"Didn't you hear me, you dumb fool? I know you've signed the documents already." Rollins said and started approaching him.
"So why not give the companies to someone else who will be in a better position to handle them than you," Rollins said in a mocking tone.
"I won't sell those companies to you, Rollins and besides, they're not worth ten million dollars." Tyrone intoned.
"I see that you're not as dumb as I thought," Rollins said with a slick smile on his face. "You have twenty four hours to make up your mind," Rollins said and walked out of the conference room.
"Please get seated, sir." The man who had shaken his hand said. "My name is Malcolm and I'm the one who manages the company."
"Woah, you manage all five companies at once." Tyrone voiced out his surprise.
"Yes, I do." He said and sat back down. He handed a small package to Tyrone.
"What's this?" Tyrone asked before opening the package.
"In there is your new phone with a new bank account that has been created for you with your new name, you will now be addressed as Tyrone Jefferson."
Tyrone looked up at him before he took out the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
"Oh my!" He exclaimed and took out another item from the package. It was the key to a Rolls Royce.
"Oh my!" Tyrone exclaimed again. "Are these really mine?" He asked in surprise, and before he could ask something else again, a notification came in on the phone.
"A credit alert?" Tyrone asked as he stared in disbelief at the screen.
[Your account number ending with xxx3467 has been credited with $20,000,000.]
"Oh my goodness!" Tyrone exclaimed in surprise, almost jumping out of his seat.
"Seventy percent of the money is yours while the remaining thirty percent is to be put back into the company and be generated into another twenty million dollars within a week else, you'll lose your position as the CEO of the five companies."
"A week to make back twenty million dollars, that's outrageous, why don't I just give back the twenty dollars that was given to me?" Tyrone asked in disbelief.
"No, it doesn't work that way," Malcolm said to him.
"You'll have to make the money back in less than a week before anyone here starts to see you as a failure." He added and then went on to introduce the people that were seated around the table and one by one, they all came and shook hands with him before taking their leaves.
Tyrone was now left with Malcolm. Tyrone could tell that something was off about Malcolm but he couldn't pin a finger on it.
"I heard that you sustained an injury, so we'll start having meetings when you're better," he said and walked out, leaving Tyrone to his thoughts.
"How the hell am I supposed to make twenty million dollars in just a week, or is this some kind of trap?" He asked himself, getting up from his chair.
"I don't even know a darn thing about what being a CEO is," Tyrone said to himself.
The next minute, the door opened and Jason walked in.
"Tyrone?" He called, drawing attention to himself. "your nurse wants to see you, she needs to give you the remaining treatment for the day before she leaves."
"Jason, I need to ask you something..."
"I know what you're about to ask me but I know nothing about your father's companies even though I've been with him for years. The person in the right position to answer all your questions would be the manager of the companies or Rollins."
'Rollins isn't an option now.' Tyrone thought to himself.
"Do you know where the manager lives and why didn't Grandfather tell me about the benchmark I have to reach before the week ends?" He asked but Jason simply shrugged his shoulders in response.
"I told you, I don't know anything about the company." He added. "Let's go back to your room, the nurse is still waiting for you." He said and they both walked out of the conference room.
****************************
"What do you mean by twenty million?" Rollins bellowed, hitting his fists on the table in front of him.
"Is that how high you could raise the stakes?"
"Sir, you need to calm down, Tyrone wouldn't be able to make the twenty million even if we gave him a year," Malcolm replied calmly.
"You're putting the companies at risk!"
"No, I'm not sir. Once Tyrone fails to meet up with the deadline, the companies will be totally handed back to its rightful owner which is you."
"I doubt that. He has already signed the documents. How much pill did you put into the old man's food, his death was too late." Rollins said, curling his fist into a ball.
"Just the rightful amount sir, I thought you wanted him dead sooner?"
"Yes I did, I wanted him dead before he gave Tyrone those documents."
"I'm sorry sir, I didn't realise that." Malcolm said.
"How would you, you old fool!" Rollins shot at him.
"My sincere apologies, sir. Should I start making preparations for the burial?"
"No, Jason would handle that, besides he was the closest to my grandfather while he was still alive. I wish I had the chance to strangle that old fool myself." Rollins seethed. "He never saw any good in me, despite all my efforts."
Malcolm had no words with which to reply so he simply nodded his head. "I'm sorry too sir." He said at last.
"Keep your eyes on Jason, make sure that he doesn't reveal any more information to that bastard, Tyler, or whatever his name is," Rollins said.
"You have my word sir."
"Good, now get out of my room." He said and dismissed him with a wave of hand. The moment Malcolm exited his room, he picked up his phone and dialed Melinda's line.
"Melinda, wipe your tears and come to my office now." He said and dropped the call.
