EXCERPT FROM "THE DEBATER"

BY OKUNOLA O. ZAINAB

RORY

He wasn’t a drinker but that night, his friends had forced him to the pub and had made him down a lot of booze. Now, he was regretting it. He had thrown up many times and was now feeling woozy and exhausted and to top it all, he had a splitting headache. He got home about half past eleven and went straight to bed but couldn’t sleep. He dunked his head under the pillow to keep the buzzing sounds in it out but they wouldn’t stop; It just kept buzzing like a stray bee had entered his ears up into his brain and had created a colony there. He went to the bathroom, washed his head, his face but it wouldn’t stop. Once he raised his head to look into the mirror, he saw what a mess of a man he had become. “people like me” he scoffed and burst into a hearty laughter that drained away very quickly. He reached for the cabinet above the sink on the wall to reach for his pills; the ones that made him sleep or manage to keep the buzzing out of his head. He swallowed three round yellow ones and sank to the floor, head in palms. “Stop, stop… stop” he yelled into the emptiness of the house.

The next morning came and the headache was now replaced with a heave of nausea; the buzzing in his head suddenly died and the world seemed brighter and lighter. Coming to Haven Shaw was a good idea, he told himself. A new life, a new house, a new job; what else could he want. A wife, maybe.

He shook the thought out of his head. He was beginning to enjoy his life as a rich bachelor; his ex-wife, Mariah had left a hole in his heart which made him engage in crazy activities to seal it. Those men he called his friends were merely strangers he met at the pub two days ago. They had introduced alcohol and women to him as comfort and he had taken it. It got his mind off Mariah and whatever catastrophe drove him away from New York. He remembered the blood on the wall, the painful words, he remembered the obscenity of the life he used to live. He remembered all of it but he did his best to act normal. He believed he was normal. 

He resigned as the General Overseer of the New York office to become the CEO of the general office at Buckley that was six miles away from Haven Shaw. His company was into engines and automobiles which made him stinking rich. But he never acted it even though he drove a Range Rover Discovery and had a house in the beautiful Bernard Resort in Haven Shaw that cost several millions. His style was just simple.

Once he finished washing himself, he changed into clean clothes and went to seat at the room he set aside for his office. It was well furnished with bookshelves that carried neat leathered books, leathered sofas, a working table and chair with computers. As soon he walked into his office, the table phone rang like it had been waiting for him. He picked it and pressed it to his ear "hello" he cleared his throat.

"Good Afternoon sir, I am calling to remind you that you have a meeting at three with the McKenzie brothers and a dinner with McKernan motors."

"Bettie, did you say afternoon?" Bettie was his personal secretary

"Yes Mr Kennedy, it is two thirty already" he glanced at his table clock.

"Jesus! Bettie, why didn't you call me earlier?"

"I called you ten times, there was no response and I left you about sixteen messages. Doctor Henrietta said you missed an appointment at ten today. Are you alright sir?"

"Yes!" He snapped, making it back to his bedroom, to his closet that was big enough to house a family of giants but was not filled with flashy clothes. "Why didn't Mathew show up?!" He said, peeling the clothes off his skin; his shoulder holding the phone to his ears.

"He had a very bad flu. I called to tell you that as well. I left you a message yesterday evening" he remembered.

"Damn! Thank you Bettie"

"I could cancel if you are feeling not too well"

"No." His voice shot through the receiver. He had pushed the meeting back for too long. He was disciplined enough to separate his personal life from his profession and he was not going to come to Buckley to start making that mistake. He cringed at the thought of postponement "I'll be there Bettie." Bettie had been his assistant for many years and he knew she was reliable. She had followed him from New York and had helped him sort out his professional life from his meetings to appointments, lunches and dinners. "Thank you" he clicked off, and dressed completely in front of a mirror. Once he was done, the headache was clawing up his head again but he pushed it aside and rushed to the garage to get his car.

He reached Buckley in thirty minutes, speeding down the lanes and praying to God not get stopped by the police. He marched into the high rise building, past the receptionist who quickly stood to her feet and bowed. People bowed, curtsied as he dashingly walked past them in hurry, up the elevators to the sixth floor where Bettie was waiting for him. She was a young attractive lady with a wide smile and great legs that fitted in a tiny waist short skirt that was above the knees and killer high heels. Wide glasses rested on her nose and her hair cupped her face in a fringe. "You look great Bettie. How do I look?"

"Dashing..." She inspected his tie, adjusted it and dusted his shoulders. "Absolutely charming" she smiled

"What is the situation?" He asked, looking above her shoulders.

"The McKenzie brothers wants to split. They brought a lawyer"

"Stupid fuckers" he grumbled "unity makes them stronger. They'll go down the drain the minute they walk apart"

"You'd have to make them see that. Their father passed last week. Their eyes are wide on his inheritance"

"McKenzie engines will suffer" he shook his head. He hated situations like this. The old man, their father trusted him and had come to him last two weeks about the company. He didn't want his sons to separate. He knew he was going to die soon and his sons would become greedy. Especially Juan McKenzie, the youngest - the chap was just twenty three. Rory sighed.

