PART ONE
The Deal

Chapter 1
Wall Street, America

Kenneth Edward Solomon took his first class elevator as usual that morning towards his elegant office. He smiled broadly from home all the way to his company’s magnificent corporate headquarters, moving through the morning traffic at a steady relaxed pace. Ken Solomon or KS as he was fondly called was a car freak who loves to drive himself anywhere his restless mind decided to take him. He occasionally drove his latest Porsche convertible with relish and enjoys winking at some of the female drivers alone in their cars or those with companions beside them. He always concealed a grin whenever some of the male companions in the other cars frowned up or scowled at him, ‘envy” he had always concluded silently and then eased through the traffic at a steady pace with his right hand on the small mahogany steering wheel and his left palm held up on his chin in a thoughtful relaxed posture. What thrilled Ken Solomon each day was the holdup he daily encounters on his way to the office. He considered the slow driving amidst angry horns and curses from other impatient drivers and passengers as something good, since this gave him enough time to enjoy his ride, see and think up new ideas and other ways of multiplying his wealth. He was a man who was never in a hurry. Ken Solomon was among those fortunate Americans who had gone to school on scholarship and came out with a Bsc, Economics, and MBA in International Relation. At thirty-five, he was every inch part of the American dream, a brain in his field and a pride of any nation.
One of the amazing things about this young American entrepreneur was the fact that he inherited ‘no dime’ – as the Americans would say from anybody, unlike most rich men of his age. He had worked real hard and smart to get to where he was. And it was up, towards part of where he belonged at the top floor of one of Wall’s Street exquisite offices that the elevator had dropped him that unfortunate morning. That dark day in his life when he mistakenly or rather curiously searched for the website that later became the beginning of his problems and one of the greatest challenges in his smart easy going life. The whole thing had started that morning during his everyday ceremonious checking of his e-mails from his Apple laptop inside the comfort of his stylish office after driving happily to his distinctive structure on Wall Street and ferried into his floor inside his cozy elevator. Relaxed on his swivel chair as usual, he swagger his slim athletic shape right and left with his index finger on his chin and his eyes leisurely scanned through his recent mails, contemplating on the important ones to read and those to delete. The heading of a particular mail suddenly caught his attention as he browse through the inbox. The Spear Phishing mail from Naija-Phones was captivating and very enticing with a bold heading: PHONES FOR 100 MILLION PEOPLE.

He stared thoughtfully at the heading, and then wondered ‘what the hell’ has this to do with his business? He made to delete the mail and then scroll on to other important mails, but ‘curiosity’, a strong attribute of great people instigated him to pause and he clicked on the mail. His sharp blue eyes stared curiously at the screen as the mail slowly opened. He read the well-organized letter carefully with an unhurried suspicious mind, taking in every sentence and breaking them up prudently with his sharp business acumen. The well crafted Whaling mail he would later admit was craftily composed and properly addressed to him; and again the tone was respectful and straight to the point, just the way he likes his mails; not long grammatical jargons that sometimes are pains in his head, down to his pile-up ass. He noted as he read the one page letter.
The mail reads:
Dear Sir,
It is our pleasure to inform your distinguished firm of our conclusive decision to put our esteem telecommunication company Naija Phones up for privatization. We hereby wish to invite you as one of the first bidders for this potential business with a visible and realistic market to provide communication for more than one hundred million subscribers.
It is our delight to invite you to our Homepage on our website www.naijaphones.com for more information. Please find attached our proposal for your assessment and consideration.
Thank you for taking time to go through our letter and we hope this will form the basis of a long working business association with you and your amiable company.
Yours sincerely,
Elder Walter Micheal Orosu
Chairman: Naija Phones.