K.C Philips

Chapter Seven

There were two things K.C hated about being the deputy GMD of his dad's company.The first was the huge amount of responsibility Ikenna, his elder brother and CEO, delegated to him. Many times, he felt that he was the real CEO and Ikenna was just the figure head who had no interest in running the company.

The second thing K.C hated about his post was the fact that he received early morning calls daily, calls that were bound to disturb his ever-cherished sleep. For that reason, he always put his phone on voicemail. The previous night he forgot to do so. The next morning, he paid dearly for it.

K.C turned rebelliously in bed as he reached for the phone. Cursing under his breath, he picked the call.

"Good day. May I know who this is, please?" He said tiredly.

"Did you ever save my number, K.C?"

K.C took a quick look at the caller ID. If he had done so earlier, he wouldn't have picked up.

Ikenna.

He knew the implication of the call. He would have to add another task to his January workload. It was already turning out to be hectic even before it begun.

"I didn't look at the caller ID, Ikenna"

"That's very good of you, K.C. Just so you know, we are going to meet with an NGO mid-January. They want us to sponsor a certain benefit event. It would do well for our Corporate Social Responsibility profile if we accept the proposal."

"Okay. Noted, big bro." K.C wanted to go back to sleep.

"Do you know why I am telling you this?" Ikenna asked.

"In order for me to write it down somewhere, obviously." K.C replied. He had grown short of patience.

"I will be going on leave around that time."

K.C was surprised, so surprised he sat up on his bed. "Leave? Seriously?"

"Yes. I just need to be with my family for a while. Just two weeks. By the 27th, I'll be back at work."

"Do you know what this means, I.K?" K.C had never called Ikenna I.K before.

"Yes. I do. You'll be interim head of BOG for two weeks."

No response.

Ikenna didn't seem to care. He went on, "Anyways, tomorrow is David's 16th birthday. You can come down south if you want to."

"I'm coming. I already got him a present." K.C was pacing around.

"That's nice. I look forward to your visit. Merry Christmas in advance."

"I wish you the same." K.C said as Ikenna hung up. He put the phone down and covered his face as he tried to process the main detail of the call.

I'm going to be interim head.

K.C was not elated. He was scared.

What if I screw up? Dad wouldn't die happily, for certes.

He tried to forget about the news by focusing on his date with Jessica that very day. He unlocked his phone and stared at his phone. It was already six a.m. He was shocked.

How long did that call last?

It dawned on K.C, the fact that the duration of the call was irrelevant. He had overslept.
Shoot.

Almost six hours later, K.C was facing Jessica's front door, having tracked down her address. He rang the doorbell, feeling nervous. The door opened quicker than he expected. However, the face he saw wasn't Jessica's. It was her mum's.