"You know he"s just playing with your emotions right?" Nanny Florence said to me."We don"t know that Nanny Florence, maybe this time he"s really honest. We just have to wait and see, maybe Baba dying was what he really needed to change once and for all."
To be honest it sounded like I was trying to convince myself, more than I was trying to convince Nanny Florence. I don"t know why I was trying so hard, I was still holding on even after I"ve been hurt so many times by him. Why? Honestly I felt pathetic, why was I willing to give my father a benefit of the doubt when there"s a possibility he might be responsible for Baba"s death. I know my grandfather, he was old yes, but this was the 2170s, if people were going to die of old age they"ll all be in the 90s at minimum and the 100s at maximum.
"I remember you growing up Master Aaron. You were an intelligent kid, smart, resourceful, and you learnt many things at the feet of some of the brightest minds on the planet. But underneath all that, you were just a boy who was desperately searching for the love and approval of a father who didn"t care about you. You"re a grown man now, an Adult! And to make matters complicated you"re also a father. It"s time for you to stop being that boy, for your sake and your son"s. Or else, you might end up making the same mistakes your father made, and continue this cycle of the Wade family curse, where some fathers aren"t able to see eye to eye with their sons."
I looked at my son, really looked at him. He had everything he needed to leave a comfortable life, just as I did. But all the comforts of life could not subst.i.tute for the love of a father and a family. Nanny Florence was right, I needed to do and be better, not just for my sake, but for his. History was already repeating itself with my son loosing his mother at a young age, way younger than me; when I lost mine at eleven.
I can"t let him walk down the same road I did because I was too blind to really see what"s in front of me. I"ll take care of him, love him with all of my strength, but maybe if it"s not too much, I"ll still hold out hope, that truly, there was a part of my father that cared about me. But if there"s not, he can go f.u.c.k himself.
"Let"s get the rest of the meeting over with Old man. Where are the real estate directors?"
"They"re in the lounge. Betty please let in our other guests." Old man Jones answered me, and called to his a.s.sistant.
A few moments later, the a.s.sistant led four people into the room. They were properly dressed, but there was one glaring factor about their presence, all of them were way too young. From what I know, my grandfather commits to his business in a very peculiar way, especially for the people who work directly under him.
My Baba preferred hiring people closer to his age, people with a lot more foresight, patience, wisdom and experience. He felt that young people were always in a hurry and eager to prove themselves, so instead he left the older people as guardians to give the younger employees direction.
I was supposed to be meeting with the continental heads of the real estate company, for all means and purposes this guys should have been at least in their late fifties to early seventies. Why was it that the oldest of the people in front of me was no more than 35.
They all took a seat in front of me, two women, one looked really pale, so I guess she"s from European branch, the s.h.i.+fty looking j.a.panese beauty with an all too flat chest(how unfortunate) has to be from the Asian branch.
The blond hair, blued eyed Adonis in front of me probably came from the north American branch, and then the Hispanic amigo with freaking sun gla.s.ses and gum in his mouth, had to be from the south American branch. Four continents and sixteen countries, my real estate empire, and it looks like they"re not taking me seriously.
I turned to look at Old man Jones and Nanny Florence, they did not look too happy about this either, but they were willing to let me handle everything the way I saw fit. That was good, because unfortunately for this group of people, none of them were my father or some other relative who left me emotionally scarred and damaged as a child. I"m really going to f.u.c.k with them. America decided to go first.
"Mr. Aaron we"re all very saddened about the pa.s.sing of your grandfather Mr. Wade, and if there"s anything we at the New horizons real estate agency could do to smooth and ease your transition of power and the acquisition of your inheritance, please let us know."
The American Adonis knew how to talk that"s for sure. A picture perfect sales boy, no wonder they sent him here. I hate him already, and the main reason being that; he was too handsome. Was I insecure about my looks...…yep, definitely. All that bull c.r.a.p about believing in yourself and the inner you is better than the outer you never worked for me. I wasn"t ugly, heck no and thank G.o.d for that. I just wasn"t handsome enough for this gig, leaving me really average. Though I hear being rich does wonders for your skin and looks(Maybe I should bathe in money). But back on point, Mr American Adonis here seems to be their chosen spokesperson.
They probably thought that I would relate since I"m an American by birth and ancestry, even though I spent most of my adult and some of my childhood years in the country my mom was bred and raised in, no matter where I go, I"m still going to identify as an American. Which makes it a prime factor that they sent someone who could control a conversation and relate to me. Too bad they didn"t get the memo, I absolutely detests pretty boys.
"Where are your bosses?" there"s no need to play ball with them, I"ll just get straight to the point.
"The Directors extend their sincerest apologies, but they"re unable to make it here. They"re expanding the agency to the African continent, and felt that you would understand their absence as they have to be absolutely present for the procedures."
