Chapter Four : Back to Reality
1706 Words
ROD’S POV
The hotel door clicked shut and the room went silent the moment she left. She was incredible. I laid back and remembered my mouth between her legs, her screams and her body jerking. She sounded tough on the outside but whimpered like a lost dog when I touched her. Coming to Maxix was a good idea.
A knock sounded on my door.
I sprung up, hoping it was her but it was Velazi. He was dressed up already and his eyes shone.
"Good morning, sir. We have to start going. Your grandfather won't stop calling."
"The old man should rest," I hissed, opened the door so Velazi could come in and sit. I watched him scan the room quickly and his eyes rested on the unmade bed.
"I'll have a quick bathe."
In the bathroom, my mind went back to Ana in her sexy little red gown, her curly blonde hair and smooth skin. I should have done more things to her, I thought and licked my lips at the thought of it.
When I gathered my wrist watch and wallet, my eyes noticed a clutch that laid on the dressing table. I examined it immediately. It belonged to Ana. She forgot it when she tried to get away from me.
"Sir?" Velazi called me again. "The car is ready."
"I'll be out in five minutes."
The drive to the estate was a blur of grey. I had showered yet I still smelt her very soft perfume on my skin. When the car pulled into the long driveway, I glanced around, the familiar patterns where I grew up coming into light.
As soon as I stepped into the foyer, the air turned to ice. Elena, my stepmother, let out a sharp, sobbing breath. She looked nothing like what I remember; she was older, sobber and frail. My grandfather was standing by the mahogany stairs, his knuckles white as he leaned his entire weight on his silver-headed cane.
"Rod! Thank God!" Elena rushed toward me, her eyes red and swollen. She grabbed my shoulders, her hands shaking so hard I could feel it through my jacket. "Where have you been? We’ve been frantic! We almost called the police and the hospitals... after what happened to Mark, we thought they had taken you, too! We thought something had happened!"
"I’m fine, Elena. I just got delayed," I said, peeling her hands off me, my voice was flat. I couldn't match her energy. I felt too tired to care about her tears. And, I still remember her ripping my family apart.
"Delayed?" Grandfather asked. He didn't move. He just stared at me with eyes that were cold and dead. He turned his gaze toward the door where Velazi was standing. "Velazi! I pay you a fortune to keep your eyes on him! Told you to bring home home immediately!"
"I'm sorry, sir," Velazi stammered, his head bowed. "He... he ordered me to stay back. He was very insistent."
"I think we'll relieve you of your job," Elena said to Velazi. "You take orders from us and not him."
"Hmm," I muttered. "I stayed in a hotel so what? Does it matter."
"It does!" Elena screamed. "We were worried and you both did not pick your calls. What if something happened?"
Grandfather looked back at me, his lip curling in pure disgust. "Look at you. You look like you’ve been rolled in a gutter. Do you have any idea how many board members have been sitting in that room for the past two hours? Do you even care about the family's legacy?"
"I'll change," I said, moving toward the stairs, my face burning with a mix of shame and anger. They did not always have to sound like that.
"You'll do more than change," he snapped.
I stared at the reflection in the mirror, seeing how similar I looked to Mark. The suit was Mark’s size, a little too tight in the shoulders and stiff in the neck. I adjusted the silk tie in the mirror, I felt sober. Could I really do this?
I walked into the boardroom five steps behind my grandfather. Twelve directors sat around the massive table, their faces looking like they wanted to kill me. They didn't look worried about the company; they looked insulted that I was the one walking through the door. As I sat in the heavy leather chair at the head of the table, the silence was suffocating.
"Is this a joke?" a grey- bearded man asked. He didn't even look at me; he looked at my grandfather as if I wasn't even in the room. "We have a hostile takeover looming, our stock is plummeting, and you bring us the son who spends his life running away from anything that looks like work?"
"He is the next in line," Grandfather said, but he wouldn't even turn his head to look at me.
"Line of what? The nearest nightclub?" a woman named Janet mocked. She leaned forward, her eyes pinning me to the chair. "Rod, let’s be real. Tell us. What is our projected liquidity for the next quarter if the Galloway merger fails? Give us a number."
I opened my mouth, but my throat felt like it was full of sand. I hadn't looked at a report in years. and I'd spent the last twenty-four hours in a hotel room, lost in a woman who had vanished the moment morning came. I didn't have a single answer. "I... I'd have to review the latest filings," I muttered, my voice cracking.
The grey- bearded man let out a harsh, dry laugh. "He doesn't know. He probably doesn't even know what our primary export is."
"The shareholders are already panicking," another man added, slamming a folder onto the table. "We need a real leader. Someone like Miller. He’s been the VP of Operations for a decade. Why are we letting this boy play-act at leadership at this point?"
"He's right," Janet said, shaking her head in pity. "This is a waste of time. Look at him. He can’t even answer a basic question without stuttering."
I sat there, my face hot, my heart hammering against my ribs. I wanted to snap back, to tell them I wasn't my brother but words refused to form. No facts, no figures, no plan. I just sat there while they tore me apart, feeling the weight of my grandfather’s silent shame beside me. He didn’t defend me once. He just stared at the table and looking disappointed.
"We need to discuss an interim CEO from within the management tiers," It was the grey- bearded. He stood up and gathered his papers. "This meeting is over. We aren't getting anywhere with him in the chair."
The directors filed out, whispering to each other, casting looks of pity and disgust my way. Grandfather stood up without saying a single word to me. He walked out with Miller, leaned heavily on his cane while they talked about "stabilizing the damage."
I stayed in the chair for a long time feeling the cold air of the AC in the empty room. Then, I remembered Ana again.
I walked out to the elevators, my legs feeling heavy. Velazi was waiting by the car in the dim light of the parking garage. His eyes looked bright and eager.
"Sir? Back to the estate?" Velazi asked as he held the door open.
"No," I said, my voice cold and sharper than it had been all day. I pulled Ana's purse out of my bag and gripped it tight. "Take me to the agency. I need to find the manager. Now."
I walked straight to the front door as directed by someone. The agency was on the fourth floor of a seven story building. The man who had linked me up with Ana smiled immediately I came in.
"I need to see Ana," I said. I placed her clutch on counter. "She left this in my room."
Leo looked at the bag and then at me. "Ah, Mr. Rod. I'm sorry. Ana isn't available today. She left to take care of a sick cousin."
The blood rushed to my face. I didn't believe him.
"I don't care about her cousin," I muttered, leaning over the desk. "Call her. Tell her to come back to the hotel."
"Sir, she is off the clock. It’s against our policy to..."
"I’ll double her rate," I interrupted.
Leo paused. His eyes flickered. "Mr. Rod, it’s not just about the money. She was very tired when she checked out."
"Triple it," I said, my voice growing louder. I pulled my wallet out and threw a stack of bills onto the counter. "Actually, name a price. Whatever the agency takes, I’ll pay four times that amount. Just get her in a car and get her to me now."
Leo looked at the money, then back at the door. He picked up the phone and dialed a number.
"Let me see what I can do," he whispered.
- Writer
