Diary of a Poor Billionaire

CHAPTER 6: I Met My Father

-Erick's POV-

Tina led me inside, feeling anxious. It's been only three hours since I had been informed of my true identity. And now, I had to meet Michael Moore all of the sudden. I never thought that the man I could only see in billboards and television was actually the one who wanted to see me.

A pristine wall with a 50-inch flat screen TV perched on it was the first thing I saw when I entered the room. The interior décor was speaking of radiance, with a contemporary look and soft hues. There were also fresh floral arrangements on every corner. What had caught my attention was the combination of the rich shade of terracotta and chocolate that had accented the palate of pale gold and taupe.

We walked past two walls until we reached the lounge area. This time I couldn't get my gaze off the floor-to-ceiling windows where the Elliot Bay and the Olympic Mountains were fully visible. The sight was exhilarating!

"Mister Moore, you wished to see Young Master Erick, so I brought him here," said Tina, her voice was full of respect. Upon hearing Tina's voice, I averted my gaze from the windows and looked at the man Tina was talking to.

"Yes, yes. Thank you Ms. Tina. Your timing is perfect; I was about to call Albert to fetch him," said the man delightedly and turned to me.

"Is this him?" he added and his expression became gentle. "It's been twenty years and I finally see you, son. No doubt it's you I've wanted to see; you are the exact replica of Melinda. I hope you'll forgive me for the twenty years of being not on your side."

"Uhm, hi d-dad. H-how are you?" I said sheepishly. Oh God! It's pretty awkward.

"I'm great. Lowie was not wrong about you, son," he said. "Can... can I hug you?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Thank you. You have no idea how excited I am to finally see you," dad said while hugging me tightly. I hugged him back hesitantly. "How's your mother, by the way? Lowie couldn't get any news about her after she brought you to your aunt."

"She's doing fine. She's currently living with my uncle in the countryside."

"Great. It's just a matter of time before I can finally see her."

My dad urged us to sit down and we continued our conversation. Somehow, the awkwardness lessened the longer we talked. Now, it felt as though we've been together for a few years. It still seemed strange, though, that I could see this side of him. I thought back then that love was not part of the legendary Michael Moore's priority and that he had no interest in romantic relationship. It turned out he was waiting for this moment to come and meet his loved ones.

Some time later, Tina interrupted our conversation, for which I was grateful. Even though Michael Moore was my dad, it still couldn't stop me from feeling intimidated because of his prominence and power.

"I have no plan to interrupt you Mr. Moore, but I just wanted to remind you about our today's business with Erick. I hope you haven't forgotten about that," said Tina and my dad sighed.

"Oh yes, thanks for reminding me, replied my dad. He picked a card from his wallet and gave it to me."

Confused, I asked, "What's this for, dad?"

"It's for you, son. That Mastercard contains 10 billion dollars and it was already connected to your bank account," he said.

"What?! It's too much," I exclaimed.

"You'll get used to it, Erick. Besides, the reason why I wanted to see you is to inform you that I'll pass all my businesses here in Seattle temporarily to you while I'm away. It's time for you to learn our business so that you'll have a firm ground when you finally take over our businesses."

"I don't know if I can handle it, dad. The projects are too big for me," I said, disheartened. "What if I fail?"

"What if you don't fail? Come on, I know you can do it. Ms. Tina will guide you always. Besides, even if you fail, the loss would just be insignificant," he replied reassuringly.

"Wouldn't it be great if you experience failure? Only then can you learn something. Remember son, I don't expect you to succeed, I expect you to learn something from it," he added smilingly.

I sighed, not knowing whether to cry or smile. Everything were just too sudden.

"Okay dad. I'll do everything I can. By the way, may I know why are you leaving soon?"

"It's not something you have to bother now. I just have something to settle in New York and I'll tell you about it when the right time will come," he said, his expression suddenly became solemn.

"Are they on the move again, Mr. Moore?" Tina, who was silent the whole time, said suddenly.

"Not now, Ms. Tina. I don't want to spoil this day, especially now that I finally see my son," said my dad with a sigh.

Tina nodded and didn't pursue the matter further. She seemed to have conflicted emotions as he looked at my dad. From the looks of it, I knew there's something going on about dad's business in New York but he had already told me not to bother the matter, so I couldn't ask him about it. Even so, Tina's reaction frightened me.

