Leo hummed a tune as he brushed his teeth vigorously. He was late for work and he was so much in a hurry. Being late was not his usual MO but somehow, he had overslept last night. So much that Dalia who usually went to work after he did had already left before he woke up.
"Hmm," he sniffed as the bell on the front door rang for the second time. Wouldn't someone go answer whoever the hell was ringing??He continued brushing until... the third ring of the bell. This time, it was long and obviously anger-driven. Furious at the inefficiency of the domestic staff, Leo slammed his brush on the sink and hurriedly washed his mouth before rushing over to the front door. He expected to see one of the staff also rushing to open the door, but none of them were in sight! What mad inefficiency and stupidity! He would give them a piece of his mind before leaving for work this morning."Yes?", Leo questioned almost angrily as he pulled open the door to find a young man in a ironed white shirt standing there. He looked a little like a Jehovah's Witness member on a door-to-door evangelism mission."Package for you, sir," the young man said, holding up a crisp white envelope. "Sign here please."Leo shrugged and grabbed the clipboard and quickly scribbled his signature before handing it back. The young man nodded his thanks and handed him the envelope."Have a nice day, sir," he said with a slight bow, probably expecting a tip, but nothing came, so he decided to leave.Leo, on the other hand, was very much occupied with the envelope in his hands. He even forgot to close the door as he walked back in. The envelope was quite familiar: broad, snow white, with his company's logo at one end. Why on Earth would he be sent an envelope from his company of all places? Who would send such a message? What would it contain? These were the questions running through his mind as he tore it open.The paper within was white, thick and sealed. He tore it open too and quickly ran his eyes through the content. He'd hardly read more than a few lines when he gasped in shock. What the f...??! Removed him as the CEO??? Was this some sort of prank or what??"Dalia honey!", he called, rushing towards his bedroom to show his wife the crazy letter, but suddenly, he remembered that she had gone off to work.He stopped and took a second look at the letter. This time, he read its entire content and he could not help but laugh. This was clearly a joke! A very expensive one at that. Whoever was behind this would certainly find himself in the deepest part of the labor market within the hour!Quickly folding up the letter and squeezing it into the envelope, he marched into his bedroom and took off his clothes, throwing down everything on the bed before proceeding into the bathroom.In less than ten minutes, he was done bathing and he rushed back into the bedroom still fuming. But, when he opened his wardrobe, lo and behold it was empty! The sight of the blue hangers hanging there on the line made Leo stagger involuntarily. What on Earth was this? What was going on??It took him nearly half a minute to recover himself and when he did, he called for the housekeeper at the top of his lungs."Tomasina!", he roared, and then waited for a reaction, but nothing came. He roared her name again, but the result was as before: perfect silence. It was as if the house was totally empty. Leo shuddered. What was he going to do now? There was only one course of action to take: go to the office and then handle the domestic issue later.As Leo stepped out into the compound in the same clothes he had slept in, he couldn't help but feel slightly ashamed. But that feeling was quickly replaced by astonishment as he found that there was absolutely none of his cars in sight! He blinked his eyes, wondering if he was dreaming. But no, he wasn't. There was just no single vehicle in the compound. With mouth agape, Leo looked all around him at the deserted building, wondering if he had been hypnotized or something. Empty house, empty wardrobe, empty garage... what did it all mean??***He was lucky to have found some change in his pocket and it was with the aid of this money that Leo made his way to the office in a taxi. Throughout the journey, he couldn't help but notice as the cabman continually stared at him through the rearview mirror and his feeling of shame came back with full force. A CEO reduced to riding in a cab, but what the cabman was really staring at was the fact that he was in his nightclothes. Who would leave his house in nightclothes??When Leo finally arrived at the company headquarters where his office was located and where the letter had come from, he jumped down from the cab, and after paying the driver, he headed straight for the office building. But to his immense surprise, before he could raise his hand to push open the glass door, two of the company security appeared from nowhere and blocked his way. Leo was taken aback."What the hell is the meaning of this?", he demanded testily."Sorry, but you're not allowed here," one of them spoke up.Leo knew these men and they knew him too or so he thought. Right now, they were looking at him as if he were vermin that needed to be gotten rid of. He decided to play it cool."Look here, I don't know what conspiracy is going on here, but everyone knows this is my company. Whatever stunt is being pulled by God-knows-who, it