Enfolded in his dungaree, a feeling of jolt, Ben rested on the couch in his room grinning his teeth in agony. He was lost in his thoughts trying to figure out what eventually went wrong. His hair was disheveled and his eyes were sour red. "How will I make ends meet?" He looked deeply at the unpainted walls with a crude appearance, wishing he could find answers to his situation. The thoughts of the unfavourable and creepy economy made him burst out. He got sacked by his boss due to the theft incident that occurred. He knew it was a taint on his personality.
After few hours, he stood up stumbling intermittently to reach his cell phone. He searched through his contact list and was able to dial Tade's mobile number. Although, his hands were shaking swiftly. He gabbled with words "Errr.... Is this Tade??" Ben used to work with Tade, Salmat and a few co-workers before Tade left to become an entrepreneur, starting up her own clothing business. They worked in the financial department of the networking organization that fired him. They hadn't spoken to each other in a while. Tade responded to his call and they got talking. They spoke for about half an hour trying to get some information about Salmat, He had suspected that she has got skeletons in her cupboard. The lies she told about him and the way she was able to manoeuvre the situation was unbelievable. He gave a detailed explanation to Tade about the spontaneous events that had happened in the organization. A ploy to discover the thief was soon reached. They planned to hire a private detective. The next week was set aside for recruitment. Tade was a reputable staff in the financial department before she resigned and being a competent staff, she was able to recommend a trusted person during recruitment. The plight was to get the private detective recruited.
Ben took a deep sigh of relief after speaking to Tade. He was caught up between leaping for joy because he found a way to sort out himself or just wailing on the floor, knowing it will take some months before it got resolved. He took off his clothes and threw it to the corner of his bed. He was still heartbroken. His savings for his forthcoming wedding would be used to sustain himself for a while. He couldn't sleep till the early hours of the day when the night wasn't young any longer. For the rest of the week, he took just breakfast and dinner, excluding his lunch.
It was a lucent Monday morning, dressed in a blue pair of jeans and white shirt, Ben strolled into the eatery to meet both Tade and the private detective, Stella. He noticed they were beautiful but he didn't have the time to assess them. His present situation was a hard knock and it had to be fixed. The entire plan was laid out on a sheet of paper and the detective assured the culprit would be brought to the law. Tade paid the detective and the "game on" button was hit. The detective primary assignment was to know all the transactions that had taken place in the organization on and before the theft incident took place. Alongside being Salmat's good companion, if not the best.
Meanwhile, Ben broke the news of the postponed wedding date to his fiancée, Vivian. He had informed his own family about the change of date without consulting her. She was discomfited and wasn't ready to listen to him. Her pretty face was bathed in tears with much anguish. She slammed the door and left him speechless. He called her cell phone countless times, all to no avail. It dawned on him he had lost his wife-to-be, maybe temporarily in a bid to survive.
The plan was going on well. Stella related excellently with Salmat pretending to be her best companion. In just a month and half, their friendship had grown really well. Scornful Salmat began to trust Stella with her confidential issues and evil deeds. One day, they had lunch in an eatery close to the organization where they worked. The whole details of the theft incident that occurred sprang up. She confided in Stella on how she arranged the missing sum of money in a "ghana-must-go" bag and hired a man to rob the organization at night, giving the man keys to the office and inner room where some funds were kept. How she put the blame on Ben just to cover up her deeds was so unfair, Stella thought. She pretended to be in support of Salmat to the extent of hailing her. At the end of the lunch, Stella jotted out important details of Salmat's narration secretly.
The robber was traced and arrested through the information Salmat gave. He was detained and later interrogated. After so much torment, he confessed to his deeds. Salmat was arrested and got the axe from the organization. She lost her job permanently. The manager of the organization thanked Tade and commended her for such a great justice. He apologized to Ben and promoted him. He was also granted a huge sum of money. Ben was overwhelmed with joy.
Knock! Knock! Knock! "Don't tell me you're still sleeping!!! ", Tade screamed. Ben woke up from his sleep. It was all a dream. Tade and Ben were still co-workers and Salmat was still a cleaner. He went immediately to check the room where funds were kept. They were still intact.
.
Written by Anne.
.
.
Thanks for reading, hope you all enjoyed the story?? Sorry for not putting up much stuffs on here regularly. I've been really busy. A friend told me to put up a story which I just did. You can as well tell me what you're interested in and want me to write about in the comment box or any other means you can reach me. Your opinions are well appreciated. You can share the story with your friends as well. Do have a great week😁 and don't forget to shine brighter than a diamond ♦. Much love❤
