Capt. Bruce informed them of his reason for the meeting and they were shocked to hear that. In such a big organization where the workers are willing to do anything to win the favor of the Superiors, backstabbing is inevitable.Meanwhile, the driver whose vehicle was used, Reuben Corliss spoke up.“Excuse me, Capt. Bruce. I noticed that my bus was used. And …"“Why didn't you inform me?” He interrupted him and asked.“Can you imagine that?”“So, he is the one?”“He must have been doing it.”“This is certainly not the first time.”Reuben was shocked to hear the unpleasant remarks by his colleagues. He looked at their faces and concluded that he had been amid foes.“I didn't inform you because I thought you used it,” he explained and it was not funny.“Are you accusing me of using the company's vehicles?” Capt. Bruce asked him, and the other drivers aided his claim.“I apologize Capt. Bruce but that is not what I mean,” Reuben apologized but the Captain was angry.Nevertheless, some driv
Laura looked at the direction too and saw Bright smiling shyly. She was right to eat there at first but she did not present herself well as senior staff. That means, her first impression to George was not acceptable and it boxed her into a corner. She ignored them and ordered her food.After the food was served, she ate it leisurely as though she had nothing bothering her. She was a loner and no one asked her why she was dullish. When she thought that the food was finished in the kitchen and lunch was over, she walked back to Barbara.Nevertheless, she was with a visitor when she arrived and took her seat. Likewise, Barbara was embittered when she saw her walking back without her food. She held her peace and directed the visitor to his destination before she faced her.“Where is my food, Laura?” She stood akimbo and asked.Laura gave her a hateful look and asked her, “When did I become your food vendor, Barbara? I guess you were not hungry otherwise, you would have found your way to t
The three visitors did not expect anything less and were happy to see Laura in fear. Instantly, Barbara appeared from nowhere.“I'm here, Sgt Young,” she answered.“What is going on here?” George asked angrily.“I would not know, Sgt. Young. I waited for her to have her lunch before me. After she returned, I went for mine,” she explained innocently.George was furious. He faced Laura and asked indignantly, “If you can't give the right direction, can't you apologize for your mistake?” She looked fearfully at the visitors and apologized, “I'm sorry.”Although it was not sincere it was better than nothing if only George would see it that way.“It's all …”“What are you sorry for?” George interrupted them, hit his left hand on the desk, and revealed his wristwatch.Now, she shuddered and looked at the visitors like a moron. They giggled and waited for her to correct herself. Collins and the others waited patiently as well while Barbara smirked happily.“I'm sorry that I …”“Gentlemen, pa
“How would someone wish to kill innocent orphans who are trying to survive without their parents just to hurt their benefactor?” He grumbled and stared at the wall.After ten minutes of meditation, he concluded, “I will roast all of them.” He chatted him up again and appeared more desperate. (My contact said that the Third in Command is interested in anything that would make Gen. Richmond lose his integrity.)(Wow! Then the project will interest him.)(Yes. If your payment is encouraging, the Third in Command will encourage him to organize a first-anniversary for the orphanage.)(Oh! It is a good idea. Kindly find out if he can convince him to make the event bigger and invite the Heads of State of some Nations.)“Why does he want them?” He asked himself in wonderment and continued to chat with him. (Why do you want it bigger and their presence if I may ask? It will help me in my negotiation.)(My sponsor has got a beef with them and that would be the chance to eliminate them.)(I s
The Next Day - At Laura's House.Based on her parents' advice, she dressed modestly. When she was set to leave, she walked to their apartment to announce her departure.“Good morning, Mom and Dad. I hope you slept well?”“Good morning, my dear. We slept well,” her father responded.“I hope you slept well too?” Her mother asked.“Yes, Mom. I'm leaving. Take care of yourselves.”“It is okay, dear.”“Remember my advice. Don't disrespect Barbara. She is your boss,” her mother cautioned her.“Yes, Mom. I will be careful. Goodbye.”“Goodbye,” they responded and watched her as she walked away.“From her dressing, you can see that she will be careful,” her father pointed out.“Yes. She is ready to work peacefully with her.”She got to the bus stop and greeted everyone cheerfully. Her dressing and attitude of consideration stirred some staff members especially those who were unaware of her demotion. All the same, they responded, “Good morning.”Soon, the bus arrived and they boarded. Bright a
They never expected that their opinions would be read publicly and exposed before Reuben.“Secretary, collect their petitions from them and read out what they wrote,” George ordered when they hesitated.“Okay, Boss,” he said and stretched out his hand to them but they were reluctant to release their papers.“What are you waiting for?” Capt. Bruce barked and collected the papers from them angrily.He handed them over to the secretary at once and he began to read.“Three months without salary. One year deduction in salary by fifty percent. Sack him. Pardon him. Outright dismissal. Lock him up in the guardroom for one month.”“Ha!” The two Captains exclaimed and faced George.Bright was astounded and wondered if they would ever be leaders in their lives. He looked at Reuben who was already weeping and had compassion on him.“I'm innocent, General. I have a pregnant wife and children. I don't know how they will survive. Please …"“Who wrote 'Pardon him'?” George interrupted him and asked.