won't work. I want you guys to go in there and get me Marks. And Brian too, the head of security."Having said that, he put his hands into his pockets and waited for them to carry out his errand, but instead they stood there staring back at him."Hey, did you guys hear what I just said? I said go get me Marks and Brian right now."No movement. They didn't even blink. It was as if they were statues. Leo lost it. In anger, he rushed between them, headed straight for the door, but before he could say Jack, two strong pair of hands grabbed him and pulled him back roughly."Respect yourself, sir, or we'll manhandle you!"Leo tried to struggle to free himself. He pushed one of them aside and jerked up his elbow to strike the chin of the second guy. But when he saw the truncheon lifted in the air, he knew they were not joking about manhandling him."Okay, okay. Just unhand me," he surrendered.Warily and reluctantly, they let go of him and Leo took a step back from them. He was still breathing hard from the confrontation, so he took a few seconds to steady his breath and rearrange his clothes. The men were still watching him, thinking he was going to make another rush, but Leo had no such plans. He would find another way. But as he lifted his eyes to take a parting glance at the building, who did he see but his friend Marks smiling mockingly at him through the glass! Leo was struck dumb. So this was indeed a conspiracy??Even after Marks had walked away from the door, Leo was still rooted to the spot, staring like someone electrocuted. His own best friend! Just what was the extent of this conspiracy? His entire domestic staff, his company security, his closest friend and probably even his wife too!The sound of hurried feet hitting the ground in high heels jerked Leo off his trance. He looked in the direction of the sound and... thank God! It was Mara! She had her baby in her arms and was rushing towards the glass door, obviously late for work. She wasn't looking in his direction, so she had no idea of his presence."H...," Leo almost called out to her, but he froze. What if she too had turned against him? What if she was part of the conspiracy too? Anyway, there was only one way to find out."Hey, Mara!"But it was too late. She had gotten through the door and was hurrying off down the hall. Shit! Leo ran his hand through his hair and nearly pulled off a handful of it. What a chance he'd missed! Mara was the one person who would be most likely to be on his side. Even if not, he knew she would at least be kind enough to tell him a few things that he needed to know. Anyway, all was not lost. With one last glance at the security men, Leo crossed the road and made for the coffee shop opposite. He would wait there for her, even if he had to sit there all day.Leo made himself comfortable, or at least he tried to. To avoid suspicion, he ordered a cheap drink with a part of the money he had on him - currently the only thing he had in the world. Even though he shifted anxiously in his seat just outside the coffee shop, he was determined to wait patiently till he achieved his goal. He tried not to think of his current predicament; it was a conspiracy or maybe just a huge misunderstanding. Maybe his friend, Marks, had not seen him and was mocking someone else. No matter which it was, it would be fixed. He was sure of that.Even when he had finished his coffee, Leo kept sipping at the empty cup to give him enough excuse to remain in the shop. He certainly would not dare to buy another cup of coffee, not till he was sure of his future. Hour after hour passed. He had no watch, but the clock in the shop served him well and when noon struck, he kept all his attention on the building - his building.The staff filed out in pairs and trios, to enjoy th
He was deep in thought as he climbed off the taxi, planning and arranging his next line of action. He knew that his enemies were determined to put him down and keep him there. With all that had happened, it was clear that this was no warning or a dry run either. Whew! What a tough life.Absentmindedly, he pushed the gate so he could get in, but to his surprise it didn't budge. Woah. He didn't remember locking it, so what was the problem? With a quick sweep of the eye, he found what the problem was: he had been evicted."Huh?", Leo gasped as he went closer to read the notice pasted on the gate. What on Earth was all this? Surely, this had to be against some laws? He had rights, didn't he??He looked around to see if he could find anybody who could give the slightest clue as to who had pasted the notice and locked the gate, but the entire place was quiet. Christ! This was the biggest blow yet. Where would he live? From a billionaire to a homeless beggar, in less than 24 hours?Confused,
"Please make yourself comfortable, sir," Mara said, showing Leo to a sofa as they stepped into the house he had given her back when they first met."Thank you," Leo nodded with a smile and he couldn't help but sigh in tiredness as he slumped on the soft piece of furniture. That walk from his house to the coffee shop was a long and tedious one under the hot sun. He could use some cool water now, but he felt it would be disrespectful to ask for it so soon."Here, sir," Mara said, bringing him a glass of cold water in anticipation of his need.Leo didn't even remember to say 'thank you' before he grabbed the glass and downed its contents in a few gulps. He was that thirsty! When he was done drinking, he looked up to find that Mara was holding out a jug, offering to refill the glass."Thank you," he rasped as he held out the glass to her and she filled it for him. Whew. His wife never did this for him. He wondered where Mara had learned to be so nice and attentive. He never really did get
