On Time (Persaud Girl)

by Teisha Mott

  ‘Just checking that you got home in one piece… Klao,’ she typed.

  Almost instantly, a response came back:‘Safe and sound, thanks. Have a good night! Matt.’

  She replaced the BlackBerry on the night stand and smiled to herself. He was not so bad after all – old man jeans aside. He could be worked with. She closed her eyes and almost instantly fell asleep.

  ***

  “…I just wanna be meeee…” Klao rocked out to the tune that pulsated through the earbuds of her iPod. Open on the plush turquoise iMac that Reyes Green had provided for her daily work was her fortnightly time summary that she had to turn in by lunch time. She bopped along to the beat, as the pop singer wailed his frustrations at being ‘asked to be somebody else’.

  It was unfathomable how Klao could concentrate on her time sheet while listening to her iPod. Marlene often looked at her in amazement. Klao told her that when her iPod was in and her office door closed, that was when she was best able to concentrate on mundane tasks. Otherwise, she would fall asleep; plus, the louder the volume, the better. Normally, she would have the volume up so loud that everyone and everything would be blocked out. She had decided to keep it at a reasonable volume since that day when she wailed along with the cast of ‘Wicked’, not only ‘Defying Gravity’, but also the rules of melody, harmony and basic singing on key. She was at that time creating client invoices, and Mrs Reyes had stuck her head in, informing her that she could be heard from the lobby, and although she was a talented lawyer, her singing was atrocious. Klao had been absolutely affronted!

  “I’m tired of being who you tell me to be… No, no, no, no….”

  She almost jumped out of her skin when she felt a firm hand on her shoulder.

  “Son of a bitch!” She ripped out the earbuds, and turned to look into the face of Matt St. James. He was grinning like a Cheshire cat. “Bloody hell! You scared twenty years off my life, dude!”

  Matt was not even trying to hold back his amusement. “I’m sorry! I knocked and you did not respond… Your secretary sent me down…”

  “I am sick of telling her that she needs to tell me before she sends people in here!” Klao was feeling more like an idiot that Matt had caught her rocking out than annoyed with Miss Lawrence.

  “I don’t think you would have heard even if the world was coming to an end!” Matt chuckled. “Not while you were in the middle of your Duke Street tour!”

  “What. Ever!” Klao rolled her eyes and willed herself not to blush. She saved her time summary, wrapped the earbuds around the iPod, dropped it into her desk drawer, and reached for her car keys.

  “I was trying to call you earlier to tell you I was coming…”

  “I left my BlackBerry at home.”

  Matt raised an eyebrow. “Really? I didn’t think people still left home without their phones.”

  Klao was embarrassed to tell him that she had overslept that morning and had to rush to get to work on time. She did not remember her cell phone until she had gotten to Liguanea, and there was so much traffic that she could not turn back for it. She did not want Matt to think that she was a total scatterbrain – first she had no money in Megamart, then she reversed over the sabre tooth. He would think she needed taking care of!

  “Well, you live and you learn!” Klao finally shrugged. She found the keys to her car. “C’mon.”

  She told herself that she was just being paranoid, and that no one was staring, as she trotted across the office to the parking garage with Matt traipsing behind her. Her Prada pumps sounded remarkably loud on the tiles, and she wondered whether they would sound so awful if she were ten pounds lighter. She was happy that Marlene had a ten o’clock in-chamber matter. She did not want to have to explain Matt’s presence in the office for a second time.

  “Do you have any idea what tyres cost?” Klao asked as she disarmed her car.

  “Anywhere around eight thousand dollars each,” Matt told her.

  “Do you have that much money?” Klao asked suddenly realising that she had not taken her purse with her. She also realised that once she gave Matt $16,000 for tyres, she would only have $1,000 left in her purse. Only a Persaud, she thought, could find a way to spend almost $20,000 in less than 24 hours! “I should go up and request some money from Anella…”

  “Don’t worry about it!” Matt told her. “We can deal with that later…”

  “You trust me with your $16,000?” Klao asked in surprise.

