“For goodness sake, I can tolerate it when people insult me but you see, when people insult my generation it gets me permanently crazy,” the minister nagged, sitting next to Mr. President as they drove back to the state in their convoy. He boiled with rage within himself.
Mr. President’s shoulders sank in grievance over their inability to secure the loan from me. From the very moment he got on the Lamborghini, he had been sipping beer which ordinarily wasn’t his brand. He needed to quell the disappointment building in his heart, so he had to drink something.
He forced a grin across his face, “He is the god of wealth. You shouldn’t expect anything less. They are always arrogant and egocentric,” said Mr. President, his blue face thickening in fury, and arms trembling slightly.
“To hell with him!” the minister slammed and threw away his gaze the moment my photo came on the TV in front. Forbes administrative personnel were reviewing the Suburban Real Estate which I just acquired. “I have never been embarrassed by anyone the way Mike Don just did. What a polite insult! Can you imagine the rich kid asking if anyone in my generation has ever made thirty four trillion dollars?”
All the while, Mr. President had struggled to fight back the peril building in his head. He grinned, “If he had told me same and given us the loan I wouldn’t whine over it. We should have pressed on a little. I believe he would have given us the loan. We can’t play stunt with Rio Hondo’s economy right now. We need to pump money into the economy and opposition parties are already making mockery of my administration,” he nagged at a breath and sighed hugely.
Infuriated and bored of seeing my face, the minister grasped the remote control and turned off the TV.
“Perk up, Mr. President. I am much delighted Mike Don is not God Almighty, else we would queue up to kiss his ass before he gives us breath…”
Mr. President interposed hastily, “Are we not kissing his smelling ass already. When a money bag like him goes out of his way to greedily grant us loan with a mandatory submission of the national oil well as collateral, what do you call it, huh?”
The minister was still tepid on his face. He wished he could bully me forever embarrassing him the way I did. He snorted and intoned, “There is no calls for alarm.” He dug into his tuxedo and pulled out a sizeable diary, “It is high time we approached Thomas Jackson for this loan. I have been studying his source of income and personality. Trust me Thomas Jackson is one cookie we need to bite.”
Mr. President stole a glance at his diary and snapped out of it, “What is his source of income? That of Mike Don is known, at least we know him as a poor delivery boy who became the true heir to the Saint Don Group,” he sounded at a breath, “What does your Thomas Jackson do for a living? Did it ever occur to you that I am man of integrity? I am always mindful of the moguls I do business with.”
“Uh-oh, his Excellency, Thomas Jackson is clean to the socks. He is a reputable precious stone investor and CEO T J Jewelry. He is respectful, hardworking and trust worthy, unlike Mike Don that easily insults someone’s generation.”
“His origin?” Mr. President queried through strenuous glare.
“He is from the Caribbean and has been visiting Saudi Arabia for business. He is from a humble family with rich background.” The moment he perceived the tic on the face of Mr. President, he added, “I know you are bothered he is not from Rio Hondo, but then all we want is result and not excuses. The so-called rich kid from Rio who calls himself the world richest man has disappointed us with his greed.”
Mr. President raised his gaze at the roof of his Lamborghini and sighed. Frustration was beginning to daze at his thought. “I want you to recall Thomas Jackson seems to be a fresher in the business. Would someone that couldn’t beat Mike Don’s price at the auction be able to loan us thirty four trillion? And most importantly we are yet to establish a concise relationship with him. We don’t even have any history of one.”
With all smiles, the minister took out his phone and opened to his chat, “Apologies for being faster than my shadow, His Excellency. I knew this day would come so I started early enough to chat up Thomas Jackson.” He turned his phone to the viewing of Mr. President.
Mr. President dragged a strenuous brow.
“You don’t need to be scared, Mr. President. This is a chat I had with Thomas Jackson and the Croesus is willing to give us the thirty four trillion dollars.” He paused and let his lips curve in emphatic smiles, “Guess what he is willing to give us the sum of money with the acres of land as collateral. Our oil well will remain with us, unlike greedy Mike Don who wants to acquire our oil well.”
Mr. President couldn’t stop nodding to his explanation. A sudden smile leaked into his face before he rubbed his palms in appreciation.
“What then are we waiting for? Why don’t we make preparation for official visit then? Once we get to the state house, please send memo to the chief of staff and insist on prompt visit to the Caribbean. We must seal up the loan agreement with him as soon as possible.”
The minister bowed slightly and chuckled, “As His Excellency pleases. Thomas is just the right personality for us. Mike Don can go ahead and perish with his unlimited wealth…”
Mr. President had a warm handshake with him and insisted they drink a toast to it. About having a toast, a phone rang; it was the minister’s.
The number was familiar, when he gazed on his phone.
Without hesitation, he picked up and answered it; shortly afterwards, his face thickened in frown as he stared agape.
“What is it? What happened?” Mr. President asked.
“Our chief security just called. Thomas Jackson has been arrested,” he replied coldly.
Surprise called on…