Chapter 4 Jason Calms the Situation

Back in his office Mr Alex sat on his chair fiddling with his pen. He made a desperate effort to control himself. It is obvious these people are trying to turn him to an animal but he is not going to let them. He has set goals for himself and has to realize them. The day he received his appointment letter many years ago to work with Zarah Nigeria, he promised himself that he was going to put in his best and work towards becoming the best he can ever be in the job. He is already on his way to achieving that and he is not about to let anyone deter him from achieving his set goals.

He looked up in time to see Jason peering through the door with a beam of confidence. ' May I, Mr Alex? 'Sure,' Alex responded still feeling a bit uneasy but somehow, he saw himself posting a genuine smile of relief for the first time since his encounter with Malam Yusuf. He had tried to tell himself a thousand times that all the man said meant nothing but some part of him had deliberately made a decision to retain some level of anger so that it will come in handy when next the man tries any rubbish with him.

' I got a message on my intercom that you needed assistance with system ' Jason said

' Yea bro, the system is frustrating itself. I struggled with it before it switched on and now , I can't seem to assess my documents via the Internet. He gave a little sigh and then added - everything seems to be working against me today. He gave a little hysterical laugh and that was all Jason needed to know that something was wrong somewhere.

'Relax man, Jason tried to cheer and soothe him ' nothing is wrong with your system but something is obviously wrong with you' Alex stood stood up for him to sit and assess the system. ' You look so harassed, is anything the problem?

'Jay my friend, believe me I have been through worse situation in the past and I let it go just that, sometimes when one is pushed to the wall, he feels like fighting. He narrated what happened between him and Malam Yusuf to him. He realized he felt better talking about it. No wonder they said that a problem shared is a problem solved.

' Let it go my brother', Jason said. In this life, I have learned that surmounting obstacles and forging ahead is the secret to growth. Critics are often said to be one's greatest fans. They know you are good at what you do and they can not have it better but instead of praising, they criticize so pay no attention to him.

'Here', he beckoned on him to come closer ' it is obvious you are upset and I tell you, you can not do anything meaningful if you remain so. There is nothing wrong with your system. You have left a lot of programs running at the same time. Close up the programs and you surely will find the file you are looking for.

'Thanks Jason ' Alex smiled and heaved in relief. I was obviously enraged but your presence is quite soothing. He paused before asking ' How is the arrangement for your out station to Warri branch coming up?

'Very well my brother ' Jason responded. ' My manager has called to brief me on my job roles. He claimed there will be no out station allowances because the Warri branch is an annex of Port Harcourt which I work for. He further told me that the Warri branch will be in charge of the logistics. It bothers me a little because I am entitled to our station allowances.

Alex sighed and shook his head. ' It is well Jason, just do your best. As you can see from the last meeting we held with the MD, they know those who are pillars of Zarah Oil Nigeria. They recognize the efforts some of us put in even though it is very difficult for them to appreciate and reward it.

'Exactly my friend, you are very right on that. What can we do, we are building a career path and it is very important we do so with a determination to stay focused and undeterred' He excused himself and left to continue the preparation for his journey to Warri.