5. Is it Real?
The man, for the first time ever, slept in until his men were worried.
Jamal, his personal assistant and bodyguard, was so worried that he sneaked into the boss’ room using his spare key and what he saw left him blushing.
“What did you see?” His subordinates asked and he smiled at them.
“Even if I tell you, you all won’t believe me since we don’t expect Boss to behave that way,” he said with an air of mystery and that just piqued their appetites.
They had already been used to their boss bringing different women and sometimes even men to the house but immediately dawn came, he would use Jamal, to send them away with a wand of cash.
The bodyguards had expected it to happen this time but who would have thought that their boss would not only sleep in but also not send that woman away.
“Stop talking. If you wake him up I am going to punish you if he yells at me!” Jamal whispered at them and then they all walked down the stairs quietly.
“Jamal, should I prepare fresh food for Boss? He hasn’t eaten breakfast today,” the maid asked when she met the men coming downstairs.
Like the rest of them, she was wondering why their boss, who worked like a clock, would be late for breakfast.
“It’s okay Zina. Just continue with your normal chores and I will deal with his meals,” Jamal said and Zina smiled gratefully as she walked away.
….
While this was happening, the man in question woke up and he remembered what had happened the previous night and looking at the person lying on his chest, he smiled as he gently caressed her beautiful face with a smile he didn’t know he was adorning.
He then gently and carefully lifted her and laid her on the bed and covered her well and then he walked to the bathroom.
He quickly refreshed himself, brushed his teeth, shaved the stubble that was visible and then adorned a clean robe and then walked out of the bathroom with another clean robe that he placed next to Kim and then he walked out.
With a smile, he walked down the stairs as he whistled.
His men rushed and stood in two rows at the bottom of the stairs and they all had strange looks on their faces.
“What’s wrong?” He asked then when he reached where they were but none of them said anything and then he looked at Jamal.
Jamal felt put on the spot but this was his boss. How was he supposed to tell the other party that he was smiling which was unlike him, he was whistling and humming which had never happened and he was in a robe and on top of all that, there was a woman on his bed!
“Nothing boss. They are just surprised that you slept in today,” Jamal said as he avoided his boss’ eyes.
“Oh, that? Okay. Reports,” the boss said and then walked towards the dining table where the food that had been prepared four hours ago was sitting.
“Boss, I will prepare another batch for you,” Jamal said but his boss swatted his hand away.
“No need. We can’t waste food,” he said and that had all his men’s mouths agape.
They all wondered if someone had exchanged their boss with another person during the night.
However, none of them said anything.
“Boss, should I first send her away and give her the usual?” Jamal asked as his boss ate.
“No. Just have Zina prepare her a light meal and I will personally take it to her,” another bomb that had everyone wanting to rush and check if their boss’ forehead was hot because it would then mean that it was the fever acting up.
However, they all kept quiet and Jamal indicated for one of the men to go and relay instructions to Zina.
“Reports!” The boss yelled.
“Oh, yes. The northern consignment arrived yesterday and we already took it to the stores but we haven’t checked on it yet,” one man said as he showed the boss a tablet and the man who had been smiling looked at his subordinate with a look that could cut steel.
“Your uncle was onto us and we had to throw him off and so we decided to lay low first,” the man added.
“Out intelligence tells us that he has run into some problems with his shipment and he wanted to hijack ours since his clients are already complaining,” Jamal added.
“Okay. Talk to his clients and offer them a good deal and sell to them.
What else?” The boss continued.
“There has been a two percent increase in our gambling business profit last night,” another man said.
“Good. Divide the two percent profit among the players and make sure they are comfortable and they get all they need,” the boss instructed and the man walked out.
“The Greenwalk Casino’s manager wants to see you. I asked him what was wrong and he said that someone tried to undermine his authority and he needed your permission to deal with him,” Jamal said.
“Jamal, that’s a very little problem but that’s a very small problem for you to bring to me. Can’t you handle it?” The boss asked.
“Boss, I would have and even the manager would but…” Jamal hesitated for a while and with a sigh he continued, “it’s Claire’s brother. I think that’s what Claire wanted to talk to you about last night,” he finished.
The boss looked contemplative for a while and then said, “arrange a meeting with Claire tonight. Send her a gift as an apology for yesterday and then set a meeting,” he said and then the meeting, if it could be called that, continued and then by the time it was ending, Zina was already done.
She placed before the boss a tray with a glass of fresh smoothie, a bowl of porridge, two hot buns, and a small potion of vegetable soup.
“Good. I won’t be going out today, deal with other issues and don’t call me unless the world is ending,” the boss said as he took the tray and walked upstairs with it.
If he had looked behind him, he would have noticed his subordinates flabbergasted faces as they watched him.
“Hit me to see if we are dreaming,” one man said.
Pa!
“Damn it! Did you have to hit that hard!”
“Is it real?”
“Yeah, it hurts, it must be real.”
“JAMAL!”
They all froze on the spot as they looked at Jamal with fear on their faces.
“What have you done for him to tell your name that loud?” One man asked.
“Nothing. I swear,” Jamal said as he left hurriedly and then as he neared the room, he heard another shout from his boss’ room.
He was done for.