Chapter 4

Clinton headed for the driver’s seat and hopped in, while Cindy glared at Marie and James before entering the car, Marie was surprised when she saw this.

Clinton had always claimed that he didn’t know how to drive, he only rode his work bike. She hadn’t really thought much of it.

She then realized that he had kept so many things from her, perhaps he was actually rich. She didn’t know what to believe anymore.

“But how could he own a Bugatti, he couldn’t even afford a camry”. She thought to herself.

She wasn’t sure yet and was determined to find out everything about him, with this, she held James hand and led him towards their car while persuading him to leave Cindy alone and dismiss the thought of suing her.

James , still annoyed, didn’t open the car door for her this time and entered the car straight, Marie sighed and closed the door behind her, then he sped off.

As Clinton sped along the Expressway, his mind was wandering, Cindy was staring at her brother. She saw how much he had grown and persevered.

She noticed the dark circles under his eyes, he hadn’t been sleeping well, his face was emotionless and focused on the road, with one hand on the steering and the other on his lap.

She finally broke the silence, “Clinton, I’m sorry you had to go through everything you did, I really wished there was a way i could revert everything”.

“But I’m happy it’s over now”, she added with a sincere smile, putting her hand on his. Clinton held her hand gently and smiled.

“Clinton, now that you’ve been reinstated, you have to show the people that looked down on you that they were wrong, you have to make them pay for every single thing they’ve done to you, especially Marie and her stupid boyfriend.

“You know, home hasn’t been the same without you, we all missed you so much, especially Dad, I know he might act stubborn in front of you, but he actually Loves you a lot”.

Just then, her phone beeped and she checked. “. It’s a message from Dad, he said everyone at the company is awaiting your return”.

“That will have to wait, I have to drop my resignation letter first, my boss has been good to me, it’s only proper I say a proper farewell”. Clinton said.

“Very well then, I’ll be waiting at the company, you can drop me in front of that apartment ahead, I dropped my stuffs at Melanie’s place this morning. 

You remember my blonde friend from high school???, Clinton thought for a while trying to remember her, “ I think so, she used to be your roommate in college right?.

“Yessss, she’s the one, she’s so sweet”. Cindy said smiling,. “So, as I was saying, I want to pick them up and head for the house before going to the company”.

“That’s okay”, That one right?, He said referring to a Beige and white colored Duplex by the road. “Yes, you can stop here”

Clinton pulled over and parked directly in front of the building. She hugged her brother and alighted, waved at him, opened the gate and entered the house without looking back.

He stared at the place she had been earlier for a while, smiled and pulled away from the house, then he headed for the laundromat.

When he got to the street, he decided to pack a few meters away because he didn’t want to call too much attention to himself and to avoid questions.

He shut the car’s door and walked towards the Laundromat, he opened the door briskly and headed for the inner room which served as the boss office.

Two washing machines were running,few customers were waiting at the lobby, while Lucy’s friend, Jake, who was also his colleague was speaking to someone on the phone and laughing heartily.

Immediately he saw Clinton enter, he said something to the  person on the other line and dropped his phone on the counter.

Jake had never liked Clinton because he also had the same perspective as Lucy, so he didn’t like him at all. He tried his best to frustrate Clinton as much as he could on a daily basis. 

He was also jealous of Clinton despite the fact that his paycheck was almost double of what Clinton earns, because he earned the favor of their boss, other workers and most of their customers. This made him despise Clinton even more.

“Hey, delivery boy, what’s up?”, He said cheekily, Clinton stopped in his tracks as Jake stood directly in his way, he had gotten used to Jake’s snide remarks and did not bat an eye.

When Jake saw that he was quiet, he quickly added, “Oh, I also heard about your divorce, I’m so happy for Marie for leaving you, you couldn’t even take proper care of her, poor girl!”

“She had to put up with your broke ass, at least she will now get the good life she truly deserves, I wonder how you survive, I’m sure your family is ashamed of you, no wonder you’ve never spoken about any of them”, Jake sneered.

