八字万年历

Chapter 324: Hocus Pocus with the NFF IV

The thing about them having a flight back to Porto at 3 pm was a bluff.

Adele had tried to book a flight, but there was no way for a single person of their level to tell an airport when to arrange a flight so the whole thing about a specific time should have made it clear that it was a bluff, but Jason didn’t expect anyone to notice the bluff.

In the end, Jason had told Adele to hold off on booking a flight and they would only leave if it was clear that there was no way back… There was no point in wasting money on booking a flight and then canceling it because even if he would be refunded, the money wouldn’t be returned in full.

With no pressure of time on their necks, they ate slowly, savoring the handwork of the hotel’s chefs.

*****

“What do you mean he’s not coming?” Gernot Rohr couldn’t believe his ears as Vivian told him what had happened on the call with Adele Joyce, Jason’s agent.

He was seated in a meeting room with management officials of the NFF and they had been discussing the coming preparations for the matches in the international break when Vivian, the bearer of bad news arrived with the juiciest but annoying story of the day.

This was also the meeting room where Jason was supposed to arrive to sign the Declaration of Intent, but now Gernot Rohr was being told that his plans for the national team had been disrupted by an idiot who decided to enjoy Abuja’s night-life with an official car of the Nigerian Football Federation instead of doing his job and picking up an important guest at the airport.

*Sigh*

Gernot Rohr couldn’t help rubbing his brow in exasperation as he listened to Vivian who was doing her best to relay Adele’s message, word for word to the national team’s head manager.

After listening to Vivian explain what had happened, Gernot Rohr immediately stood up and asked with urgency,

“What time did she say their flight was?”

“3 pm, sir,” Vivian said, her voice quivering a bit as it was clear that apart from the urgency in the head manager’s voice, he was also quite angry.

The head manager immediately glanced at the watch on his wrist and saw that it was barely a quarter after eleven,

“Good, there’s still time,” he muttered as he began moving.

He couldn’t afford to have this fall through… Not like this.

It was one thing that Jason’s departure would mean the national team would miss out on a very talented player, and it was another thing when the reason for such a thing happening would become known.

After all the efforts they had made on propaganda, if news got out that Jason did not join the national team because the driver that was supposed to meet pick him up at the airport went partying instead of doing his job, Nigeria would become a laughing stock and the higher-ups would have his head.

The effect it would have on their future recruitment of young talents would be too great and he couldn’t get away with that.

Gernot Rohr remembered a story he had heard about Kylian Mbappe wanting to play for Cameroon, but the Cameroonian Football Association requested a payment… a bribe of sorts because one didn’t need to pay to join a national team, but the Cameroonian Football Association asked for money greedily, making the player change his decision and go on to play for France who weren’t requesting any money from him.

Barely a year later, he won the FIFA World Cup with France while the Cameroonian Football National team didn’t even qualify for the competition.

They lost on every angle and Gernot Rohr wasn’t about to let that happen with Jason and Nigeria as well.

He wasn’t a Nigerian, but he wasn’t going to let himself be known as one of the reasons why a major talent chose to play for another country.

That would cost him not only his job but also his reputation and he was too old for that bullsh*t.

He quickly headed out of the meeting room ready to do his best to get Jason to change his mind about leaving, but did not forget to shout behind him before leaving the room,

“And somebody fire that bastard! Let him enjoy a few more night parties as an unemployed idiot!”

“Do you know where they currently are?” Gernot asked Vivian as they walked through the building.

“We lost contact with them yesterday, but I remember her mentioning earlier that they planned to stay at The Destination by Gidanka,”

“However this was before they came to Nigeria so I can’t tell if they changed their plans because of what happened,” Vivian said as she hurried after the head manager.

“Good, we’ll start there, but try to call them again and see if we can arrange a meeting,” Gernot Rohr spoke as he walked out of the main doors of the building that had been pulled open by the security guards at the door.

The national team manager and Vivian headed towards a black Toyota Land Cruiser SUV and the driver quickly got down to pull open the door for the manager while Vivian ran over to the other side of the car to get into the passenger seat in front.

“Where are we going, sir?” The driver asked as he got into the car and started the vehicle.

“The Destination by Gidanka. Please hurry,” Vivian answered first before Gernot could open his mouth in the backseat.

As the one who had spoken to Adele and had seen the head manager’s reaction after hearing the story, she understood the urgency of the situation and she was reacting accordingly.

The driver professionally started the car and drove out of the parking lot, the car quickly accelerating out of the grounds of the NFF headquarters.

As the driver quickly drove through the streets with a clear destination, Vivian continuously tried to call Adele’s phone, but no one was picking up, causing Vivian’s anxiety to shoot up.

If they couldn’t stop Jason from leaving Nigeria, heads would roll… Metaphorically… And Vivian’s head was likely to be among the rolling heads as she was the one who had appointed the driver that was supposed to pick up Jason at the airport.

She was the half-wit recruitment officer Adele was talking about.

However, how was she to know that Adele wasn’t picking up the phone because Jason was teaching her the appropriate way to eat some Nigerian dishes as they waited without the slightest bit of anxiety for the response of the NFF?