The Final Mile

“Hudson, lend me your car for today,” my driver asked over a call as I was busy working in the office. I sat stunned for a few seconds, then said, "Uncle Wagner, have I said yes before you started using my car? Also, the client I’m meeting today is very important. Go to the airport right now to pick him up.” “I have something urgent to attend to and need the car. I’ve just transferred 20 dollars to your client. Isn’t it the same getting him to take a taxi to the hotel?” When I read my driver’s text, anger rose in my chest. He had been working for me for three months. He was great at the start, and I respectfully addressed him as Uncle Wagner on account of him being similar in age as my dad. Did he really think that made him my uncle? Chapter 1 I held back my anger and said through gritted teeth, “I’m not joking…” He hung up immediately. When I tried calling him again, there was no answer. Left with no other choice, I hired another private car and rushed to the airport to pick up my client. I ended up late by 20 minutes. When I saw my client, I could clearly see the look of displeasure on his face. I immediately apologized to him and ended up dead drunk after entertaining them over dinner. Thankfully, my efforts managed to appease my client. When I finally returned home, my live-in housekeeper Lucy brewed me a cup of tea to make me feel better. “Hudson, I hate to say this, but you getting completely wasted every day is just unacceptable. You’d better cut down on the alcohol from now on.” So saying, Toby Wagner plopped down on the couch and crossed his legs. He even had a cigarette between his fingers. Others might think he’s the boss while I was his driver. “Stand up,” I ordered. “Who gave you permission to sit down?” The look on Toby's face froze, and he looked slightly stunned. “You really shouldn’t get mad. I’m saying it for the good of your health. Other people are hoping fervently that you’ll die early. I’m the only senior who cares so much for you. You should treasure people who genuinely treat you well.” He quickly returned to his devil-may-care attitude, blowing out a puff of smoke. He then carelessly flung the cigarette box on the table. I immediately recognized it as the box of cigarettes I had been saving in my trunk. He didn’t look like he had any intention of standing up and continued sitting there comfortably with his legs crossed. Before I could say anything, he went on, “Oh, yes. The cigarettes in your trunk have run out. Do stock up on it.” He stretched himself out and yawned. “I can’t compare to you youngsters. I’ll be off to bed now!” With that, he headed straight to his room. I had a drop too much and my head was still throbbing. I thought I’d deal with this problem the next day after I woke up. Back then, I had asked Toby to be my driver because he was humble and also a very steady driver. He was also very punctual on a daily basis. I wasn’t a stingy man and was always generous with rewarding my employees, especially after being an entrepreneur for so many years. I wouldn’t say anything even if he were to take a couple of cigarette boxes from me. I would even offer him some. When I woke up in the morning, I had a good stretch on the bed. The moment I let out a yawn, I received a call from the finance department. I answered the call and heard my finance manager say, “Mr. Grant, why did your entertainment spending at The Silk Canopy exceed the budget by so much?” “What did you say?” I was still groggy at that point. My mind was still in a haze even after the alcohol had faded. “Typically speaking, your entertainment expenditure at The Silk Canopy wouldn’t exceed 20,000 dollars every month. However, you spent a whopping 100,000 dollars there this month. You're a whole 80,000 dollars over the budget!” Chapter 2 “How could that be?” I exclaimed. The Silk Canopy was a fairly upscale restaurant and was my go-to spot for entertaining clients and holding company events. To make things convenient, I signed an agreement with The Silk Canopy. They would bill us once a month. Over the years, I would keep my monthly expenditure at The Silk Canopy within 20,000 dollars and I seldom spent more than 30,000 dollars. Out of nowhere, it hit 100,000 dollars. I couldn’t quite wrap my head around it. “Send me the bill.” “Sure,” the finance manager said. I received the bill soon after. I tallied it with my own records. Each time I hosted a client, I would spend about 1,000 dollars. Sometimes, the figure might be higher but not more than 2,000 or 3,000 dollars. I couldn’t possibly have spent 100,000 dollars. I checked through the line items on the bill. I had spent a total of 23,000 dollars on hosting eight clients and a few company events. The other line items had nothing to do with me. For example, there was an expense two days ago that stood at 10,000 dollars. Last night, when I spent slightly over 1,000 dollars to host a client, there was another expense that stood