"Tell me what you did to Grandpa or else I'm going to report you to the police!!" Melinda threatened, standing across from Rollins with her heart racing in her chest. "Do you think I'm scared of the police, my dear?" He said with a sly smile and stood up from his office chair, making his way slowly toward her. "You killed him, didn't you?" She bellowed. "I only rescued him from his sufferings." "You monster!" "Now, now, my dear, there's no time to shed fake tears." "They're not fake, I loved Grandfather with all my heart." She yelled at him. "Oh save me that." He said with a wave of his hand. "We barely have time on our hands, we need to make our move." He said and walked back to his seat. "What's the plan?" Melinda sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes. "We need to take Tyrone out of the picture and you're in the rightful position to do that." He said as he picked up a pen and began to fiddle with it. "Oh no, never, I will never take the life of someone, especially not
The glittering lights of the red carpet illuminated the night sky as Hollywood's elite gathered for the premiere of "Starlight's Shadow," the most anticipated film of the year. Cameras flashed incessantly, capturing every moment of glamour and excitement. At the center of it all stood Judy Palmer, resplendent in a shimmering silver gown that clung to her curves and sparkled with every movement.Judy’s heart was pounding as she posed for the camera, her smile covering up a whole lot of emotions running inside her. This should have been the happiest day of her life, her breakout role, her face on every billboard in the city. But her conscience kept pestering her, threatening to spoil all hard work that would be hard to maintain had turned out to be a perfectionAs she walked down the carpet, just beside her is the co-star and film direct, Malcom Reed. Judy couldn’t help but think of another event happening downtown. She ditched a marriage, a jilted groom and an empty church.Unknown to
Tyrone couldn’t bear it any longer. He walked away from the theater, away from the cheering crowds, away from the cameras, away from the shattered remains of his happily ever after. His hands fell as he walked across the sidewalk like the remnants of his dreams.Tyrone walked for what felt like hours, his polished dress shoes pinching his feet, his tie hanging loose around his neck. He found himself in a denser part of town, neon signs buzzing and flickering in the growing darkness. One establishment caught his eye: "The Broken Heart Saloon." A bitter laugh escaped his lips. How fitting for his present situation, what a coincidence.Pushing open the wooden door, Tyrone was enveloped by the smoky interior. The bar was dimly lit, populated by a handful of men who looked as lost and dejected as he felt. He slumped onto a cracked leather bar stool, raising a hand to catch the bartender's attention." What'll it be?" the grizzled man asked, eyeing Tyrone's rough formal wear with a mixture
Tyrone had always prided himself on being a gentleman with composure, but tonight, that composure was unwinding at an alarming rate. His apartment which had solitude, has now become the stage for a different kind of drama. The room was quiet except for the soft rustle of bed linens. Tyrone had come here, hoping to find Judy and bring some sense of normalcy back into their lives. But the sight that greeted him as he pushed open the door was anything but normal. Judy, the woman he had imagined spending his life with, was entangled with another man, the director, a figure whose arrogance and charm had always chewed on him.Without a second thought, Tyrone anger kept growing without bounds. His vision reduced and his natural thinking was being replaced with uncontrollable rage. He surged for rage, throwing his fists into the room with a shout. “You son of a bitch!” Tyrone’s voice filled with fury.Judy’s eyes was wide open in shock as she tried to stay away, holding tight the bedspread t
Suddenly Judy face changed and her countenance actually changed into someone who Tyrone wasn’t familiar with. “You pathetic, insecure man,” Judy said, her words stinging in Tyrone’s skin. Her hands were tightened at her sides, her curated manicured nails digging into her palms. “Did you really think you were a match against him? He’s an award-winning director, and you’re nothing but a washed up loser that can’t admit when he loses.”Tyrone's eyes widened as each word was a physical blow. He tried to look in Judy’s eyes, his swollen face a testament to the beating he had received earlier. “Judy, I saw you with him on our bed. Are you kidding me, how could you?”“How could I?” Judy cut him short, her laugh now bitter and cold. “How could it not be? What he’s offering is everything you can never think of offering yourself in the first place, fame, wealth and a real career. What were you going to give me, Tyrone? A life watching us live a normal life, a normal American family as you alway
Tyrone tried walking out of the house almost staggering and falling, his vision covered by blood trickling down his face. He had just lost the fight with the director, lost everything in whole, and right not he was left with nothing but a painful heart and aches of his battered body.The cool air of the night met his face as he managed to walked down the stairs, almost losing his balance. His legs were so light that couldn’t support his weight. But he had to keep moving, he just couldn’t stop. He needed to get to the hospital, he needed help before he faints or before the injuries become serious.As he staggered down the sidewalk, the events of the past hour played on repeat in his mind like some sick, twisted movie.*Walking into their bedroom, seeing Judy naked and writhing beneath the director.The look of shock on their faces as they scrambled to cover themselves.Judy's voice, shrill and panicked: "Tyrone! It's not what it looks like!" The director, smugly buttoning his shirt: "Sor
The doctor nodded, scribbling something on a clipboard. "Mr. Tyrone, you've lost a lot of blood. We need to get you into surgery right away."Tyrone tried gesturing, but the small movements he made sent more pain through his body. He bit his lip and was determined not to cry out. As he was being prepped for surgery, attaching various monitors, Tyrone’s thought kept drifting in and out to Judy.How could she do that? After all they had been through, how could she just leave him hanging like this? Why did she pick the day of their wedding? The image of her on the bed with the direction kept giving a constant source of pain rivalling the knife wound in his side that he got from the fight.As he was about to get wheeled into the operating room, a nurse walked up to him, holding out Tyrone’s cell phone. “Mr. Tyrone, your phone keep ringing nonstop and it's the same caller, do you want to take the call before we go in or I should drop it?”Tyrone hesitated. Who could be calling him now? Eve
Tyrone stumbled out the hospital bed, his vision blurry as he fumbled around. Blood dripped from his chine, staining the white and blue patterned overall the hospital gave out to patients who were admitted. The hospital ward exit loomed before him, in his painstaking state."Sir, do you need help? How and why did you get out of bed?" A concerned voice pierced through the mist of his thoughts.Tyrone tried to respond, but only managed to moan. He was in serious pains. His legs gave way, and he felt himself falling. Strong arms caught him before he hit the ground."We need a stretcher here!" The voice called out, urgent and authoritative.As Tyrone was lifted onto the stretcher, the events of the past few hours flashed through his mind. He was already getting better, what happened to him? Today just can’t get any better.The fluorescent lights of the emergency room ceiling blinded him as he was wheeled inside. Nurses swarmed around him, their voices saying medical terms he definitely co