THE HEIRESS

CHAPTER XXXVII

This hobo looking girl walks into my office Tuesday morning carrying a tablet with a backpack on her back. She looks like one of those hackers from the basement, except her face is not familiar and I never forget the faces of my employees. I am not judging but her bushy eyebrows could use some plucking round about now and those sneakers looks like they haven't been washed in years. I understand Joburg weather can be unkind in July but that doesn't mean you should come to work with unwashed hair. I need to have a serious talk with young lady, and even give her a makeover if I have enough time.

"Good morning. I am Bali Munsamy, your new personal assistant. I am a qualified IT specialist. I am 24 years old and I live in Soweto." Why do I always get Indian PAs?
"You are a hacker?" I ask, getting up and going around the desk. I see her body tense as I come to stand in front of her. She swallows hard. Good to know I intimidate her.
"Yeah, but I am a child of God, so I hack for the good and not for evil."
"I chuckle. "What's the fun in being a hacker if you can't dip your hands in the forbidden cookie jar?" She clears her throat and I wave a hand. "Don't bother answering that. Anyways, I want you to hack my boyfriend just to prove how loyal you are to me and why I should give you this job. I don't care if Dineo hired you."

She sighs. "What do you need to know about him?"
I grin. I am not evil, but I am pretty sure Will has a file on me. I also need a file about him and why not have my soon to be confidante compile it? "His name is Willem Bakker from Netherlands and he is a widow. I am giving you 10 minutes to give me something I don't know about him."

She heads over to the boardroom table and puts her backpack there before taking out her laptop. I don't need to see how she works, so I go back to my chair and continue preparing for this important meeting I have to attend this evening. One of the developers is introducing some app and apparently we are pitching it to different international clients. I have to familiarize myself with everything that is involved or inside this app. Just in case some asshole decides to ask me if I have an input or my opinions on the app. I don't wanna seem like an airhead who only knows how to dress up classy.

"I wouldn't invest in that if I was a billionaire." Bali's voice interrupts me and I look up. "The app is too dull. Why would I invest in an app that Apple and other tracking companies have already done before? Find my iPhone? A tracker for all your assets in one place. It doesn't sound interesting or attractive. Rather an insurance advert. It is a wasted investment if you ask me. Imagine calling investors from Thailand and pleading them to invest on a tracker? Come on."

I smirk. "You are very opinionative about this invention. Looks like you did your homework. Now if I were a billionaire international investor, what would you have me invest in?" I am intrigued. For someone with such a negative opinion on this app, they have to have a more positive or attractive app.
"A Mahlobo Tech online shop. We do have a website and we know how local and international clients love to order from it, but how about we turn the shop into an app? Like SHEIN? It would be easily accessible. Then we stop using other couriering companies for deliveries and have our own cars, trucks and scooters to deliver our products. Have our own warehouses where we pack and the products and have our own drivers who will deliver the items on your doorstep like takealot. You would be amazed by the number of job opportunities you would be creating by that and your profits will be upped by maybe 200%. Now that's a worth it investment." What a presentation.

"How long have you been working on this app?"
She blushes. "The late Mr. Ntombela usually opened an opportunity for IT graduates to submit their apps. If he liked it, he would arrange for you to present it in front of the developers' team and then they would add or subtract somethings that might lead to the app having glitches. After it has been perfected, you would present it to investors and you would own 50% of it while MT own 50% of it. I presented this idea to Mr. Ntombela one evening when I actually stalked him and found him at some coffee shop. I cornered him and told him all about it. He was keen and told me to make an appointment with his PA. But then he fell ill the following week and I couldn't get back to him." I look at the goat skin bracelet on my wrist and sigh. This dude treated us like crap but he was a saint to the world. It makes you wonder a lot about his real personality and the type of person he really was.

"Okay. What did you find about Willem Bakker?"
She clears her throat. "Former Candidate for the Prime Minister position. Born and raised in Netherlands and his house is in Amsterdam. Have lived in England, Argentina, Reunion, Zambia and a few other countries before. Have dated French singer and actress, Viola Simons. His mother is from Israel and she is a US consulate. His father is a very wealthy businessman and is based in Tokyo. They are divorced by the way and are both married to different people. He has three siblings and one of them is in prison. He has been in South Africa for a five months and has never entered a serious relationship. Just a few one night stands here and there. Well that was before you. He is 33 years old and has a net worth of £32 Billion." Say what now? "Oww, he is also a hacker and I am pretty sure he caught on the fact that I was digging through his dirt but I am sure he won't kill me because it was under your direct orders." She smiles. This kid is trouble.

"Thanks for that, and I will protect you. Now do you have my full schedule?" She nods and then starts going over what I have to do this week. Well I apologize for judging her. The girl knows her story. She just needs a makeover.

***

A yawn distracts me from the presentation and I look to my right to see one of the investors literally dozing off. My God. Bali was right. This is a bad investment. The investors can't even stay awake for the whole presentation. Philani, the developer who is presenting, clears his throat and looks at me.
"We can stop there for now." I come to his rescue and turn to the investors. "What do you guys think? Is this worth digging inside your pockets?"

Mr. Einstein sits up and looks at me. "Miss Ntombela, I knew your father from way back. He built his company from nothing and turned it into this huge empire it is today. He would be very disappointed to discover that when I finally have interest in investing into a project, I hear that it is very underwhelming. Please tell me I didn't travel for more than 10 hours for this crap. You called us in here for a tracker? Really? Come on. Give me something better than that or else I bounce." Damn. That's harsh.

I clear my throat. "Apologies for that, Mr. Einstein. My PA, Miss Munsamy has something prepared for you." I look at Bali who is sitting next to me, taking some notes. Her eyes pop out when they meet mine. "Go ahead and give them the presentation you gave me in the office."
She swallows hard. "Are you sure, boss?" I nod. She sighs and then taps on her tablet a few times before standing up. All the devices in the boardroom beep. I see a message on my laptop and I open it to find a PowerPoint presentation from Bali. "My name is Bali Munsamy and today I will be telling you more about the mall in your fingertips."

She starts talking about the online shop and I can see that the investors are legit interested in everything she is saying. They are hanging on to every word. When she is finished, she even gets a round of applause from the investors. Wow. That's an improvement from yawning. She comes to sit next to me and then they start questioning her about their concerns. She responds to them with grace and her answers are very detailed.

Mr. Twain looks at me. "We have heard all about the young lady's idea but what do you think as the CEO? Do you think we should take a risk and invest in this? If we do, yes it will open a lot of opportunities for the unemployed community of South Africa but that also means it is going to be a huge project that might take longer than usual. As a new CEO, are you ready for that type of responsibility or project?"

I smile. "Miss Munsamy recently started working for me but I trust her and her invention. This app is very accessible and I think we can add a few features to make it more realistic to the society at large. Even add a lay-buy option for consumers who don't always have the means to purchase the desired products. There are also more additions I would like to suggest but I will discuss them with the team and then get back to you. With regards to the project as a hole, I am up for the challenge and I may not be experienced in IT but that will change soon. I am very dedicated to my job and I swear I won't disappoint you." I see them smiling and I already know that I have won them over.