at 5,000 dollars. Aside from these random expenses, there were some accommodation expenses as well. This restaurant offered accommodation as well. The room charges alone were about 10,000 dollars. I was getting increasingly confused as doubts grew in my mind. I started getting frustrated. I quickly forced myself to calm down. I took a deep breath and said to the finance manager, “Don’t settle the bill. Let me make a trip to The Silk Canopy first.” “Okay, Mr. Grant.” After hanging up, I walked out of my room and saw that Lucy had prepared a glass of warm water. After drinking some warm water, I asked, “Where is Toby?” There was a subtle shift in the look on Lucy’s face. “He went out. He told me to tell you that he isn’t free to be your driver today, and that you should hail a taxi to go to your office.” “Did he say what he was going to do?” “No. I didn’t dare ask, either,” Lucy said. I saw a tinge of fear in Lucy’s eyes. I quickly called Toby, but the moment he answered, he drawled, “Hudson, I’m driving. Don’t call me.” He hung up right after that. I called him another three times, all of which he declined to answer almost immediately. When I called him for the fourth time, his voice finally came through the phone. “Hudson, why are you being so insensible? I have something important to do, why do you keep calling me? Can’t you wait till I return? It’s a wonder how you manage such a huge company when you’re so hasty and impulsive.” “Who are you calling Hudson? Call me Mr. Grant,” I said darkly. “Also, I’m officially informing you right now that you’ve been fired. Return my car to me right now.” “What did you say? It’s too windy here, and I can’t hear you. Also, you’re still young and not very mature in the way you do things. You're overreacting over trivial matters. I’ll guide you on how to do things once I’m back, and teach you some important lessons about life.” He hung up once more. When I tried calling him again, no one came to the phone anymore. When I arrived at The Silk Canopy, I saw Pierre Charlton, the general manager of The Silk Canopy. He even greeted me brightly, “Mr. Grant! Here to settle the bill in person?” I placed the bill in front of Pierre. “Look. Aside from the parts I underlined in red that had to do with our company expenses, none of the other line items has anything to do with our company,” I said gravely. Chapter 3 I had been working with The Silk Canopy for a long time. I knew the people working there very well. “Mr. Grant, please don’t joke around. These are all your company’s expenses. How could your company not have anything to do with these?” I couldn’t be bothered to argue with Pierre. “Retrieve the surveillance footage.” Pierre did so at once, retrieving all the relevant surveillance footage based on the specific date and time of the expenses. After I watched the footage, I couldn’t help but feel flabbergasted and furious. In the footage, I saw Toby gathering a huge group of people. He booked the largest private room, which had a minimum spending of 3,000 dollars. I saw Toby raise a wine glass up high with a smug look on his face. Pierre pointed at Toby’s face on the screen and remarked, “Mr. Grant, see this? He’s your uncle, isn’t he?” “He’s not any relative of mine. He’s my driver.” This time, it was Pierre’s turn to be flabbergasted. Shock colored on his face as he exclaimed, “I seriously hope you’re not pulling my leg. I often see him with you when you come here for meals, and you two look quite close. You always call him Uncle Wagner.” “His last name is Wagner. What about mine?” A few seconds later, Pierre slapped his forehead hard. “Damn it! I’ve been careless. But he always comes here under your name, saying that you made arrangements to host clients here.” “I always entertain my own clients in person,” I clarified. Pierre started feeling anxious. “Now that you mentioned it, you’re right. Good god! What about the remaining expenses, Mr. Grant?” “Don’t panic. Let’s continue watching,” I said, trying to calm Pierre down first. We continued playing the footage. “Dad, you’re doing so well now!” “Uncle, this job of yours is amazing! You can enjoy a meal anytime at such a high-class restaurant. Look at this lobster! I’ve only seen something like this on TV.” “Darling, you’ve got to learn from your uncle. Otherwise, we’ll never be able to afford this lobster in our entire lifetimes.” A smug look appeared on Toby’s face when he was praised. He raised his glass and said, “Let me tell you, this bottle of wine alone costs 2,000 dollars. Each gulp you take costs a few hundred dollars. But don’t worry, we have enough of this to go around. My boss is an idiot who listens to my every word. “If he’s the king of his company, I’m the king emeritus. He has to address me as Uncle Wagner in front of others.” “Toby, you’re simply amazing! I heard that his company’s employee benefits are pretty good. Can you get my son Matthias a managerial position? The salary