Chapter 1

The time was 4:15 AM

   Junior Smith was awakened by the sound of his alarm going off. Sighing loudly, he got out of bed, after brushing his teeth, he changed and hurried out of his room

He immediately picked up his cleaning equipments and started cleaning the living room

After that, he went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Junior Smith wasn't the cleaner, neither was he the chef, he was married to Jasmine Banks

The Banks were a really popular and wealthy family in the city. Junior had attended the same college with Jasmine and even though he was really poor, she liked him

Few years after they graduated from college, they got married. Things between them were fine, but just for a little while. Jasmine changed and just like the rest of her family, she started treating Junior badly and mocked him constantly

Junior still had feelings for her, so he remained in the marriage. Apart from that, he was really poor, if he left her, he had nowhere else to go

At exactly 7:00 AM, Jasmine walked into the kitchen

"Good morning baby, how was your night?" Junior asked his wife

"Don't call me baby and why're some parts of the house still dusty? What have you been doing"? Jasmine screamed at him

"I'm sorry. I'll clean them later. I wanted to prepare breakfast for you first" Junior replied

Jasmine walked past him and headed to the dining where he had served the food

"Junior, what the hell is this?" Jasmine shouted

"It's your breakfast. You told me last night you wanted rice and fish stew for breakfast and that's what I made" Junior explained

"Apart from being lazy, you're also deaf. I said I wanted beef!" Jasmine said

"I could have sworn I heard you say fish, but I can prepare beef for you if that is what you want. I just need to hurry the market to get a few things, I'm really sorry" Junior apologized

"Sorry for yourself" Jasmine replied

Jasmine was about walking to her room when she noticed Junior had not moved from his standing position

"Why're you still standing there?" Jasmine asked

"I'll need some cash to go to the market with" Junior replied in a low voice

"Of course. You are so pathetic you can't even afford anything. Wait here" Jasmine said and left

Few minutes later, she returned to the kitchen and threw a 100 dollar bill at Junior

"You had better be fast, I have an important meeting at MacMatthew corporation and I do not want to be late" Jasmine said

Junior hurried to the market, on his way back, he decided to walk, he wasn't in a hurry to return back to the Banks mansion, if he had his way, he would never go back there

He was still thinking about his life when he noticed a blue Rolls Royce with tinted windows behind him

That's strange, Junior thought within himself. He could have sworn he saw that same car at the market, however, he decided not to worry too much about it

Junior was a few blocks away from the house when he noticed the car had gotten really close to where he was, he decided to increase his pace

The car overtook him and parked. A young, scary looking man dressed in black suit came out and started walking towards Junior

Junior kept his pace but when the man dipped his hand into his suit pocket, Junior got scared, he assumed the man was about to bring out a gun, so he crossed to the other side of the road and ran as fast as he could to the house

When Junior got home, he was running to the kitchen when he mistakenly bumped into Janet Banks, his mother in-law

"Are you blind Junior? Didn't you see me coming this way?" Janet yelled at Junior

"I'm sorry mother" Junior apologized

He proceeded to explain to her why he was running and afterwards, Janet burst out laughing

"You honestly believe someone driving a car that expensive was trailing you and might even want to hurt you?" Janet asked, still laughing

"Yes mother" Junior replied

"You're very stupid. You're worthless and no one can ever waste their time trying to hurt you. Even if you die, it does not matter, you're of no use to anyone, also, stop calling me mother, I can never be a mother to a good for nothing man like you" Janet said

Junior was deeply hurt by Janet's words, but he tried to reason with her, he knew it was going to be pointless, but he was getting really tired of her constant abuse

"I understand that we have had our differences in the past, but I'm trying to have a civil conversation with you" Junior said

"Civil? You don't know the meaning of the word. You're a lousy son-in-law, and you don't even deserve to be in my presence" Janet replied

"I'm sorry you feel that way. I've always tried my best to be respectful and considerate of you, but it seems like nothing I do is good enough" Junior said, his voice sounding croaked

"That's because you're lazy and irresponsible. You don't provide for my daughter the way you should" Janet said

"I do my best around here. This house is really big but I clean it all by myself and I've never asked for payment. I also do the job of a chef and driver. Do these little things not matter to you?" Junior asked weakly

"That is not enough. You need to be more successful and ambitious. You're a failure as a son-in-law, and you'll never be able to make my daughter truly happy" Janet spat at him

"I'm sorry you feel that way. I know I can't change your opinion of me, but I hope one day you'll realize my worth" Junior said

"Don't hold your breath. You'll never be good enough for my daughter" Janet said and walked away

Feeling downcasted, Junior walked to the kitchen, he still had to prepare his wife's breakfast. He was about getting into it when Jasmine walked into the kitchen

"You aren't done?" Jasmine asked

"No. I'm about to start, I'll be really quick though" Junior answered

"I don't have time. Get the car keys and come and drop me off" Jasmine said and left

Junior quickly got the keys and hurried to drop his wife off at MacMatthew corporation

MacMatthew corporation was a really big company and from what he was able to gather, The Banks were trying to close a deal with them

When they got into the parking lot of the firm, Junior hurriedly got out and opened the door for his wife, he wished her good luck, but she ignored him and went inside the building

Junior was about heading into the car and driving off when a conversation between a young lady and a man caught his attention

From their dressing, it was obvious they worked in the company

"Good day" Junior greeted them

"Hello, can we help you?" The man asked

"I overheard you say there's a vacancy here and I would really like to apply" Junior answered

The man looked at Junior from his head to his toes, it was clear the man didn't think Junior was qualified for the job

"I don't think you should apply, it isn't meant for someone like you" the man said

"Someone like me? What do you mean?" Junior asked. From the tone of his voice, it was clear he didn't like the man's response

"He doesn't mean any harm. If you want to apply, you're free to. All you have to do is submit your resumé and if you're lucky, you'll be called for an interview" the young lady standing with the man replied

"Thank you" Junior replied and was about walking away when the lady called his name

Turning around, Junior was surprised, he couldn't remember telling her his name

"Have we met before?" Junior asked her

"Don't you remember me? It's me, Elise, we were classmates in college" the lady responded

Junior remembered her, she was one of the few people who didn't look down on him

Junior and Elise chatted for a while. Junior told her about his situation and she decided to help in the little way she can

She asked him to quickly get his CV and write an application letter and give it to her the next day, she said she would help push it to her boss

Junior said he had it in his phone and hurriedly went to print it out and handed it to her, she told him she would have an answer for him by the end of the week

Junior's heart couldn't stop beating really fast. If he got a job here, maybe his wife would treat him better, maybe his mother in law wouldn't look down on him anymore, Junior couldn't wait for it to be friday