Some of the customers were eavesdropping as Jake continued, “c’mon”, tell me, how do you take care of your family from your mediocre paycheck, how??”.

Clinton shook his head and tried to walk past Jake when he saw his boss coming from her office, she was looking at a document she held in her hands through her glasses.

Then she looked up and saw the scene, she moved closer to them and faced Jake, “Jake, you’d better not be giving Clinton a hard time, I’ve warned you several times, if you make such a scene or make derogatory remarks about him or anyone around here again, you will be reprimanded severely and suspended, Okay??”, she said sternly.

Jake kept quiet and nodded, “I’m very sorry ma’am, it won’t happen again”. She glared at him and went to attend to the customers. As he headed for  his seat, he gave Clinton a sly look when their boss wasn’t looking .

Clinton ignored him and went to his workspace to pack his things, he intended on waiting for his boss to finish attending to the client before he told her.

When she finished attending to the client, she came towards Clinton and saw that he was packing, “See me in my office now”, she said and walked away.

He packed all his stuffs into a box and locked it, then headed for their boss’s office, as he passed by Jake, he glared at him.

He walked down the hallway till he reached her office, there was a tag on the door, Ann Jeffery, CEO, he  knocked on the door, “Come in”, Ms Ann said from inside. He opened the door gently and entered, she didn’t look up till he got closer.

“Sit”, she said and looked up, staring at Clinton through the rim of glasses, Ms Ann had been worried when Clinton didn’t come back to the Laundromat to report to her after delivering the clothes, she thought something had happened to him.

“Where have you been Clinton?, I had been trying to reach you , did something happen??” she asked with her hands folded on her chest. She gestured to Clinton to sit when she noticed he was still standing.

“Don’t worry boss, I won’t be spending much time here, I just wanted to tell you how grateful I am to you for helping me, giving me a job and taking me as your own when I had no one,I’m eternally grateful and I really appreciate it boss”, Clinton said thankfully.

Ms Ann smiled and nodded, ”My pleasure Clinton, but why are you saying all of this, oh, don’t worry , I’m not gonna ask you questions if it’ll make you uncomfortable, you can resume back immediately, I’m not gonna query you okay”.

Clinton sat down and looked at her, she had been so good to him and he wondered how he could repay her.

Ms Ann, though in her mid twenties was a very business minded and hardworking woman, she was kind to everyone around her and treated them with respect.

She was a beautiful woman and he couldn’t deny that he stole glances at her sometimes, but he respected his wife so much and erased such thoughts from his mind.

She had given him lifts several times and tipped him whenever he made lots of deliveries, she always spoke to him gently, listened and never judged him.

“That’s not what I’m here for boss, I came to drop my resignation letter”. Clinton said, Ms Ann was surprised and it was evident.

“Why?, did something go wrong, are you going out of town??, she asked, dismayed, *she added, “I need you Clinton, you’re one the best people that’s ever worked for me”.

Her phone suddenly rang, she looked for it in her bag and checked who it was, “Ah, it’s from Joden Enterprises, excuse me”. She picked the call and placed it on speaker.

A voice spoke almost immediately, “Good afternoon , Ms Jeffery, i have called to inform you that the contract that was awarded to your company has been terminated”.

Ms Ann’s face changed immediately, she was shocked, “but why sir, did we not meet the requirements??”. she said, Clinton noticed the change in her countenance.

“We’re sorry but that’s our decision”. Ann quickly responded, “ is there anything we can do to prevent this??, Ms Ann wasn’t going to let this lifelong opportunity slip by her.

“I don’t think there’s anything i can do about it, unless you agree to my demands MsAnn, when you’re ready, I’ll send you the time and address, and if you’re not willing to meet me, I’d be left with no choice than to withdraw the deposit , the other voice said mischievously and hanged up.

Ann suddenly realized what this is all about and squeezed her face in disgust. The CEO had made advances towards her at their first meeting, and she turned him down swiftly.

Her heart sank as she thought about it "What do I do now”, she said irately, taking off her glasses and placed one hand on her forehead.