His Gold Digger✔️

Chapter 23

I was, however , prepared to have the last word. Leaning forward in my seat I spoke to him calmly and quietly, "Sir, there are three of us working on this. We'd staked everything to make an impression in the building of the allocated units to show that we mean business. That we are competent when it comes to completing projects. That we are people trusted in business and that we can deliver. We were true to the hard terms you dictated for us. We toiled day and night, and at the end of the day you received kudos, the honor and the glory. To us it's just a due of fifty grand only. Upon commissioning you gave us twenty, promising that the balance would be given to us when we had completed the work. And you want to refuse honoring your obligation. To us its unfair and unjust and we are not ready to let it go like that…"

"Can you leave my house at this very minute!" Sam thundered in an attempt to interrupt the flow of my determined speech, calmly directed at him
I held up my right hand sharply, demanding attention with it and getting it, "Listen to me, I will leave shortly. After all it is your house,"

I continued as if I had not been interrupted and Sam was compelled to listen. "You have treated us unfairly and this is how we are prepared to go about getting money. The options, not for us but for you, are there: we will sabotage your business, we shall burn down your warehouses, we shall…"

"You shall what?" Sam thundered and reached for the phone he had since dropped.

"That won't help you," I said calmly. "We have nothing to lose, but you, quite a lot. We're nameless, you're not. You can keep me behind bars or even kill me, but you don't care about me. I am expandable and that is why I'm here with you pleading that you reconsider your recalcitrance and pay before the stake gets too high, even for you and your millions."

"Listen carefully before you do something more foolish than what you have already done. To the people you are dealing with, it won't matter to them if I get out of here a free man or not. It won't matter to me either. But it will matter to you and that's what's important. Today is Monday, if we don't hear from you before Thursday, then you will be hearing from us. Thank you for your audience"

I concluded and stood up. Slowly but with a well composed bearing, I left the room. My manner was clearly different from the initial picture of a shivering supplicant at the start of our dialogue. I could have asked for some water or spirits to still my nerves but I hadn't, been not sure whether Sam would accede to the request or not.

I drove towards my office in my car, thinking. I was weighed down with two things. The first was that I was in so much debts and the second was treating my mother of her addiction which she'd lately succumbed to due to loneliness.

Susan made things even worse ever since I didn't consent to her idea of hurting Lizzy. She got angry at the slightest provocation and made much of it so as to annoy me. I was lost in thought at the wheels of my sedan as I pondered about the nature of business in the state and country.

Those who should know about the value of business and free enterprise to the community were the ones killing innovation and productivity. If someone had told me that situations and people like these ever exist, I would have merely laughed. But now, I was engulfed in this unfortunate state of affairs; a fellow businessman with access and connections and more clout with the government was threatening me with bankruptcy if he continued to withhold my payment.

In the event of Sam failing to fulfill his part of the bargain, DTC, my firm, was likely to be overwhelmed with debts that would surely take me under.

I was, however, not prepared to go down. If at all anybody was to go down then it would be Sam. What bothered me was my threat to him. Would I in all sincerity execute the threat against hi as stated if he refused to pay up? I could only presume as a matter of conjecture on what Sam was thinking right now and what his next moves will be.

For sure, he had more powers at his disposal to cause trouble for me and my supposed partners.

I had lied when I had mentioned other partners. I sincerely hoped that Sam would believe it as a fact. But I was fighting with my back to the wall because I had nothing to lose, but everything to gain. This made me potentially dangerous.
I had always wanted to be a success and to the end, I was still determined. That was why I'd dated Lizzy in the first place. Luckily, I got some things from her before the stipulated time elapsed and Susan showed up again. It was just crazy how Lizzy had met with Susan's ex.

To me, working was an elixir. I sincerely wanted to be an insignificant man of no means and standing in society. If I had been a man of means and standing, what would have been happening no would not have been possible; Sam would have perceived his strength and would have been hesitant to toe the current line of action.
I knew that to achieve my dreams was just a question of working. The world was filled with billions of workers, it was more of a question of what to work and how. It was either you worked or something great or something banal. Like eking out a living and dissociating oneself. I had experienced all these at close range while growing up.

My face knitted up in a tight brow as I drove into the office premises of my company and parked the car under a shade. Inside my office, a modest two-room affair, the outer room which my secretary occupied was also the reception area. The three-seater settee was placed behind the left wall, while the secretary desk was beside the entrance into my office. Helen, my secretary for two years, smiled at me as I approached her desk.

"Welcome sir," said Helen.

"Any message for me?" I asked

"Yes, quite a few," she answered

"Okay, bring them to my office," I said and entered my office.

I flopped into my chair behind the oversized desk and reached for a glass of water. Helen came in and stood waiting for me to finish drinking. I tossed down the last drop with gusto and as if it had life-saving properties, and in this case it could have had that potential; I needed a form of relief for my worries. After dropping the glass, I looked up at Helen in a brighter and carefree manner.

"An official of the United Exchange Bank was here and he left his note. He said that it was most urgent and that you should act on it as soon as you come back" Helen said and handed over the note.

"thank you, I'll see to this" I said, referring to the United Exchange Bank letter, and indicated that I would like to be left alone. Dismissed, Helen returned to her desk.

I picked up the letter but did not make any attempt to open it. I could guess too well what the contents might be. I was in the process of defaulting on an unsecured loan and the effect of it was all weighing down heavily on me. I closed my eyes and tried to think of what to do, to think of a way out of this situation.

But rather than think, my memory was flooded with images of Sam's house. I recalled sitting in the lounge and staring at him. He had symbols of unimaginable wealth. Surely, that was a clear testimony that there were parallel worlds in her state. One for the super-rich and one for the extremely poor. In the middle was a tiny fraction of the struggling mases. A world where a few could get everything done and live better than royalty. While on the other extreme lived the innumerable others. Whose lives were worse than the lot of slaves.

I could recollect very well the proceedings when I had approached Sam to sublet the contract to him. I knew that Sam lacked the capacity to undertake the job but due to political consideration was awarded the job. So it had merely been a matter of Sam taking a commission and letting my firm handle the work itself. Sam had asked whether they had the necessary means to handle the project. Sam's exact words still rang in my ears: "My friend, are you sure you are not chasing butterflies in this venture.
I had replied emphatically, that although I knew the task was well above what I used to do, I was sure that I would be able to deliver.