TOM & SALLY 1

TOM & SALLY 1

Breaking a leg at every pitch was Tom’s utmost desire.Tom Coker is an I.T professional and he works with a famous IT company around the Ikoyi axis, of Lagos State. He had just finished a presentation for the Managing Director of Billhem Limited, Mr Bill Tray, a German Client and his group of directors, who came from Frankfurt, Germany to launch an arm of their business in Lagos. It was an unusual pitch. Also present in the boardroom were two other companies’ I.T executives who were seated with their team members. Tom’s team were slotted for the last presentation and just as Tom concluded, the boardroom suddenly became so quiet. Tom had never got it wrong before but this time, he was not sure of what more to say to convince Mr Bill Tray’s team. He had thought of repeating a particular phrase alongside his best slide to further convince everyone but Mr Bill Tray motioned to him to him to stop, as if he knew Tom wanted to say more.

Tom then took his seat beside his team members and was scribbling what he could neither read out nor understand. Some I.T executives had their faces looking down, a few others were adjusting their suits intermittently while a handful had the faces mapped with fear. It was obvious that there was tension in the boardroom, a time when your angels knock on heaven’s door with just one request: “Father let my team win”. The sudden panic silence almost got Tom sweating, despite the split unit system, and hot tea on his table. Yet the few minutes silence seem more like the eternity. Mr Chris David who seem not to be attentive throughout the presentation, soon broke the silence with his feminine voice. “Our team had a tough time deciding but we would like to congratulate, Mr Tom Coker’s team and company. We would send you your engagement letter before the close of work today.”  Tom had his legs shaking when he stood up to received Mr Bill Tray’s handshake and a Project Brief from the client.

More like an easy go lucky, kind of guy but on his job, he is highly respected. He is professional to the core and his love for his job is, without doubt, a 100%. Little wonder his love for his job orchestrated his meeting with beautiful Sally. The nurses were grinning and smiling when they sighted a gentleman who was brought to the Hospital in tears due to a brief illness. They got him tested and had no choice but to place him on admission. On that particular day, Sally was not on duty but upon resuming the next day, the nurses brought to her notice, the need to speak with a certain patient, who had insisted he must be discharged. Nurses on duty had spoken to Mr Tomiwa Coker to no avail. On getting to his ward, Sally was accompanied by two Nurses and her legal upbringing did not fail her. Now Sally was the last child of Johnson’s family. Her Parents and her two brothers Brian and Tim were all Lawyers and that almost crushed Sally’s dream of Medicine. Mr and Mrs Boaz Johnson had done their best to convince and influence Sally, in her choice of career but had to be diplomatic about it rather than force their will on her.

Sally read through his medical record and could see that he had barely received the complete treatment, as prescribed by the previous Doctor who attended to him. She walked up to him and did a good job, by placing Tom’s most obvious scenario to him. She literarily placed the horse before his career cart. She obviously painted a picture of how he would resume at work and might slum the next day, and on that same day, a top-paying client brings in a brief, then the MD would request another competent staff to oversee the job while they send a delegate to visit Tom’s Parents, to console with them as they plan Tom’s burial. As she finished her illustration, she asked one of the Nurses to give him the Voluntary Discharge Form, have him fill it and sign, then take his picture while doing so. She pleaded with the second Nurse to get his next of kin’s details and inform the person of Tom’s suicidal decision after which they can remove all the drips and bring the forms to her. 

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