LAKE
“Boss, is that your COO, Mr. Rusher Radcliff?” Owen asked me.
“What was he doing here?” I watched my friend walk towards the parking lot of Winston Tower. I decided to come early for the board meeting, but I did not expect to see him earlier than me at Winston’s.
I decided not to jump to conclusions. I trusted Rusher. We’d known each other for years. I didn’t think for a second he would betray me. He could have resigned if he had decided to work at Winston Holdings. I would not hold grudges on that unless my father offered him a job he couldn’t decline.
“Keep this between us,” I told Owen.
“Of course, boss.”
The meeting started after thirty minutes. My father wanted to expand the business further in Asia even though Winston Holdings had already invested in South Korea, Singapore, and Macao. That was a good proposal, though. If I had been the CEO for twenty-five years, I would have done it a long time ago.
“What do you say, Lake?” one of the boards asked, and my father looked at me.
“I agree with that. I would also target selected countries in the Middle East.”
I thought the ideas lit my father’s eyes for a second, but I wouldn’t be so sure to glorify them. Maybe he would add them to his next proposal or just be Wallace, who didn’t accept opinions from others.
He went on to discuss the proposal further. I knew why the revenue had declined because of the inflation, even if not drastically. We still gained profit, but the last ten years were better, and he knew how the board would react to the latest reports.
After the meeting, my father cornered me again. I had yet to learn what he wanted to talk about this time.
“I heard what happened in the restaurant.”
I chuckled. “Are you sleeping with her?” I heard some rumors that he and Lydia had broken up.
He reared back and clearly did not expect my question. Did I just catch him off guard?
“Jesus Christ. Did her father know? Do you know how old is she? Wow, Dad. It’s getting young and younger.”
“Jesus-”
“Don’t ever try lying to me.” I gritted my teeth. “I know you. What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“Watch your tone.” He pointed at my face.
We stared in rare silence, and my anger was brewing.
I was beyond disappointed. I didn’t care about Aurelia working for him, but fucking my ex? That was disgusting.
“Do you know how old she was when she was my girlfriend?” I shook my head, scoffing. “Never mind. And don’t ever tell me to apologize. She belittled the waiter and just threw a tantrum when it was her fault. Now that you two are screwing, maybe you can teach her a lesson to stop bullying my wife.”
My head snapped left. My teeth were tattered, and I thought I saw stars. The pain came later on when I realized what just happened. My father punched me in the face.
I rubbed the spot where he punched me before meeting his angry stare. “This is the last time you raised a hand on me. I won’t punch you back or sue you, but if your girlfriend comes to my wife again, I will sue her ass.” I walked away from him and slammed the door behind me.
He was out of his mind. He was losing his shit.
I drew a deep breath before I went to the elevator, and then Owen joined me.
“What happened to your face?”
“My father punched me.”
“What the- I should-”
“Stop it. I could knock him out easily, but I chose not to. I’m a better man than him.”
He kept staring at me until it became uncomfortable.
“Did you develop feelings for me, OB? Am I that beautiful?”
He snorted. “You were never tempted to punch him back? Really?”
“No. Why?” I eyed him.
We walked out of the tower where Homer was waiting outside the car.
“His father punched him, and he did not punch him back. Something is wrong with our boss,” he said humorously.
“Shut up.” I climbed into the car.
Homer went to the passenger seat and kept staring at me, agreeing with Owen. “Yeah. Maybe his father hit his brain stronger.”
“What the fuck is wrong with both of you?” I glared at both of them and grabbed the cold water Homer gave me. I pressed it to my right cheek, making me hiss.
“That’s called maturity, boss,” Homer said.
“What the fuck? You mean I’d been immature for the past years?”
Homer just shrugged and said, “Seatbelt, boss.”
“Fuck you.” I put it on while Owen was laughing in silence. “Take me to work.”
I went to the cafeteria as soon as we arrived. Owen and Homer were following me.
“I’m glad we’re working on one building now,” Owen said. “It saves us fuel and time.”
“Really? How is it my problem?”
He ignored my question. Instead, he tipped his chin towards the corner of the cafeteria where my wife was chatting with her co-workers. “She’s happy. Don’t take it away from her.”
“I’m not selfish, OB.” I just took a step when he grabbed my elbow. “What the-”
“You said it yourself. You’re not selfish. Go to work. Come back later.”
“Fine,” I grunted.
I let Owen in at the office. “Have you heard any news that Greg Mitchell filed for bankruptcy?”
“You shouldn’t ask me that.”
“Right.” I dialed Ben’s office. “Can you tell my wife to come to my office?”
“Of course, Mr. Winston.”
Owen shook his head in amusement. “I should go. Call me if you get another punch.”
A few minutes later, the door swung open. Her eyes widened as she ran straight at me.
“Oh, my God! Are you okay? What happened?” She fondled the red cheek.
“Dad punched me.”
She gasped, her face reddening, but kissed the spot. “Why?”
“I was surprised when he told me what happened at the restaurant. I mean, why would my father talk to me about it? Then I-”
“Holy shit!” She covered her mouth quickly and held her laugh. Her green eyes grew even bigger as they danced in humor. “No way!”
“He neither deny it.” I joined her in laughing.
“Look what we’re doing? Gossiping instead of working. You’re a bad influence, boss.”
The way she laughed made me smile. Maybe Owen and Homer were right. I had matured since I met my wife.
“Like, how old is Aurelia? Wait.” She held her hand up as she tried to suppress her laugh. “Just to get the context right. Is it really what I think it is? They’re sleeping together?” she whispered the last part.
“Why are you whispering? It’s just the two of us in my office.”
“I know. So they’re sleeping together. What about Lydia?”
“The fuck I care, baby.”
She blew a breath, still in shock.
“You know what I think, baby.”
“Yeah. What?”
“If he was the one who made this arrangement-”
“No, no, no. Don’t say that.” She came to me to cover my mouth. “Please?”
I pulled her hand off and kissed her palm. “I know, baby. I know you’re mine, but he might also-”
“I hate you.” She rolled her eyes at me.
“Do you? Really?” I pretended to be angry and upset.
She wrinkled her nose. “Maybe he’s good in bed. I mean, aside from his fat bank account, and judging by the size of your dick, maybe he has-”
I instantly covered her mouth with my hand and glared at her. “What the fuck did you just say?”
She was saying something muffled that I couldn’t understand.
“I can’t hear you?” I wasn’t hurt or pissed off. I knew she was messing with me. “Louder, please?”
When she failed to pull my hand from her mouth, she hit me on my crouch instead. It didn’t hurt, but it surprised me.
Out of shock, I took my hand off her mouth. “What the hell, baby?”
She stood up, smiling at her victory. “I should go back to work before my big boss will fire me.”
“I will fire everyone but you, baby. You know that.”
“You should put some ice on your face.” She walked to the door. “Oh, I’m going to the Bazz with my friends later tonight. You’re welcome to tag along.”
“Maybe I’ll drop by later.”
“Of course.” She smiled. “Mrs. Jones called me. She said, thank you for the generous donations.”
“Glad we could help.” I smiled back.
“See you later, babe.”