My Friendly Enemy Chp XV

Chapter Fifteen: A Dangerous Conversation Andrew arrived home much later than usual.The moment he stepped into the living room, Chinelo noticed the excitement on his face.She smiled."You look like someone who just won the lottery."Andrew loosened his tie and laughed."Maybe I did."She raised an eyebrow."What happened?"Without saying a word, he removed a folder from his briefcase and placed it on the coffee table."Open it."Curious, Chinelo picked it up.As she flipped through the pages, her eyes suddenly widened.She looked up at him."Andrew..."He nodded proudly."Clement increased my equity.""By how much?""Twenty percent."She quickly turned back to the agreement.Her eyes stopped on the revised figures. Enitan — 70%.Andrew Ikebukwu — 30%.She looked at him again."You mean...""I now own thirty percent."Andrew smiled."I only joked about increasing my share.""He didn't even negotiate.""He simply rewrote the agreement.""He said..." Andrew paused, smiling as he remembered the moment. "'What is mine is yours. We are brothers.'"For a brief second, Chinelo was silent.Andrew expected her to be happy.Instead, she slowly closed the file and placed it back on the table."So?"Andrew frowned."So... what?"She folded her arms."That's all?"He stared at her."What do you mean, 'that's all'?""You asked...""He gave.""You should be celebrating.""I am celebrating."She shook her head."No, Andrew.""You should be thinking."Andrew's smile faded."Clement still owns seventy percent.""He financed the company," Andrew replied."And?""He deserves it."Chinelo laughed bitterly."Deserves it?""You practically run the company.""You built its reputation.""You work day and night.""And yet, after all these years, you still own less than half."Andrew sighed."Thirty percent is more than generous.""Generous?" , ., _,She leaned forward."If he truly sees you as a brother, why not make it fifty-fifty?"Andrew didn't answer.She continued."Would fifty percent make him poor?""No.""Would it change his lifestyle?""No.""So why should one man continue owning almost everything while the other carries so much responsibility?"Andrew rubbed his forehead."I never asked for half.""Maybe that's your problem."He looked at her."You don't ask for what you deserve."The room became quiet.Andrew stared at the documents on the table.Only a few hours earlier, he had looked at them with gratitude.Now... They suddenly seemed different.Chinelo spoke more softly."I'm not saying Clement is your enemy.""I'm saying you've settled for too little."Andrew remained silent.After a long pause, he finally said,"Clement trusts me.""I know.""He's never cheated me.""I know.""He's my brother.""I know."She stood and walked toward the window."But remember something."Andrew looked at her."Businesses don't run on brotherhood.""They run on ownership."Her words lingered in the room long after she stopped speaking.That night, sleep refused to come easily to Andrew.He lay awake beside his wife, staring into the darkness.His mind wandered back to the little boy beneath the mango tree......to the young man who had embraced him after years apart......to the friend who had willingly surrendered twenty percent of his own company without being forced.Gratitude wrestled with ambition.Loyalty wrestled with temptation.For the first time, Andrew found himself asking a question he had never dared to ask before.What if thirty percent was never enough?He immediately shook the thought away."No," he whispered to himself."Clement doesn't deserve that."Outside, the night was still.Inside, however... A dangerous seed had been watered.It had not yet grown into a murderous plan.But it was no longer just a seed,it has become a living tree.

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