Sleep 'Riching'

A Story by Tomi

Fictional story about a character who becomes wealthy, however in his dream.

Hello Mr Randle! Good morning Mr Smith came the reply from the other end of the line. It was Adebola Smith on the phone to his Accra Operations Manager. "How soon can we conclude the takeover of NGM Networks?" Adebola asked. "The transactions should be concluded by next week. We just finalized the documentation processes and by next week, the largest telecommunications network on the West African coast we’ll be ours" replied Randle from his end in Accra Ghana. "Good job you are doing Mr. Randle, and have a pleasant day" Adebola said as he ended the call while simultaneously checking the time from the Rolex wristwatch strapped to his wrist which was a gift from a Saudi Prince during one of the his (Adebola) business trips to Riyadh.

At 10.00am the day was still very young, there was still so much to be done. Apart from the NGM deal, there’s a bigger fish to fry. Adebola’s unveiling as the new owner of Manchester United Football Club, a club he had supported ever since he could remember. Tomorrow was the big day, packed full with a whole lot of activities. The photo shoot had been concluded the previous day. Travelling arrangements had been concluded for that same day to the city of Manchester, interviews to be granted and lots more.

Adebola stood up and took another look at his image in the mirror in the corner of his Penthouse office located in Victoria Island, Lagos. He was looking trim and fit sporting a low cut with his well tailored navy blue tuxedo. He poured more brandy into the goblet he’d been holding in his left hand and puffed on the cigar dangling from his finely chiseled lips. He strolled to the window, pulling back the drapes to reveal a good view of the lagoon. The sun was caressing the waters giving a beautiful blue glow with shimmering sparkles. Adebola loved the scenic beauty which was the very reason he had decided to purchase that very building which had now been named Adebola House.

He had come a long way from when he resigned his appointment as an I.T Manager in Strong Tower Bank, and his foray into business. He had immediately set up a software company which was responsible for developing Archilles 2.0; a banking software that has become the accepted standard software for bank operations in Africa, Middle East and Asia. He has also diversified into oil and gas, telecommunications and now sports. Today he is on the verge of making history as the first black man to own a football club in the English premiership. Just last month, Forbes rated him the wealthiest man on the African continent and the seventh in the world. “Life can’t be better” he said to himself still staring into the blue ocean down below.

A gentle knock on the door rocked Adebola out of his reverie. “Adebola you should move now or you’ll be late”. It was his personal assistant, or so he thought. A louder knock woke him up from his sleep and dream. It was Adebola’s Mum Mrs Smith. He lazily got up from his bed. "Thanks mum, I’m up" He said as he made for the bathroom.

The time was about 6.00am, he had to be fast so as to arrive early for the job interview. As Adebola left his home that morning, his thoughts kept going back to that dream, wishing the dream never ended. “Probably it’s just a sign that I’ll get the I.T support officer job in the bank today” he said to himself.