To Catch a Man (In 30 Days or Less) (The BAD BOY BILLIONAIRES Series) (7 page)

“Mosola,” Stone said with a smile
and crouched down so his face was level with the child’s.  “Come give me a
hug.”

He got a huge smile and a hug
around the neck that looked like it would cut off his air but he didn’t seem to
mind at all.  Stone was laughing as he hugged him back then he stood up with
the child still clinging to his neck.  Soon another little one ventured forward
then another, until Stone was surrounded by at least a dozen little boys, all
demanding their hug.  And Stone delivered.

Next, he went from table to table,
greeting the older boys, addressing each of them by name.  Indie wondered how
he remembered them all but he seemed to have no trouble and it was clear that
the boys appreciated the attention.

“He really loves those boys.”  It
was Jenna, right by her elbow, and she was whispering to Indie.  “And you’ll
love them, too, as soon as you get to know them.  They’re all so sweet.  You’ll
see-”

She was cut off mid-sentence when a
bell started to ring.  "Lunch time is over," Jenna shouted over the
din.  “Time for the afternoon classes.  Follow me.”

The boys formed a neat line and
without Jenna having to say a word they filed out of the dining room and off to
wooden buildings that stood at various ends of the compound.

Jenna took Indie on a tour of the
classrooms.  “We have eleven teachers,” she said, “covering the little ones in preschool
right up to grade ten.  For the higher grades the boys go on to high school in
Johannesburg.”  They’d reached a building cheerfully painted yellow.  She held
the door open.  “Welcome to your new home away from home.  After today, she’s
all yours.”

It was a neat little bungalow that
seemed to serve as Jenna’s office.  A desk and file cabinet sat next to the
sofa in the living room, partially hidden from view by a screen decorated with
African print with stripes of orange, yellow and black.  Surprisingly, the
bedroom was the largest room in the house, with a huge four-poster bed with a
canopy from which pale white curtains fell.  A closer look told Indie those
weren’t curtains but mosquito netting.  Smart move.  She knew from personal experience
how vicious the tiny insects could be.

“Make yourself comfortable.”   Jenna
spread her arms wide.  “The driver will soon bring your bags.  The few things I
have here are packed and ready to go.  In fact,” she lowered her voice in a
conspiratorial whisper, “as soon as Stone called to say he was bringing you, my
husband and I started clearing up the place.  I was never so happy to lose a
job.”  Then, as she saw Indie’s face she laughed.  “Oh, don’t worry.  It’s one
of the most rewarding jobs in the world.  You’ll love it.  It’s just that Kirk
and I want to get ready for our baby.  This will be our first and, being so
busy, we haven’t had a chance to prepare.”

“When are you due?”  As far as
Indie was concerned that baby looked like it should have come out already.  Jenna
looked about ready to pop.

“In two weeks, but you know
babies.  They can come a couple of weeks early or a couple of weeks late.  I
could go into labor right now.”

Indie put a hand on her arm. 
“Please.  Don’t.  Let me at least get settled first.”

The pregnant woman laughed and
stroked her belly.  “My baby has been good to me so far.  I know she’ll
cooperate just a little bit longer.”

“Oh, it’s a girl?  Have you chosen
a name yet?”

“We're still working on that.  We
have some names on our list - Diamond, Crystal, Jessica.  One of the teachers
suggested Imani, which means faith.”

“Very nice,” Indie said, nodding. 
“I’m sure she’ll be as beautiful as her name.”

They were interrupted when there
was a knock on the door and Jenna opened to see one of the teenage boys with a
tray covered with a striped cloth.  “Cook sent lunch for the lady,” he said,
and laid the tray in Jenna’s arms.

“Thank you, Mfana.”  She took the
tray and headed to the tiny dining room.  “Come on, Indie,” she said over her
shoulder. “We can talk while you eat.”

While Jenna brought her up to speed
on what needed to be done to ensure the smooth operation of the home, Indie
enjoyed a meal of boiled yams, curried chicken and carrot salad, also curried. 

As she listened to Jenna talk,
Indie realized that the job was going to be a lot more work than she’d thought. 
In addition to supervising the home with the assistance of six home mothers, Jenna
was also principal of the school and she even filled in as substitute teacher
when any of the staff members fell ill.  Indie was going to have her hands
full.

