Caught in the Crosshairs

Eric felt his phone ring from his pocket and exhaled deeply. He was at work in a small rented room where he operated a small-scale hotel business. 

Business hadn't picked up yet, and he knew he had a long way to go without the backing of his parents, but he was at least glad that he wasn't as useless as his father had thought him to be. 

He was making his money from his savings, and more than anything else, that made him the proudest person alive.

Rinsing his hands in the nearby tap and wiping them using one of the dish towels, he removed his phone from his pocket and saw that it was Karen calling.

'Not today, please,' he said as he returned the phone to his pocket. The guy he had employed to help him on the hotel stool glances at him, silently wondering why Eric was talking to himself.

Eric's phone stopped ringing and started ringing again, but still, Eric ignored it.