But what help could I offer, right? I was still new to this kind of world and I was still in the process of learning all of it. I wished the problem was something less serious.

We spent another hour of casual conversation while enjoying the scenic view of Elliot Bay and sipping a cup of chamomile tea. Tina, who was rather serious and composed all the time, was surprisingly joining us and even cracked some jokes.

But the fun didn't last forever. My dad excused himself because he had some business meetings to attend. Tina left with him and they told me to spend the rest of the day here in Four Seasons. I couldn't turn down the offer since Tina couldn't drive me back to the apartment. Besides, it was a perfect time for me to have some personal space.

Sigh.

I roamed around the suite and observed every detail of it. I saw paintings on the walls; I even recognized the paintings of Morris Graves and Dennis Evans. Tina told me earlier that these paintings were actually displayed in the presidential suite and it was moved from tenth floor to 22nd floor when my father bought this hotel and made some renovations. In fact, this suite I was in was exactly the same as the presidential suite below, only this suite is a permanent residential space for my father.

I was currently enjoying watching a movie near the built-in fireplace while eating cake I found in the fridge when my phone rang.

I looked at the caller and it was Kevin.

"Hullo Kevin, what's up?"

"Where have you been? I've been waiting for you for hours," he said.

"I'm at my father's place and I'll stay here until tomorrow morning. Why?"

"Remember, our dormmates arrived today. They wanted to see you too, but you're out of reach."

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Sorry about that."

"Alright. Anyways, one of them invited us to a birthday dinner. Will you come?"

I did not answer him immediately. The truth was, attending a party or any other forms of socialization was not my forte. Back then, I only attended parties because Irah forced me to.

Another thing was that I needed some more space. I had a hard time digesting all that happened to me these past days, especially when I knew that Michael Moore was my father. And the scenic view of Elliot Bay was of great help.

"I'm not sure." I replied nonchalantly after the long pause. I could hear him sighed disappointedly.

"Look, I already knew about you and Irah, and I felt bad about it. Remember, 'it does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live'."

"Woah, I didn't know you're into philosophy."

"i***t. I read it from Harry Potter books. But that's not the main point here. I'm telling you, you need some cheering up. Come on, it would be our first bonding as friends."

"Nice gesture though, but I am really fine."

"Oh come on, why are you so stubborn? I'm starting to think you're avoiding me because I'm related to Irah."

"Argh. It's not like that. I–"

"But that's not what I see. Sigh. Alright, if... if you don't want to see me, it's okay. I-I'm sorry if I bothered you. How stupid I am to force you when we just met yesterday. I always hoped we could be good friends. But I guess I really don't know you yet," he said, disheartened.

As he said that, I felt guilty. He offered to cheer me up but all I did was to turn him down. I already owed him a favor for helping me yesterday. How can I be so ungrateful? He's doing this for my own good.

"Maybe, I should hang up the call now. Enjoy your day," he added.

"Wait. Alright, I'll be there tomorrow," I replied headlong.

"You sure? Yesss. I knew you'll give in bro."

At the same time, I could hear another voice on the other line, "Yuck dude, that's the corniest acting I've ever seen. Haha."

What the–?! He's just making a drama earlier?

"Shut up, it's all your fault a**hole. It's you who should ask him. I didn't know he's so stubborn," said Kevin grumpily.

"Why me? You should blame my cousin. She's eager to meet Erick when you told her about him, duh," replied the one teasing Kevin. "So basically it's your fault all along."

A burst of laughter erupted from the other line.

"Ahem, so you're making a drama earlier to convince me because someone wanted to meet me?"

"Don't mention that thing again," said Kevin threateningly. "Yeah. It's her birthday tomorrow. And it was Nathan's fault for bringing her cousin with us earlier."

I laughed hard, imagining Kevin extremely pissed off at this moment. "Serves you right. Why making a drama when you can just tell me straight away about it?"

"Argh, at least I've convinced you. Besides, I doubt you'll agree if I just told you about it straight away."

"Okay. Anyway, I'll hang up now. See you tomorrow," I said.

"Okay bye. See ya."

