Fight for Dominance

Greed is good! No it isn't. But some people are doing it, why not me? What if I get caught? How have others been doing it without getting caught? What about the honest ones, how do they do it? What are the consequences if I take it or fail to? These are some of the thoughts that were running through Peter's mind at the end of a busy and strenuous day.

Earlier in the day while conducting an audit for one of their clients, Peter was approached by some of the company's leaders with an offer he couldn't turn down. Or could he? One hundred million dollars? Who in their right mind could turn that amount of money down? Especially if it was not to be shared with any other person? Let alone tax free. And for him to make that much money in his career, it would take over 20 years. Tell me, can you? He had just been given forty eight hours to make a decision.

The irony of the whole state of affairs is that, he did not even know what the reason behind the offer was. Is it something he was supposed to do for the multinational company? Was he being rewarded for a job well done previously? If so, why was the money offer coming up now? Was it an offer for a new job with the company? Nooooo, that would not be likely. Was it some illegal activities the company was involved in that could be revealed during the audit?

More questions without answers were running through running through Peter's tired mind since the offer was presented.

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In the same evening while attending a stupid party for formality purposes, Qooch an employee at Nothing is Impossible Inc. was also wondering whether the young man whatever his name was would take his offer. If he did not, he knew not only would his bosses fry him and throw him into the woods, his flamboyant and cocooned lifestyle would come crumbling. Only God and the devil knows where he would land if the young man bailed out on him for one reason or another. For now, he would try his best to avail his services to the auditor or rather potential employee/colleague.

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The only reason Peter was attending the party is mainly for his friend, Qooch currently an employee at Nothing is Impossible Inc. Most importantly, he also did not want to let his newly acquired "friends" (since he was still not certain) down since they had come through for him when he needed a source of income. The one aspect he disliked of such parties is that there were dress codes associated with such events. For this ball party, ladies were expected to be in evening gowns while the gents were to be dressed in black suits, white shirts and black bow ties. God! How he hated bow ties and the formality of the whole thing. He always wondered why these rich folks had to require people to be in certain attires when attending their parties. He even wondered if he came in a tee shirt and shorts what would be the big deal. So long as he was present and could interact. But no he had to play by the rules. Set by who and for whom he could never understand. You should not get him wrong, not that he did not what to attend the gatherings. It is only that Denisque did not get the logic or even the importance of all that especially if people were going to spend the whole time either talking with one another, or dancing to different kinds of music.

All in all, Peter believed he looked profoundly ridiculous in such attires, more so tonight for two main reasons. One, he perfectly knew unlike ties that were of different sizes with regards to length and width thus provided a wide array of choices to pick from, bow ties just hung around the neck. Sometimes the bow ties were too tight for adjustment and at other times too loose to complement one's dressing. Secondly, after work he had just run home to change hurriedly. Later on, he came to realize he had pulled out a white shirt with an ink stain on the front left side that had refused to go away. He had even tried to use the different advertised cleaning products and detergents including Omo, Persil, Ariel, Sosoft, and Sunlight in vain. So, if he happened to remove his coat for any reason the questioning looks that would be sent his way would be enough to send him home.

Interestingly, if it were not for his boss at the Solutions Oriented Accounting Firm, Peter could be home enjoying the latest series that he had acquired the day before "Designated Survivor," "Locke & Key" and "Blind Spot." This is while slowly sipping the Johnnie Walker Whiskey he had spent close to $50,000 in a bid to not only fit in but also acquire 5 bottles for storage purposes. Some of his friends had also recommended "Empire" as one of hottest current series but he was yet to acquire it. The main reason for acquiring this type or rather brand of liquor is because occasionally the newly acquired "friends" visited and enjoyed having the drink. The fact that the prices on the Johnnie Walker products differed based on quality thus ease of differentiation also implied the "friends" could easily disappear if they detected foul play. Considering in his line of work he needed them for one reason or another, Denisque had to try his best to keep up. However, normally, Peter had a high preference for a beer or wine.

Taking a deep breathe, he picked a glass from of champagne from one of the waiters at the party to keep himself occupied and was about to take a sip when something caught his eye.....or can we say someone.

Before his eyes, Peter saw a lady in a black, a knee length figure hugging dress. He was surprised and pleased to learn there was someone who was brave enough to defy the set rules and dress code. Without thinking much, he found himself moving towards the one person that had chosen to defy all odds at the party. The fact that the lady was curvaceous, had appealed to his senses and had attracted a few of the patrons had him hurrying along so that he did not lose the rare opportunity to talk to the lady.

If lucky enough, even get her number and ask her out on a date in the course of the week. He was already checking out and striking out different fancy restaurants/hotels he knew of. As a matter of fact, he even decided on one that he had the rare opportunity to visit. The date would be perfect. He was already picturing how the date would go. What they would talk about. And what he would do to impress her. A man has to be confident! Right? Right! Right.

