Three days later at Mr. Dante’s company
Mr. Dante is sitting behind his desk and has all of his attention on the desktop as his hands get busy on the keyboard. He’s smart, hardworking, and dedicated to his work for a sixty-five years old man. He has been in the business for years and turns out that it has always been his first priority.
The door suddenly bursts open and Max barges into the office, looking angry with a deep frown on his face.
“What is the problem this time, Max?” Mr. Dante asks sarcastically, not raising an eyebrow to check out who just barged into his office. Of course, he was expecting him to be here after he got the news, so he’s not surprised that he came to his office so suddenly.
“What is the meaning of that, dad? Why did you restrict the account of the Villa? I need to work on a project there, and you know it. Why are you doing this? You tricked me into this. Why the hell do you never tell me that you didn’t sign the contract for all the properties?” He snaps at Mr. Dante angrily as he slams his hands on the desk. He has been trying to be patient all these while, he has respected this man so much and always regarded him, but it doesn’t seem like he ever cared about his happiness.
“Max!”
“Just snap out of that already, dad. I have tried so hard to tolerate you, but you keep pushing me beyond the limit. What exactly do you want from me? You want to frustrate me always, isn’t it?” He scoffs angrily, trying so hard not to let his anger consume him. Maybe this wouldn’t have been the case if he were to be someone else, the only reason why he’s still keeping cool is the fact that he’s his dad, and nothing else.
“I didn’t trick you, Max. You were not just patient enough to read everything in the contract before you signed it…”
“Hell no! I read everything, and I saw clearly that you transferred all the properties. We both know the truth about this, and your conscience should judge you if you’re saying the truth now or not. You know that I won’t be so daft to sign a contract without reading it word to word,” He cuts Mr. Dante off, and the man sighs in frustration.
“What do you want me to do now? You weren’t expecting me to transfer everything to you just because your wife got pregnant, right? After your wife gives birth, I’ll give you everything, that’s a promise…”
“Screw that, dad! Hell no! Do you think I’m a kid? I am a grown man and not a kid that you can always console with a packet of biscuits and deceive later on. You can’t keep playing me like this and expect me to agree to it. Who does that?” He snaps again, while Mr. Dante just stares at him as if he’s acting a drama.
“We’re talking about a whole empire, Max. The future of the Dante’s lies in the empire, and you think that I’ll be so stupid to hand everything to you, just because you fucking want to? The empire needs to be handled by a family man that has a kid or more, how…”
“And when has having kids gotten anything to do with managing a company?” He cuts him off.
“And how do you expect to be able to handle a whole empire, if you don’t learn from your family, how to be nice and treat them right? The family has everything to do with this. One learns wisdom and knowledge from the family before going outside. It’s what you learn from your family that will eventually reflect in your working place as time goes by,” Mr. Dante explains to him calmly, while he just scoffs unbelievably. To think that his dad just found another way to make his excuse count, he can’t help the sadness that clouds his mind.
“Max… I’m doing this for the good of everyone. For the sake of you, me, and the whole of Dante’s empire. I don’t want you to…”
“It’s fine… It’s fine. I’ll wait patiently and halt the project for now, until Alicia gives birth,” He finally reasons with Mr. Dante, although he’s not happy deep inside him.
“I’m glad you understand. Do you mind grabbing wine with me later? I’m inviting Alex over too. We can all have family time together, you know?” Mr. Dante suggests, and he rolls his eyes. He would’ve tried to make it no matter how busy he is, but he can’t stand being with Alex in the same place for minutes. Although they’re siblings born of the same parents, he finds him annoying as he always finds a way to get on his nerves. Of course, he loves Alex so much and would do anything to make him happy, but there’s this spirit in him that doesn’t welcome him around, because of how annoying he can be.
“I’ll be busy,” He replies to him casually.
“Come on, I know you’re not. Alex will be in his best behavior, I promise,” Mr. Dante tries to convince him, and he sighs briefly.
“Alright, I’ll try. When is it going to be?” He asks.
“Tonight won’t be a bad idea. I also have something to discuss with you two about the company. So you must be present here,” Mr. Dante further says, and he nods his head.
“Alright. I’ll be there then. I’ll be on my way now,” He says to him before he finally turns around and strides out of his office, closing the door behind him.
Mr. Dante picks up his phone and scrolls through it before he dials Alex’s number. The call rings for a few seconds before he finally answers the call.
“I’m busy, dad. What’s it?” His voice sounds from the other end, and Mr. Dante sighs briefly.
“You should be present at my house tonight. I have something to discuss with you,” Mr. Dante says on the phone.
“I’m not sure if I’ll make it there. I may be having to go on a date with someone tonight. If I can’t make it, you’ll have to reschedule it, and if I’m free, I’ll come over…”
“Don’t get me pissed, Alex. If you don’t show up…”
“Bye, dad. I’ll call you later,” The call suddenly drops dead before Mr. Dante can finish his statement, and he sighs briefly. He’s used to that little brat being annoying all the time, and he didn’t fail to put up the attitude again. This is crazy…