Friday, March 05, 2010

People in Life III

Quite some time ago, I met a man called Mr Loh.
He was an unscrupulous business man, and I felt like one of the black pieces in his business plan,
contributing to its growth in the small ways in which my role was mapped.

This Mr Loh always wore ties with tacky prints,
and trousers that seemed 2 sizes too big, and when he walked he strutted, and
he told all the black pawn pieces that he had cctvs in the store such that he could observe us from his house when he was not around.
His eye glasses were bifocal, and he always wore them near the tip of his nose.
When he looked at you he hardly blinked, and the only time he smiled
was when customers were about.

This man wasn't the best of bosses, but he was extremely acute:
his acumen for business is as sharp as a shark's tooth.
He played the customers like white pieces, and pitted us against them.
He only made his appearance when he deemed the customer worthy of his time and vile manipulation,
and you could be sure there was only one thing on his mind, or three if you prefer: It was always about the money, money, money.
Other times he couldn't be bothered and acted through his weaker business partner,
a chubby, dark complexioned man whose name sounded like Hester.

When Loh said he wanted to help you, that's when you should be cautious.
You could easily fall into the trap he spins with words to lure you in.
The lies he made us tell the white pieces were to be said with smiles,
he planted more lies among us, which almost made our friendships sour.
I'm only glad I got out fast because I could have been in a worse-off disposition
if I didn't have the foresight to ignore his dubious promises of flexible working hours and increased weekend wages.

Acute Businessman Loh, I'm glad to have met you -- at least you made me see the dark side of business and possible untrustworthiness of the people behind it. I wish never again to see you, because you look unpleasant as it is, and any mode of interaction is out of the question, I promise you won't see even glimmer of recognition in my face.