Rodney did not see Lilly during the next two weeks. She called him and sent messages but he made no attempt to reply. He couldn’t bring himself to block her although that was what Harvey advised him to do. A part of him believed her, and he was not ready to let go. Besides, he was lonely and had not made new friends since getting to New York. All he had was Harvey who was always busy on a job hunting mission.The financial advisor had said Rodney was not yet ready for entrepreneurship and he needed a bit of experience before starting out. He advised Rodney to put some money in bank investments and get a job somewhere to give him a feel of what it meant to run a business. Rodney and Harvey both managed to find jobs in sales at the same athletics store. Two people had resigned on the day they walked in. Apparently, they had fallen in love and decided to move to a small town and start their own business and family.It was hard to find motivation to work when you had more than enough mon
“Lilly is my name. My name is Lilly Price. I know this is a lot. I’m just waiting for you to get up and storm out of here.”Rodney sighed. He picked up his glass and downed the drink before requesting for another one. He stared at the beautiful woman in front of him and shook his head lightly. He smiled and stared into her eyes.Lilly smiled back, and didn’t say anything. She picked up her glass and took a sip of her drink before placing it back on the table.Rodney didn’t know what to think. He could hear a couple on the next table talking about how much they loved each other.All of his blood had run to a certain part of him a long time ago when he saw Lilly. Now, the feelings seemed to have grown. He wanted to ask her home but had no idea if he could trust her. When he looked into her eyes, he could see innocence, but that was the same innocence that had fooled him into believing her. “Do you admit that this is a lot to take in?” he asked her.She smiled. “Yes. I know. I’m glad th
During the next few weeks, Rodney learnt a lot about running a business. He was only on a sales position, but he watched everyone, and studied how everything was running. During the meetings, he paid attention to know the things that brought profits, and those that lead to losses. He read all the company manuals, policies, and other documents which enlightened him on a lot of things.He realised that Gregory was right. If he had started a business without the information he was learning, it wouldn’t have survived. He would have lost a lot of money. Being a quick learner, he knew he would have got everything he needed before the end of the year. He took some entrepreneurship courses, attended workshops and seminars to build skills and gain practical knowledge. With time, he moved on to another company to experience a different environment so he could compare. This was mostly a service company. It provided travel services.His friendship with Lilly beca
Rodney impressed the interviewers and was soon invited to join the university and study for an accounting degree. Life became so much better after he joined the university. He started to get better friends, and do things he found meaningful. He quit his sales jobs in order to focus on studies and creating a plans for the business he wished to start. The money he had invested in bonds was growing, although not as fast as he thought it would in a business. Gregory, the financial advisor wanted to take things slow but Rodney was becoming impatient. He wanted to be part of something big, like some of his classmates. Eventually, Rodney decided to ignore Gregory’s advice, and sought advice from his New York peers and workmates on what business was trending in the city.Eventually, he decided to open an online store for outdoor sports wearables. He decided to use the knowledge he had learnt in Active Sapiens to promote his products. Active sapiens had also had an ecommerce shop. Although he
Within the next few months, Rodney worked closely with Gregory to ensure that he got back on his feet. There were a lot of things that needed to be worked on. Rodney actually learnt more from Gregory than he had in all the courses, trainings and seminars he had undertaken. The man was full of knowledge. Rodney regretted thinking he could do it better on his own without the required knowledge and skills. While it was true that he could do it if he put in enough time, he could do so much better with the mentorship of an expert.During the second semester of school, Rodney got less busy and therefore put more focus on his entrepreneurial dreams. When he was sure he was ready, Rodney started a business. Over the past year, he had started to love finance so he started a business and a consulting company in that field.The company grew slowly, as Gregory had predicted. It was an upwards slope, not a downwards slope that had befallen his first business. That one had grown fast, and fallen fa
Three years later…Rodney was a successful entrepreneur celebrating the third anniversary of his business empire. He was surrounded by all the people he loved, some of whom had helped him reach where he was. He had graduated from school a week back and was celebrating both his graduation and the company that had catapulted him to the top. Saran Inc. was named after his mother.Rodney was now running his business full time. Now he had a lot more free time and money which he used to travel around the world occasionally with the love of his life. Rodney was finally satisfied with his life. He could meet all his needs, and had a loving woman by his side. He finally got what he considered a good life, and was working hard to maintain it.The only thing remaining on his list was to marry the woman he loved and start a family. They were already engaged, but had not yet set the date. Lilly had just finished college and was dealing with a lot. He had not seen Alberto in over three years and w
“What is it, Aunt Jessica? Is Lyra okay?”“No.”“What happened? Spill it now!”“Lilliana is dead. She had been missing for two days. They found the body today in her apartment. She was murdered.”Rodney found the nearest chair and sat on it. He felt weak. He had never had a good relationship with Lilliana but his heart went out to Lyra, the eight year old girl who had been left alone.”“How is Lyra taking it?”“Well, it’s terrible for her. She’s very young. You need to come here. She loves you and you are the only sibling that cared about her. Emilia and Rodrigo don’t care at all.”“Of course. I’ll leave as soon as I can.”“Thank you.”When the call was ended, Rodney remained seated. When he thought of Lyra’s condition, he felt a tear coming out of his eye. It reminded him of the day he lost his mother under Alberto’s hands. It was the worst day of his life. Yet, he was 18. How could an eight year old deal with something like that?The door opened. He didn’t have to look up to know th
When they entered the living room, Lyra stood up and ran to hug her brother. Rodney placed his arms around his little sister while his eyes moistened. The little girl looked broken and yet she had always been happy. It was heart-breaking to see. There was a coffin on the table in the middle of the room. Aunt Jessica and uncle Markos were seated beside it. There were five other people near them that Rodney did not recognize. Rodrigo and Emilia were seated on a window seat, focused on their phones. How distasteful! Rodney thought. They looked unbothered and disconnected from the whole thing.“Mummy is gone, Rodi.” Lyra said as she led her brother to the coffin. Rodney looked into it and saw the beautiful serene face of Lilliana. He remembered the first time he had seen her when he felt so attracted, then the time she had tried to seduce him but he resisted. He remembered the time she tried to stop her daughter from talking to her brother. All that didn’t matter to Rodney anymore. He ha