70. Pay Back Time 1
"Oh! Do they see it as a gesture? That is very nice of them,” he responded without expecting any monetary reward.
“They are genuinely grateful. If we have your account details, we will forward them to them.”
“My account? For what?” He furrowed his brow and asked.
“Yes. They wished to send their token of appreciation.”
"Hmm!" He gasped.
To avoid appearing rude and demoralizing them, he supplied his details and they left while he continued with his work.
The Canteen
“You can go for your lunch one after the other,” he informed the Corporals when he walked out of his office.
“Okay, General,” they accepted, and he moved.
As for Gilbert, he would sort himself out. He got to the canteen and sat with the managers. Subsequently, they were served and they began to eat.
Unexpectedly, they saw his broadcast: "South Coast and you, coward, Gen. Sabastine Hanklin. I wish to let you know that we owe you no explanation over whom we support or not. Any more side talk about our Head of State or the good people of Canterbury, I, Sgt. George Young will single-handedly come for you. I will not hesitate to crush all of you if you dare me. Be warned. Nincompoop."
George ate his food as though nothing had happened, but the other captains could not hide their astonishment. It was clear they had no part in the broadcast. Some were even tempted to believe he was Gen. Tim Williams or even the new President, but he was deceiving everyone.
Capt. Bolton said to himself. "Only a seasoned military fighter could announce something like that in such a clear, firm voice."
However, they did not bother to discuss it with him since his body language did not encourage it. They ate their food silently and discussed other matters apart from the broadcast.
The Junior Staff Canteen
Even though Laura could not find Gilbert she could find her way to the canteen during lunch. She was eating when the aggressive and intimidating voice caught her interest.
“Ha! How can he do this?” She exclaimed and watched to the end.
“This small boy will wreck this country before his boss resumes,” she murmured to herself.
Meanwhile, Jerry and Collins were not left out of the astonishment. Although they were aware that Tim must have approved the broadcast George's energy scared them.
“Oh, my God! George is at it.”
“Can he do this?”
“I'm confused as well.”
Despite their perceptions, they were proud of him.
After lunch, everyone left the canteen and Laura was not comfortable returning to the lobby and sitting with the likes of her former team members who were employed for miscellaneous purposes.
“Let me check the Janitorial Office again. What is that stupid Supervisor up to?” She said and walked to the office.
As luck would have it, when she got to the door, she saw Gilbert having his lunch with his colleagues. She smiled broadly and called out, “Gilbert.”
Her voice was familiar to Gilbert and he looked up. He furrowed his brow and asked disgustingly, “What?”
Meanwhile, the Supervisor was through with typing the apology letter and was about to submit it to the President and the General Manager when he heard her voice. He looked up and gave her a hateful look.
“What do you want, you idiot?” He asked.
Notwithstanding, Gilbert was staring a dagger at her.
“Come with me, Gilbert. Sgt. Young has been looking for you since morning,” she requested, and ignored the Supervisor's question.
Gilbert would have followed her if she had not added 'since morning', hoping that Sgt. Young sent her. He ignored her and continued with his meal. The Supervisor walked angrily to the door, hoping to deter her but she was bent on causing havoc.
“Leave,” the Supervisor ordered.
“I want to take Gilbert to my boss. Who are you to ask me to leave? Is it your office?” She asked in desperation and tried to step into the office.
The surprised Supervisor suspected that she would pounce on him and gave way. Unfortunately, she missed her steps, staggered, and almost slipped on the smooth tiles.
“Ha!” The janitors shouted and watched her stabilize.
She smiled shyly, walked up to Gilbert, and ordered, “Come with me.”
He ignored her as though she was not there but she went the extra mile by carrying his plate of food and advised, “Come and show yourself to the President's Representative first. You can continue with the food later.”
He got up from his seat angrily to retrieve his food, and he pushed the plate of food, which fell out of her hand. Apart from that, it landed on the floor and the viscous stew splattered on her dress.
“Ouch!” The two of them screamed but for different reasons.
Gilbert was mourning his lost meal while she was concerned about her soiled dress.
“Look at what you have done,” he cried out.
“Did you hear yourself? After ruining my dress, you are talking about your miserable meal.”
Now, Gilbert was fuming and the Supervisor must intervene to avoid pandemonium.
“You can leave, Gilbert,” he instructed.
Gilbert gave her a black look before he took a step but that would not favor Laura because the chance to return to her office depended on him. Now that she had found him, she would not let him go.
“Sgt. Young wished to see you and you can't disobey him,” she said and tried to stop him.
He hit her hand angrily and walked out on her. Before she could recover from the shock, he had gained some distance and left the office. The other janitors laughed and left for their assigned offices too.
The Supervisor left at once to avoid further delay in submitting his apology letter. Nevertheless, Laura would not just come, mess their office up, and leave.
“You must clean this,” one of the senior janitors who was alone, stated.
She was aware that no other person would clean up the office if not her. Therefore, she must ensure that Laura cleans it.
“Are you talking to me like that?”
“Of course. You have wasted the food. Or do you want to eat it?”
“Oh, my God! Eat what? Do you realize that you are talking to the President's Secretary?”
“President's Secretary or not, you should not be here. At least not to soil our office,” the janitor said and stood with hands akimbo, staring the dagger at her.
Laura sized her up and deduced she would not let her off the hook. Besides, they were alone in the office and a fight was inevitable. After mulling over the situation, she took a deep breath and consented.
“Where are your cleaning tools?”
The President's Office
“Ouch!” George exclaimed, sat lazily on his chair, and ran his hand through his head.
He turned on the television with the remote control and smiled at the Vox pop of the broadcast.
Meanwhile, Tim, who was still having his lunch, smiled softly when he saw him. He suspected that he was tired and called him immediately. George was startled when his phone rang and he picked it up at once. He smiled happily before he spoke.
“Hello, Boss.”
“Hello, George. How are you?”
“I'm fine, Boss. Are you back from their school?”
“Yes. You look tired.”
“Not at all. I just returned from the canteen.”
“I know. You can come home and rest if you don't have much to do.”
“Okay, Boss. I will leave very soon.”
“It's all right.”
After the call, his phone beeped and he got a credit alert of four million dollars from the Imperial Bank. His eyeballs almost popped out of their sockets and his head began to spin in astonishment.
“Who owns this?” He exclaimed.
Instead of calling the General Manager to appreciate and goof up, he resolved, “The boss must see this,” and got up.
He tidied up his table, turned off the television, and moved. Before he could walk to the door, his door opened and the Supervisor walked in. He stood in the middle of the office with an indecipherable expression.
“Good afternoon, President,” he greeted politely and waited for his reaction.
Without replying to his greetings, he stretched out his hand to collect the folder which he guessed was the apology letter.
“You can leave,” he informed him afterward.
“Thank you for your consideration, President,” he appreciated him and walked away.