doesn’t need to be high, about 5,000 a month will do.” “Don’t worry, that’s a piece of cake! A call from me will settle things.” “Uncle Wagner, that car of yours looks pretty good. When can I take it for a spin? It looks like it costs a few tens of thousands of dollars.” “A few tens of thousands? It costs 600,000 dollars! It’s a luxury car, mind you,” Toby said proudly with his chest puffed out. He spoke as though he owned the car. He couldn’t hide the pride on his face. Everyone gasped at the staggering figure. “That's so expensive! Uncle Wagner, can I try driving it?” “Of course. I have the key. Feel free to take it for a spin.” “Do you need to inform your boss?” “Rubbish! He’s as obedient as a child in front of me. It’s fine. This car is practically mine. Drive it all you want.” “Uncle Wagner, you’re amazing!” Surrounded by such an atmosphere, Toby was feeling beyond smug. Chapter 4 My anger had risen to its peak. I called my secretary. “Kickstart the process of firing Toby Wagner right away.” “Yes, Mr. Grant.” I watched a few more video clips. Over the past month, Toby brought his relatives from all around town to The Silk Canopy multiple times. He would always do so under the company’s name. He had a great time indeed! “Mr. Charlton, send me a copy of all these videos.” “Sure, Mr. Grant. Then I…” “Don’t worry about these expenses at The Silk Canopy. I’ll deal with them.” Pierre heaved a sigh of relief at my promise. With the bill and video footage, I contacted my lawyer immediately. I also contacted the police, reporting to them that my car had been stolen. After providing them with some information, I heard a reply from my lawyer. He told me that Toby had splurged on extravagant meals using company funds and falsely impersonated me to cover the expenses. He was even suspected of embezzlement and fraud. I had the right to call the police and have him nabbed. I spoke with the lawyer for a while more before hanging up. Just then, my phone rang again. I looked at the screen and saw Toby’s name on it. I quickly answered the call and heard his voice from the other end of the line. “Hudson, where are you? I just got into a car accident, and the car got hit. Hurry to the scene and deal with the situation.” “Come again?” “Stop asking me questions and come down right now! I’ll send you the address.” I wanted to say something more, but Toby quickly added, “Cut the crap! Be here in half an hour.” I had to admit that I was overcome with fury. I contacted my lawyer again before rushing down to Toby. Meanwhile, the police were also rushing over to the address I sent them. The moment I got out of my car, I saw a woman sobbing as she carried her child in her arms. “My child! I’ll make you pay for this!” Toby looked on nonchalantly with five other people by his side. They all looked unbothered by the situation. “Don’t be scared. Hudson will be here soon. It’s just a casualty. Hudson has the money to pay for it.” He started yelling at the woman. “Is 100,000 dollars enough? Or how about a million? But I doubt the life of a pauper like you would be worth that much!” Toby burst out laughing. Someone standing next to him followed suit. “Dad, you’re amazing!” “Impressive, Uncle Wagner. Simply impressive!” “Toby, you have the airs of a big boss!” Toby’s laughter only grew amidst the praises. Anger boiled in my veins as I witnessed the scene before me. The woman who was weeping brokenheartedly was hardly worth a mention to them. I rushed toward them and when Toby saw me he said, “See that? I told him he must come within half an hour and he didn’t dare to be late.” “Uncle Wagner, you’re the man! You trained the boss of a company to be your lackey.” “If only I were half as capable as you are, Dad.” Toby lit a cigarette and blew smoke in my face. “Hudson, you were a little slow getting here. But it’s okay. I’ll leave this situation in your hands. If there’s nothing else, we’ll be leaving.” I finally couldn’t hold myself back and raised my hand to slap Toby. “How dare you slap my dad? You rascal, who do you think you are?” Matthias lunged toward me. His other relatives surrounded me and started kicking and beating me up. They yelled at me while attacking me. “You think you’re all that now, slapping my dad? He taught you so much, and you aren’t even grateful to him?” “Exactly! You’re nothing without Uncle Wagner!” They beat me up till I was bleeding at the lips and swollen in the face. Toby stopped them and said with feigned compassion, “Alright, forget it. Stop beating him up. Hudson, don’t be indignant about this. Let this be a lesson for you that you might learn to show some respect to your elders!” I took a deep breath and wiped the blood from my lips as I glared at all of them. “Are you even fit to teach me a lesson? Just you wait! The police are on their way, and they’ll be the ones to teach you hooligans a lesson instead! I’m going to have all of you locked up in prison if that’s the last thing I do!”