Chapter 28: Tinder Gamble

 

The glow of Thando's phone screen illuminated the half-unpacked boxes in her new Cape Town apartment. At 11:37 PM, the Tinder notification appeared Arjun Naidoo's profile photo showed a man too handsome to be real, his tailored suit and Dubai skyline backdrop looking like something from a luxury magazine. His bio simply read: “Entrepreneur. Collector of fine wines and finer conversations.” She hesitated, hearing Buhle's voice in her head from their last Johannesburg conversation: 

Buhle: “No genuinely successful man that good-looking needs to find women on Tinder.”

But Zee's counter-argument echoed just as loudly: 

Zee: ”Stop overthinking and swipe right before I steal your phone and do it myself!” 

When the app pinged with an immediate match, Thando nearly dropped her phone. Three day later they decided to meet up for their fist date. Arjun arrived precisely at eight, smelling like sandalwood and expensive cologne. He took her hand and kissed it like they were in some European romance film. 

Arjun: ”You're even more stunning off-screen" 

he murmured, his dark eyes scanning her face with unsettling intensity. During the third course, her phone buzzed insistently in her clutch. The Johannesburg group chat had exploded. Zee had attempted three video calls. Buhle's messages read like a police briefing: 

Zee: ”Send LIVE location immediately.”

Lerato, ever the pragmatist, had simply asked

Lerato: "Is he at least paying for everything?” 

Thando discreetly angled her phone to capture Arjun's profile. The responses came instantly: 

Buhle: "I need his full name to check business registrations"

On the pulsating dance floor, Arjun's hand felt like a brand against the small of her back. Her smartwatch vibrated Zee trying to FaceTime again. She rejected the call, only to receive a flood of texts: 

Zee: "My Durban cousin says he might be MARRIED” 

Buhle: "His company filings don't match his stories” 

Arjun noticed her distraction.

 

Arjun: ”Work crisis?”

he asked, refilling her champagne flute. 

Thando: ”Just my girls being dramatic" 

she laughed weakly, showing him the screen. His smile didn't reach his eyes. 

Arjun: "Tell them you're perfectly safe with me." 

Then he dropped a diamond bracelet into her drink with a theatrical plink. “Proof of my honourable intentions.”

The bracelet glittered treacherously in her palm as she paced the cold balcony tiles. All three friends were on speakerphone, their voices overlapping from 1400 kilometers away. 

Buhle: ”Email me his full details,”

Buhle demanded in her courtroom voice. 

Buhle: “I'll have my investigator run a proper background check by morning.” 

Zee's shriek nearly blew out the speaker: 

Zee: “He gave you WHAT? That's either fairy-tale romance or the opening scene of a true crime documentary!” 

Lerato remained quiet until the end and she said

Lerato: “please be careful.”

Below her balcony, the black Maybach still idled at the curb, it's tinted windows revealing nothing. Her phone buzzed with a new text from Arjun

Arjun: “Still thinking about the way you laugh.”