At about 4:00pm on Sunday, Mike had fully relocated. He had someone who took over his mainland apartment. The person paid Mike for the months he had left for the one year rent.
To brush up his looks, he went to the nearest market and bought himself some good clothes. He had his hair cut before the interview with his new boss.
He wished he could reach his mum to tell her how things are rapidly working in his favour but couldn't. He lost his mother's phone number along with his stolen phone. There's no other way to reach her, nor could he reach the only one person who brought him to the city, Kazeem.
Looking at all he's been through all his life and how fast he's going up the ladder, he couldn't but imagine where he'd be in the next five to ten years.
"A billionaire! Meehnnn, I can't wait", he said in excitement banging his back on his soft King-size bed.
It was 6:00AM on a Monday morning. Mike could hear vehicles horns from the express road. He needed to resume as early as possible as it was his first time in his new office.
In minutes, he was out but the Monday morning traffic struck. He spent an additional one hour before getting to his office.
On getting there, he met two new faces. They were dressed in chef attires. He was wondering if he'd been fired without his knowledge.
"Good morning Miss", he greeted the two ladies.
"Good morning sir", the ladies chorused.
Mr. Olumide was heard speaking on the phone while walking down the stairs into the guest room to meet them.
After the phone call;
"Good morning Michael", he greeted in his black American accent.
"Good morning sir". Mike stood up, briefly bowing his head.
"This is Jennifer, the chief cook and this is Oluwatosin, her assistant. And... Ladies, this is Michael, he'd be joining you in the kitchen and also assist you with food item purchase and other necessities. I hope you'll work well together."
Without much discernment, the ladies were not happy with the boss's idea but, do they have a choice?
Days into weeks and weeks grew into months, Mike got used to the daily activities.
Mr. Olumide had just got married again. He was divorced from his former wife for reasons none of his staff knew but there were a series of altercations between them before the split.
He brought in his new wife and introduced her to the staff. She was, possibly, in her mid thirties. Light skinned, good facial looks and slim. Beautiful.
Unfortunately for the staff, she was the bossy type. Harsh, rude and very unfriendly. With time, they'd get to know her more. They were up for a difficult time ahead.
Her husband was not often at home, so he barely knew how she treated them.
At one point, she wanted Oluwatosin out. She felt Oluwatosin looked too good and could easily get her husband from her.
Well, she was right. Mr. Olumide had always admired her but the boss-worker relationship must not be broken. For that reason, he never dared it.
For Oluwatosin to leave, she had to set her up. She ordered for tea but the lady forgot to inquire about the type and condition of the tea she wanted. Oluwatosin returned with a warm mug of Lipton tea with two teaspoons of sugar. That's Mrs Janet's favourite.
Immediately she served it on the table, a thunderous slap followed suit.
"How dare you? Is this what I asked you to bring? She emptied the content in the cup on Oluwatosin's white cooking apparel. She rushed at her with more slaps.
This one act was what Oluwatosin couldn't bear.
"Kilode?" (What is it?), Oluwatosin yelled and charged back towards her to hit her but Mike quickly rushed to the scene and held her back.
Oluwatosin ensured that she gave her the words she's been keeping inside before resigning.
"Who the hell do you think you are? A jobless broke as* like you, who should be grateful that a rich man picked you to wash your dirty, lazy as* off the street. If you ever dare touch me again, I'll make sure you never use those filthy hands of yours ever again! Oloriburuku!!", took off her working dress and threw it at the speechless Janet.
"I'm coming back for my salary at the end of the month", She said and stormed out of the building.
It was Janet's plan to make her go and yes, it worked.
The whole room was as quiet as a graveyard for the first ten minutes since Oluwatosin left. Mrs Olumide Janet went upstairs to her room.
Mike broke the silence. Engaged Jennifer in a discussion to ease the tension in the room.
The boss returned and asked about Oluwatosin whereabout as it was yet 5:00pm. His wife cooked up some convincing allegations against her enough to deter her husband from bringing Oluwatosin back.
Mr. Olumide credited her account immediately and sent her a text threatening to arrest Oluwatosin if she ever crosses his gate again.
Mike is now the assistance cook. Jennifer, the chief cook, still serves her madam as humble as possible, irrespective of the fact that she has lost count of how many times she felt like beating her up.
Time went by and Jennifer had taken enough of her madam. Everyday with one trouble or the other. Before Mrs Janet, her former madam gave them enough peace until the shocking divorce news they got from their boss.
They couldn't believe that a kind, humble and generous lady like that would hurt a fly, not to talk of her husband who she revered so much. It was obvious that Mr. Olumide was cheating with Janet all through while they were having issues. She was the one behind their boss's sudden change towards his ex-wife which led to their divorce.
Janet barges into the kitchen in a thud,
"This is how your likes pretend to achieve their aim. Do you think I don't know your plans? Your eye service whenever my husband is around? See, I understand the game more than you do. If you try me..."
"Madam, what's really the problem? What did I do wrong?"
"This is the third time you took food to my husband in his office this week, am I wrong?"
"Ma, he's the one who ordered me to bring it. Mike drove me there with the Prado Jeep whenever the boss requested for the food. You can ask him."
They fell into a round of quarrel. Mike was getting fed up with the whole drama but once he remembered his salary, he changed his mind.
"Women and their wahala. You can't make me leave this job. Instead, all of you will leave and I'll serve my boss alone. Eighty thousand naira is not something to joke with", Mike scoffed.
At one point, she suspended Jennifer for a week. This was after she complained that the food she served was deliberately wrongly cooked to hurt her three weeks old foetus.
Yes, she was pregnant.
Mike took over all the activities, Driving, cooking, purchasing etc. She didn't treat him any better but he was humble enough. He had his mind on his salary, every other thing was secondary.
But Mike was getting worried. Something isn't right. He's been having a couple of dreams seeing himself in trouble. Sometimes in court, other times, in the police cell repeatedly.
Will these dreams come to reality? If they will, what would lead him there? After all, he's been handling his job perfectly and has, in no way, broken any law of the land or that of his religion as a Christian.
Is it his past deeds that could be coming to haunt him? What could it be?
YOU ARE READING
TREACHEROUS ORDEAL
General FictionWhen the tussles of life becomes one's nightmare, the hurdles become a reality. In the quest for survival, betrayal roams. Mike had to settle for what was available irrespective of the fact that it was dangerous and costly. He was caught in-between...
