CHAPTER 10

Breathe Dom. Deep, long breaths. Nobody saw you. The morning air was cold but he couldn't be bothered. His nerves were enough to keep him warm at this moment. He played with the ring that rested in his pocket. It was felt as expensive as it looked.

His mind went back to the previous night, the arrogant man in a suit whom he later found to be the heir of Lima Enterprises had sent him to get a bottle of hundred-year-old wine from the office of King Jamal.

Dominic had never imagined that he would ever find himself gaining access to the office of the owner of the place he worked. He never imagined getting the job in the first place and almost told the man off assuming that he was about to get pranked.

The man didn't look like he was in the mood to be pranking anybody and he didn't look like he wanted to see too much of Dominic either. It still felt unreal even when Dominic found himself in a private elevator, standing in the middle of two muscular men, armed to the teeth and wearing tailored suits and blank expressions on the way to King Jamal's office.

He was escorted to the entrance of the office and asked to walk in. One of the men walked in with him and the other waited outside the door. Dominic had, from the moment he was told that he was heading to his boss' office imagined what the interior of the place would be like.

He had expected to find a grand office with expensive furnishing and other items that cost more than most people's college tuition fees. The type that you find in rich C.E.O offices in movies but what he met was completely different from what he had imagined. The office was a simple one with few furniture and a lot of books.

There was a framed picture of a woman who strangely reminded him a lot of Halo if she were to be older and a mini bar by one of the far sides of the office. He had gotten the wine that he was meant to grab when he found something unexpected on the shelf. It was a ring.

Dominic had taken one look at it and knew that it cost a lot more money than he had ever seen in his entire life. He made sure that the guard was a bit distracted before he grabbed it, tossing it into his pocket with enough stealth not to be noticed.

He had been worried that someone would notice but fortunately, nobody acted like they did. He had made sure to leave the casino the minute his shift had ended with the only thing on his mind being how much money the ring would make him. Maybe enough to get a new apartment and pay for Halo's tuition.

Get the ring to Francis, get some money, go home, and make sure to never go back to the casino. That was the plan and it sounded simple enough. Dominic had gotten off the bus with no intent on heading home even if his body screamed for a moment of rest after being up and about all night.

He walked down the street leading to Francis' pawn shop. He wondered how much the ring would fetch. What if it cost so much that Francis would not have enough money to pay for it? that was good news regardless. The pawn shop came into sight after a few minutes of walking and being lost in deep thought.

The sign on the door read closed but Dominic could see Francis shuffling about inside, getting ready to start a new day of collecting properties that may or may not mean much to the ones who wanted to part with it and buy them for less than its original value.

Dominic had known Francis for a long time and enough to know that when it came to the pawn business, he drove a hard bargain especially when people looked desperate. Dominic was desperate to get some money, he just hoped he didn't look too desperate.

He knocked on the door and waited. He watched through the glass door as Francis walked up to the entrance and opened the door. Most business owners were happy to see their first customer of the day but Francis looked almost annoyed to find someone at his door before opening hours.

"You can't read the sign kid? Says closed"

Dominic looked at the sign. He was well aware of what it said but it didn't matter much in that moment. He placed his hand in his pocket and pulled it out.

"I think you might be interested in this"

Francis reached out to touch the ring but Dominic pulled his hand back and shook his head.

"Don't trust me?" Francis asked with a sly smile on his face.

"No Francis, I do not," Dominic responded and placed the ring in his pocket, "I had a rich friend of mine gift it to me but it won't mean much sitting around in my room."

"So you want me to take a look at it?"

"Only if it's worth you seeing a customer before opening hours"

Francis looked Dominic up and down and stepped aside, giving