The Office

I patted my belly which was stretched tight after my meal. This was what was supposed to be the highlight of my holidays, eating and relaxing. The eating part was here, but the relaxing had been postponed temporarily.

After thanking Martha once again, who beamed at me, I set out to find the door that led to the office through the dining room. The dining room boasted a large oval pedestal-style African Blackwood table that could comfortably seat 8 people. Two tall silver candelabras were in the centre with the smooth white candles still unused. There was a large chandelier which was hung just above the table, adding a certain elegance to the decor. One side of the walls was covered with a wallpaper with hand painted irises, while the other facades were painted a beautiful ivory color with a blue border.

The two large windows in the room were ajar, letting in a pleasant breeze. The thin gauzy pale blue curtains moved in rhythm to the breeze. There were two framed paintings in the room, one representing a still life and the other a sea landscape by the rising sun. They both looked very beautiful and I could see that they had been signed by the artist, so I guessed they must be originals.

However, I did not find any other door apart from the one leading to the kitchen or main hall. Martha had said that there was a door that led to the office from there, but I could not find it. But then I also recalled that she had said that Dave was the only one who used it, so could it be a hidden door, I thought with anticipation. I passed my hands along the barely visible seams of the wallpaper to see if there might be a hidden latch, but no such luck. The door could not be on the other facades as they led in the opposite direction of the other wing. I finally had to concede defeat after 5 more minutes of searching.

I stopped in front of the still life again. It depicted a dining room table filled with luxurious food items, of which a red lobster, succulent green and red grapes, a cut pawpaw with its seeds spilling out, a porcelain teapot and some cups, along with other objects. My attention was drawn to a small moth which was painted on a watermelon. It looked so detailed and didn't look as flat as the other objects painted. To confirm my doubts I reached out my index finger and touched it gently. It seemed to be attached to a spring mechanism as I could press it and then release it. I tried a second time, but this time with slightly more force and I heard a small whirring sound followed by a gust of cold air.

I turned around and to my surprise a panel of the wall had slid back to show a small staircase. That was it, I had found the door. Looking around to ensure that I was not being observed, I slipped in and the door closed behind me. There were three steps that went down and then there was a narrow corridor that led to another door. Holding my breath, I grabbed hold of the knob and turned it around, pushing at the same time. It wasn't locked and I walked into a room that was completely dark except for the screens which were displaying images from the different rooms in the house. I could even see Martha in the kitchen, probably preparing dinner. These were all CCTV monitors and yet I hadn't even seen any camera around. Some of the screens were switched off, but I could see the study and den on the screens.

Suddenly I was thrown against the wall and I would have slammed straight into its hardness if a hand had not reached around my waist and stopped the motion just in time. I would have screamed if the same person had not covered my mouth with his hand. I struggled and started to panic, breathing in short gasps. That was when a familiar citrusy smell hit my nostrils and I automatically relaxed. I could sense my assailant's surprise at this act. I leaned back into the hand that was holding me at the waist and closed my eyes to enjoy this proximity.

'I could have killed you, you know that?' a husky voice whispered at my ear. Dave started pulling his hand off my mouth and I seized the opportunity to bestow a quick kiss on his palm. Still holding me, he bent to the side and activated a switch that lit up the whole room. I squeezed my eyes shut against the sudden bursts of light and when I opened them, Dave was in front of me, still in the same outfit. He had rolled his sleeves up to his forearm and released the first two buttons of his shirt though.

'How did you know about the door?' he asked me with keen interest.

'I found it,' I said, not without some pride.

He raised his eyebrows but didn't comment. I'd like to think that he was impressed. He released me and I was free to look around. There was a large desk at the back with an office swivel chair that looked very comfortable. Behind the desk, there were rows and rows of shelves, each filled with books and files. There was another door, closed, which probably led to the other offices.

'What are you doing here?' he asked in a curt tone, noticing the way I was looking around. The hair on the back of my neck bristled, I was not appreciating the direction this conversation was going. I had thought that he would be happy to see me even if he was busy, but that was not the case.

I stood up straighter and said, 'I came to fetch Nani's book. Please give it to me and you can rest assured that I won't disturb you any longer.'

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but he changed his mind and turned to his desk. The book was in his briefcase and he took it out to hand it to me. I took it without a word. I turned around to look for the door handle, but there was none on this side. I looked at Dave.

'If you'll point me to the door, I'll be out of your hair.'

Wordlessly, he turned a latch near the desk and the door opened. I resisted the desire to have a last look and marched straight to the door and soon I was back in the dining room. I released the breath I was not aware I was holding and walked back to the main hall. I climbed the stairs to go to the study where I had seen the comfortable chairs. On my way I remembered that there was probably a camera there as well and I wasn't in the mood to give the mighty Mr Dawn the pleasure of observing what I was doing. I vaguely remembered in which direction the camera was pointing, so when I reached the big chairs, I chose one and deliberately turned it around so that its back was to the camera, wherever it might be situated. Once I slipped in the plump cushions, only the top of my head was visible form the back. That would do.

I then opened Nani's book, still feeling perturbed by the way Dave was behaving with me. He was back to being like a stranger and I did not understand what had changed.