The FINAL NAIL The next man to interrogate him was the meanest of them. His face was cold and unfeeling."Why did you abandon your textile business?""I didn't abandon it.""Excuse me?""I did not abandon the business. I was defrauded and the business collapsed." "That means you went bankrupt after that?" He didn't answer. "Please can you speak up so the next person can take over?" "Not really. I had people who pulled resources together to loan me the capital I needed to rebuild my business." "And yet you didn't. Or did you?" Again he swallowed hard. "Okay, let me rephrase the question. As a businessman who was into textile, after you were defrauded and people loaned you money, did you rebuild your textile business?" "No." "So what did you do? "I went into partnership with someone in another line of business." "And what business was that?" "Cosmetics. I went into cosmetics." "Good. That will be all from me."By the time the rest of the members had interrogated him, El-Za
THE TRUTH IS OUT It felt like a nightmare as the black police Hilux which carried Madam Rebecca drove into the ministry. Her heart was thumping in her chest. She didn't know what to expect. She was ushered into the office by the officers who brought her with specific instructions from the inspector. Meanwhile, Caleb hadn't joined them. When the inspector asked whether he was going to the ministry from the station, he replied that he wanted his grandfather to be present during the meeting. "I need to go and pick him up at home." The two men shook hands, "Well, whatever happens, do not hesitate to ring me." "Thank you so much, Inspector. I hope we shall be able to meet and have that drink soon." The man laughed. "I will count the hours till I hear from you. Good luck!" he added. Caleb drove back home and lord Diego joined him to the ministry. Abhi couldn't follow because he had already left for work. But his stepmother, Leah, insisted on being a part of it. Caleb obliged her.
THE ENDCaleb went to DeZ Cosmetics the next day with some men from the ministry to reopen the place. He still remembered a few of the staff there and began to call them one by one.Mr Apollo, the company's supervisor, was the first person he called. "Hello Mr Apollo, this is Caleb. Caleb Dezani. I'm calling from DeZ Cosmetics and I am in the office right now. Do you mind reporting to work?"The man grunted in disbelief. "But the company was closed down two days ago. And you no longer work there. Last I asked, I was told you took over as the CEO of another company." Caleb laughed. "Well, that last part is true. However, the company was under dispute and has now been resolved. I have reclaimed it as the rightful CEO and want you to return to work. Please while coming, do well to call others to report to work too. I shall be waiting at the reception hall."But Mr Apollo didn't call anyone until he got to the company and found out for himself that the place was indeed reopened. It was a
The whistling sound of water boiling from the electric kettle in the kitchen was loud enough to alert Caleb as he set about making coffee for his boss.He poured the coffee into a mug and placed it in a tray to carry to his boss' office. He's the personal assistant to the CEO of DeZ Cosmetics, Mr Hart.This is the only job he has to earn a living; thanks to his girlfriend, Mia, who helped him in getting it."Tonight, I'm going to go down on one knee and propose to her," he smiled to himself imagining the scene in his head. Then suddenly, another thought crossed his mind and he paused, "After I receive my payment which I'm going to use in getting her a befitting engagement ring."The idea pleased him and he nodded with self-satisfaction. Clad in his calico white shirt that gives a bit of colour to his dry, scaly skin, a pair of jaded black trousers and shoes the colour of his tangled dark hair, with an apron hanging down from his neck, he wiped his hands with a napkin as he stood bri
As Caleb was being pushed into the waiting van of the mobile police, he stole a glance at his boss' office window just in time to see the blinds dropping down.Someone had been standing there and watching. It was Mia. He couldn't see her eyes but he was certain she was having a really good laugh at the open humiliation meted out to him."Get into the car and don't waste any more of our time, punk!" The officer holding him yelled angrily and slapped him hard across the face.Caleb blinked hard, trying to refocus his blurred vision. From the corner of his tear-stained eye, he could see the curious stares of his former colleagues from the large glass windows of the administrative office downstairs."Former?" he thought ruefully. "Did I just lose my job for real?""Are you deaf?" The other police officer blared out, jarring his eardrum. "The hot slap must have deafened him," the one who slapped him snorted and then burst out laughing croakily.His colleague joined in.Caleb felt the ring
Chapter 3Revenge of the Abandoned BillionaireThe August Visitor 3CALEB'S POV The atmospheric air was stale.The man in the brown suit cleared his throat. "You mean he doesn't know?" he asked, glaring at Leah."Know what?" Caleb queried looking over his shoulder. The trepidation in his tone pierced through the late afternoon air. Leah lowered her face to the ground, her greyish-blue eyes covered in a plumage of dark eyelids. Her dainty hands which have seen years of hard work and menial labour began shaking from nerve ends as Caleb's puzzled look searched her face for an answer.Before she could speak, the landlord who was skulking behind them interrupted, "Who are you Mister, and what do you want with my tenants?""Your tenants?" Caleb and Leah both snapped angrily at the elderly man, turning to face him."My name is Ricardo," the visitor responded, "I am here on instruction to bring the young master to meet with his family."Caleb bolted towards the exit in a flight of fright.
Learning the Truth 4CALEB'S POVThe car drove on in silence. The revelation about his family hit Caleb harder than an electric shock. "What?" he intoned.Mateo nodded. "Is this true, Mama?"He turned to give his mother a blank stare.Leah's greyish-blue eyes had become opaque and watery. Tears streamed down her pinky cheeks and formed a puddle on her sharply edged chin, dripping in droplets onto her hands which were clasped together prayerlike."I guess your silence is an answer in itself," Caleb grumbled."You were adopted after I managed to whisk you away from being killed and hidden in an orphanage. Your foster mother here used to work as a nursing assistant there." Mateo recalled.Caleb lowered his head, the empty package of food dangled in his hand. His grandfather retrieved the pack and dumped it on the backseat.Leah made an effort to hold her son's hand but he shrugged her off. "Don't touch me.""Do you hate me now?" her voice cracked.Caleb felt sorry for his mother. "I'm so
Getting Started 5CALEB'S POV"It was going to be a long night," suspected Caleb. His grandfather had asked that they continue the discussion in his private chambers so he could lie down on the bed and rest his head on a pillow. Caleb agreed. "As I was saying," Mateo began as soon as they went inside and shut the door, "Dezani Cosmetics is one of the biggest companies in Mexico City. At least it used to be." Caleb heard him murmur that last part under his breath the moment his head hit the pillow. "It competed with some of the big brands in the cosmetic industry around the globe: from France to the United States, to Korea, and even China." "China?" Caleb sounded surprised. "Yes. Dezani Cosmetics was a famous manufacturer of ladies' lipsticks for brown skin women. We co-sponsored the Miss World beauty pageant about 22 years ago - if memory serves me well - when a black woman from West Africa won the contest." "This is too good to be true," Caleb said in pleasant delight. "Best