I have accepted the fact that Lethi was never mine from the beginning. It hurts because he has so much potential and I actually saw IPhakade in his eyes but I guess I should’ve seen that he was too good to be true. There are so many things I wanna do just to avenge myself but I don’t really like too much violence and chaos. So I am going to hit him where it hurts the most, his pocket.
During lunch, I head to the bank and settle my car loan with Lethi’s money. As I step out of the bank, I suddenly feel the need to upgrade my ride. Well, not really upgrade but add to my car collection like my friends. I sit in my car and just Google the type of cars that I would like. I swear I had a dream car at the back of my mind but now it has suddenly vanished. That’s what happens when you suddenly have so much money out of the blue. Then, like a sigh from God, a beast passes me in high speed, I don’t even have time to see what it is. Then by the grace of God, it gets stopped by the traffic lights and I smile as I recognize it. Suddenly, I know which car I really want. I drive to work, make up an excuse and ask for someone to cover for me. I make an appointment with a real estate agent for tomorrow during lunch time first. I then head home, change my shirt and drive to Mercedes Benz where they sell pre-owned cars.
When I get there, I ask for a sales consultant. In the meantime, I look around and the beast I saw on the road just speaks to me. It calls me to it. I feel drawn to such an extent that I find myself standing near it and just admiring it. Its matte grey colour is just calling my name, compelling me to take it home. It has officially turned me into a zombie. I am drooling over a machine. Can the Holy Spirit come down?
“Excuse me, sir.” I am startled by the voice. I quickly turn and my eyes land on a very sexy sales man.
“Oh-la-la. Don’t you look handsome? I am Lindsay.” I extend my hand and he shakes it with a smile.
“I am Mlulamisi Nxumalo and I will be assisting you with anything you need today. So what are we doing? Window shopping? Test driving or purchasing?”
“I would like to test drive this beast right here and then purchase it.” His eyes pop out.
“We would have to check if your credit score is good before you purchase it.”
“Do you need that credit score shit when you’re purchasing it in cash?” his jaws drop to the floor and it takes him a few moments to collect himself.
“Mr. ow sorry, Miss…” he stumbles upon his words and I chuckle.
“You can call me Mr. Mzobe. That’s what’s on my ID.”
“The car costs more than 3 million rands. Now, are you sure you want to purchase it on cash?” I really hope this card has more than 5 million rands. I don’t wanna end up embarrassing myself in this garage but Mr. Khambule is going to feel my wrath today. I am sure he is going to sweat in all the hidden places as soon as he recognizes a huge amount of 3million rands being subtracted from his bank account. Well I am also glad it’s pre-owned. I am sure a brand new one would’ve cost me 8 million rands. Well not me per say but you catch my drift.
“Is that what you get hired to do, Mr. Nxumalo? Doubt the customer’s capability?”
He shakes his head. “Ow no. that’s not it. I am sorry if it seems like I am undermining you. That’s not my intention. So would you like me to highlight the car’s special features or we can just get to the purchasing part?”
“I am already taken by just looking at it but you can wow me with other details, only the important ones.” He nods.
“In combination with the SPEEDSHIFT MCT 9-speed sports transmission and all-wheel drive, the four-seat coupe slings itself from rest to 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 2.8 seconds. The car reaches 300 km/h (186 mph) in just 23.9 seconds. Due to the tires, the top speed is electronically limited to 330 km/h (205 mph).”
“Enough with the 2.9 seconds and all. I am no fast and furious driver.” He laughs. “Tell me something in my language which I am going to love hearing.”
He smiles. “Brabus offers buyers of this supercar the option to custom-tailor the interior of the vehicle to their personal preferences with a bespoke masterpiece interior.” That sounds cool. I would love to have the seats written ‘Lindsay’ or ‘Mzobe’. “There is also a fine leather interior. I would love to explain the seams and piping but I am sure you would find them boring.”
I laugh. “I am glad you are taking your time to understand me. Now how about we test drive it?” he chuckles.
“You can’t wait to know how it feels beneath you.”
“You don’t understand, Mlulamisi. It is calling my name and I want to answer.” He laughs.
“Okay. Let me grab the car keys real quick.” He rushes away and I exhale loudly, looking around. I feel like Lethi is going to kill me for this. Phela 3 million is not just petty cash. But I have already started this. I guess it’s do or die. Mlulamisi comes back with the car keys and he opens the car for me. “Since we don’t like customers going too crazy, we have a driveway in our backyard which is approximately 1km. you can test drive the car there.”
“Thank you.” I slide inside and take the car keys from. He shows me how to start the car and the engine purrs in response, startling me and I end up shrieking in delight. He laughs.
“You will get used to it. The driveway is through that window.” He points to my left side.
“Thanks once again.”
He closes the door and I drive the car outside and I love how it roars and follows my every command. It makes me wanna cry really. I drive back inside the garage and stay in the car after parking it for a few moments trying to gather my thoughts. I then hop out and Mlulamisi smiles at me.
“How are you feeling?”
“Like a brand new person. How do you make it feel so brand new while it is a second hand?”
“Well this one in particular, the previous owner only had it for 3 months and then sold it to us. The price he sold it for was very low, so we didn’t see the need to sell it for more than 4 million.” I nod.
“Let’s get to the paperwork then.” We walk to an office and he gestures that I sit.
“Would you like something to drink?”
“A virgin cocktail would be lovely.” He smiles.
“Let’s see if we have something like that in our fridge.” He speaks to someone on the phone and a few moments later, a young lady walks in with a cocktail and some biscuits.
“Here you go sir.” She places the small tray before me and walks away.
“Now can I please have your ID, Drivers’ license and the card?” I quickly hand him those things and then sip on my cocktail. He gets to work for a few minutes and we sit in silence. “Umm, sir, this card belongs to Mr. LT Khambule. We can’t continue with the purchase without verifying with the card owner.” Shucks.
“Go ahead then. Call him.” I state absent-mindedly because I know there is no way he has Lethi’s number. I see him dialing a number and my heart skips a beat. He puts it on speaker and it rings three times before the person on the other line answers it.
“Good afternoon. This is Mandy from Khambule Enterprises. How can I assist you?”
“Hey, Mandy. You’re talking to Mlulamisi from Mercedes Benz. I would like to speak to Mr. Khambule. It’s urgent.”
“Okay Mr. Mlulamisi. Let me quickly connect you to him.” the phone goes quiet, rings once and then his voice beams all over the office.
“This is Mr. Khambule. How can I help you?” he asks and my heart somersaults. Bitch chill. The man is about to rain on your parade. Bye bye Benzie. It was nice meeting you even for a few minutes.
“Yes sir. You’re talking to Mlulamisi Nxumalo from Mercedes Benz. I am with Mr. Lindani Mzobe here and he wants to make a purchase of a car.”
There is silence for a few moments before the man speaks up. “Please give him whatever car he wants.”
“Umm, sir, the car is a Brabus Rocket GT900 and it’s R3 750 000.”
“Fine. Can I please talk to Mr. Mzobe for a few moments?” I can hear agitation in his voice. I don’t wanna speak to him. I don’t want him to soften me or whatever he wants to do.
“NO!” I shout before hanging up the call on Mlulamisi’s behalf. “Now that’s out of the way, can we please proceed? I don’t have the whole afternoon.”
“Yes we can. Also please forgive me for that. It’s not that I was undermining you or something, but a verification from the card’s owner is very important.”
“I understand, now can I please have my car?”