At The Auxiliary Armory PLCAt The Car ParkAfter they left the President's Office, the five liars were led to the guardroom while Capt. Bruce and the two returned to the car park. They sat at the drivers' shed in silence. For whatever reason, Capt. Bruce felt that he was responsible for all the trouble.“Maybe I should have believed Reuben and followed up on his complaint. But I didn't ask them to lie against their colleague,” he thought after mulling over the whole issue and got up.He walked to the bus and looked at it again. Meanwhile, Barnabas was regretful and did not know what to say to Reuben.“I did not mean to implicate him. I don't even know that it was his bus,” he tried to justify his act.However, he was relieved when Reuben spoke and exonerated him from his haters.“Why did they hate me so much? I can't remember having any conflict with them.”“It baffles me too. How can they attest to what they know nothing about?”“If I may ask, was it the General who drove the bus? W
At that point, Laura stood up too out of fear of being reprimanded.“Yes,” he answered and walked away.Now, Barbara had collected all the envelopes and apologized to the Cadets, “Thank you for your patience. It is not in our characters.”The Cadets were more interested in submitting their applications than the apologies. They walked away happily at once.Nevertheless, Bright joined George and they left.“What happened? Where were the officers?” He asked.“She went to the Personnel Department to drop the applications that she collected previously,” he answered.George was not aware of who he was referring to but he asked, “They were supposed to be two, where was the second person?”Even though he would not like to create more problems for Laura, he had to protect himself.“She was there.”At The Production DepartmentPresently, they were at the department's entrance and they walked in. George forgot about the front desk and saluted Capt. Miles. After he returned the salute, they began
The President's Office. After instructing Bright, he became busy with work but had his eyes on the CCTV. When a lady walked into the Secretary's office, he saw a mature lady with a good spirit and positive outlook “Is she the one?” He asked himself and began to monitor her. “Good morning, Bright. I'm Ella Patrick.” “I know. Good morning. Your services at the Senior Staff member's house is over. You are hereby recalled to the canteen.” “It's all right. When do I return?” She responded as though she had been expecting it. “Now,” Bright said and watched her countenance. “I got it. Have you informed the Canteen Supervisor? He wasn't expecting me back.” “It is possible. Let's see him,” Bright accepted and got up. He looked at Gilbert and informed him, “Let the President know that I have gone to the canteen.” “I will do that, Mr. Desmond,” he responded and they watched them walked out. George smiled happily and mumbled, “She is fine. I pray that Dad loves her.” At The Lobby Laur
At The President's Office Capt. Bolton walked in after he settled down and informed him of the Cadets.“How many of them are we supposed to absorb?” He asked and pretended as if Bright had not informed him.“We absorb one hundred of them every year.”“That is good to hear. How much stipend do we pay them?”“Nothing. The experience they gain from us is enough for them.”“Don't you think that it is absurd? If we can't encourage them, who will?”The General Manager thought for a while and explained, “I have not given it a thought.”“There is room for improvement. Meanwhile, inform the Corporal to stop collecting more applications.”“I got it. What is our conclusion on the stipend?”“If I may ask, how long is the internship? In our days, it was three months.”“It's still the same.”“It is all right. Let's encourage them with one percent of the senior staff salary. That wouldn't be too much on us for three months.”The General Manager giggled and declared, “I will go back to where I did m
Now, George was holding two guns and looked like the troublemaker. The Mall security guards rushed to the scene and tried to intervene but they were shocked to see a Major holding a rifle and looking at them as though they were entertaining him. They looked at the two and concluded that the Major was calm because the money bag was a pickpocket.“I say kneel,” George shouted and he reluctantly got up and complied.“Remove your jacket,” he ordered.“You will regret …,”George did not give him the grace of completing his threat and hit his head with his gun.“Ouch,” he shrieked aloud.“Shut up and remove your jacket,” he ordered.He locked eyes with him and discovered that he had judged him wrongly. “Remove your jacket,” a security guard lent his voice.He looked at the onlookers and looked down in shame. The security guard who despised the clunker the day Tim bought three expensive phones at the same time just saw the car. To his dismay, he was calm and busy with his phone. Presently,
