Chapter 18

"Desmond? Is that you?"

When he was still Derek Smith, Derek got fired from his job and one of his colleagues, Desmond, openly mocked him as he was exiting the office.

Derek remembered that moment crystal clear; but he also remembered squaring up to Desmond. His facial expression and response to Desmond's mockery was enough to shut up everyone in the office that day.

How the tables have turned. Derek is now the son of the most powerful family in Townsville, while the once egomaniacal Desmond is now a janitor, in his father's hotel no less.

Yet, something did not make sense. Why is Desmond here in England instead of back in Townsville?

"Desmond. What are you doing here?" asked Derek.

Desmond, now the janitor, looked at Derek, surprisingly with no contempt.

"Hi Derek, it's been a while. I see that you are doing well for yourself. I'm happy for you."

"Thanks; but why are you here? What happened to your previous job?" Derek was still puzzled.

Desmond sighed, "It's a long story. I don't want to bother you about it. Especially now that I'm relegated to just being a janitor. I'm nothing compared to you."

"Actually, I do want to know; and don't look down on your job as a janitor. Every job has its purpose and importance. If not for you, all the restrooms in this hotel will be nothing but a pig sty."

Desmond's eyes started to tear up. To think that this man, who he once mocked and bullied, could say words of encouragement to him despite his actions, it was too much for him. He knew he owed Derek an explanation.

"Ok if you insist." replied Desmond.

"The day you got fired, after you left the office, our boss went to apologize to the VIP visitor for the embarrassment you supposedly caused. Instead of accepting our boss's apology, the VIP slapped him across the face. He was red-faced mad."

'VIP visitor...ah, he must be referring to Owen' thought Derek.

Desmond continued, "That VIP visitor...well let's just say he was powerful enough to force the company into bankruptcy if we didn't find you and rehire you back into the company. He said something about us offending someone who we could never offend."

'Yeap. That's Owen for you.' Derek confirmed Desmond's story about Owen.

"So, our boss ordered us to go find you, threatening to fire all of us if we didn't. Me knowing your cousin Charles, I went to the Smith house to find you. To my surprise, Charles told me that you were kicked out of the house and that they didn't care where you went after that."

"Did you tell him about your plight?" asked Derek.

"I did, and Charles just ignored me. I remember as clear as day. He said to me, 'That's your problem, Desmond, not mine.' and his security kicked me out of their house." replied Desmond.

'If you only knew sooner.' thought Derek.

"That bastard Charles. After all these years, that's how he treats me. Some friend. Just because he's more well off than me doesn't mean he can disrespect and ignore me. I swear, Charles and his f***ing family will get theirs someday. I'll see to it myself!" Desmond cussed and swore, loud enough for Derek to notice.

"Easy there. Don't get sidetracked. They'll get it soon enough. You still haven't told me how you ended up here." Derek tried to calm Desmond down.

"Oh right. Sorry. So needless to say, we could not find you. True to his word, we all lost our jobs. At that time, we felt it wasn't fair that we got fired. So, we went to his office the next day to confront him."

"I would imagine your boss would cave into your pressure." enquired Derek.

"No, that's just it. This may shock you as it did me Derek. Our boss had his own security to fend us all off. They were not the usual type of security that you would see in Townsville. They behaved like gangsters. They had weapons in their hands and looked like they would not hesitate to use it on us."

Derek's eyes opened wide in shock. "That is unusual."

Desmond continued, "It gets worse. He threatened to harm every one of us and our families for even having the guts to confront him. I'm not sure how everyone else fared but me, I had to get out of Townsville. Fortunately, I still had some decent savings, so I decided to buy the first flight ticket available and fly out of there."

"As it turns out, that ticket landed you here. So where do you live now?" asked Derek.

"I currently live here in the hotel staff quarters. Obviously, this was not the job I had in mind; but considering this was the only vacant position available, and I was so desperate to get a job in a foreign land, I took it. To be honest, working this job reminded me of how you were treated back in the old company. I now know what you had to go through and I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything."

Derek could tell that Desmond was sincerely remorseful and apologetic for his past actions.

'You may be paying your price in the minefield now, but I know you are trying to make your way out of it. As long as you keep up this new attitude, I promise to get you out of the minefield and into the meadows that you wanted.' thought Derek.

"Desmond, what happened between us is in the past. I'm no longer angry at you. If anything, I now see you as a real man. I just want to know one thing, if I can offer a way to get you safely back to Townsville, would you take it?"

"Without question, Derek. Hell, I'll work for you for free and stay loyal to you. If my math is right, we now have two common enemies. I know you want to get rid of them. I'm with you." Desmond's eyes lit up.

"Haha take it easy man. You don't have to work for free; and you're right, we have common enemies now. I'll figure out how to deal with them. You just sit tight and continue your work here and wait for my call. You still have my number, don't you?"

"I never deleted it." replied Desmond.

"Good. I'll contact you again. In the meantime, remember: no job is beneath any of us. Keep up the good work here. The general manager here? It's the VIP visitor from that fateful day. His name is Mr. Owen Beck. Don't let him down this time." said Derek before patting Desmond's shoulder and leaving the restroom.

'Brother Derek. You could have made fun of me just like l did to you. Instead, you forgave me. You are the real man, not me. I look forward to seeing you in Townsville again. This time I will make amends to you, even if my life depends on it.' thought Desmond as he continued to do his job...with a renewed purpose.