“Zearo, you’ve finally made it!” Julie squealed as she found me approaching her.

“Honeybun, you wish my command,” I said slightly, bowing at her. And she’s not the one I met two days ago. I felt as if a unique person is standing in front of me. Her brunette hair hung loose reaching until her hip, low neck dress ending until her thigh, hugging her body perfectly making all the prominent curves pop, smokey eye makeup and a nude lipstick making her facial features more notable.

I grin widely because I have a pleasant company and I’ve to not deal with a highly arrogant male boss.

“Hey, you! Earth to Zearo!” She brought me back from my trail of thoughts by swaying my body.

“Well, Boss, what do I do today?” I asked her as my hands were itching to try the equipment lying at the elevated end of the floor.

“Ooh you want to try those new instruments, don’t you?” She asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

I just smirk, looking at her beautiful face. My eyes went wide when I saw a tall man snaking his arms around her waist and then he pulled her towards his chest, side hugging her. I glanced at her behaviour and I can feel his presence disturbing her.

“Um... Seb, meet Zearo our new DJ and the man who saved me” Julie said nervously glancing at me and fidgeting with her fingers.

“Zearo,” I introduced myself flatly without shaking his hand. I shifted my attention back to people in the love seat practically dry humping each other and some crazily drunk tarts moving their hips along with the song.

“And Zearo, he is Sebastian, my-” That asshole interrupted her and said, "Julie’s fiancee”. I studied his face, not pleased by the choice Julie made. He looks like a gorilla out of a zoo. I bet his smug smile wouldn’t even bring business to this bar, instead, people might have run away for all I know.

I raised my eyebrows at Julie, asking her silently whether this mofo is troubling her? She just shrugged it off and then cleared her throat to give a break to the awkward situation and tension between the Jerk-Seb-Fukin-ass-tian and me.

“Zearo, I’m so eager to watch you perform! So let’s go! Shall we?” Julie held my hands, ignoring that gorilla.

“My lady” I followed her, snaking my arms around her curvy hips. I peek back at the man and imagined smoke coming out of his ears in the form of anger, like a time bomb. I smirked, infuriating him even more.

***

I’ve been swaying my body along with the music until I realised my stomach is making weird movements.

“Time for feeding ya little one” I took a deep breath calming my nerves that’s heightened because of my dancing.

I pushed anyone and everyone on the way to get past them. They are so drunk that they cannot even hear me.

“Ugh, kids nowadays!” I mumbled holding a cup in the cafeteria and started brewing hot chocolate and meanwhile, I made extra cheese pizza by garnishing and stuffing the base bread available inside the counter near the coffee machine. I shoved the pizza into the microwave oven and set the timer.

“Well, yummy food on the way!” I chim along with the music playing outside.

***

When I was practically thrusting the pizza slices into my mouth, I heard some commotion outside the cafeteria. Holding one pizza slice and another inside my mouth, I followed the sound, and it led me to the nearby washroom.

“What the actual fuck is wrong with you Seb? Let me go or else I will kick you where the sun never shines!” The pizza slice that I was holding inside my mouth fell when I realised who the statement came from.

My interest peaked to another level, and I glued my ear to the door to hear the conversation more clearly.

“Don’t you dare yell at me, Julie! That fucktart is nothing compared to me! You are my fiance and accept it or not, you will be my wife soon. Don’t test my patience and you better stay away from that bastard!” My eyebrows rose as their discussion amused me.

“He saved my life for fuck’s sake!” “Oooohhhh they are talking about me?” I asked myself.

“And you are not my fiance. Just a motherfuging burden my father threw at my face before taking his fucking leave from this earth.” I heard Julie cursing her father, who is already resting in peace.

“Hey, handsome!” I then heeded a weird squeaky voice behind me. I spun around and came face to face, oh no, chest to face with a tiny little girl who just got her wings, slurring and wobbling.

“Aren’t you a fine specimen?” She slurred again, poking her needle-like nails at the unbuttoned area of my chest.

“Hello, my child, find someone else, please. Or else I will complain to your parents about your misbehaviour,” I said, grabbing her hand and moving away from her tiny frame.

“Come here baby, Moma needs you,” said the girl, practically stumbling on her own feet.

‘Great now, I’ve to babysit this girl’ I cursed inside my mind but then I heard the washroom door open. Disoriented Julie and Seb-fukin-ass-tian emerge from it and their gaze falls on me and then the girl who was almost climbing on me.

Following their gaze, I studied my position and immediately took a step back when I saw her hand holding my nether region and mine- her boobs. I took a peek at Seb who looked at Julie indicating ‘I told ya’ and a trumpet grin on his awful face.

I sighed, not ready to explain myself, and headed back to work.

