CHAPTER THREE *THE WRONG TABLE*
1110 Words
1 WEEK AFTER BRIAN WAS HIRED. 7:10PM. THE PALM HOTEL LOUNGE*
*Sammy Nazar* sat alone. Table for 1. Whiskey, neat.
He was 40. 6 months back from Dubai. 6 months of losses.
Debt to *Adrian James*. 800k then.
Text from Adrian: Heard you are in town; you can't hide forever. My eyes on you. I will see you by 8:00pm (wherever)
The door opened.
*Awesome, 20*, walked in. With *Madam Nazar, 74*.
Sammy stood. "Ma? What are you doing here?"
Madam Nazar barely looked at him.
"I should be asking you the same question. This is my hotel remember, and you are just a customer. Moreover I am having dinner out tonight, Sammy. Is there a problem?"
No hug.
No "my son". Just... nothing.
Because Sammy had been naughty. Too many scandals. Too many calls from the police.
Excitement was for Awesome now.
“Dad,” Awesome hugged. I miss you dad.
Sammy sat back down, stung. Not even a word to Awesome.
Adrian’s text flashes on his phone: Heard you are in town; you can't hide forever. My eyes on you. I will see you by 8:00pm (wherever).
He checked, it was already 7:30pm. His heart was pounding. “Not now, my mum, Awesome. No”.
His thoughts ran haphazardly. “Does he know where I am?
*IN THE CORNER*
*Brian Okoro, 24*, just hired at James Hospital.
He came here to relax after his first week. Scrubs off, first drink in months.
He saw her. The girl from the ranch crates.
And he saw Madam Nazar. The legend. (NAZAR HOLDINGS).
And he saw the man at the table go pale.
*Adrian James walked in.* 24. Raymond’s son.
He saw Sammy. Saw Awesome. Saw Madam Nazar.
Walked straight over.
Adrian: "Well well. Family reunion."
Sammy: "Adrian, not here—"
Adrian grabbed Sammy’s shirt. "You owe me, boy. Where’s my money?"
Awesome stood. "Don’t touch him!"
The lounge went quiet. Waiters froze.
Most workers hardly recognize Madam Nazar as the owner of the hotel. All logistics and general running was done by Dennis.
*THE RESCUE*
A chair scraped.
*Brian* was already moving.
He stepped between them. Calm. Doctor voice.
"Sir. Let him go. You don’t want assault charges, do you?"
Adrian laughed. "Who are you?"
Brian: "Dr. Okoro. James Hospital. And this is a Nazar. You really want to do this here?"
Adrian dropped Sammy. Look at Brian. Then at Awesome.
Something clicked. _He’s new. And she’s looking at him._
Adrian: "Cute. New doctor playing hero. We’ll meet again."
He walked out.
Madam Nazar finally looked at Brian. Really looked.
"Thank you, young man."
Brian: "Just doing the right thing, Ma."
She turned to Sammy. No softness. "You still don't understand yourself? Sammy! How long will it take you to stand?” To Awesome: "Let’s go."
The words exploded and broke into pieces in front of Sammy. “I wish I knew what to do to right my wrongs.”
Head bent, arms on the table, he felt his world crumbling again.
Bobby walked in, sat at the next table.
“Waiter,”he called.
His deep voice brought Sammy back to reality.
*LATER. IN THE CAR*
Madam Nazar to Awesome: "That doctor. Okoro. He has steady hands."
Awesome said nothing. But she remembered his face.
*Brian walked home that night.*
He didn’t know he just made an enemy of Raymond’s son.
He didn’t know Adrian was son to Raymond James, the owner of the hospital where he had just been employed.
He didn’t know Dennis was watching from the bar.
_LATER THAT NIGHT. THE PALM HOTEL LOUNGE. 8:40PM_
The room was still half-empty after Adrian walked out. Glasses clinking. Whispers dying.
Sammy hadn’t moved. Head down. Arms on the table. The whiskey was water now.
A shadow pulled out the chair across from him.
_Bobby. 43. Suit that cost more than Sammy’s last car. Calm eyes. Voice like gravel.
Bobby: “Waiter.”
Waiter: “Sir?”
Bobby: “Two waters. And whatever he was drinking before he decided to drown in it.”
Sammy didn’t look up. “I’m not in the mood.”
Bobby: “Good. Men in the mood make stupid decisions. Men who are broken pay attention.”
Sammy finally looked at him. “Who are you?”
Bobby: “Someone who’s watched you lose for 6 months straight. Dubai. The police calls. The debt. Your mother treating you like furniture in her own hotel.”
He slid one water over. “I’m also someone who doesn’t care.”
Sammy laughed, bitter. “Then why sit?”
Bobby leaned forward. Elbows on table. “Because Adrian James thinks you’re worthless. Because Madam Nazar thinks you’re finished. Because the only person in this room who stood up for you tonight was a 24-year-old doctor who doesn’t even know your last name.”
Pause.
“And because worthless men are invisible. And invisible men are useful.”
Sammy frowned. “What are you talking about?”
Bobby: “Spy.”
Sammy: “Excuse me?”
Bobby: “Not the tuxedo and gadgets kind. The useful kind. The kind Adrian James will never see coming because he already wrote you off.”
He tapped the table twice. “Lesson one. Your frustration? That’s fuel. Use it. Don’t drink it.”
Sammy: “I owe him 800k. My own mother won’t look at me. What am I supposed to spy on?”
Bobby: “Lesson two. Everybody talks when they think you’re nobody. Waiters. Drivers. Denise at the bar. Adrian’s boys when they’re drunk. You’ve been at the wrong table your whole life, Sammy. Time to sit at the right one.”
He pulled out a small black notebook. Tossed it across.
Bobby: “Starting tomorrow. Three things.
One: You show up. Same time. Same place. You listen more than you talk.
Two: You find out who Adrian meets after 8pm. Not what. Who?
Three: You stop begging your mother and you start making her need ‘Mr. Nazar.’”
Sammy stared at the notebook. “And if I say no?”
Bobby stood, dropped cash for both drinks. “Then Adrian breaks you next week. And your daughter looses the last batch of hope of recovering her lovely dad”
He paused at the door. Turned back.
“But if you say yes? In 90 days, you walk into this lounge and people stand up. Not because of your name. Because of you.”
He walked out.
Sammy sat there a long time. Then he picked up the notebook. Opened it. First page, in Bobby’s handwriting:
_Rule 1: Be where they aren’t looking._
Outside, rain started.
- Writer
