Claire eyed him. What does he mean that the manager didn't tell him anything? Before Claire could get any word out, Gary spoke up. "Since you know him, can you set up a meeting with him for me? Maybe lunch or whatever type of meeting is okay by him. I just really need to talk to him and make him see that Trust Financial Bank is the best bank where he can store his assets."Perhaps, this punishment that Brad gave him was actually good, Claire thought. Because ever since Gary was transferred here, she had never seen him so humble or even say please more than once. And even the very few times he said please, it was usually when he was mad and impatient and he always made sure to use it sparsely. But now he was politely making requests and saying the magic word as if it was his favorite word.He added when Claire didn't say anything, "Perhaps I could even get him a gift to placate him. Do you have any idea what he'd like?" Claire laughed again. This time, she laughed so hard that she ha
The air was serene as several students hung around on various grounds of the school's compound. As it was a Monday, most of the students were in school.Most of them stood in groups, laughing and talking animatedly between themselves and only a few stood alone with their heads hung down as they stared intently at their screens, their fingers either gliding slowly or rapidly across their screens as they respectively scrolled through their phones and typed."Hey, guys," a lanky guy, who looked to be in his mid-twenties strolled to the group of students that consisted of two girls and two other boys who also looked to be in the same age range."Hey man," one of the boys shook his hand and hugged him. The rest too took turns in greeting him."This week already feels good," one of the guys said, grinning as he rolled his shoulders, "I got a raise at my part-time job.""Oh my! Congratulations," they rest chorused.A girl with a low cut dyed green stopped scrolling through streamroll and loo
The professor smiled, not warmly or strictly, the smile gave off no emotion as he said, "You're back.""Yes, sir," Brad answered politely."Mr Harrier, your absence in my class and that of the other teachers was loudly noticed."Brad simply pursed his lips and said nothing.The teacher nodded and turned, walking around his desk. He picked up the textbook he dropped there before he looked up at Brad again. "See me after the class, Mr Harrier.""Yes sir," Brad answered and sat down.There were murmurs from every corner of the class, some sounded confused, while some couldn't hide their mild anger."What the hell! Why didn't he send him out?""I guess we could all miss classes whenever we feel like it, huh.""I wonder why he's not publicly giving his verdict. Why does he have to see him later?" Another student said curiously."Come on!" The student that reminded the professor simply groaned when he went back to talking about the topic for the day.Thirty minutes later, the professor pac
The students would start their exams in three weeks so teachers were hoping to cover all the semester topics before then and get the students to finish all of the projects and assignments involved. Though most teachers were done with their curriculum, some were still lagging.The VC of the school, however, has promised to reveal the face of the prince of the school the following week. Now, instead of the students being excited about the semester coming to an end and looking forward to the break that was looming ahead, all that was in their head that they were eager for was the face reveal of the prince.Every single student could barely wait for the week to come. Even those who seemed overly interested only in books couldn't wait.It was the talk of the school, the trending gist, and gossip as to who the face of the prince would be. Girls and some boys have started to take their skincare routines more seriously, especially their faces and some others are strengthening their communicat
"How the fuck am I out of ketchup?" Claire hotly muttered under her breath, exasperated. She slammed the pantry close and walked over to the fridge to grab the carton of her leftover orange juice.She closed her eyes and let out a content sigh as the sweet cold liquid tricked through her throat, calming her. As she replaced the carton of juice in the fridge, she remembered how it happened that she didn't have ketchup.She sighed and shuffled to where she remembered keeping the list she had written out.She had run out of ketchup on the morning of her birthday but she had only managed to make a list, intending to go the shopping for the groceries and other essentials that she needed on Sunday but some people had been too glad to ruin her day and made Sunday a numb day for her.She felt a little pang of pain in her chest and her anger rose as she remembered brief moments of that night and she couldn't help but hate Gary even more. If only he had simply minded his damn business. She some
Gary just stared at Claire with a blank expression. The girl still had the guts to speak even though she was surrounded, he thought. Interesting.Gary had become desperate. He had been desperate from the start but it doubled a triple times over and he couldn't just sit and wait for someone to help him or for the stupid Harrier man to suddenly call him and announce that he was returning his assets to the bank. And most of all, he couldn't keep begging like a fucking pathetic loser. He gritted his teeth and his jaw hardened when he remembered how he had shamelessly pleaded with Claire, only for her to walk out on him. Even the stupid manager who also knew him wouldn't pick up his call anymore. Time was running out, he couldn't lower his pride and begged only to end up losing his job. He'd rather do it the hard way and keep his job. He had tried to be nice anyway."What's the meaning-" Claire started but Gary interrupted her harshly. "Will you shut the fuck up?" He held her fiery gaze,
"It's Brad, my boyfriend that I introduced to you at my birthday party."There was a loud pause and the deafening silence of the night descended, making everything feel and sound more eerie to Claire.Gary locked gazes with her, a lot of jarring emotions swirling in his eyes. Amusement became more prominent and he suddenly burst out laughing.He laughed so hard that he had to move to the nearest wall to keep himself upright. images of that man darted in his mind and he laughed even harder."What the fuck, Claire?" Gary said amidst short bursts of chuckles as he walked back to stand before Claire.As Gary laughed, he didn't look so scary. He looked like her boss and Claire would have relaxed and managed to laugh with him but she couldn't quite grasp what was so funny in what she said and that made her even more tense."Oh my God, Claire, you got me nicely," he said as he finally sobered up. He shook his head, "No, good one." He wiped the fake tears from his eyes and gave her a thumbs-u
Claire's heart rammed in her chest when she thought that Brad had figured out that she was lying."I mean," Brad licked her lips, her eyes darting from Gary and back to the floor, "Your withdrawal has been causing a lot of ruckus. Our CEO is mad at all of us for letting you withdraw from the back. So I'd just like to know if you would really stop banking with us.'"Well," Gary listened intently as Brad explained, "I have found a pretty nice bank to keep all of my funds in. I am aware that my father has been using your bank forever and there has been no issue, but I guess the chain has broken during my time since the employees of Trust Financial Bank now seem incapable of treating the customers right. Perhaps, the management does not find empowering its employees with good customer relationships and service skills important enough. But then, how would they when the manager himself is horrible at relating with the customers."While Claire thought of something to say, perhaps to convince