“Hoffers Greenfield loses all his staff in a day due to nonpayment of salary,”
Zion’s voice read the headline to my hearing as I swung around in my swivel chair.
“Boss these five months you were away must have eaten deep into him. The last time I drove past Hoffers Food, it wasn’t different from a grave yard. He must have learnt his lessons now and retraced his step to where he erred…”
A knock came on my door and interrupted Zion. Promptly our gaze fell upon the door. Zion ordered the visitor to come in.
It was Mira.
“Boss your enemy, Hoffers Greenfield is here as usual, and I am about to make him pass through the necessary protocols. What do you think boss?” she bowed and expected my reply.
I let a chortle. “Whatever you do is okay by me, Mira. Besides his nemesis just begun. I would love to see him beg on the roadside in the days to come,” I groaned and peered down to the newspaper to see more of hoffers.
“As Mike Don pleases.” She bowed and disappeared out of sight.
***
As soon as he caught sight of Mira cat-walking out of my office he hastened to her desk, “Yeah , Mira, can …” he stuttered , “Can I go in now and see Mike Don?” he had a humble voice and pride was missing on his face.
Mira stared down to him and was churned in the stomach at the horrible sight of someone she once called a boss. Hoffers was a perfect mirror of himself now. He wasn’t looking anything near to life; his unshaven beards thickened under his jaw, worn out shirt hung loosely on skinny, drawn, pale body.
“You can’t go in now, Mr. Man,” Mira thundered, and rolled her blue hurt eyes at him.
“I am not Mr. Man, Mira. I am Hoffers Greenfield, your former boss. And you could accord me some respect even though you are not answerable to me anymore…”
“Mira interposed him with a mocking chortle, “Stop sounding horrible, Mr.Nobody. I can’t be answerable to a boss that can never afford few cents to look neatly shaven and appear in nice cloths. How is your so-called Hoffers Food , huh? What about your staff, even your net worth?”
Hoffers sucked a huge grin, lowered his fallen gaze in shame and bit his lower lip. His image sprung up in the glass wall opposite and he almost swore if this was his actual looks now.
From a shattered soul his stolen voice sounded, “See, Mira, I have not come to subscribe to your troubles. I know you are out to pour hell on me because I sacked you. But there is no need for all of that now. There is no more Hoffers Foods so you can save yourself the madness. Please let me go in and collect my money from Mike Don!” he never intended to raise his voice but about now his voice was clouded with tears.
Jaded, he swallowed hard and fought back the urge to let those tears trickle down his cheeks. His jaw ground and the next moment he raised his gaze , Mira was choking on a mocking laugh.
“I have come to meet with Mike Don. I hear he is back from his five months vacation in Paris. Please may I go in now?” he managed to sound perfectly emotionless.
Mira narrowed her gaze, “I can see what his absence has done to you, Mr. Nobody. But unfortunately you can’t see him now…”
He interposed radically, spittle leaving his mouth, “Why? Tell me why I can’t go in to see a man that owes me two million dollars, huh? Are you doing this on purpose or what? Talk to me , Mira!” he snapped the moment Mira gave him the cold shoulders and attended to other visitors.
Already Mira was smiling cheek to cheek as she attended to a visitor, “Hi, pretty have you come to meet with the world richest man?” she asked cheerfully and once the lady gave a nod, she asked yet further, “Which consortium are you from? You don’t look like Hoffers Foods’s staff…” she mocked and rolled her eyes at him.
“Hell, no, I am from the Julius Refiners,” the visitor replied gracefully and she was instantly handed a visitor’s badge and directed to the security who led her to my office.
Hoffers yelled, “What the hell is happening here? Did I just see you grant that lady a pass ahead of me, huh ! I came before that lady for chrisskae! What is happening here Mira? Anger flushed his face as his brow clustered with profuse sweat.
Mira bit out. “Did you just hear the lady? She says she is from Julius Refiners. They are not broke ass empires like Hoffers Food that couldn’t pay staffers’ salary for five months and their boss doesn’t look like some shredded piece of rag before me…
Hoffers would have raised a brow as usual but this time around he was so much hit by guilt that memoires assembled in his head; memories of the day I begged him for a salary advance and his garage to pass the night; memories of the day I begged to be retained as his staff when he served me sack letter.
He settled his gaze on the floor, tossed his head in regret and shrugged with his breath, “Mira,” he called gently and even respectfully, “Please I lack the verve for quarrel right now. I have come for peace and not to raise a brow at you. At least you could consider me, since I was once your boss. I must see Mike Don right away. I need my money, please…” he stuttered as his voice died off.
Mira simpered with reckless abandon, “Aren’t you ashamed of yourself Hoffers Greenfield ? If I were you I would brood over my life. A boy who once served you as a delivery boy is now in the position of the world richest man and you are clamoring to see him now. The tables have turned. Greenfield, your field has darkened. The boss is now servant to the delivery boy. If I were you I wouldn’t be showing up my failure here. Your life is unfixable. You can’t get any better, Hoffers!”
While Mira spoke on, Hoffers’ gaze was on my pictures on the wall; the one I had as a delivery boy and the one I had now as Mike Don. He tossed his head in total ruin, “I wish I could turn back the hands of time to when I could have helped Brian Patrick. I never knew Mike don was running in his veins. I never knew he was heir to Saint Don. What would be my fate now?” he said in his mind while his gaze settled on my pictures…
Some thing was about to happen…