Free UNDERCOVER The Secret of Luck by James Kipling Page A

hands with his friend. Rod took his hand, shook it, and waved him good bye. The meeting was a quick one, and Rod was gone as quickly has he had come. Ten minutes later, Sheila was back with her lunch.
    “Was somebody here when I was gone?” she asked.
    “Rod was here. He was talking something about me losing my mind due to boredom. You think something like that could happen to me, Sheila?” asked John.
    “I strongly believe that it could, Boss. That is why I got you that streaming subscription and also that big television screen. I want you to be sane, as long as you can.” said Sheila.
    John agreed with her and decided to jump head first into his lunch. He hoped that he wouldn’t lose his head.
    Seven Weeks Later
    John got up from his bed. It had been about two months since he quit his previous line of work. He had been getting repeated nightmares that were affecting the quality of his sleep. As he got off his bed, he opened the curtain and looked outside. The morning sun was just coming above the far off mountains, and it looked like a beautiful day. John wanted it to be a beautiful day. He could not remember the last time that it was a beautiful day.
    John was up and running as usual and left his apartment by eight thirty. Even with the worst traffic conditions, he would still reach his office before nine thirty. As he drove at snail speed through the packed streets of Primer city’s rush hour traffic, John had only one thought. The previous night, he had been doing some calculations on his financial situation. He also spent a lot of time thinking about that conversation he had with his assistant about two months ago about the consequences of his decision and the worst case scenario.
    Now, as he drove through rush hour traffic, he could not help but admit it. The worst case scenario was becoming real. It was one thing to sit in the comfort of a house and talk about possible scenarios, but something totally different to live through the worst option. What he was about to do made John extremely upset, and perhaps a little depressed. John had reached his office car park. He parked his car and sat there, thinking about what he was about to do. Twenty months ago, he could not imagine something like this would happen, but it was happening.
    He took the lift and went directly to his office floor and then into his office. Sheila was already at her desk and was doing something on her tablet. John noticed that it was the same tablet he had gifted her as an apology two months earlier. She smiled as John walked in. Usually, John would simply return the smile and continue onto his chamber. However, today, he stopped and took a seat on one of the client waiting chairs.
    “Sheila, there is something I need to tell you.” said John.
    Sheila, kept her tablet to the side, and sat upright. John had a feeling that Sheila would have already worked out what he was about to say. He thought she looked like she was going to say something, but she remained quiet. By the look on her face, he figured she knew what he was going to say.
    “Sheila, it looks like we are actually going through the worst case scenario. That means, I need to cut off all the support functions. That includes…”
    “…me.” said Sheila, finishing off what he was going to say.
    “I am afraid so.” said John. His voice was upset, and she could tell that he was genuinely sorry for it.
    “Boss. You know that I won’t mind working for free. I really would not mind backing you up in the difficult times. You are already alone, and you hardly speak these days. If I am not here, you might completely lose your mind. Just like Rod said all those weeks ago. Think about it, Boss.” implored Sheila, getting up from her chair.
    John noticed that Sheila was wearing her blue dress today. Her hair was dyed a slight shade of dark red, which almost looked like it was black. John thought she looked beautiful. Sheila took the seat next to him. She was hoping that John would let