At Tim's Room He hardly took five steps when Hope's phone beeped with a message. He overlooked it and walked to his room, changed his wear and relaxed on the bed before he read his messages.(Yes. I'm here, Hope. Can we chat?)(I just want to update you. My informant said that the invited Head of States have acknowledged their invitations and promised to be at the event.)(That is good to hear. What next?)(The publicity for the anniversary will be on air tomorrow.)(I can't wait to see it.)(You have not said anything about your sponsor. Won't he be present?)(Just go on with your publication.)(It's all right.)Tim was euphoric when the chat ended.“I am older than you in this game,” he thought aloud.At Laura's HouseMany things like the Barrister's email, her apology video, ruined her day but the one that hit her below the belt was the privilege that George gave to Bright.“Why does he hate me so much?” She asked herself and pretended to have forgotten all she had said about him
At Tim's HouseGeorge was happy to leave the office after the inspection of the proposed site for the mill and the collection of the proposal. Unfortunately, he got home and discovered that Tim was not at the foyer to receive him.“Huh!” He hissed while Collins drove on.His worries increased when he did not see Tim's clunker at the garage.'Where could he be? Is he not back from the mall?' He asked himself and got out of the car.“Thank you, Collins,” he said and hurried to his room to see his father.He opened the door and stood still when he saw the bed empty. After observing it for a while, he walked in and called out, “Dad.”When he did not hear any response, he pushed the door and looked in but did not see his father.“Where will he be?” He mumbled.At that point, his military might gave way and was replaced by affinity and the longing of a child. He fought back his tears when he remembered the time he was alone and without the hope of seeing his father again.To relieve himself
At Laura's HouseElla got home and kept her findings to herself. She was aware that they will not believe her. Apart from that, even if he was alive, they would not be happy to hear that.“Welcome back, Ella,” Madeline greeted her and watched her remove her things from the car trunk.“Thank you, Mrs. Dickson,” she responded, covered the trunk and the driver drove off.Instantly, she pointed out, “It's like you forgot some things in the car?”“Not at all, Mrs. Dickson,” she answered and picked up a bag.Mrs. Dickson pick up another bag and followed her to the store.“What happened, Ella? Previously, you buy more than this?”“The fund that the boss gave to me was not as much as it used to be. So I got what I can afford with it.”“It's all right,” she hid her disappointment and answered.She returned to her apartment and informed her husband of the lean budget and he marvelled.“Could her salary been tampered with?” He asked anxiously.“I wish I know,” she responded and her husband was c
At The President's OfficeShortly after he walked into his office, Brig. Dale walked in. He stood up immediately and saluted him, “Good morning, Brig. Dale.”He returned the salute happily and they sat down.“The President said he needs the photographs and videos of today's lesson since it is our last day.”“That's good to hear. I need it too.”“It is okay by me. I will get my secretary to do that right away.”Instantly, he called on Bright and he arrived. He was about to give his phone to him when he got a message from Tim. He paused and read through it.(I am at the mall. Do you want me to get a phone for your Dad or will you do that after work? I promise I won't buy a clunker.)George smiled quietly at his promise and replied.(Thank you, for this, Boss. He won't even mind the clunker.)(Okay.)Afterward, he handed his phone to Bright and instructed him on how to use it and get high-quality video and photographs.“I got it, Boss,” he responded with glee and began.He took differen
At The Secretary's Office“This is good,” he said and took his seat.He watched the video again and wrote his note.(This is to notify all staff members that no form of indiscipline will be tolerated in the organization. Anyone found wanting would be decisively dealt with. Signed: Management).He smiled cynically and shared the video. At The Front DeskBarbara was relaxing with her phone while waiting for the visitors who usually gain access into the complex at 10 AM when messages popped up. She quickly tapped on the first message and saw the General Manager's notification that Laura was no more the President's secretary and introduced Bright as the secretary.“Good riddance to bad rubbish,” she thought and glared at Laura.Afterward, she tapped on the second message which was a video and began to watch it. After watching it, she shook her head negatively and looked at Laura again. Meanwhile, she was sad and reading the email from Barr. Gibson and did not notice that she got messages
Tim gave George a mocking look and stated, "Someone suddenly began to miss both of you and we decided to come."George smiled shyly and Samuel declared, "We miss you too.""Yes. We have been homesick since the last time we spoke. How is work?""Work is fine, Gerald. How are your studies?" "Our studies are fine. Thank you for coming.""It is our pleasure," they responded one after the other."How is everyone at home?" Samuel asked."Everyone is fine.""That's good.""I can see that you are doing well," Tim stated."Yes, Brother-in-law.""That is good to hear. If I guess right, you will be through with your exams this coming week?""You are right.""It's all right. See you then.""Okay. Thank you for coming," Gerald said and opened the door."Brother-in-law, remember that you promised to take us to a cinema," Samuel made clear."Yes. The Silver Bird Cinema," Tim admitted and Samuel was glad that the promise was intact."If you perform better than the previous year," George strengthened