Chapter 8

"Mama, did I really do it?" Emeka asked, as if barely processing what had happened."You did, my love. You did."Chief Okoro watched them, his mind racing at a thousand miles an hour. He had made that bet in front of dozens of witnesses. Many of them had recorded it on video. He couldn't retract now without completely destroying his reputation."This doesn't count," he said desperately. "It was a joke! No one takes those kinds of bets seriously!""You said you were serious," Emeka responded, looking him directly in the eyes. "I asked you twice, and you confirmed.""You're a child! Contracts with minors are not valid!""But public promises are," Aisha intervened, "especially when there's video evidence."Chief Okoro looked at her with betrayal. "Whose side are you on?""The side of what's right," she replied without hesitation. "You made a public bet. The boy fulfilled his part. Now it's your turn to fulfill yours."Employees began to murmur among themselves. Some pulled out their phones again—this time not to record, but to review the videos they had taken. The evidence was there: clear and undeniable.Chief Okoro slumped into his chair, burying his face in his hands. 100 million naira: it was more than some of his businesses made in a year. It was not an amount he could easily ignore or replace."I need to talk to my lawyers," he finally said. "This can't be legal.""Chief Okoro," said Malam Abubakar, the company's senior accountant, who had been observing from the back of the room. He was a sixty-year-old man, respected by all, with an unblemished reputation for integrity. "With all due respect, you made a public bet, and the boy won it fair and square.""You too, Abubakar?! Everyone's going to turn against me?!""It's not turning against you. It's recognizing the facts. If you try to back out now, you'll lose something much more valuable than money: your word."Chief Okoro looked up, gazing around the room. All his employees watched him with a mixture of disappointment and expectation. He knew Malam Abubakar was right: if he didn't keep his word, he would never have credibility in the business world again.

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