"In Eight Months' Time" Weekly

     
     

  Let the story begin!!! A story of love, grit, betrayal and manipulation. The story begins!!!

It was mid-afternoon; there was tempo and pace to the people walking on the sidewalk. Suddenly a taxi jerked to a halt and, a black tall angular man in his early thirties rushed out. His black brief case reflected the bright afternoon sunlight. He was young – depending to an extent, on one’s perspective – and handsome, sharply dressed, with a carefully cultivated five o’clock shadow obscuring his jaw line. There was a charisma about him, a sense of ambition, of a man who knew was going places. He moved briskly across to the other side of the road. His action showed he was in such hurry. His name was Jimmy Robert. He was still going, when he bumped into a dapper, middle aged man as he was about entering the subway…..

“Oh my God!” Jimmy Robert cried out as his brief case smashed to the wall and contents scattered all over the floor.

“I’m terribly sorry, it’s my fault. I have… huh!” he cut his explanation when he realized the contents of his box were all over the floor.

“My documents!”, he yelled.

Immediately, he was on the floor picking papers – one after the other. The man he bumped into watched from behind – observed everything with a kindled interest. After he had put his paper back in his box, he hurried on his feet and, turned to the man behind him.

“I’m sincerely sorry for that, Sir”, he offered apologies again. Though he felt awkwardly doing that – the gentle man in him caused him to act that way. Or the man would have expressed aloofness and went his way but he did not. He rather waited as if a great deal of a thing had happened.

“Em, you see, there are this people I’m meeting and I’m behind schedule. You know…. business!” he said as if he was asked.

The man only stared at him without saying a single word.

“I am Jimmy Robert”.

He doled his hand for a hand shake which man declined but, his eyes were well fixed on the young man.

“Huh, in that case, I should be taking my leave”.

As he turned to go, the man said,

“Follow me”.

Jimmy Robert was, “Ha, what is wrong with this man”, in his mind.

“Excuse me!”

He gave him a sullen glare.

“I don’t understand and I don’t intend to cos I have a very….”

“That is if you want to be your own boss, work on your terms, time and pace”, the man said, cutting him off.

Jimmy Robert was dazed – that statement struck something within. He closed his eyes as if he needed a quick nab. Then he opened them and wiped his face. Yes! of course there was no time but he also knew his job wasn’t the best of jobs. He looked around; the man had gone….

He stepped out of the subway.