Training the Orphan

Family Lunch

Life sucked. This was a theory anyone would agree with. Everything would seem nice, and then just like that, life kicked us down a dark hole. This was me. I was the guy in the dark hole. There was no way out.

"So, you're on your final stretch of college. How do you feel to have made it this far?" Papi asked my friend Kevin while he took a sip from his whiskey.

Kevin relaxed in his seat opposite the older man. "It is awesome. I'm getting ready for the big bad world."

Well, that made one of us. Graduating from college was not something I was looking forward to. As the day got nearer, the more freaked out I got. My life was in shambles.

Paps walked out onto the balcony in the middle of Kevin's flashy response. He chuckled and positioned himself a seat from Papi. The two were like an illustration of my life's cycle. Unlike other men, I got the luxury of knowing how I would look when I was at Pap's age—in my fifties—and at Papi's—in my eighties. When people saw the three of us together, they often smiled at Papi saying 'This is how you used to look when you were their ages'. It was sickening. It was hard enough with the family name on my back, but the world expected me to achieve the same things my father and grandfather did at their age intervals.

Not to mention, because I resembled my father and grandfather, people expected me to also acquire their ruthlessness and stern personalities. Most times it was exhausting. Other times, it helped in getting my way.

Papi rested his whiskey glass on the breakfast table between us and leaned back in his cushioned chair. The movement shook his silver hair out of place. "Ah, Charles, do you hear this kid? He's like his old man; always has a sense of humor." The old man smiled, advertising his wrinkles.

Paps nodded at his father's words. Kevin's dad was indeed something else. Despite his wealth, he was an easy-going guy. A smile was always on the man's face. Otherwise, from the man's good looks, that was a quality Kevin inherited. Regardless, Kevin and his old man were not always on the best of terms. Like most fathers, Kevin's fell into the category of dictating his child's life.

Paps turned his attention to Vanessa, my other best friend. "What about you, little missy? Ben tells me you're not going back to France."

Of course, Vanessa's dad would call mine. The two were colleagues in the business world. Once one knew something, the other had to know it.

A cheeky smile stretched Vanessa's red-painted lips. "Yes, Sir, that's correct. I graduated ahead of my class and decided to come back to America. I wanted to finish up the small details in my fashion line before the release in spring."

Once again Paps nodded his approval. He was a sucker for success. Papi was not far behind. If it weren't for their age difference, they both could be considered the same person. I owned a freaking mall at the age of four. The funny part was it was because I showed interest in the toy store there. My father got happy and purchased the entire mall. All for Javian Webster. My first business.

"And," Kevin jumped in with a smirk, "she wanted to finish her line here because I'm her muse."

Vanessa sneered at him. "Oh, you wish."

The couple shared smiles and 'I want you' stares. It took everything in me not to succumb to the urge from kicking Kevin's foot underneath the table. This lovey-dovey stuff was only influencing my family. I was okay with being single, but no one heard me whenever I said this. The main reason was these two. They weren't even in a relationship. I wanted to puke every time they acted like that.

"Awe," Mom sighed dreamily, watching us from the entrance of the balcony. "Young love."

Hence, my point.

Fucking friends!

Nana passed her and strolled towards us, laughing. The sound was soft as usual. Even though she was a grandmother, her laughter was still vibrant and young. A rosy color settled in Vanessa's cheeks. Kevin leaned back with a smirk.

Mom and Nana joined us around the table. I swallowed in the presence of everyone. My palms became clammy and my heart accelerated.

This was it. It was time to face the music. My life was done as I spoke.

My gaze strayed to the stretch over the balcony. The ocean glistened from the kisses of the sunrays. Small blue-green waves ebbed along the shoreline. Miami was one of the places I loved to visit. When I was younger, I used to look forward to visiting my grandparents.

Growing up in Manhattan, New York, I didn't experience beach time. Here at my grandparent's home, I would do it all. I could have done whatever without getting in trouble, knowing Nana was always on my side.

I loved the ocean. It was one of the reasons why I moved to Los Angeles, California three years ago. It took several months to convince my parents the best way for me to be a better businessman was to send me halfway around the continent. It was the greatest thing I had ever done.

Still, visiting Miami with my parents was a tradition. We would spend at least an hour or more as a family. It was either lunch or breakfast. Never once had I felt left out or awkward with my grandparents and parents during these family meetings. I was always involved in their conversations. As I got older, the discussions evolved. It started with toys, then comics, to animes, to girls, to cars, to business strategies, and now my worst nightmare.

Now, every time my family called a meeting, anxiety, and nervousness consumed me. The last time, I had a panic attack on the jet. A f*****g panic attack.

Me, Javian Webster, heir to the Webster Corp was a walking time bomb. These days, one of my feet was in the door of a psychiatric hospital. Things should have never got this way. I was loaded. Webster Corp was one of the top ten engineering companies in the world. Therefore, I should have been having the time of my life. Paps was retiring and I was going to take over after graduation. Life should be sweet.

How come it was not? When did my life get so f****d up?

I had it all. Private jets, beaches, owner of an island, condos, unlimited access to hot chicks, private schools, the center of everyone's attention, and all those other good rich kid kinds of stuff. Anyone would have assumed my life would still be awesome. Yep, I said it. I said, still would be.

Up until a few months ago, everything was great. It all started when Paps decided to retire to tour the world with Mom. I was happy for them. Until both my parents and grandparents decided it was more convenient for me to get married by my college graduation.

This was funny. f*****g hilarious! I would laugh, but all my happiness was sucked dry with this preposterous plan.

All this was because my father and grandfather wanted the company to be in good hands. My hands were not big enough. My mother and grandmother wanted to ensure I got the best wife. My judgment of females wasn't something they were impressed with.

I made one mistake in saying I didn't want to get married, and now my parents were picking out wives like clothes in a f*****g store.

Now, everything was difficult. Once I inherited the company, my wife would inherit the marital shares on the board. This was a tradition that now came with strings. Instead of becoming the CEO before I got married, I had to be married before getting the company. I couldn't let some asshole take what was mine. Plus, Mom decided she also wanted to give my wife half her shares in her art galleries.

This transition was a huge step for both my parents. I couldn't f**k it up. So, I was stuck in this God-forsaken dark hole with no way out.

I mean, I didn't—still don't—have a problem with taking over Webster Corp. It was my birthright. I was training to take over ever since I had the sense to learn. The majority of my summers were spent in board meetings and doing internships at the bottom, so I could climb to the top. But, the wife part was too nerve-wracking.

Sure, my family was the best, but there were marriages out there where no one was happy. I didn't want to fall into that category. Besides, my grandparents wouldn't approve of divorce. Therefore, we would be stuck in a marriage none of us wanted to be in.

Back in high school, Vanessa and her crazy friends used to love watching these movies centered around wealth. In most of them, the rich folks didn't care much about love. They dwelled on having trophy wives and great kids. Once they had this, to them, all was well with the world. My family wasn't like that. My grandmother, Nana, was love-obsessed. I, on the other hand, no longer cared for such a trivial thing as love, but…

Oh, there was a big but.

But, I didn't want to spend the rest of my life with a chick, who acted like she had a stick up her ass. I wasn't used to that stuff. That was where I would put my foot down in all this arrangement. Well, at least, I did in all the fantasies in my head. These fantasies were all I saw even in the daytime. However, in reality, I was a coward. Saying no to my family was like suffocating in cement.

My life was indeed over.