Leo walked fast, casting his eyes all around him at the quiet and peaceful environment. It was very much unlike the city. No noise, no crowd of constantly moving people, vehicles and stationary buildings. It was all sunny, calm and quiet with the occasional chirping of insects and birds. This was why he had chosen this spot to have a secret retreat. He had been looking forward to surprise his wife with it before Mara came into their lives and he had to put that plan on hold. Good thing he did. If his wife had known of the house, he would have lost it too and both he and Mara would have been completely homeless now.Shading his eyes to see better through the glaring sunlight, he caught sight of a house up ahead. It was a house on a farm. It would do for what he had in mind. Doubling his steps, he made straight for the building.When he bought the bungalow that now housed Mara, he had not had the time to take a detailed tour of the area to know his neighbors. Back then, he had thought i
As Mara celebrated the retention of her job, Leo was there at the farm stumbling through his. It was no easy task for him. He had been saddled with the task of digging out stumps of trees from a small area of land. All the trees had been cut down and chopped into bits and all the grasses had been burned too, but the roots of the trees were still in the ground. These were the roots Leo had to take out.The area he had to cover was just less than half the size of a football field and the sun was blazing hot. So, shovel in hand, sweat streaming down his body, grunting and huffing with exertion, the former CEO was hard at work doing something he had never thought he would ever do, at least before he lost everything. Once in a while, he took a glance at the old man who was seated in front of the farm house and staring at him with the ghost of a smile on his face. He didn't need anyone to tell him that the old man was quietly mocking him, and it made him even more determined to prove himsel
When Mara returned home, she had no idea she was beaming until she walked in to find Leo in the kitchen. At the sight of her happy face, he gave her a bright smile and then turned back to his work. But somehow, something felt off to her. His smile though bright did not seem to reach his eyes. Involuntarily, her own happiness dropped a few notches and she found herself dying to know what was wrong or what had happened in her absence. As far as she knew, he was much happier when she left him in the morning.Mara could ask him what had gone wrong, but she knew he would deny it. Not that she could prove that he was unhappy or bothered by something. There was just no concrete proof. All she had to go on was a gut feeling. She just knew in her heart that everything was not okay."Whew," she sighed and put the sleeping Little Leo down on the couch."How was work? Busy day today?", Leo asked, thinking she had sighed from exhaustion."Hmmmm. Not much," Mara shrugged, keeping her eyes on him to
"You came back."It was half-question and half-statement. The old man was very much surprised to see Leo back on his farm, ready to do more work. He just stood there staring at him in disbelief. He thought he had been broken and defeated the previous day!"Well, uh... I guess you want more work?", the old man stammered, finally recovering from his initial shock. In response to the question, Leo nodded eagerly. He was all smiles and confidence.The old man looked at him from head to toe again, thinking perhaps it was his twin brother. Was this not the same person who had limped out of here just yesterday??Even though he found all this very amusing, Leo was beginning to feel a little embarrassed from all the staring and shock the old man was displaying."I'm wondering if there's any work to be done?"The sound of Leo's voice seemed to knock him back to reality and he shook his head as if to clear the fog from his brain. "Yes... yes, of course. There's work... there's always work. But a
Later that night, after they had all had a quiet supper with no mention of what had happened earlier in the day, they each went to their respective rooms and were soon fast asleep. Assured by Leo's promise that he would never do odd jobs again, Mara had gone to bed happy and quite satisfied. She knew that he would keep his word. She trusted him completely.Leo, on the other hand, did not fall asleep so easily. He stayed up for a few hours thinking about his current situation, his increased reliance on a young girl and what exactly the future could hold. He was not a pessimist, but he was sure that Mara's expectations were too unrealistic.If he was going to be the man she predicted he would eventually become, the best way to achieve such a goal would be to work towards it. But she didn't want him to work! This, as far as he was concerned, was a serious dilemma. How on Earth was he going to overcome it without hurting her? He was not really a fan of prayers, but he soon found himself m