"I think you should stick it to them. Make them understand that they would kill the company if they take it apart" Bettie looked him in the face with a soft smile

"Whether or not, I still make a lot of money" he shrugged

"But you won't let them"

"You can't be so sure"

"I trust you Sir."

He rolled his eyes and proceeded to the conference room. The three men in the room stood to shake hands with him. He shook them firmly and settled in his own seat.

"Good day gentlemen. It is nice to see you today"

"Likewise Rory" Juan stretched his hands again and Rory took it.

He settled into his chair and adjusted his tie.

"We are going to make it as quick as possible" the elder of the two brothers said. His name was Miguel. "We want to split" Rory was grateful that they had no intention of wasting his time

"You can't" he said coolly in that relaxed manner that was befitting of a CEO.

"Why?" Juan looked at the lawyer, his brother and back at Rory.

"Your father signed a contract with us. McKenzie engine stays a whole..."

"Mr. McKenzie died last week" the lawyer spoke for the first time

"Doesn't nullify the contract. I am sorry to hear about your loss but if you tear McKenzie engine apart, you'll ruin the company. You'll have to lay off some workers and your father holds his employees at high esteem..."

"We'll compensate them" Miguel shifted him his seat.

"The engine would lose its credibility. Your investors would withdraw and costumers’ stats would drain. It is not a very wise move" Rory pressed the intercom on the table "Bettie get me the contract of McKenzie engines” and she was inside swiftly with the document as if she had been waiting at the door with it. She left them again. He opened the contract and showed it to the eager men "you tear the company apart, your father made it clear that you would not get a dime of his inheritance and he would give it all to charity. I don't think you want that"

"Outrageous!" Juan shoved to his feet "I don't want to run the company. I have other things to do with my life!" He was angry "I want my share and get out"

"Well, that is your problem. Not mine. My company has the best interest of McKenzie engines in mind. You can sell it off, take your part, and your father's inheritance goes to charity or, you make do with the inheritance and let McKenzie engines be" he turned to Miguel who was thinking about it crucially.

"You could get someone to run it, keep it working and give you your share of the income" suggested the lawyer.

"You'll need someone capable" Rory pointed out "if the company dies, it is the same thing as losing" he was a direct and straightforward person. The headache came again. He just wanted to get it over with and go to rest before the dinner with McKernan motors. They were celebrating their ten years of partnership.

"What about you Rory. Do you want it?" Juan asked

"Excuse me?"

"The company, you could run it. You have been doing it all along anyway"

"I think that is a brilliant idea" Miguel exhaled like a weight just came off his shoulders.

"Me, Rory Kennedy"

"Yes. This is exhausting please, just accept"

"Like that?"

"We brought a lawyer. We could begin the paper work" Miguel was keen

"Okay then. I'll tell my secretary and my lawyer to get in touch."

He stood to his feet and extended a hand "nice doing business with you gentlemen"

"Likewise" Juan said "I like you Rory. Straight to the point"

The meeting was over and Rory was back with Bettie "done? How did it go?"

"I just became the president of McKenzie engines" he didn't look so pleased.

Bettie smiled widely "That is a joke right?"

"No. Bettie, they wanted to take it apart, they were looking for someone to dump it on. Look, I'd preferred they sold it anyways" he loosed his tie that seemed to be choking him all of a sudden and the first two buttons of his shirt.

"Then, why did you accept. It is great news if you'd ask me"

"Great news" he scoffed "it means more responsibilities, more time at work and less time for my evening bath. You know I take my evening bath seriously" he marched to his office and she followed briskly beside him.

Her boss was a good man, she knew he accepted just because he had promised Mr. McKenzie that the company would be in good condition and no one would tear it apart. She knew Rory couldn't stand the thought of watching a good company like McKenzie go down the drain.

"This is still great news sir and I am so happy. Shall I send the message to the New York office?"

"Not yet. I want to finalize the papers. Can you see to that?"

"Yes sir" she turned to leave but hesitated "sir?"

"Yes Bettie"

"You'd have to bring a date to the McKernan dinner. I think it is part of the dress code or something"

He grunted and threw his head backwards. "I have a dog. Can I bring my dog?"

"No, you don't" she laughed "and I think they definitely meant human when they said 'date' sir"

He raised his head then eyed her "you" he said "do you have plans this evening... With boyfriend, perhaps?"

"No sir"

"Great. I'll see you at five - sometimes I think I owe you my life Bettie"

She turned around and headed to complete the paper works he asked her to do.

He reached for his lower drawer and produced his pills. He shoved three pills down his throat, opened a bottle of water and swallowed.


images from RoryCoreII - DeviantArt