Chapter 34“Oh look. It's the golden cow himself ”, Isla said, as she walked over to her seat, standing for a while so the servant behind her would take off her coat.She took her seat, unfolding the cutlery napkin.“Now that he's here, can we please get this freaking brunch over with? “Isla!”, Her father cautioned in a strict and sharp manner.“Oh apologies. I forgot. The rest of us do not have places to be”, Isla said, sarcasm evident in her tone.Leonard rubbed the base of his nose. It was evident that the animosity between them was still very strong.“Adrian, please tell Christopher to prepare the kitchen staff to bring in the food”“Yes sir”Adrian had barely reached the door when Richard came out from the other door, his phone to his ears. He ended the call as he got close enough and his movement towards them slowed.There was an uncanny silence as he came to the dining table.“Richard”, Leonard said with a slight head bow.“Leonard”, Richard replied coldly, drawing out his cha
Chapter 35Ethan turned, a nonchalant look on his face.“Oh look, I've caught a little thief”, he mimicked. “What the fuck are you even doing here?!”“What am I doing here? Smart question but wrong person. I should be asking you Dumbo”, Audrey said, hands folded.“What the hell does it look like I'm doing?”“Stealing, Ethan. You are stealing”“Shut the hell up. You don't know anything and you didn't see anything.”“Oh really? Just wait till I tell Dad”, Audrey said, turning for the door.“You freaking *****, don't you…”But she was already out before he got to the door. He stayed there, waiting for some guards to pass before he came out. By the time he did, Audrey had already found her way to the courtyard.“Oh look she's here”, Madeline said, thanking God that the girl had showed up.“Audrey”, Her grandfather called as soon as she stepped under the caravan.“Grandfather”, she answered, walking over to him so he could pat her just the way he always did.“How are you?”“Very well Gra
Chapter 36The scanner ran through Adrian's facials. In minutes the door slid open and Adrian walked in, his briefcase following behind him in the hands of his personal bodyguard.Shilla, he could see that he was headed for his office. Tapping on the controls on the table, the doors slid open again.“Good morning sir”, she greeted as she walked in, placing a bunch of files on the adjacent desk.“Morning Shilla. How are you?”“Very fine sir”, she said, shifting her glasses.She stood in front of his desk, waiting for him to respond. Adrian raised his head from the computer screen wondering why she was still there.“Sir… there is a meeting scheduled for 9.00 which is approximately thirty minutes away. The management which is your father wants a board meeting with you telling him why you cut off business relations with the Hamiltons”Adrian paused for a second, his mind completely blank. “That’s … great. Where's the report on contract loopholes?”“I have it here sir”, Shilla said, holdi
Chapter 37Chapter 37“Ok, what just happened?”, Shilla said, her expression coated in shock. Adrian smiled, walking toward his office with shocked Shilla tagging behind. “We nailed it, that’s what happened”The automatic doors slid open and they walked in. “I mean..”, Shilla said, trying to find the words. “Honestly Boss, I didn't think we were going to be able to convince them, especially with the fact that we didn’t even have management permission on the decisions we took. It was risky in that meeting; I was literally shaking”Adrian laughed. “Why?”“Why? I could have been fired Boss. Maybe not you but I’d have definitely either gotten fired or demoted.”“Why? I mean, I asked you to do it. You were just following my instructions.”“Yeah well, company rules say otherwise. You can’t forget that you are a Grayson, Boss. Some laws here are so over you. For a regular staff like me, I am obliged to do only what is in the company's favor and interest. If it initiates a rise for concern
Chapter 38“Slow down for what exactly, Rosa? For what?!”“I just … I … I'm not … I'm not in the mood”“You are not…”, Mason started, finding himself completely dumbfounded.“Rosa, you've not touched me or even looked my way in weeks!! What do you mean you are not in the mood?”“I just don't want to….”“You just don't want to do what…”“Stop shouting Mason!”, Rosa finally let out, raising her voice above his. “You just promised. God!”,she said in an exasperated voice. “Okay, okay… I'm… I'm sorry. Ok? I'm… I'm”“You are not sorry Mason. You are not”“I am Rosa. I really am”, He said, his eyes pleading with her. She turned her face away from him but he drew her into his arms“Look. Look at me Rosa. I am sorry. I'm just … I'm just a bit overwhelmed by how the company's going and… I just need … I just need you.”She didn't respond, her eyes looking down as she avoided his eye contact. “Look, I miss you Rosa and I know you do too. So, just let me…”, he said, placing his hands on her sho
Chapter 39Mason drove recklessly into the compound, almost hitting his wife's car. He didn't even bother to get into the garage. He parked the car at the bottom of the stairs and took his keys out.“Hey baby”, Rosa said, as soon as she saw him walk in. Mason didn't respond, walking up the stairs like he hadn't seen or heard her.He slammed the door behind him so loud, Rosa could have sworn the door broke.But it hadn't. And she knew because she was upstairs, knocking on the door.She tried turning the handle again and this time the door opened. “Babe…”, she said, her head first into the room before the rest of her body.“Babe, is everything okay?”Still no response. He paid no attention to her presence, obviously in search of something. She closed the door silently.“Are you okay? Is there a problem?”“Oh, there's a problem all right.”“What's the matter?”“Look at this. Just take a look at it”, he said, shoving his copy of the memo into her hands.She read the contents of the paper
Chapter 40Adrian wanted to go over and talk to Audrey but he was too tired to. He'd done some extensive research at the office today and all he wanted was to prepare for the business meeting he had the next day - by sleeping.He let the water in the bathtub run, taking the glass of brandy with him. His chest hair had grown a bit over time and so had his upper abdomen.He really had to hit the gym. It wasn't that bad but Adrian knew that if he neglected like he had done for the past two weeks then he'd be looking older than his father in a short while.The towel let down slowly to the ground. Adrian stepped into the bathtub, his body submerged in the foamy bath water. The brandy was a little bit over the half of the glass and Adrian set it to stand in the in the empty metal basket just above him. He sunk in a little, letting his head rest on the designated headrest of the bathtub. He mediated calmly, letting his mind reel over the events of the day. Nothing much had happened apart fr
Chapter 41“Good day Mr. Oratio. How are you doing today?”“Mr…”“Adrian Grayson”, Adrian said, beaming as he shook Mr. Oratio's hand.“Adrian Grayson… of Grayson Incorp right?“Yes sir”“Welcome, you are welcome”“Thank you sir”Mr. Oratio glanced to his guards. “Well, let's get to my office shall we?”His guards tagged along, closely behind Adrian. “How's your father, Mr. Jackson right?Adrian smiled. “Mr. Leonard sir. Mr. Jackson is my grandfather”“Oh your grandfather? Interesting. So you are his grandchild, running the company now?”“My father actually runs the company, but yes, I am head of contract management and partnerships”“Fantastic. Simply. Quite a strong and vibrant old man you have there, I must say”“I agree sir. Thank you sir”The guards at the door, held it for both of them and Adrian tried not to be ahead of Mr. Oratio even with his extremely slow walking.Damn was the office large! The space was extremely collosal. It was like a mini conference hall renovated into