In the process of hurrying across the room, Peter had the misfortune of colliding with one of the waiters and a drink or two were spilled on his coat. The commotion resulted in most of the attendees putting their conversations on hold so that they could gawk. 'So much for trying not be the centre of attention tonight.' Peter thought as he tried to wipe the wet area with his hands. The waiter (Harry) on the other hand was confused not knowing whether to pick up the broken pieces of glass before other guests could get hurt or assist the guest who had caused the entire mess.

It did not take long before the decision was made for Harry. His supervisor glared at him while coming over to take Peter's coat so that it could be cleaned and returned before the party was over. This in turn left Harry to pick the broken glasses and clean up before being released for the night. Harry was well aware that no amount of explanations could dig him out of the problem he had found himself in. This is mainly because the current manager rarely condoned mistakes made. This claim is attributable to the manager's belief that the customer is always right and never makes mistakes. The fact that the client they were catering for provided great business to the catering company Harry worked for did not help matters.

For Peter, he was in the process of removing his coat when he remembered the ink stain at his left side and changed his mind. He knew he could never be able to live down the negative repercussions likely to follow his portrayal of a poor image. This is not only for himself but also for his employer Solutions Oriented Accounting Firm and client Nothing is Impossible Inc. Instead, Peter told the manahe he was on his way out and the spill was no big deal. To prove his point, Peter started heading for the door.

He was almost at the door when it occurred to him he did not get the chance to properly see the face of the lady that had resulted in him causing the accident. Just to have a glimpse, he decided to turn around and just satisfy his curiosity. Shock on him!! It was his high school and all time crush Janet!!!!!!!

Interestingly, Janet was also trying to have a glimpse at the face of the man who was clumsy enough to cause an accident at the ball. Since luck was on her side, the guy (Peter) had also turned around to check her out and their eyes widened at the same time on recognition. Her mind was racing trying to decide on what to do since she attended the ball with an agenda.

Specifically, Janet needed to not only woo people to donate cash for the charity she was running but also she wanted to find out if she could get lucky and get a date. As a matter of fact, the latter agenda is one of the reasons she arrived late at the party. To be exact, spicing up her dating life is the main reason why Janet decided to defile all the odds by wearing a knee length black dress that did not adhere to the general ball dress code.

Janet was not sure whether they literally stared at each other for a few seconds or longer because she did not want to be the first one to break eye contact. All she knew was that it took her a while to snap out of it and see the indecisiveness on Peter's face. The expressions on Peter's face tendee to give Janet a clear picture on the various thoughts running through his mind. This is more so when it came to whether Peter could continue with his journey or not.

Based on the reality that conversation among the formulated groups would digress and focus on the commotion that had taken place for a while, Janet made the decision to excuse herself and approach Peter. It was when Janet was moving towards him that she noticed Peter blink severally before slowly appraising her. She quickly also did a one over appraisal and showed appreciation of what she was seeing with her eyes.

By the time she was close enough to communicate, she had decided Peter was definitely a candidate for the second and long term plan. Regarding Peter's potential for the donations agenda, it was yet to be determined.

Peter could not believe the girl who never paid her any attention earlier in life had overlooked his misdeeds in the function and taken the initiative to come to him. This is mainly because he was fully aware that anything that took away attention from Janet always irritated her.

In addition, despite coming from similar backgrounds, Janet had always claimed Peter had nothing to offer her. So for now, he was definitely interested on what Janet would say. This is taking into consideration the neurons in his brain had decided he liked her. What the actual intent for pursuing her was yet to be determined. For this reason, Janet was still a subject of interest. The period of interaction and contact, manner and end of their potential relstionship would be determined with time, Peter concluded.

After exchanging pleasantries and Janet offering her sympathies for the misfortune that had befallen Peter, they settled on some small talk. To be exact, the two acquaintances tried to summarily catch up but avoided talking about their careers deliberately.

In exactly 3 minutes, Peter told Janet he had to leave because he had other engagements. This move pissed off Janet because she was sincerely enjoying their conversation. Besides, she is ghe one who normally left conversations and the other way round. This move left Janet a little unbalanced.

However, in order to ensure they would stay in contact, she asked Peter for his business card and offered him one of her own. Thereafter, they said their goodbyes to each other.

Once Peter left the room, Janet chose to slowly walk back to the group she had left behind. This is while swinging her hips and ensuring the attention returned to her. The heels she had worn announced her approach by clicking loudly.

For Peter, things had taken a new turn as he left the ball with a huge smile on his face. As a matter of fact, a plan started formulating on how he was going to handle most if not all of the things that were stressing him.