  “Well, you are Klao Persaud!” Matt pointed out. “I know that you are good for it. And if worst comes to worst, I know where you live!” He got behind the wheel of Klao’s CRV. “Is there a kill switch on this thing?”

  Klao shook her head. Darrin and Dylan had been pressing her to get a kill switch for the longest while, but she had not gotten around to it. She always had an issue finding the kill switch in Bianca’s car, and thought it was not worth the trouble getting one, especially since she already had keyless entry.

  Matt shut the door and put the keys in the ignition. “We’ll have to deal with that another time,” he told her. “I don’t think that keyless entry is enough protection for your car.”

  Klao looked at him. He spoke to her with such authority, and a sense of entitlement. She wondered if he realised that they had only been acquainted with each other for two weeks. What gave him the right to talk to her as though he were her big brother, and had known her all her life? But, she realised, she was not as put off by his attitude as she should have been. He was just looking out for her. From day one at Megamart, he had been looking out for her.

  “Are you going to be long?” She asked him.

  Matt shook his head. “The only deterrent is probably traffic. I should be back by lunch.” He paused for a while, then dipped his hand into the pocket of his jeans and fished out what appeared to be the keys from his Tiida. “Keep my keys in case you need to go anywhere. Can you manage a stick?”

  Klao nodded. Dylan had taught her to drive when she was only twelve, using one of Mobay Mercy’s manual shift ambulances. When her parents had found out, she had been given a firm spanking. Dylan, at almost sixteen, was too old for a spanking, and his punishment, in a less barbaric form, had involved doing ancillary duties at the hospital. Klao had resented Dylan a bit for that. She thought he got off easy, because getting to hang around at the hospital, albeit for emptying bedpans, when your greatest desire is to become a doctor, was no punishment at all. But now, she was strangely pleased that she could tell Matt St. James that she could indeed handle a stick, as though that would make him think that she could take care of herself.

  “Well, alrighty, ma’am!” He said, giving her a smile. “So I will see you later?”

  “Of course!” Klao smiled back. “Be careful!”

  Matt waved, and Klao watched him drive off. Suddenly, a dark cloud of terror came over her. She just allowed a strange man to drive off with her car! She did not know this dude from Adam, but she gave him her keys and sent him on his way. That was how most horror stories began!

  “Don’t freak out! Don’t freak out!” She ordered herself, as she walked back to her office.

  Of course, that order was in vain. She was freaking out. She could hardly do much as she sat at her desk. Why was she so stupid? How could she have ‘given away’ her car like that? He was only supposed to be fitting it with two tyres. He had been gone for hours! What could be taking so long? For all she knew, Matt could have taken her car and scrapped it and pawned all its parts, along with her special mag rims. She could hear her brothers cussing her up and down the wall for giving away her three million dollar car with the hundred thousand dollar rims…

  “Hey!”

  Klao looked up, and her heart fell to her feet. It was Matt, smiling and swinging her keys on his finger.

  “Hey!” Klao said, trying to appear composed. “That was quick!”

  Matt entered her office and sat without being invited. “It took longer than I thought,” he told her. “But I thought I’d j
ust align and balance the tyres as well – one less thing for you to worry about.”

  Klao smiled. This Matt was a true character. Was there his second in the world?

  “Thanks,” she said, reaching for her black Prada calfskin satchel that matched her shoes and tailored navy suit. “How much do I owe you?”

  Matt handed her the bill, and Klao frowned. It was more than the seventeen thousand dollars she had in her purse.

  “I’m going to have to ask Anella for some cash,” she told him. “Can you wait?”

  “Sure!” Matt relaxed in the chair.

  Klao called the accountant’s office and requested some cash. She wondered whether Matt found it strange that she always called Anella for money. Maybe one day she would be able to explain to him that she rarely collected her pay cheque, and that the cash was kept in the vault at the office for her.

