IT CAN'T BE!

CHAPTER 21: IT CAN'T BE!

Justin was up, bright and early the next morning. He took his bath and wore something casual but nice, which was made available by Mr Bishop. Surprisingly, it was the right fit for him. 

He wore a simple a pair black jean pants, and an ash turtle-neck shirt. He looked at himself in the mirror, admiring what he saw. Then, he headed downstairs. 

As he walked through the house, the attendants and guards bowed, greeting him. He smiled at them, nodding his head in reciprocation of their salutation. 

As he got to the dining area, he found Mr Bishop already there, having breakfast, casually dressed a bathrobe.

"Good morning," Justin greeted with a friendly smile. 

"Justin, you're up early. Hope you slept well?" Mr Bishop asked.

"Sure, I did," he replied, sitting down beside Mr Bishop.

The kitchen attendants hurriedly brought his breakfast for him, greeting him as they served it. He smiled, appreciating them.

Mr Bishop observed Justin's courtesy, taking note of it. 

"So, you've slept on the matter. What's your answer to my proposition?" Mr Bishop enquired.

Justin took a sip of his coffee, and gently placed it on the saucer. 

"I would not be here all dressed up if I hadn't agreed to your proposition, now would I?" 

Mr Bishop smiled at Justin, nodding his head. 

"Excellent. We'll head there in an hour's time," Mr Bishop said.

"Alright," Justin replied, as they went on with their breakfast together. 

At the set time, Mr Bishop returned from his room, being accompanied by Gomez. He had gone to freshen up and get ready to head out, while Justin waited for his return. 

"Good morning Gomez," Justin greeted. 

"Good morning Justin," he replied. "I see you're in good spirits."

"Yeah, I am," Justin replied. 

"Ready?" Mr Bishop asked. 

"Ready," Justin affirmed, and they all went outside heading to where the drivers had parked the convoy of cars in, which they brought out from the garage. The cars were arranged in formation, for the maximum safety of their boss, and his son. 

"You'll be riding with me," Mr Bishop told Justin, to which he nodded in acknowledgement.

The guards hasted and opened the door to the car for them both as they got in. Gomez got into a different car, which was ahead of the car Mr Bishop and Justin were in.

"Let's roll," Gomez gave the order through their comms, and they began their commute, with everyone in the cars respectively.

As they drove, Justin stared out the tinted windows of the bullet proof SUV, smiling with dreamy eyes. Mr Bishop noticed it.

"Why are you smiling?" he asked.

"I'm heading to the same place I was rejected from, some time back, in a different status now. That's quite the irony," Justin said, chuckling.

"Indeed. Quite the irony," Mr Bishop reiterated. 

"You knew about my rejection, didn't you?" Justin asked. 

"Of course. But I couldn't intervene at that time. I needed to ensure your safety." 

Justin nodded. "I get it." 

Mr Bishop brought out the arm rest of the backseat, and removed the hidden tablet embedded in the arm rest and adjusted the seat to his comfort, and went on scrolling through the tablet checking out the news as they drove to the office.

__________

Joey had left Texas as early as possible, catching the morning flight back to New York. From the airport, he boarded a taxi and headed to his place of work, at Cap Industries.

He arrived late at the office, and knew he was in for some scolding by his department head. So, he braced himself as he arrived the entrance of the office complex.

"Hello, Mr Cornell. I'm so sor-" 

"Save it Joey. You're not getting off easy this time. You will be handling inventory for the next week," Mr Cornell said.

"But sir, that's for my juniors. You don't expect me to be doing that," Joey protested. 

"You don't expect me to keep endangering my job. So it's either you do what I asked, taking it as me being lenient to your lazy unproductive ass, or you're fired."

Joey got quiet, saying nothing, as he bowed his head in shame, and walked away. His juniors who witnessed the altercation whispered within themselves as they threw glances at him, laughing.

"What are you laughing at?" he snarled at them, as he sat in his desk all frustrated.

__________

Mr Bishop's convoy arrived the office complex, and they drove right straight to the private parking lot. 

The men hated down from their cars and opened the door for Mr Bishop and Justin. Justin sighed, looking round. 

"Let me take you on a tour of the complex," Mr Bishop proposed. 

"Sure," Justin agreed. 

Mr Bishop walked side by side with Justin, as three guards walked ahead of them, and Gomez with two others followed behind. The rest stood guard outside the entrance of the building.

The moment Mr Bishop made entry into the building, the workers all greeted him respectfully. He waved at them smiling. 

Justin looked round the magnificent interior of the place. It wasn't his first time there, but it's beauty was one Justin never got over. It had been his dream to work there. 

"Welcome to Cap Industries," Mr Bishop said to Justin. Justin simply smiled.

"Cap Industries is just a part of the Bishop Conglomerate. This isn't the only business we run you know."

"Just like the dairy farm in Texas is part of the conglomerate huh?" 

"Exactly. You catching up real quick. I like that," Mr Bishop nodded in admiration. 

"Let me take you to the other sections of the office." 

They all headed to different sections of the complex, as Mr Bishop explained to Justin what they do as a company. 

Many of the workers wondered who it was that their boss was walking around with. Most assumed he was just a potential major investor. They could hardly tell what connectivity Justin had to Mr Bishop other than that. 

Joey had been slacking off, grudgingly doing what he was asked to do, frowning all the while, when he saw his department head rush to the entrance of their department. He wondered why, so he got up and looked in the direction he hasted to. 

He saw Mr Bishop in the company of some guards. All the other workers got up and greeted him. He as well got up to greet Mr Bishop. 

But, he was shocked to see someone who looked just like Justin casually walking with Mr Bishop. 

He furrowed his brow, looking closely, to be sure he was seeing rightly. He observed Justin's smile when he exchanged handshake with the department head. 

His heart skipped all of a sudden, with his eyes widening. "It can't be!"