Ire rose in Hoffers’ eyes, but just as suddenly, he grinned too. These days he came in taxi since he couldn’t foot the bills of running maintenance for his Porsche. Hard time had set in for him.
His brow knitted when the taxi halted into the premises of Hoffers Food.
There was a bizarre scene at his restaurant.
A ribbon which stated SEALED went round the exit and entrance of his restaurant. A closer look at the corner, he could see two well-suited gentle men.
The door on the taxi slammed furiously as he alighted and made towards them. “Gentle men what is this? Why the restriction? What is happening?” he asked at a breath and gathered steams of fear on his face.
“May we know you, sir?” one of the officials demanded and dug into his pocket to pull out his ID card.
Without much hesitation, he sounded, “I am Hoffers Greenfield, the CEO of Hoffers Food, which you sealed. So may I know you? And why did you declare my restaurant sealed?”
Uncertainty swam in his thought as he barely could swallow saliva down his gut.
“We are officials of the Rio Hondo Revenue Service,” one of them intoned, flashing his sizeable ID card in the face of Hoffers, “Mr. Hoffers, you have accrued tax of one point five million dollars in the space of five months…” the official’s voice died off.
And another continued, “Rio Hondo will never survive with greedy CEO like you who skip tax payment. It is appalling that you refused to reply all our emails all this while, so we are acting under the directive of the ministry to seal up Hoffer Foods…”
His hands trembled as one suffering from the Parkinson. “No!” he rebuked them, shaking his head and stamping forward to cut off the ribbon.
But two burly, hefty-looking, beat-you-to a pop guards bounced out form their hideout and his toes pinned into the earth instantly and he breathed uneasily, taking a step backward as their bloodied eyes warned him.
“I know you two!” he pointed at the guards in a respectful manner which gave him the grace to continue, “You work for Mike Don. You are his security. I know the world richest man has a hand in this,” he wailed before he sniffed and wailed yet further, “But I responded to all your email. Didn’t you see them?”
“Mr. Hoffers,” one of the officials called, pulled out a file and tossed at his feet, “Why do you think we are here without any tangible reason? You never responded to our emails. Those documents contain details of your last tax payment date…” he scowled his face as he paused for the other to continue.
“Even today marks it the sixth month you are indebted to the ministry. We are not going to tolerate this shit form you, so we have decided to help you shut down your restaurant since you don’t have the money to run an empire…” his voice snapped .
Hoffers’ grunt sliced into the atmosphere, “Oh, Mike Don what did I do to deserve this?” He stroked his hair confusedly and raised his gaze at the sky in frustration.
Worry subsided to sorrow, Hoffers molded his arms in apology, “Please if you read the emails I sent to the ministry you would see my compliant about Mike Don who owes me a whooping sum of two million dollars. That is exactly the…”
But he was interrupted abruptly, “Mr. Hoffers. There is no excuse for failure. The Mike Don we know is a jolly good fellow who wouldn’t demean his integrity because of two million dollars,” the official stated, dug his hand into the briefcase and pulled out another document which he tossed at Hoffers, “That is the legal testament for temporary seal of your restaurant. You have till one week to pay the sum, else we will confiscate your restaurant permanently and sell it to recover our money.”
The official swirled around to walk away.
“Wait! Wait!” Hoffers protested and scuttled behind them,. Veins of loss popped beneath his brow and neck, “Please I beg of you. One week is too short. Make it a bit longer; say one month or more…”
He paused and smacked his lips in caution once the official scowled his face at him, “One month? Did I hear you say one month huh?” the official‘s lips curved in fury, “You are not worthy to be called a boss.” The official slammed.
The other cut in, “Yes. There is only one boss, Mike Don, and he has never owed tax for once. Not only is he worth five hundred trillion dollars but he has added meaning to lives and helped us terminate indebted bosses like you…”
Hoffers raised a thick brow and readjusted himself by dragging the hem of his shirt . “Although I don’t deserve anything but you can at least extend the closeness s of the deadline.”
He dared to go on his knees to plead…
The other official recounted, “If we all come to Hoffers Food and plead for your indulgence and understanding rather than pay for our meals, I am not sure you will still be in business. The world richest man is a reputable god of wealth and a major stake holder in the affairs of the state…”
Another official cleared his throat as they locked glances again, “He has declared zero tolerance to empires that are indebted to Rio Hondo.”
Hoffers gnashed his teeth and knitted his brow. He perceived this was the end of road for him. Frustration swam in his eyes as he was churned by the shutdown of his restaurant, and the ruin it had been reduced to.
When the official hopped into their car, Hoffers paced to them and knelt at their door. “Pleas I beg of you. This is my only means of livelihood. Believe me when I tell you Mike Don is indebted to me. If he pays me my two million dollars my indebtedness would be a thing of the past. I would show up to pay my tax …”
He was yet speaking when they sped away, leaving him writhing in pain, “Oh-uh…No! No! Mike Don! You have ruined me! What is happening?” he wailed and stroked his hair confusedly.