RAFFLE DRAW BILLIONAIRE

‘’Mr Osborne, I cannot thank you enough for your cooperation. You always handle everything so well. You deserve every dime.’’ Jonathan Smith dropped a bag of cash on Mr. Osborne’s table. Jermaine Chalon wanted to be sure of who was speaking, so he peered inside the office of his boss through the side of the door. Jermaine saw the face of his father-in-law, Jonathan Smith. Jonathan Smith stood tall and shook Mr. Osborne as if they had struck the perfect deal. Well, they had. While Jermaine was trying to make sense of what was happening, he heard footsteps right next to him. The steps stopped in front of the door of Jermaine’s office, so he composed himself and started to head back. ‘’Mercy, so good to see you. You hardly come all the way here...’’ Jermaine was casually conversing with his colleague, the HR manager, when she briskly dropped an envelope on his desk, turned and walked away without saying a word. ‘’Is everything okay?’’ Jermaine, who was used to seeing the lighter side of his HR manager, was shocked at her sudden retrieval. ‘’What’s the fuss?’’ He snatched the envelope, murmuring and tearing it open. His eyes widened when he saw the bold writing in red; YOUR CONTRACT WITH THE COMPANY HAS BEEN TERMINATED, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY.’’ Jermaine’s heart skipped several beats. ‘’Mercy!’’ he called and started to stomp out, heading to the HR’s office, but what Jermaine saw next shocked him so hard, his legs could not move an inch forward. Coming out of his boss’ office, Jermaine saw Jonathan Smith with his boss, complimenting Mercy for being the messenger of doom. ‘’You will get a fine raise. Won’t she?’’ Jonathan Smith said to Mercy and then turned to ask Mr. Osborne, who had no choice but to oblige. ‘’Of course. She’s one of the hard-working ones after all.’’ Mr. Osborne said with a plastic smile and glanced at Jermaine. When their eyes met, he quickly looked away because of one thing. He felt guilty. That was Jermaine’s cue to try to save his job. If his boss knew that he didn’t deserve to be fired, he would put in a word for him, right? The company Jermaine worked for belonged to his wife’s family. The Smith Consultancy Firm was a legal firm with a reputation in the country. Jermaine was given an administrative job in the firm when he married his wife, Abigail. Abigail Smith’s family helped him get a job, and he has never heard the last of it. ‘’Mr Osborne,’’ Jermaine called as he started to advance towards his boss’s office. Quickly and making sure to avoid eye contact with his son-in-law, Jonathan Smith dashed away while Jermaine arrived in Mr. Osborne’s front office. ‘’Jermaine...’’ Mr. Osborne’s voice derailed with every syllable of Jermaine’s name that he mentioned. ‘’Mr Osborne, are you aware that...’’ Jermaine was saying, but Mr. Osborne cut him short. ‘’Just leave, Jermaine...’’ he stared at a shattered Jermaine Chalon while he let the words sink in. ‘’I didn’t do it. I can’t change it. You saw who just left here. Orders from above.’’ The way Mr. Osborne spoke to Jermaine was in a way that he had never spoken to him before. Mr. Osborne's tone and aura were cold and heartless. He knew that every word he spoke broke Jonathan, but he said them anyway, and then he turned around and walked away. Jermaine stood inside his boss’ office as Mr. Osborne abandoned him there. The tension in the room was heavy. It was very heavy to the extent that Jermaine knew how bad Mr. Osborne felt because of what was happening. A second thought quickly flashed through Jermaine’s mind. He still had a chance to save his job if he could catch Jonathan Smith before he left the premises. His father-in-law, Jonathan Smith. Just in time. Jonathan Smith had just reached his car and was about to get in when Jermaine hurried forward, sweating from running top speed. ‘’Dad...’’ As soon as Jermaine mentioned that word, Jonathan Smith’s expression changed into disgust. Spitting, he said to Jermaine, ‘’I am not your father. None of my sons is as poor as you. Don’t you know my sons? Are they your brothers, or do you look like me or them?’’ Jonathan Smith could go on and on, but the sight of Jermaine pissed him off so much, he could only try to hurry into his car. ‘’Okay. Mr. Smith, please, I need this job.’’ Jermaine, desperate, pleaded with his father-in-law. Jonathan Smith scoffed and shook his head. ‘’When you were my daughter’s husband, I gladly gave you that job. But now that you are no longer my daughter’s husband, I don’t owe you anything. You are a stranger.’’ After Jonathan Smith finished speaking, he glanced at Jermaine with satisfaction. Jonathan was glad to be the person to break the news to Jermaine that his wife, Abigail Smith, had filed for divorce. ‘’I told you, Jermaine. You are too poor. I knew it was only a matter of time before my daughter came to her senses. She has filed for divorce. When you get to that house where I have been allowing you to live in, pack your things and get out.’’ Every word that Jonathan Smith said felt like a needle piercing into Jermaine’s eyes. The information was too much for him to process at the same time. Abigail had filed for divorce? Jermaine never saw it coming. While he stood, stupefied as he watched Jonathan Smith’s car exiting the company, Jermaine’s attention was jolted back to the present when his phone started ringing. ‘’Hello...’’ ‘’Congratulations, your number has been chosen for the raffle draw...’’ an automated voice started to say to Jermaine, but he hung up the call impatiently. Soon after, a text message came in from the same number that called Jermiane. The message read, ‘’90566.’’ Upset, Jermaine ignored the message and started to dial Abigail’s number. He needed to find out if she had indeed divorced him or her father was playing the prank of the century on him.