I heard a knock on my office door. I initially thought it was James, but it turned out to be Ganiyat. 

"Hope there is no problem?" I asked.

"Your friend is here to see you."

"So?"

"He asked me to inform you. Should he come in?"

I found it strange that James had to ask for permission before entering my office; that had never happened before. I sighed, then I remembered that James hadn't visited me in the office ever since Ganiyat became my secretary. 

"What about the intercom?" I asked.

"It's duff. Yaya is servicing it"

"Alright. Lead him in."

"Okay sir!"

James entered my office the next minute. He shut the door behind him and sat in one of the chairs facing me. He looked stressed. 

"What’s wrong?" I asked.

"There is nothing wrong."

"But you look so stressed. I didn’t know that you would show up before lunch time."

"I just lost my job, Jake!"

“Like seriously?”

"Yes, I’m very serious about this."

"What happened?"

"I still don't know how it happened, but I arrived late at work today. My boss overreacted and questioned my competency."

"Are you serious?" I asked.

He wasn't ready to answer my rhetoric. 

"I served Hildases with the best of me. I liked the company. I liked the guy, I liked his father but look at my gain," he said. 

"This is too much."

"This is gone already."

JAMES:

I just wanted to go home and settle my baffled mind.

"Why did you call me here?" I asked Jake.

"I called you because of the news that had just reached my desk."

I was curious to know what it was. Could it be what had happened hours ago? "What could it be?" I asked. 

"You are the latest hero in town," he said. 

I smiled and said, "You understand me already.

"It was actually God who intervened in this incident. You know your friend na — I'm such a coward."

Jake opposed, "It's a lie. You're brave, James. You just feel otherwise because you don’t know yourself better than those around you."

I raised my hands in surrender and said, "If you say so."

"Don't bring those hands down," he commanded, and as if I were charmed, my hands remained in the air. 

"You're a real coward," he said. 

We both laughed. 

“On a serious note, you're brave, way back from school. Remember the day there was a fight?"

I laughed. 

"Maybe, you would have to work with me now," Jake said.

I did not want to, but I wasn’t sure if I had any other option at the moment. ‘Steve and Sons' was bigger than ‘Hildases', but I just didn’t want to work with Jake. I wasn’t sure how his parents were going to take it.

"I'll just think about it for now. I need to go home and clear my mind."

"It's fine. Take care."

"Sure, I will."

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