Behind closed doors
Ex-con Lelo threatens to expose her secret romance with crooked businessman Lehasa.
Restaurant owner and entrepreneur Lehasa (Cedric Fourie) has a lot on his plate. Besides his ongoing lawsuit with Magongwa sisters Mapitsi and Sonti (Mogau Motlhatswi and Pearl Manamela), who’re trying to expose him for stealing Sonti’s distribution company in 2017, he is struggling to get the recent offscreen death of his estranged wife Zandile (Matshepo Maleme) in early July from complications linked to her cancer. Cedric says that Lehasa isn’t in a great space on Friday 20 July and hints that trouble is about to come calling: “He hasn’t had time to process Zandile’s death because his businesses are struggling to stay afloat and his mind has been there instead.” That somewhat explains him kissing his friend Lelo (Amanda du-Pont) when she visits on Tuesday 24 July. “Lehasa deals with his pain by trying to forget about it… kind- of like out- of-sight, out- of-mind,” says Cedric.
While he knows all about Lelo’s reputation as one of Turfloop’s top troublemakers (she’s done everything from stealing book ideas to kidnapping and lying about babydaddies over the years), he convinces himself that Lelo is the right thing to do right now. Lehasa makes it clear to Lelo that he doesn’t want anything serious with her, explains the actor. “For once, Lehasa is the one in the vulnerable position. Lehasa’s head is all over the place and he is taking each day as it comes.” That’s just the opening that a desperate Lelo needs to slip her foot though the door and get more than “just friends” from him.
CALL ME CONFUSED
Lehasa pretends like nothing’s changed after the pair hook-up offscreen but it gets to him later on Wednesday 25 July. “He doesn’t want to date her. He knows what people in town will say,” explains Cedric. The Turfloop community hasn’t forgotten or forgiven Lelo for stealing then-boyfriend Kwaito’s (Clement Maosa) novel in mid 2016. She’s unemployable because of her criminal record and she’s struggling to make ends meet. For Lelo, Lehasa is her solution… well, his money is. She could get her way if she doesn’t push – “Lehasa has always been very private about his personal life,” says Cedric. “He would rather keep him and Lelo under wraps. No one knew that he was even married until Zandile arrived in November 2017. Lelo must be the same.” But try telling her that!
FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS
Lelo wants to tell everyone that she’s warming Lehasa’s bed on Monday 30 July but he hits the roof. “They have chemistry but he doesn’t want anyone knowing,” insists Cedric. “Lehasa wants to keep it private – no one can know or interfere! The last thing that Lehasa wants right now is to be alone – he has work problems and personal issues, so a distraction is great for him. Except Lelo is grabbing a mile when she’s got her hands on an inch – on Tuesday 31 July, she gives her fling an ultimatum: go public or she’s gone!
THIRD TIME’S A CHARM
Lelo has kissed a lot of frogs in the past, so could she be lucky this time around? She only dated Kwaito to exploit his writing skills to make her rich from the royalties. And her first real relationship with her babydaddy Mangaliso (Bongani Masondo) ended on a sour note when broke up with her in mid-2017, leaving her to care for their baby daughter without so much as a farewell note or child support.