79. Room 1301

I rushed downstairs to the receptionist with a bit of excitement, the woman greeted me with a bright and polite smile. I took out the room keycard and asked if she could assist me get the name of the person my room was booked under and thereof, their contact number. I made up a lie about that person accidentally leaving their driver's license behind and I would like to personally deliver it with a gift, as a thank you for saving me from some grave accident. Thank God she did not enquire about the accident, or ask that I leave it with her, in fact, she didn't ask for anything else other than the room number. I gave her the information she needed, and after clicking buttons on her computer, she looked up at me, "Well, because of our privacy policy, I can not give you their contact numbers but I can give you the name...", I was a little disappointed, the name didn't matter to me, I just needed the numbers to get in touch with the guy, but to avoid any questions, I nodded at her condition with a smile.

She lowered her eyes to her computer again and softly said, "Well... room 1301... was booked under Thandie Lohan, ma'am. I hope that helps." Unbeknownst to the innocent receptionist, I was Thandie Lohan and most certainly did not book the room, so her information didn't help at all. But there was no need for me to be rude to her, it was none of her business, besides, she did her part by giving me the information I needed. So, I smiled and swallowed my disappointed heart and crushed hopes. Once again, Walter was a step ahead of me and he made sure I didn't find him.

Honestly, at this moment I also wonder why I spent so much of my energy looking for a guy who clearly didn't want to be found and would one day be the reason for my worst nightmare, but that's a chapter for another day, now back to the events of this chapter.

Just as I was taking my pitiful-and-depressed self out of the hotel, I heard a familiar voice calling my name, "Thandie! Thank God!", I turned around to find Ntando staring at me with the same desperation he wore at the club when he couldn't find me. He rushed to gave me a hug and I could feel his muscles relax as he held me tighter, damn, for a guy I just met, he sure cared way too much about me, it was getting unsettling. I pulled away to look at him and I saw the distraught look on his face when he saw my busted lip, " Jesus! I am going to kill those bastards.", he said as he pulled me in for a hug again and I instantly knew that he was on the loop with whatever went down the previous night. I found myself feeling grateful for meeting him at that foyer.

I anxiously took both his hands into mine, "Ntando... You know what happened yesterday, don't you? Please tell me..."

He looked at me surprised, "You don't remember anything...", I nodded with teary eyes and his face instantly dropped,

"This makes sense, I was surprised when I didn't hear anything from you. This is what I was afraid of, I shouldn't have left you. I should have taken you with me, in fact, I should have never taken you to that devil's den. I am sorry this happened to you Thandie. I am really sorry.", The guilt his face wore was almost similar to Walter's when Angela was kidnapped, I could see tears dancing in his eyes, it was like he was in a trance or something, he just kept saying sorry and I was getting nervous and frightened, what could have happened to me if Walter wasn't there? devil's den?

Ntando was no help the way he was, I called his name a couple of times but he was not responsive, I had to shake him to snap him out of it, "Hey! What happened to me?!",

With the same guilt in his eyes, he instantly grabbed my hand, "Come with me", he led me to a separate elevator going back up, and my mind instantly went straight to the gutter, like sorry Mr., I am not that kind of a woman. I gave him a dirty look prompting him to chuckle defensively, "Don't worry. I would never do that to you, or any woman for that matter! I am actually taking you to my office. It's safer to talk there..."

Forget 'safe', I was more taken by the fact that he had an office in that hotel, I gasped, "You work here?!?",

Seeing the disbelief on my face, he burst out laughing, it was honestly nice to see him loosening up, the last thing I wanted was for him to feel guilty over me, it was too much of a burden for me. I smiled in relief and complimented his hotel for the elegancy it held, but he didn't waste time correcting me, "Well.... it's actually one of the many family businesses and I'm just holding down the fort until my big brother comes back from his honeymoon. He got married last month.", I could see from his smile that he was close with his brother,

Soon the elevator dinged and opened up to the 15th floor, the last floor and it only had three doors, one of them was the office. He led me in and it honestly looked like an ordinary office, I don't know what I was expecting, but at least the room was big enough to house a boardroom, a coffee station, and a private elevator door (which was probably the only thing that stood out), apart from that, it was a typical, ordinary office, brown furniture-black office chair.

"So, what do you do if you are not in the family business? Wait, don't tell me, you actually own a building and-", I said as I walked towards the big office table,

he followed me, "Ha ha, someone watches a lot of movies, I saw your face when you walked in, it's not what you expected huh?", 

"Well..", I did not even deny it, I honestly expected some flamboyance furniture, yes the hotel rooms themselves held the class status and sophistication, but the office decor was underwhelming, it was a letdown for me and I couldn't hide my disappointment and I am glad he took no offense.

He instead smiled and showed me the couch to sit on while he went to the coffee station, "Don't let TV things mislead you. My brother is the most normal guy ever, living a normal life, nothing flashy, not even his car. He honestly doesn't fit the rich heir stigma, but my sister on the other hand- a typical conglomerate heiress, a true chaebol queen if I should say so myself..."

"And you? What about you-", 

"Well...me? I own a gym, the biggest in the city actually. Yes, I confess, my father bought me the building, but I made it what it is today. I will be opening a second one soon in Freetown, a town-"

Ntando bragged differently; I found it a bit annoying and amusing at the same time, there was always a story accompanying an achievement; cars, certificates, house, whatever it was, it had a story. So while he was busy telling me his success story and making the coffee, which was taking forever and I didn't know why because it's not like he had to roast the coffee beans, I decided to run my eyes through the office. I was never the best at paying attention anyway, even in class, I always had to doodle something. Since I couldn't doodle, I was hoping to spot something interesting and I did - it was beyond "just" interesting.