Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“Mr. Lorenzo, come into my office right now.” Lorenzo’s factory manager barked at him, as usual. Lorenzo ran after the manager, and walked fast to his office, wondering why he was called into his office.

“Yes, sir.” Lorenzo tried sitting down on the office chair.

“Don’t you dare sit in the chair with your filthy clothes! The company spent a lot on that chair. It is not for worthless people like you.” The manager scolded him.

Lorenzo stood up, feeling a little dejected, but he was still a little happy because of the project proposal he had submitted. He was elated because he was confident that the headquarters would accept his work.

He was used to being talked down to and treated like trash by his employer.

“I am sorry, sir. What do you want to see me for?” Lorenzo uttered.

“I don’t like your tone. Watch it.” The manager hollered at him. “The proposal for the project you submitted. Was that your idea?”

Lorenzo’s face lit up immediately, and a smile popped on his face when he heard the manager mention the project. He was so glad that even the factory manager recognized his work.

He was so glad that his sleepless night paid off and he was finally going to be able to give his wife a better life.

“Yes sir. It is my idea.” He chuckled, and the manager sneered at him.

“Are you sure? You can’t come up with something like this. You don’t even have a university education.” The manager argued.

“I came up with this and I drafted the proposal for this project on my own.” Lorenzo argued back. 

He had a university education, but he didn’t use that in his resume while applying, so the manager wouldn’t think he was overqualified for a factory job.

He did that because he was desperate to find a job and being unemployed for a long time.

“Do you even make sense to yourself? You stole the proposal you submitted for the project. I employed your pitiful ass, and this is how you pay me back? By lying?” The manager insisted. 

“I am not lying, sir. I stayed up for nights while I was preparing this." Lorenzo cried.

“What do people like you know about staying up at night? You should stick your nose out of office business. Do only what you are asked to do.” The manager got up from his seat and he started poking Lorenzo’s chest.

Lorenzo moved to the back, and the manager poked him harder, pushing him to the floor. His friends came in.

“What’s up, man?” One of his friends shook him as they entered. “Why are you bullying Mr. Long chin?” 

The manager’s friends laughed. They call Lorenzo, Mr. Long chin anytime they visit their friend who is the manager. 

“I wish I could slap his dirty mouth,” Lorenzo thought in his head. “I don’t even know why this one with an elongated head boy started calling me Mr long chin." He complained in his mind.

"What did I just hear you say?" The manager's friend with an elongated head replied Lorenzo.

Lorenzo realized he said what he was thinking out loud. "I wasn't talking to you, sir. I swear."

The manager landed a thunderous slap on his face. "How dare you tell a lie to my face? This is the second time you are lying to me today."

"I didn't tell any lies sir," Lorenzo said.

One of the manager's friends pulled his hair, and the others started throwing punches at him.

"I'm so sorry sir," Lorenzo shouted as he could no longer bear the pain from the punches, but no one listened to him. They kept punching him till blood started coming from his mouth.

“That’s okay boys.” The manager cautioned his friends. “We didn't want to stain our hands with his wretched blood. Get up, Mr. Lorenzo.”

“Did he pee in his pants?” Another of the manager’s friends snickered as soon as he saw a wet patch on Lorenzo’s pants and the remaining people in the office started laughing. 

Tears flowed down Lorenzo’s eyes, but he knew he could quit his job because there was no way he would take money back to his house.

“How can a grown-ass man like you pee in his pants? I am sure you are married. You are a big disgrace to your wife.” 

“I wonder how she would feel if she saw you in this state?” The factory manager added to what his friend said, and they brought out their phone cameras. They started filming him, pushing him to one another.

Lorenzo’s Blood boiled with how he was being mistreated by his boss and his friend. He could not retaliate so that he won’t lose his job, plus he couldn't overpower them.

“I didn’t pee in my pants.” Lorenzo whimpered. Water was on the spot he fell on when his boss’s friends were punching him.

“We can’t hear you.” The manager screamed at him, and laughter erupted from his friends again. The sound of their laughter resonated in Lorenzo’s head. 

He started feeling dizzy from the way he was being pushed around. He didn’t eat at home before coming to work. One of the manager's friends pushed him and he fell on the floor.

He passed out. 

“You keep falling down, Mr Lorenzo. Do you have epilepsy?” The manager jeered, and he kicked him with his foot.

Lorenzo did not move from his position. One of the manager’s friends bent down and checked him out. He noticed that Lorenzo had passed out.

“This weakling is gone,” He announced to his friends. “Someone give me a bottle of water. We need to wake this son of a bitch up. He slept off while we were teaching him how to be a man.”

The manager handed his friend a bottle of water. Lorenzo woke up sniveling because of the water that was spilled on his head. 

“The weak man has woken up,” the manager snorted. “I am enjoying this performance. Don’t tear his clothes, boys. He is too poor to afford new clothes.”

“What about your beautiful wife? Can I have her to myself? You are too poor to manage that beauty. What is her name again? Hazel? Her luscious lips will surely taste good.”

“Get my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth.” Lorenzo stood up and head-butted the guy that mentioned his wife’s name.

The guy pushed Lorenzo back, and he started hitting him in the face. “Why did you fucking touching me? Your wife’s name triggered you, uh? Let’s chant her name, boys.” The guy declared to his friends.

“Hazel! Hazel! Hazel!.” They clapped and yelled. Lorenzo got madder. He went against his manager and threw his fist against his face and the manager went down with that one blow.

His boss pretended to have passed out. Lorenzo rushed toward him, thinking he had passed out for real. His boss woke up and grabbed Lorenzo by his neck, and spat on his face.

“This stupid man got tricked by me.” The manager mocked. He pinned Lorenzo down. “If this gets out of this factory, consider your job gone. I will fire you without thinking twice.”

Lorenzo shivered in fear.

“If the headquarters gets wind of what happened here regarding the project and this little fun we had here. You won’t find anyone to employ you.” He took his hands off Lorenzo and put his leg on his head.

“Think about your beautiful wife and how you will both starve when you can no longer provide for her.”

“I don’t mind helping you do your husband's duties for some money if you don’t mind.” The manager and his friends laughed. The manager removed his leg from Lorenzo’s head.

“Now run off.” The manager shouted, and Lorenzo ran out knowing his boss will torture him if he failed to run.