I raised my eyebrows in surprise. Why is that everyone I"ve met today, was trying to play politics and outmaneuver me with smooth words and emotional attachments. Can"t someone be honest for once, maybe I have to really rethink this whole being rich is awesome stuff. Because it"s turning out to be the opposite of what I imagined, not when everyone can look you straight in the eye and lie to you.
"An expansion to the African continent you say?" is asked him, as I leaned back on my chair, crossed my legs and started drumming my finger tips on the table.
"Yes sir. I believe you"ve stayed there before right? Specifically Nigeria, it is one of the countries we hope to expand the business into, it"s a really beautiful place and...."
"Stop." I interrupted him. Keeping my voice level as I stared at him.
"I"ve gone through my grandfather"s work files from the day of his death, which was almost three weeks ago, all the way back to the past two years. Expansions were planned for islands in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, and three Chateau villas in France. There was never anything about expanding the business to the African continent. So since your bosses sent you here, I expect you should be high up the ladder to know what"s going on. So tell me, before I start throwing all four of you out the window. Who the f.u.c.k sanctioned an expansion! Because I know for a fact it wasn"t my grandfather."
Was I too brutal....Nah I don"t think so. They probably thought they were coming here to strong arm and outmaneuver a green horn. A kid who had no idea what he was doing, or was probably still grieved about his grandfather"s death. Why is the world so stupid? Especially when money is involved. Gosh, being rich really was hard.
"I"m sorry sir, but the directors of the continental branches, all have power to make such decisions, and it is not something you can question as it"s an arrangement that"s stood since the time your grandfather founded this company. Your grandfather"s company has made a lot of money and experienced exponential growth due to the proper allocation of duties and careful planning and decision making of the directors. He"s never questioned them before."
And here it is. To be honest I don"t think American Adonis realized he"s slipped up one to many times during his short speech. Especially with the aggressive speech he decided to give me. Well then let"s illuminate his feeble and darkened mind shall we.
"First of all, this is "My Company" as soon as I sign the transition paper today that is."
"But sir! You can"t sign those papers without the directors present, they have to recognize your right of owners.h.i.+p to the company!"
What the h.e.l.l is this guy smoking. I turned to look at old man Jones, who shrugged his shoulders to tell me he had absolutely no idea what this guy was talking about. And right at that moment Ron threw a sugar glazed cookie at Mr American Adonis and yelled out.
"No yelling! Bad manners!"
And then he glared at everyone sitting on the table, including me as a warning before turning back to his feeble attempts to trim old man Jones"s beard. The cookie had a little cream on it, and it was stuck beautifully on his forehead.
Oh! How much I love my son, he"s the most amazing, most extraordinary boy that this world has ever seen. So young yet he"s got daddy"s back. I can almost imagine the sheer amount of face slapping we father and son will carry out as he grows older.
"Listen here ummm, what was your name again?" I asked American Adonis.
"It"s Mike, Mike Adonis."
"Whoa! seriously! your name is really Adonis, what are the odds. Wow!"
Everyone looked at me like I had grown a second head, but it was just going to be my inner mind who understood why I was so surprised. American Adonis was really named Adonis. Weird, I think maybe I"m psychic or something. I should try moving a gla.s.s of water with my mind when I get home.
"Listen to me Mr. American Adonis. Sebastian Amigo, Queen Europe and no Oppai Chan, I"ve looked over the contracts of all four directors. Never in any of the clauses was it stated that they had the deciding power to expand the scope and layout of the business without my grandfather"s express permission or agreement. I understand that my grandfather gave them free reign to carry out such expansions in the past, due to the high amount of trust he placed on them. And yes they"ve delivered and built him an empire. But this empire is mine now, and I"m not going to be so callous as to disregard the people who"ve worked hard and helped build it. But if those idiots disregard me, and refuse to give me the respect and regard I deserve, I"m going to kick their old a.s.ses to the curb, consequences be d.a.m.ned. Go back and tell them there"s a new emperor and he say"s if they"re not on my front door step by 8 o"clock next Tuesday, I"m going to bury them. After all I"m not just heir to a real estate empire, but also to the Imperium industries. If they think I"m bluffing they should try me. Now get out!"
They knew there was nothing left to say, so they all started leaving. But before they left I called out.
"Hey Adonis, when you go back, tell your boss that I said that he should either fire you, or I"ll fire him. But that shouldn"t be too hard Mr. Adonis, the director is your father is he not? Have a nice day."
Adonis looked a lot paler leaving than the vibrant tan he had on when he walked in. Unfortunately he still looked handsome, so handsome angels could sing. Well with that out of the way, there was one last order of business. The signing of the doc.u.ments could wait till after.
"So old Man Jones, you said you had something to tell me."
"Yeah that"s true.........…Kid I can"t be your lawyer anymore."