The Grand Entrance of Jack

Chapter 2

Just then, a plus-sized man in his early forties walked in; his presence demanded attention.

He was wearing a shirt and plain trousers designed by the Dolce and Gabbana fashion brand and looked very harmonious in his outfit.

On his wrist, he wore a TAG Heuer luxury watch estimated to cost over ten thousand dollars and light-brown loafers.

He is Charles Don, the CEO of San Diego Hotels, one of the biggest in the city, with five hotels in different branches of New York, which brought his brand to the limelight.

“Are you done working on the payroll?” Mr. Charles asked Jack.

“Yes, boss. I will need to commence with the month-end closing tomorrow.” Jack replied with a forced smile, feeling the urge to let his boss know his plans to leave the office.

He had wanted to go to the hospital, see the condition of things, and get back unnoticed, but since his boss had already come by, he contemplated letting him know.

“Good.” His boss responded in a curt tone.

Jack had always impressed him with keeping up with his job, but his pride always came in the way of confessing the truth to him.

“Just send it to your supervisor for review; salary needs to be disbursed to workers tomorrow morning,” He said authoritatively and started making his way out.

Although he sounded like a generous person, his look could tell that he was only showing off his bossy traits.

Jack made a quick wink to signal to Josh if it was appropriate to tell their boss about the urgent call he just received. Josh returned it to him with that ‘It's up to you’ gesture, with a hint of disdain and teasing.

“Excuse me, sir,” Jack said with a firm yet yielding voice, calling the attention of Mr. Charles. “I just got a call requesting my presence at the hospital. My sister was admitted, and the call from the hospital sounded urgent.”

Charles turned instantaneously to face Jack with a disdainful expression written all over him.

“So, what does that have to do with me?” Charles' tone took on a cruel edge as he spoke to Jack.

Jack had sensed a negative reply from Mr. Charles, but he decided to go a little more extreme.

“Please, if you don't mind, I need to go see her right away to know the condition of things.”

“I do mind, and if you step out of this office, consider your job terminated.” Charles pulled no punches as he spoke and left, leaving Jack dumbfounded for a moment.

Jack bent his face in dismay and reflected a sense of disquietude for a moment.

This was his only means of survival, and he couldn't afford to lose it, so he didn't bother to push further.

Subsequently, he raised his chin obliviously and stared in the direction his boss had walked out, until his gaze gradually fell darker.

"I thought so,” Jack muttered coldly in disappointment immediately after he regained consciousness.

As if Jack knew that going to get permission before leaving would be futile, that was why he didn't bother doing that at first.

He had known that his boss was blunt and rude to him, but he decided to try luck this time because it had to do with life.

Jack had thought gaining his boss' favor would be that easy for him; stay loyal to your boss, work diligently, and there you get it. He just noticed that wasn't the case. Now he found that normalcy was a sin because he didn't see any reason why his boss would have to say no to him in such a critical condition. It was time to awaken from this prolonged daydream and do what he had to do.

So Jack wouldn't take a ‘no’ for an answer as much as he wanted to obey his boss. Joan is his only sister, and he has grown to care for her even though his work takes up more of his time. He thought that ‘If Jane was conscious, she would at least be the one to speak with him about coming to the hospital and not the hospital staff.’

He pondered on what to do and felt the need to confide in his colleagues. “Josh, please, can you kindly do me a favor?

Josh chuckled. "Go on, but I just hope it's not what I am thinking.”

“The nurse who called sounded so urgent over the phone; I think my sister’s condition is critical, and I need to go and see for myself, please.” He begged, as his life was dependent on it.

“How exactly is my assistance needed from what you just said now?” Josh retorted.

“OK, I will be going to see my sister against the boss' wish, but I need you to cover up for me. I promise I will be back before you know it, maybe in an hour or less.” Jack put in a reminder on his phone to buzz in an hour, just to assure Josh that he will work with time.

Josh let out a devilish snicker. “I see, so what should I tell the boss if he asks about your whereabouts?”

“Just tell him I went to get something and will be back soon. Besides, I am done with what I have to do for the day. You know I would do this for you if you were in my shoes.”

“I am not promising you anything, but I hope it turns out well.”

“That's a yes, right?” Jack asked but didn't get any response from him.

Jack ensured that the payroll data was saved in an Excel file, and he shared the data with his supervisor. He shut off the computer and stood up from his chair. “I will be right back,” He said as he advanced to the door of the office to take his leave, not caring to know whether Josh heard him or not.

Josh didn't make any comments.

Jack made his way to the elevator, praying hard that nothing would happen to his sister.