The little black book

The Little Black book

A business magnate, had married his very lovely wife who was from a middle-class family. They loved each other very dearly. He often got collectible items in the house. His new black book was one of them.

One day she went to his office in the house to clean it. As she was organizing his desk, she noticed the little black book on her husband’s desk. The black book had gold covering on it. The spine of the book was gold as well. She thought it was an artificial gold. Little did she know it was real gold. It was diamond studded as well. She did not know they were real diamonds. She was unable to recognize the expensive stones. She thought they were artificial gems. It was his new collectible.

She looked at the book again. It was not used. It was new. It was sparkling. Her eye gleaming at the shiny work of art. She decided keep it. The little black book would make her rich. She valued it at 100 dollars. She would sell it at the flea market. That’s where she had been going to sell her husband’s extra stuff which were made of artificial gems!

The flea market did not have crowd in the mornings. It’s usually empty at that time of the day. That’s when she went there. She would avoid the lines and would be able to conduct her private business successfully. She went to the market. She managed to sell it. It went for 100 dollars the exact amount she had valued it at. She never told her husband about selling his items. She never told her husband about the transactions. In her eyes her it was cleaning the house.

Her husband came back from work. He looked for his little black book. He described it to her. It was gold trimmed and diamond studded. It cost him 10,000 dollars. She had never lied to him. She was nervous. A new chapter in her life started. The journey of keeping secrets.

She wanted to tell him the truth. She figured if she would cry his heart would melt and he would not mind. To her dismay the tears did not flow. So, she decided not to tell him.

I don’t have tears in my eyes. What should I do? I will not be able to save myself from him if I don’t cry. My crocodile tears just don’t come out. She was sad.

Suddenly an idea came to her mind.

She knew what to do. She decided to by a crocodile, and thought her tears will automatically come every time she would see him because she would be scared. Her husband was a rich man. They had a swamp at their property. It would work wonders to be able to keep the crocodile there. She would not have trouble making him a pet. She bought the crocodile. However, her plan failed. He got scared every time he saw her. He cried. She got to see real crocodile tears. He went and hid under the water. She would have returned him to the seller. But there was no refund policy on the crocodile. Alas, the money was gone. What would she tell her husband? So she to keep it a secret.

She asked the neighbors if that could keep the crocodile for a few days. They did. To her surprise, they played ball with him and he fetched. They bonded. She was relived she was able to get the crocodile a temporary home. She had to keep this a secret from her husband.

She thought about her husband, if he found out had that she sold the little black book and his other collectibles for meagre amounts just because she did not know their value, he would be shocked. What if he asks her to leave the house, what he took away the house help? What if he denied her shopping, what if he did not let her meet her friends? She had so many questions in her mind. She had to stop from this unfortunate situation from happening? What would she do?

An idea struck to her mind.

Get the little black book back. She had to find the man whom she had sold the book to. She went back to the place. She found him. The book was at the stall. She saw it. She asked him to give her the black book. She wanted to buy it back. He denied the request. He said no refunds or products are given back when an item is sold. We don’t even sell it back to the same seller. Its company policy. It was a stall. Don’t you have a strict rule for a stall she asked. He told her he had promised to sell the book for 115 dollars to another man. He was waiting on him. She got shocked. She saw the book. She said to him ‘I shall huff and puff you with my breath and you will blow away and so will your stall’. She huffed and puffed. He did not move and neither did his stall.

Another idea crossed her mind.

Why don’t I just get the book and run. She took the little black book and made a run for it. He followed. She ran a marathon. She said you can’t catch me. I run the marathon. Her husband called her in the middle of running. Honey, I am busy she told him. I have to hang up.

The seller caught up with her.

She got an idea.

she decided to run a sprint this this time. She did. She said to him ‘you can’t catch me’ She lost him. But he caught up with her. He had taken a short cut.

She got an idea.

How about fake tears, she thought? Tears work on men. She tried. To her surprise her real tears flowed. The man knew about this war strategy. He remained unaffected.

She had another idea.

She should try to confuse him with her words. After all men love to hear a woman talk. She did talk. It was very charming. Another war tactic said the man to her. He was unaffected.

She had another idea.

She questioned him why was he not wearing a mask. It was COVID-19 season. The era of the virus. She told him she had COVID-19 and she would infect him. It worked, he got scared. All I need is my little black book back. Suddenly her husband called again. She said honey, I am in the middle of a negotiation at the market, sweetheart I will call you back.

She said I will pay you 120 dollars for it. He thought about it. Then He got suspicious. He understood the book was expensive. I will sell it for 200 dollars. I am sure you cannot afford it. Look at your poor clothes. She was shocked. She asked him what was wrong with her clothes. He did not reply.

She came up with another idea.

She knew it was time for the final charming tactic. The love dose. She said, Sweet heart, honestly the fact is that my heart is set on you from the minute I saw you. The man was surprised. He was not expecting this from the woman. He drew his gun. She got scared. Getting scared was not an option. The book had to get home safely. But she continued her dialogue, nervous the whole time. She clutched on the book for confidence. You don’t understand, it is love at first sight, she said. He did check her out. She was a stunning beauty. I don’t like your clothes. May be if you had worn something else. You are wearing mini skirt and a tube top. Did you forget to wear your clothes he asked? You can wear my shirt if you want. He hurt her emotions and she started to cry.

They were her crocodile tears. She knew her life was in danger and so was the little black book’s life.

She had an idea.

She said to him ‘’why don’t you take me in your arms, lift me in the air, kiss me on my cheeks. he agreed. He did not want to waste an opportunity of being close with a pretty woman. The gun went in his pocket. He did it. He was able to lift her. He fell for her war tactics. They fell on the ground after he lifted her. She was on top on of him. He asked her to move. I don’t want to give up my cushion she said. But I am getting breathless. Please. Said the man. He tried to move her. But in vain. She was a heavy weight champion she told him. Pushing her off would be very difficult for this now fragile man. His breath getting only weaker. She started crying. She told him it was about her clothes. She was offended. Her feelings were hurt. Tears ran down her cheek. Yes, they were real her tears. She had the little black book in her hand, safe. The man was breathless. He was at his last breath. I love your clothes and I do love you he said before dying. He died. She looked at him one last time and did not know what to make of the situation. Her lover of 10 minutes died in her arms.

Her attention went back to the little black book, she had to reach home. She ran. She had to get home before 6 pm. that’s when her beloved husband got home. She knew she would have to keep a lot of secrets today. She changed her clothes. She was presentable like nothing happened. Another secret.

The black book found its way back on her real beloved’s table. It was safe. Not a scratch on it. The gems were shining. She looked at them. Huh, still looks artificial to me. She walked away. She was proud of herself. Not only had she made the 100 dollars she got the little black book back as well. What an adventure.

He came home. Her loving husband was back. He hugged her. She told him she found his book. It was under the table the whole time. A new secret. He was happy. She was too. He said life was precious with her. She was her gold and diamond. She said plastic is just fine. Besides being a marathon runner, a sprint runner, and a heavy weight champion now she kept secrets as well. She was proud of her new skill. The secret skill.

She managed to sell her crocodile. She had bought it for 50 dollars at a flea market. There were no refunds here as well. However, er she was able to sell her crocodile. She sold it for 75 dollars husband. Oh, what a triumph for her. She was finally a business woman. She was successful. She made profit. No, her darling never found out about her new skills. The more she used her secret skills, the better she got at it. It avoided altercations in the house. She joined a ladies club. She learned the ultimate tactic of war. Any war starts at home. The best answer is always ‘I do not know’ and sticking to it.