As long as she could find time to
be with Stone.

She took a pause from her meal as
she thought about that.  Her primary purpose for being here was to get to know
Stone – fast – and to get a marriage proposal, but based on all that Jenna had
told her she didn’t even know if she’d find time to go to the bathroom, let alone
go man hunting.  She grimaced. Things were not looking good.

“Don’t worry, Indie.  It’s not that
bad.” 

Indie blinked.  She looked across
the table at Jenna who was smiling at her.

“I know you’re worried.  I can see
it on your face.  But you’ll be all right.  The staff is very supportive.  They're
like my sisters and brothers.”  She reached over and patted Indie’s arm.  “And
they’ll give you all the help they gave me.  I’m sure of it.  They want this
home to succeed just as much as we do.”

Indie nodded.  If Jenna only knew…

This was a good time to change the
subject.  “Where did Stone disappear to?”

“I guess he’s spending time in each
of the classrooms, chatting with the boys.  He always does that.  That’s why
they love him so much.  We all do.”  She got up.  “Now you finish eating.  I’m
going to get Kirk to pick up my stuff.  “She left Indie and headed for the
front door.

So this is it.  Indie looked
around.  This little house would be her place of abode for the next few weeks,
maybe a whole lot longer.  She knew her personal weakness.  Once she’d attached
herself to a cause she would see it through to the end.  And if she wasn’t
careful, whether things worked out with Stone or not, she’d most likely spend
as long as it took to ensure

the success of the boys’ home.

A few minutes later there was a rap
at the front door and Indie opened to find a tall, gangly man with a shock of
brown hair standing in the doorway.

“Hi,” he said with a warm smile. 
“I’m Kirk, Jenna’s husband.  One of the drivers just dropped her home and she
asked me to pass by.”

“Yes, of course.”  Indie stepped
aside.  “Won’t you come in?”

“Thanks.”  He brushed his palms
against the seat of his very worn jeans.  “Jenna said I should come over and
pick up some bags.  Do you know where they are?”

“I did see a couple of bags in the
bedroom, in the corner by the window.”  She waved her hand toward the room. 
“Go on in.  I’m sure those are the bags you're looking for.” 

He gave her a polite, almost
apologetic nod, then headed for the bedroom.  “Yep,” he called out, “it’s them
all right.  Jenna’s forever tagging her bags with these little pink strips of
cloth.”  He came out of the room with the bags tucked under his arms.  “Ever
since we heard it’s a girl you would think pink is the only color in the
world.” 

Indie gave him a sympathetic smile
and went to hold the front door open.  “She’s just excited, that’s all.  As I’m
sure you are, too.”

His bashful smile and the blush
creeping up his neck told Indie she was right.  He gave her another quick nod
and then he was through the door, lugging the bags toward an ancient-looking
pickup truck.  He threw them in the back then jumped into the cab.  The engine
turned over immediately, sounding like a very healthy, well-tuned machine,
nothing like what the outside looked like.  He gave her a wave.  “If you need
anything, just send one of the drivers to fetch me.  I’m not even a quarter
mile away.”

“Will do.”  She waved until he
disappeared down the dirt track.

Alone again, Indie headed back
inside where she washed the lunch dishes then she sat down at the desk and
began to go through the notes Jenna had left for her.  Orders to be placed for
school and home supplies, a staff meeting to be planned for the teachers two
days from now, a progress report to do, one that Jenna hadn’t even had the time
to touch.  Boredom would definitely not arise as one of her problems.  Not at
this place.  There was just too much to do.  Never one to procrastinate, Indie
grabbed a notepad and began to write her plan of action.

She was absorbed in her second
task, pulling the notes together for the progress report, when she heard a
knock at the door.  She looked up.  How many hours had she been at it?  She
glanced over at the desk clock.  Three-thirty in the afternoon already.  Where
had the past couple of hours gone?  It seemed like less than half an hour since
she'd sat down at the desk.

She got up and stretched then
strode to the door.  It was probably Kirk coming back for more of Jenna’s
stuff.  She didn’t mind.  Although he seemed shy she might just strike up a
conversation with him, maybe ask him a few things about the region.

