needs.” He walked away to receive one of his ringing phones and left Jess with the polite lady. The lady began to walk back from the direction where she was coming from and then turned back when she realized that Jess wasn’t following her. “This way madam,” she said politely. Jess followed her reluctantly and entered the bedroom. She was even more star struck when she got in because the room was huge. There was a large three sitter sofa adjacent to a coffee table on which some pastries and drinks were laid. Behind the sofa was what looked like a dress rack which was set with about a dozen dresses. Further into the room was a dressing table with the largest selection of make up that Jess had ever seen. There was also a variety of beauty products for hair among some styling tools. Jess became even more confused than before.

“I didn’t know what you liked so I got most of the popular brands,” the lady said. “You should get ready fast because the other guests arrive soon.”

“Ready for what?” Jess asked.

“The dinner of course. Didn’t sir tell you about it? He told me to prepare all this because you would come here straight from work. I was expecting you much earlier.” The lady looked at Jess with a mixture of confusion and irritation and Jess felt even more uncomfortable. Jess decided to play along and do as she was told.

“Where is the bathroom?” she asked.

“That way,” she said pointing towards a door towards the back of the room. “You can call me when you are ready so that I can do your hair and makeup. I will be in the kitchen.”

“Thank you. May I please get your name?” she asked the lady.

“I’m Janet. Please excuse me.” she said politely and then left.

Jess began to relax as she thought of the direction the night was taking. It was unlikely that Pete would harm her in such a place because the staff seemed to know him too well. Besides, why would he go to all the expense to give her a makeover before hurting her? He probably just wanted them to keep up the act of being his girlfriend. Jess took out her phone and called her father to inform him that she would be late from work. She was now convinced that she was not in any danger because Pete had not taken away her phone. She got into the bathroom and took a quick shower. When she got out, she walked to the rack full of dresses and was surprised to find a hamper full of brand new under garments. She wore some underwear and then sat at the dressing table to oil herself. The products were all top quality and she enjoyed the pampering effect that they had on her skin.

As she shifted through the clothes, she realized that they were all very expensive and from high end designers. She finally selected one and wore it. it fitted her frame perfectly but she was uncomfortable because it showed off her curves. She was not used to such attire as she was generally conservative about her dressing. Looking through the rack, she realized that all the other clothes were similar so she settled for the one she had on. She then quickly did her makeup and hair tastefully and walked back into the sitting area. She wandered around and found the kitchen where Janet had said she would be. She found her with two other people who were busy setting up a dining area in yet another room.

“You look lovely madam,” Janet said looking her up and down with approval. “Did you not find the shoes?” She asked when she looked at Jess’s feet which were still in bathroom slip-ons.

“I did but I wanted to ask what I’ll be doing so that I know which shoes are the best choice,” Jess replied. Janet walked her back to the room and picked out a low heel for her. “You won’t have much to do because the chef will be on standby to serve you all. This heel should be comfortable enough.” Janet took another look at her and smiled. “You have really good taste. This set will bring everything together,” she said handing her a silver necklace and a lovely set of earrings and bracelet. Jess put on the jewellery and they walked to the dining area together. They met Pete in the dining area and Janet left them alone as she went to oversee the rest of the staff.

“You are a vision of perfection,” Pete said looking her up from head to toe. His eyes lingered for a while on her breasts and Jess felt herself blush furiously. “Come,” he said taking her by the hand. He led her to yet another lounge that had several sofas arranged in a round set up. There was a man and a woman talking to each other casually. The lady was sipping wine from a glass and the man was drinking beer from a glass. As Pete and Jess walked towards the couple, a man and a woman were ushered in by Janet. Pete greeted everyone enthusiastically and then he introduced Jess as his girlfriend. Everyone else introduced themselves by their first names and then they greeted Jess warmly. Pete began offering everyone drinks and then when they were about to sit, Janet came back. “Dinner is served.” She said and led the three couples to the dining room.

Dinner was a jovial affair as the four visitors talked freely with Pete. Jess was mostly silent and she only answered the questions she was asked. The dinner ended well and the friends later retired to the sitting room where they took some drinks. Jess glanced at her phone and began getting worried about how late it was becoming. She walked to the bedroom and called her father to reassure him when she saw that he had sent a text earlier. He was comfortable with Margaret who always came to take care of him and keep him company. Jess was still worried abut the time because it was now heading to midnight yet the friends were not in a hurry to leave. Her day was still pretty full between getting home, tiding the house and preparing meals for her father for the following day. She also had to get up early so that she would catch the bus. There would barely be any time to rest given that she had a 7am shift the next day. She walked back into the sitting room and found the group of friends standing. They looked like they had just finished signing some forms and were ready to leave.

“Jess, you sign then we can go,” one of the ladies called Lily said to her. She hesitated for a minute until Pete’s glare made her walk to the table. She signed at the indicated spot and then they all toasted. When the drink was over, the guests began to excuse themselves. “Thank you so much for having us over,” Lily said. The rest of the friends expressed their gratitude and Pete and Jess walked them to the door. They left and the house was suddenly too quiet.

“What did I sign?” Jess asked when they walked back to the lounge area. Pete picked up the papers and put them into an envelope.

“A formal agreement on our partnership,” he said.

“I didn’t read or agree to anything,” she said feeling all the horror she had felt earlier come flooding back.

“It’s all good. I read it for you,” he said and sat on the sofa. She sat down too as a feeling of helplessness washed over her. “Can I at least read it?” she asked. He looked her over and she could see the desire written all over his face. “Come here,” he said patting the place on the seat next to him. She walked over thinking he would hand her the documents. Instead, when she sat, he kissed her gently. She pulled away quickly and stood up. “I was just pretending to be your girlfriend because I missed our meeting. Don’t get any other ideas,” she said with anger. He laughed softly then he stood up and walked to the other bedroom. “Where are you going?” she shouted but he walked on and left her there. She sat back down on the sofa feeling thoroughly frustrated. She then took out her phone to call a taxi as the online app calculated how much it would cost to get her home. She cringed at the exorbitant fees and then walked to the other bedroom to change into her clothes. She decided to try and get a bus or ask the hotel staff what means of commuting they used. She had just taken off her jewellery and unzipped her dress when the door opened and Pete walked in. “Don’t you know how to knock?” she asked covering her chest to make up for the open zipper. “I don’t knock anywhere in my house,” he said. She zipped her dress up again and turned to face him.

“Let’s go,” he said.

“Where?” she asked in surprise.

“I’m taking you home. But you can stay here if you like,” he said laughing. “Then get out and let me change,” she said with anger.

“No need. Everything in here is yours,” he said

“I don’t need all this,” she said picking up her clothes from an arm chair that was close by. “No offense but I think you really do,” he said walking out. “Don’t take long,” he said and walked out into the lounge. Jess looked around and packed a few beauty products along with her clothes in a bag and then she walked out. Pete was sitting in the lounge and there was a big bag and an envelope on the table. He stood up and picked both items and handed them to her. “This is your pay and tomorrow’s packages,” he said.

“Actually, I wanted to tell you that I can’t do this anymore,” she said but he was already out the door. She followed him leaving the packages behind but he returned and picked them up and put them in the elevator. As they got to the ground floor, he shoved the bag to her and they walked to the parking. He was silent all through the drive to her house as he played loud music, but he dropped her right to her door step. He got out of the car and walked her to the door then said, “Make sure you answer my calls tomorrow.” He walked away and left her more frustrated than she had ever been.