  “Aren’t you going to work?” She asked him.

  “I am at work!” Matt told her.

  She looked at him, confused. “Do you work at the tyre warehouse?”

  “No…”

  “What do you do?”

  “Let’s say I am a professional do-gooder!”

  Klao scowled at him. She was not able to ask him anything more, because Marlene appeared at her office door.

  “Anella asked me to give you this!” She handed Klao an envelope of cash, while scrutinising Matt.

  Klao knew she had to introduce them.

  “Marlene, this is Matt St. James,” She said. “Matt, this is Marlene Smith-Stewart. She is the other associate here.”

  “Charmed!” Marlene shook Matt’s hand, and gave Klao a cheeky look. “So, who is Matt?”

  “He helped me with my car, and now he’s leaving…” She turned to Matt. “Thanks, again, Matt!”

  “No problem, Klao!” Matt was looking at her as though he had hoped he could have stuck around a bit longer. Klao was relieved that he finally left.

  “Soo…” Marlene flopped down in the chair Matthew had just vacated.

  “So what?” Klao hid her blushes behind a legal manila file.

  “Who is that guy?”

  “He’s Matt!”

  “Are you dating him?”

  “No!” Klao declared hotly. “Why would you say that?”

  “Because he’s always around…”

  “Marlene, he’s been around twice! That is a huge leap from ‘twice’ to ‘always’!”

  “So there is interest?” Marlene prodded. “Are you going to be the next Persaud girl off the market?”

  “Marlene, no! I don’t even know him!”

  “There’s nothing wrong with him…”

  “Marlene…”

  “Hey, he’s young and hot, you’re young and hot…” Marlene shrugged. “I think if he likes you, you should go for it!”

  “I don’t want to talk to you anymore! Don’t you have any work to do?”

  “Tonnes!” Marlene stood. “But take it from an older head…”

  “Marlene…”

  Marlene noted the tone of finality in Klao’s voice. “Okay, whatever!” She turned to leave. “You going gym later?”

  Klao shook her head. “Too tired.”

  “Okay girl. See you later.”

  Marlene left her office and closed the door behind her.

  Klao stared at the closed door. She thought about what Marlene had said. She was young and hot, Matt was young and hot… She looked at her car keys sitting on her desk. This young, hot guy had taken her car for new tyres and got it aligned and balanced. He was a professional do-gooder indeed.

  Maybe she should go for it.

  She found her notebook and flipped the pages until she got to Matt’s number. She dialled it on her desk phone.

  “Hi-lo!’ He answered after two rings.

  “It’s Klao - again!”

  “Hey, Klao!” She could almost hear him smiling. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah!” Klao twirled the phone cord around her fingers. “Everything’s fine. Thanks again for helping me with the car…”

  “Well, it is a part of my job as a professional do-gooder!” Matt joked, and Klao smiled.

  “And even do-gooders need recompense,” she said. “So what are you doing this weekend?”

  “Ahm… Anything you want to do?” Matt suggested.

  “Well, then,” Klao said. “How about dinner? On me?”

  “Sounds great!” Matt said.

  “I’ll call you will the details,” Klao promised.

  “All right! I’ll be waiting!”

  Klao hung up, praying that she had not made a very big mistake.

  83

  On Time

  chapter six

  When Klao arrived at ‘La Fa’, the poolside grill at the Ravi P New Kingston on Saturday night, she was pleased to see that Matt had already arrived and was waiting for her. She took a few moments to examine him, sitting under the huge blue umbrella at the corner table that she had called ahead and reserved. He was not wearing jeans, thankfully, but what appeared to be casual chino gray pants with a matching layered Tee with three-quarter sleeves. Like the small boy he probably was on the inside, Matt was entertaining himself by playing with the miniature tiki torch on the centre of the table. Klao smiled to herself as she watched him.

