Mandisa Dladla had three wishes… a hot soothing bath, honeyed rooibos tea and seventeen hours of undisturbed sleep. Letting herself into her apartment, she paused for a second to inhale her home scent. How she had missed her home! She closed the door with her foot, deposited her keys on a table near the door and pushed her suitcase to the back of the door.
She never wanted to leave home again. She was a Jo'burger in and out. Three weeks in Cape Town made her swear to never complain about the fast paced, hectic life and unpredictable weather ever again. With a content smile and tired eyes, she headed for the bathroom. She was more than happy to be back at home. Cape Town was a wonderful city but after the reception she had received, she was more than happy to never go back.
Mandisa filled the tub with water and stripped out of her clothes. When she had accepted the case to defend tycoon and businessman Julian Staak, she hadn't known that she would be going against the entire community. Julian Staak had offered her a lot of money to take the case and going through his file, Mandisa had thought the whole case cut and dry. Farmers were accusing Staak of cheating them out of their profits and hard earned money. According to Staak that was not the case. Every farmer and distributor had signed contracts and agreed to a certain percentage. It was all above board and Mandisa had been certain she could close the case in a week. Boy had she been wrong! The community and farmers didn't care about signed contracts and agreements. As far as they were concerned, Staak was a crook and a cheat. It had taken all of Mandisa's schooling, practice and perseverance to win the case.
She was exhausted to the bone. She didn't think a hot bath was going to help alone, but it, the seventeen hours sleep and some miles between her and the angry farmers was just what the doctor ordered. She turned off the taps and climbed into the bath. The water was hot and soothing and Mandisa felt the tension leave her body. For as long as she lived she never wanted to represent men like Staak ever again. For one, Staak was a cheat. He was taking more than his share of profits. He used locals to distribute the goods and paid them peanuts. They worked odd hours and had no benefits. What Staak was doing was illegal in other cities but Cape Town didn't have a farmers union in place and the agriculture department was a joke. The farmers and the locals didn't know their rights, although that didn't stop them from complaining. The problem was that they were complaining to the wrong person…her. By the end of her first week in Cape Town she had been openly hated by everyone and her life threatened. Mandisa had tried to reason with the community. Staak was protected by the law since the agriculture department didn't have any governing laws pertaining to the farmers and the distributors which meant everyone was allowed to charge whatever price they thought reasonable.