***

After a very long time, I completed my first awful shift at 4 AM and made my way back to home, tired.

“I’ve done everything I could, they-they couldn’t even believe me? I uh, I always sent my products on time!” I heard a very familiar voice at the corner of a street near my house.

Ignoring it, I walked a few steps, but then halted when I heard glasses breaking and someone crying. “Ugh, not again” I cursed under my breath but then again pushed my ass towards the sound.

“What the fuck!” I exclaimed when I found Mr Oldie lying in the middle of the street, blood oozing out of his hand and him speaking to God knows whose ghost.

I dragged my tired body towards his drunken ass and fell on my knees beside him.

“God! Oldie, I’m tired. Do you have another bottle?” I asked, lying flat beside him.

Instead of offering me the drink, he cried. Surprised, I lifted my body and glanced at his face covered with wrinkles and now tears.

“Oldie, you are giving me a heart attack man! I just asked for a sip,” I said, shaking his drunken body.

“You-you don’t care! Nobody cares! I’m dead. My daughter will die as well!” He started shouting and wailing.

I looked at him, my eyebrows raised in full confusion. “Oliver, wake up! What happened?” I asked, slapping his face a little.

He instantly sat up as if someone pressed his buttons and stared at me as if he is trying to recognize who I am.

I grabbed his hand and when I saw he is not retracting it, then I lifted him and brought him to the nearby chair across the street.

“You okay?” I asked and this time purely concerned about him.

“It’s over, Zearo. I’m finished” he said, smacking his hands on his forehead.

“Wait, just calm down alright.” I struggled with comforting him.

“No no, you know nothing! I’m the reason my daughters are going to die at such an early age!” He shouted at my face and then slapped himself.

“Hey hey old man, stop it already and drink some water” I pulled the water bottle from my backpack and offered him to drink. He took it and gulped it down in one go.

“Okay, now tell me what’s the matter,” I asked worriedly about the only friend I have since two years apart from sleeping buddies though.

“The consignment that I was talking about two days ago, do you remember?” He inquired.

I remember that he mentioned about some consignment that will be sanctioned and he will pay his debts to the leader of the piglets.

“Yeah”

“That is cancelled. The company gave the contract to someone else who bid higher than us. The cheater got the consignment and not me.” He said breaking into sobs.

I couldn’t fathom what he meant. The company may give the consignment to whoever they want. I stayed silent because I understand the consequences that Oliver is going to face now are dire.

“The owner of the company promised me before her death that I will be her first preference when any consignment related to my firm will be raised. After her death, her grandchild became the next CEO, but never tried to jeopardize her promise.” He sighed and shifted in his seat.

“You must be cold. Come, let me take you home.” I tried lifting him, but he slumps back into the chair, shaking his head left and right.

“Yo, Old man, your bones are not that strong anymore!” I tried again but damn, old bones are strong.

“I can’t face her, my child will die because of me!” He said and started crying even more.

“Okay, now listen! You come and stay with me and I will intimate your family that you are okay,” I persuaded. But he still shook his head.

“Damn you Selfish bones! They will be worried about you. Think about them, you pathetic human!” I shouted at him and he flinched.

“Okay,” he whispered, his voice cheating my ears.

I took a deep breath and walked him to my already clumsy apartment.

****

After informing his family and babysitting him, I fell face-first on the bed beside the oldie who is not even blinking his eyelids.

“Okay, spill! It’s already six in the morning. Now, tell me what’s the matter and try to get some sleep,” holding a pillow on my face, I mumbled.

“Ten years back, when I started my garments factory, I had to raise the tenders against the consignments offered by some big companies. Many companies rejected my offer as I was new but then certain someone came to my life like an angel and said: ‘Don’t disappoint me’ and gave me my first order" I looked at him when he tried to remember the things.

“After completing my first order, that woman was content with my work and then promised to always consider my firm first. I never disappointed them, Zearo. After many years, I came to know that she was dead and her grandchild took over the company when it was already shutting down. I thought I would never get their orders anymore. But to my surprise, I still was the first bidder and received the consignment orders until this time.” I heard him sniffing.

“What do you think happened this time?” I asked curiously.

“I don’t know, I never met the current CEO so I don’t dare to talk to them. I can only cry now because I’ve no money to give the person back. He will take my daughter away,” he cried even harder this time.

My blood boiled to an extreme level for the unfair business tactics of that CEO.

“Do you think you were better than the others?” I inquired.

“101 percent, yes”

“You have over 10 days to give the money back, don’t you?” I sat up, forgetting that I need some sleep.

He nodded.

“Can you show me the documents related to it?” I asked, unsure whether he will like my intrusion.

He looked surprised but still nodded.

“What’s the name of the company?”

“SAMS International”

***

Dun..dun..dun.

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