  Although she would not admit it to herself, she had really been looking forward to Saturday night. It was her first date in ages, and although it was with someone who she did not have any particular feelings for, aside from something in between disdain and curiosity, she was always excited for a first date. Bianca, Andie and Samantha had been dying to know what sort of Saturday evening plans she had, and why she would not join them for a movie. Apparently, the boys were spending time with Grandpa Ravi at his insistence, and Christopher and Jasmine, Jeremy’s sister, were doing their monthly ‘uncle and auntie duties’ by babysitting Caitlin, so it was the perfect evening for girls’ night out. Klao refused to tell them that she had a date. She did not want to get Andie and Bianca started. They would go on and on about Matt, and Klao honestly was not in the mood. She wanted to, without any pressure, spend some time with this man, and decide whether or not he was worth her energy.

  It had been more difficult than she had anticipated tying down Matt with a time. She had called him up on Wednesday to find out when he would be available. He had been very short with her on the phone, and actually hung up on her before she could ask what would be a good time to call him back. Klao had been offended, and had decided that she was not going anywhere with him again. Obviously, he was not always pleasant and smiling, and really, she could not deal with a moody, sissy man. Vishal had been a moody, sissy man; and look where that got her. He had not called her back all Wednesday. It was on Thursday morning, while she sat outside the judge’s chambers, waiting on her turn to be heard, that he finally called, mumbling some apology about being tied up all day Wednesday and unable to speak to her. Klao, the queen of payback, was short with him, and without waiting for him to ask what a good time would be to call back, clicked the off button of her BlackBerry.

  She had felt bad for the rest of the day. A nagging little voice inside her head argued with her for being mean to Matt again, and begged her to call him back and be nice this time. The little voice would not shut up and allow her to concentrate on a letter she was writing, so finally, at one in the afternoon, she sent him a text.

  “Hey! Can u talk?”

  The response was immediate.

  “Sure! Call u in 2 secs!”

  Klao was more delighted than she had a right to be when she saw the smiley face he punctuated his text with.

  A moment later, her BlackBerry rang.

  “I’m sorry about yesterday!” Matt said, even before she offered a greeting. “It was one of those days when everything goes wrong, and as soon as you put out one fire, another starts!”

  “I get those!” Klao responded lightly.

  “Trust me. Satan was on the war path yesterday!”

&n
bsp; “Well, you can always fight back with prayer!” Klao said, recalling a bumper sticker she had seen on a car in front of her in traffic that morning.

  Matt was quiet, and Klao wondered whether he believed in prayer.

  “So how was court?” He asked after a while.

  “A waste of time. I waited an hour, only to have opposing counsel not show up, so the matter has been put off until next week. It would be good if someone decided these things before making me walk all the way over there.”

  “Oh, well…” Matt sighed. “I guess everyone has to play a part in teaching us patience.”

  Klao was getting fed up with the small talk. Normally, she was a straight shooter, although Tevin often opined that her abrasiveness was probably one of her most unappealing characteristics.

  “So about this weekend…” She began.

  “Did you change your mind?” Matt asked.

  “No…” Klao wrinkled her nose. “Did you?”

  “Of course not! I’d die of disa –quart – ment if you said you didn’t want to go again!”

  “What is ‘disa –quart – ment’?”

  “A greater level of disappointment,” Matt chuckled.

  Klao rolled her eyes, getting his trite attempt at a joke. Out loud, she said, “So what about tomorrow night…”

  “No can do,” he cut her off.

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t do Friday nights. What about Saturday.”

  “Fine!” Klao said, making a note in her planner. “What do you think of ‘La Fa’?”

  “Never been there,” Matt confessed.

  “Well, it is nice. And it’s not just because it is in my grandpa’s hotel.”

  “Is ‘La Fa’ the one by the pool?”

  Klao nodded, although Matt could not see her. “So you don’t need to wear a tie.”

  “What time should I pick you up?” He asked again.

  “Don’t!” Klao said quickly. She did not want him near her apartment on a day that Bianca might be around. “I’ll meet you there.”