Chapter four

Immediately, he saw an oncoming bus, the conductor of the bus was calling out to passengers going to the Island.

He hailed the conductor and the bus stopped. He was anticipating going to the rear as usual, when the conductor gesticulated that he should sit in the front seat since no passenger was there.

He agitated but eventually gave in.

He opened the front door to enter and while he was about to sit on the passenger’s seat, he noticed in front of the bus just directly facing the driver, the picture of Jesus Christ with a halo on it. He sat down and for some moments, was captured by what he felt was the presence of God. He sat still and prayed within him again for the second time that God should make his day auspicious.

He didn’t want any inauspicious moments in his life again.

He dozed off in no distant time and scenes in his life were just flashing before him kaleidoscopically. He opened his eyes to the clean mass of water. He realized he had reached the Island and sprouting from the ground before him were tens of tall buildings that seem as if they would touch the sky.

He felt giddy immediately he alighted from the bus. He looked at his wrist-watch it was quarter to eight, he smiled and felt that the auspicious nature of the day had brought him good luck. He couldn’t afford to be late on this epoch making day.

He walked down the streets of Lagos Island and once more, people turned to gaze at him commending on his looks.

All of a sudden, a man came from nowhere and accosted him.

  ‘Excuse me, young man,’ extending his hand for a handshake but JT declined the gesture.

  ‘Are you Mr. Frank?’

Justice looked so perplexed.

  ‘I’m not and why do you ask?’ He asked.

  ‘Well, I was made to understand that I would meet one Mr. Frank and he was supposed to be coming from the states. Above all, your features match the description of him.’

  ‘It may interest you to know that I’m not Mr. Frank and that I didn’t come from the states.’

  ‘Hmmm…,’ the intruder looked at him again all round.

  ‘Well, if you are not Mr. Frank as you said, you are indeed a handsome man and I pray that you get whatever you are looking out for.’ He turned and walked away.

Justice raised his voice and said,

  ‘Thank you.’

He turned to the direction he was going and could sight his office building a stone-throw away. After few strides, he was there.

He entered the lift and pressed the button on 7. He was going to the seventh floor.

The door opened and he stepped out of the lift. He took a deep breath and exhaled noisily. His heart was pounding.

  ‘Would I make it today, God?’ He asked as he opened the door to the reception hall.

  ‘Good morning, Mr. Justice,’ the security man on duty greeted.

  ‘Good morning, Mr. Mba,’ he responded.

‘Has the M.D come?’ He asked even though he knew the answer.

 ‘Oh no, he has not come yet,’ he replied.

He slouched past a female colleague who was working on the computer.

  ‘Good morning Justice, could you tell me why you are so apprehensive? You didn’t even notice me. This is happening for the first time, sweetheart tell me who has made my darling anxious this morning? I’m really going to file a case against that person.’ She chuckled trying to bring up a conversation.

Justice rolled his eyes in accordance with the joke she was cracking and said ,

‘Sweetheart, nobody has made me anxious and you definitely need not file a case against that person. You know why?’ He asked a rhetorical question and continued.

‘Because there is absolutely no one to sue’  

 ‘In that case, it must be a ghost,’ she said raising her hands in the air to gesticulate the sign of the quotation mark and at the same time puckering her face in a funny way.  

  ‘Not again Silvia.’ He said in bewilderment.  

  ‘I won’t let you rest until you let me in on what is bothering you JT,’ she said in a familiar way.  

  ‘O.K, you win. Now listen. Remember the presentation I made for our boss, I mean the M.D?’ He asked.

  ‘Yes, but he’s not in the country right now so how could he make you restless?’  

  ‘Of course, he could. Remember he is to come back today. In fact by noon we should be expecting him. And if the transaction goes well, I will smile my sweetheart.’ He grinned.

  ‘But, on the contrary, if it does not go well… you know the rest. I won’t be paid and neither will I take this sweetest heart out for lunch today, in fact for ever because I will have been sacked.’

‘Hmmm…,’ she put her hand on her jaw to support herself and then rose and walked towards him holding his shoulder from behind.

  ‘I don’t think any of such bad things would happen and now hey! Come off it because the day is sure going to be auspicious.’ She said.

  ‘You think so?’ JT asked.

  ‘I know so,’ she responded.

Four hours had passed since Justice and Silvia had their tête-à-tête in the reception hall. Some signs of apprehension were still evident in his appearance. He wondered when his boss was ever going to come.

He had gone into the rest room a couple of times and pretended as if nature called.

This was the umpteenth time he had gone into the convenience room. He looked at himself in the mirror and tried to make out something from his looks. He turned on the knob of the tap and suddenly fresh clean water rushed out and spattered on the surface of the basement for washing of hand. The sink shone after a couple of spattering, and he could see his image from the base of the sink.

He was mesmerized by this feeling that he didn’t know when the door to the convenience opened and a hand tapped him on the shoulder.

  ‘And what do you think you are doing here?’ A voice asked in hostility.

He looked up, awe struck. Standing before him was no other than his M.D. he slouched, agitated and stammered.

  ‘Uh…uh…I mean I came to ease myself,’ he stammered.

  ‘Then you should be off from the rest room if you’re done with the easing of yourself,’ he winked, a gesture known to the employees to prelude the M.D’s anger and drastic judgment.

Justice hurried out of the room and was cut short by the M.D’s stern voice.

  ‘And you better see me in my office now,’ he ordered.

  ‘Yes sir,’ he replied.    

  ‘Oh my God, I’m finished. I thought today was actually going to be a break. I’m done for.’ He soliloquized as he went to his room to pick up his file containing all his presentations and case studies.

He knocked on the door of the M’D’s office and the same stern voice responded.

  ‘Yes come in.’

He wondered what was going to be the next.

His boss had his back turned on the door while he sat on his big leather chair. The big Mahogany table directly in front of the door shone from its tanned colour.  There were shelves housing different journals and books, showing that the owner of this office is indeed a voracious reader and above all, well-informed and well-travelled.  The colours of the drapes, the walls, the furniture, medals and awards in the room all gave the office an exciting and lively look.  Hung on the wall adjacent to Justice was a Projector and directly beside it was the Nation’s Flag proudly exhibited.  Justice cleared his throat, announcing his presence.

He turned immediately.

He stood up and walked towards him and for some minutes paced around the room.

To Justice those few minutes felt and seemed like eternity. He thought his boss should spill it out and sack him right away without salary and no benefits at all.

Eventually, his boss spoke.      

  ‘I warned you, didn’t I?’ He asked as he stood directly behind him and his breath touching the neck of his subject. With every hot breath that came out from his boss he felt he was already in hell.

Then suddenly, his boss came to his front and extended his hand.

Justice couldn’t draw an analogy between the deep hot breath and the extended hand. He didn’t know if he should take the hand and shake his boss. He felt it could only be a trap, so he declined the offer. His boss realized that he was in a dilemma, lowered his hand and instead gave him a tight hug. Justice was confused the more, he couldn’t bring himself to reciprocate the hug as a result, and his hands were just down like a lifeless pair of tentacles.