She pulled the door open, a
welcoming smile already on her face.  But it wasn’t Kirk who filled her
doorway.  It was Stone.

“Hey,” he said, smiling down at
her.  “Overwhelmed yet?”

Indie laughed.  “Not yet.”  Her
heart feeling light with the pleasant surprise of his visit, she stepped back
to let him in.

“Brave girl,” he said as he ducked
his head to step through the doorway.  Then he turned to her.  “But don’t
worry.  You do have a second in command.  A vice principal of sorts.  Anita is
her name.  A competent woman.  In fact, before Jenna came on board she held the
fort for a good two months.”

“That’s good to know.  I was
wondering why Jenna departed so suddenly, like she was leaving me to sink or
swim.”  Indie waved a hand, directing Stone over to the couch.  “Good to know I
have somebody here who knows the ropes.”

“Of course.”  He sank into the
chair and stretched his long legs out in front of him.  “You need time to get
your feet wet.  Anita will pick up the slack while you’re in learning mode.  In
fact,” he crossed his ankles then rested an arm on the back of the chair, “you
have a top class crew.  All this ship needs is a good captain to keep her pointed
in the right direction.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” she
said, and she meant it.  “I already have some ideas I’d like to implement in
the home and even in the school.”  Warming to her subject, she sat in the
armchair across from Stone and leaned forward.  “What do you think about adding
vocational subjects to the curriculum for the older boys?  I remember in school
I used to love tinkering with old cars.  What if we offered introductory
courses in auto mechanics, building construction and agriculture?  The way I
see it, it could only complement the academic curriculum.  It certainly
wouldn’t hurt.”  She tilted her head.  “What do you think?”

He shrugged.  “I’m not an educator
but from my layman’s perspective I don’t see why not.  Why don’t you lay out your
proposal and I’ll have someone from the ministry of education have a look at
it?  It might be worth getting the opinion of an expert.”

“Consider it done,” she said,
relieved that he was taking her suggestion seriously.  “It will be in your
hands before this week is out.”

“Sounds good to me.  Anything that
will prepare the boys for high school and for life, I’ll support one hundred
percent.”

That made her pause and shake her
head.  “You’re so dedicated to those boys.  It’s such a pleasure to find a wealthy
man who cares enough to give to others.”

That made him frown, but he looked
more thoughtful than angry.  “You find that strange?  Most of my business
associates have charities that they support wholeheartedly.  Some of them give
away millions every year.”

Now it was Indie’s turn to frown. 
“Really?”

Stone nodded.  “Really.”  He pulled
in his legs then sat forward and rested his elbows on his knees.  “You know,
rich people tend to get a bad rap but you’d be surprised at how many of them
actually do a lot for the disadvantaged.  The majority, I should guess.”

Slowly, Indie nodded.  “I think you
may be right.  All my adult life I’ve been dashing from country to country,
working for various non-profit organizations, feeling good about myself for
helping others.  I never really gave enough thought to those people behind the
scenes who may not have participated directly but were critical to the success
of the projects through their financial contributions.”  She gave Stone a
crooked smile.  “I stand suitably chastised.”

“You do, do you?”  He gave her a
suspiciously mischievous grin.

“I do.”

“Well, I know one way you can make
things up to us rich folks.”

She chuckled.  “How?”

“You can have dinner with me
tonight.”

Had she heard right?  “Did you just
ask me out?” she demanded playfully.

“I did.”

“So where are we going to have this
dinner?  At Café Out-in-the-Middle-of-Nowhere?  We’re practically in the
wilderness.”

“I’m inviting you to dinner at my
house.”

“At…your house.”  Now that was
different and sort of…intriguing.

“It’s just a cottage, really, no
bigger than yours.  Behind the main school building.  My home away from home. 
So…are we on for dinner?”

Indie nodded.  “I’d love to, just
as long as you don’t poison me with your cooking.”

He laughed out loud.  “Don’t you
worry about that.  My meals come fully catered, complements of the home’s
resident chef.”

“Oh.”  She pouted, feigning
disappointment.  “And there I was, thinking you were going to make a special
effort just for me.”

“Maybe next time.”  Stone got up
and gave a leisurely stretch.  “I’d better get going so I can tidy up before
you come.  So you’ll be over around six?”