"Are you okay, J?" Nelson asked him.
Jake looked up at him. He and Nelson had been friends for a very long time, and there wasn't any secrecy between them.
"I'm good. It's just this." Jake replied and showed the ad to him.
Nelson carefully read it, and a look of surprise spread on his face.
"This is huge, Jake." He said and returned the phone to Jake.
"Yeah. I know it is. I was thinking of applying." Jake told him of his thoughts.
"Well, that wouldn't be bad, but with a pay like this, I kinda doubt the job." Nelson responded.
"What do you mean?" Jake asked him.
"Check it out. How many companies pay this huge amount to their employees? And this company even went so far as to attach the pay on their business ad. Isn't it fishy? It might be a scam." Nelson explained.
Jake took some time to digest what Nelson had said, and he saw some sense in it. They were living in the busy part of the country.
There were so many businesses and establishments; thus, the pay was so little because the companies had nothing to lose. If one person wasn't satisfied with his pay, someone else will gladly fill his space. But this company Ad had shown that it was willing to pay well, so it was normal to think it would be a scam.
Later that night, Jake applied for the job, but he didn't tell Nelson because he feared he would disagree with him on the matter.
Two days later, an email reached him, and it was the company's response. Jake was asked to be present for a physical interview by the end of the week.
He couldn't wait to break the news to Nelson. Once Nelson was back, Jake showed him the email.
"Whoa, so you later applied for this?" Nelson asked him.
"Yeah, I gave it a thought and decided to try it out. I'm glad I did." Jake replied.
"That's good. Till the weekend then; if you finally get the job, we can have a real celebration." Nelson said, and Jake's smile widened.
James has been out of work for two months, and this weighed on him heavily because Nelson had to take care of the bills. Though Nelson never complained about it, Jake felt bad for himself.
They were good friends, but he wanted to contribute too. That was why he prayed fervently that he would get the job.
After he was all dressed and ready, Nelson gave him some money and asked that he use it for transportation so he wouldn't be late. He wished him luck and walked with him to where he would take a taxi.
Jake got to the company and gasped as he saw how big it was. It was a clothing and textile industry, and Jake had applied to be a salesperson. The interview didn't take too long. He was asked to go and await their response.
The next morning, Jake got an email of employment, and he was also instructed to begin work with immediate effect. He hurriedly took his bath and was in a rush to leave when Nelson woke up.
"What's with the rush?" Nelson asked him.
"I got the job, but they want me to begin today. I can't be late on my first day." Jake replied.
"Jake, I really hope this job doesn't stress you out. They didn't even give you time to prepare yourself." Nelson voiced his worries.
Jake assured him that he would be fine and left the apartment. The first day at work wasn't easy for Jake. He was shown around, and the prices of clothes and fabrics were explained to him. He was given a journal, and he made his way to his small sales office.
Not long after he had settled in, the door opened and a mean-looking woman walked in. Jake recognized her as his boss. He jumped to his feet and greeted her.
"Mr. Jake, it's good that you've settled in. I'm going to spell some things out for you. First of all, you would agree with me that no business in this part of the world pays as we do. Secondly, we don't pay such a huge amount for doing nothing. You have to show us your worth by making a lot of sales." She paused and stared at Jake, who had become uncomfortable.
"I'll try my best, ma'am, to make great sales." Jake said, and his boss smiled.
"I expect you to, but I must warn you. You cannot make any mistakes. If your sales are short, or you don't meet up with the company's already set data for sales, you will have to fix it from your pocket. If you don't think you can handle this, don't come back tomorrow. You won't be the first to do that."
After the warning, she turned and left. Jake's leg shook from fear. He was lucky to make some sales that day, but the cold warning from his boss still scared him. Once the day was over, he turned in his sales journal and went home.
Nelson noticed the look on his face. He knew something had gone wrong with his friend.
"What's the matter, J? How was your first day at work?" He asked him.
Jake sighed and narrated the whole event to him. Nelson laughed after he was done talking.
"What did you expect? With that kind of salary, huge penalties will surely come in. Nobody wants to run a charity with his business. So what do you plan to do now?" Nelson asked.
"I don't know. I'm sure the boss wasn't playing around, though. You needed to have seen her face; it was so scary. But then, I need a job, and I need money." Jake replied. There was a sad look on his face.
"Jake, I can't advise you to take that risk. Being a salesperson comes with a lot, and it's very possible to lose all your money even before you get your first pay. But you need to make up your mind on this; you already know the risk, but you want the money. That leaves you with two options: you either sink and stop here, or you swim and see what the future holds for you." Nelson said to him, patted his shoulder, and walked past him to the door.
Jake did a lot of thinking that night. One part of him wanted to quit, but the other part wanted to see it through. The next morning, he woke up and dressed for work. He decided not to give up and see how it'll play out for him.
"I see you've decided to swim on." Nelson said to him.
"Yeah, there's no sinking for me, my friend." Jake replied."I hope you don't regret your choice." Nelson said again.
"I hope I don't." Jake replied and left for work, his mind determined to take the risk and achieve great things as a salesperson.
Thanks for reading.
