Monster Unleashed - Season 1 - Episode 12

4 years ago

Monster Unleashed - Season 1 - Episode 12

Now there was silence in the car which forced me to recall the events of the morning.
I had been seated behind my desk in my office and had asked Nancy to bring me the ledger books. She had done so.
“What’s the meaning of all this?” I asked Nancy, perusing the ledgers.
Nancy leaned back in her seat. “Cathy,” she said flatly, “the company’s losing quite a sum of money.”
“And may I know why?”
“The Njobvu project’s costing a lot. The architectures, plumbers, and the likes. C’mon Cathy, you know all this.”

I heaved a sigh. “And the hotels and lodges we own, aren’t they generating enough money? Besides, the Njobvu guy invested a sum of K350 000!”

“Cathy, I think you should call up a meeting where we can discuss all that. Am afraid am not in the position to-”

I held up my hand. “Alright! Call up a meeting with the board, the foreman in charge of the building and everyone essential to the construction of the mall.”

Nancy nodded and stood up. “Anything else you’d like me to do?”
“No.”

And she left, closing the door behind her. In less than an hour, I was in a meeting.
“The mall’s a huge project.” said the foreman. “Don’t worry Ms. Chilumba, you’ll get back more than enough of the money you spending when the mall’s completed.”

I heaved a sigh and leaned forward, studying the faces of everyone present in the conference room. “Ladies and gents,” I coldly said, “this ain’t the first time this company’s putting up a huge building. We’ve built loads of stuff and not once, have we incurred such losses.” I paused, glaring at the foreman, “If these losses continue, I’ll be forced to hire a different construction crew.”

Nancy, who was seated at my far right gasped. “Boss,” she curtly said, “that’s dangerous! You can’t possibly-”
I held up my hand.

“Any questions?” I loudly said, to no one in particular.

“Cathy!” Nancy snapped, interrupting my thoughts. “Look!” she was pointing at the site where a half finished shopping mall had once stood which was now a pile of bricks, wood, pipes, and the likes. A mob of people stood at the site, watching the ruins.

I wrenched my car door open and rushed out, Nancy and the driver in my wake.
“What’s going on here?” I asked, pushing my way through the crowd.

Someone chorused, “It’s strange. The building just collapsed out of the blue!”
Another man yelled. “Some unfortunate workers have perished in the accident, others have just been rushed to the hospital.”
I froze on the spot upon seeing the ruins. Everything was gone!

“Catherine Chilumba’s here!” yelled someone in the crowd. “She’s the CEO of the company putting up the mall.”

No sooner had the woman said her last word than I was surrounded by the the paparazzi. Nancy had caught up with me now. Cameras and microphones were literally being shoved in my face as a number of countless questions were fired at me.

“What do you think caused the building to collapse?”

“How do you feel upon seeing your hard work go in vain?”
“Do you think there’s someone behind this tragic event?”
And so they went on. Nancy held up her hand and fiercely said, “No comments!”
“I need to get out of this place before I lose my mind!” I said to my chauffeur.
Leaving the site wasn’t easy but we managed to anyway.

“Where to?” said the driver as he revved the engine.
“Home.” I quietly replied. “Home.”
When we arrived home, the situation was worse. The media was all over the place. It’s like they were enjoying this to the core!
Pushing our way into the yard took about fifteen minutes but I finally managed to rush into the house, Nancy in my wake.
“Where’s mum?” I asked one of the househelps, slumping into a couch.
“She went out,” the househelp replied, “as soon as she saw the terrible news, she drove to your office.”
I held up a hand of dismissal. Nancy sat by my side.
“Cathy, I know this is tough for you. But you haven’t showed any emotions. It’s human to cry you know?”
But she sounded distant. I was too shocked to react. How on earth would something this horrendous happen? And why?
Someone clapped their hands as they sat on a couch. It was Cynthia.
“Wow! Cathy, wow!” she exclaimed, a hint of mockery in her tone. “You’ve finally done it! Am certain the old man’s turning in his grave seeing how his precious daughter dragged the company’s name in the mud. Dad toiled so much for-”
“Cynthia!” snapped Nancy. “We know you take joy in other people’s problems but it would be best if-”
“Where is she?!” someone yelled, stepping over the threshold of the living room.
Mr. Njobvu was glaring at me as he walked the distance to where I was seated.
“Would you care explaining what the hell’s going on?” he yelled.
“Mr. Njobvu-” I began but he cut me short.
“Or better still, I want my money intact. K350 000 in cash! Am no longer interested in doing business with you.” said Mr. Njobvu hotly. “Am giving you 48 hours!”
And he was out.
This time, I let the tears fall freely. I was doomed. Giving Mr. Njobvu his money would mean closing the company. What with the losses that we were incurring?
Dad, I thought. Am finished!
.