After that call, nothing eventful followed. I just indulged myself in watching movies the whole afternoon. Then Tina and my father arrived for dinner and we had a short chitchat before we went to sleep. Tina didn't stay for the night but I reminded her to fetch me tomorrow before she left.

What a long day! I didn't do anything yet I felt exhausted.

~~~~~~~~~~

When I woke up the next morning, I couldn't see my dad. He must've left already.

I went straight to the dining area and was about to go to the fridge when I saw Tina already in the dining table and our breakfast was already laid on it.

"Miss Tina, you're so early," I said. "You prepared all these foods?

"Yes, Young Master. You should know that I also have some skills in cooking," said Tina smilingly. "If you want, I'll cook anything you ask me to."

"Aww, thank you Miss Tina."

We ate our breakfast silently and it was surprisingly good. I caught Tina observing me, which made me raise my eyebrow because she seemed to have something to ask.

"N-nothing. Is it good, Young Master?" asked Tina, looking anxious.

I chuckled and replied, "Yes Miss Tina, I'll definitely ask for it next time."

She blushed, which made her looked cuter and younger.

"Anyway," she said suddenly after we finished our breakfast, "your father left me a lot of work to do today, Young Master, so I can only give you one ride today."

"It's okay. Can you recommend me a gift for a girl?"

"You have a girlfriend, Young Master? Well, I would recommend necklace or bracelet," she said.

"No, she's not my girlfriend. She's my friend's cousin who will be celebrating her birthday tonight, and I don't want to go there empty-handed."

"Okay, I know a place. We'll go there once you finish tidying up yourself."

After half an hour, I was in front of Louis Vuitton Seattle Nordstrom. This is what Tina recommended and I was skeptical at first. But when I went closer, I could see different sorts of bags inside.

I scanned the whole area, and decided to look at the fancy-looking handbags. At the same time, a sales lady appeared in front of me.

"Are you looking for a bag for your girlfriend? Try this Louis Vuitton Game On Monogram Petite Malle. It only costs 6, 250 dollars."

Her tone was not enthusiastic. When I focused on her, it seemed like she was mocking me. Was she looking down at me?

I ignored her and continued searching.

"Oh, you can't afford this, right? Well, we have a counterfeit on the next store. It only costs 50 dollars. I'm sure your girlfriend will not be able to tell it's a counterfeit because the owner made sure that their products are as exquisite as the products here in Louis Vuitton."

"Give me that Petite Malle or whatever it is," I said annoyingly. I couldn't stand her anymore.

"What? Are you blind? Look at yourself in the mirror first. I know many customers like you who came here pretending to buy, only to take a picture of it and brag it in i********:, " said the sales lady contemptuously.

"Didn't I say I want to purchase that bag? What do you want? Cash or card?" I said annoyingly.

"Ugh. Don't be pretentious. I can see through you. If you want to buy this bag, why not buy some decent clothes first?"

Just that reason? She's unreasonable, really.

"Again, I want to purchase it. If you have problem with that, I want to see the manager here," I said solemnly.

The sales lady just laughed at me. Great! I already caught all the customers on that store.

"I don't buy that excuses, mister. You're just like any other pretentious customers here. I'm already generous to recommend you a counterfeit," she said maliciously.

"Here, I'll purchase it–"

Just when I reached for my Mastercard, I heard voices behind me.

"William dear, it's not really necessary to buy me such an expensive bag. You can just buy me any bag not as expensive as this," said a familiar female voice.

"Why not dear? How can a gorgeous lady like you have no fancy bag to compliment your beauty? I will buy you a bag whether you like it or not," said the guy.

"Aww, you're so sweet dear. I am really lucky to have you," replied the girl.

"Aww, we're so jealous of you girl. How I wish I have a prince charming like him?" said one of the girls behind the couple.

"Don't worry, girls. Since you all are Irah's besties, you can choose any bag and I'll pay all of it," said the guy proudly.

"Yey. I told you girl. You're better off without Erick," said another girl and they chuckled. The guy just smiled proudly.

I stood rooted on my spot. Great! Really great! It's always my unlucky day. The people behind me were none other than my ex-girlfriend, Irah, and her new boyfriend, William, and the other girls were Irah's circle of friends.

I wanted to get out of that store, but it's too late.

"Erick? Why are you here?" It was Claire Ashton who noticed me first.