Chapter 17: Seventeen

MICHAEL

I didn’t knock.

I didn’t have to, my father had publicly humiliated Betty enough, and now he was speaking badly of her in front of her colleague. That was terrible of him! Maybe my father was the problem, I should take the fall, he disciplined me for disrespecting her, after all, if I hadn’t pushed her to the edge she wouldn’t have given me an F. But he didn’t care. Family always comes first always.

So yeah, I didn’t knock, I just burst into his study, I’d planned to ignore him and head up to my room, get some rest but first, I needed to set things straight, so I threw open his heavy oak wooden study toom door and flashes of that day I caught him and celeste fucking behind the table came rushing back, but this time I was determined to never let him ruin anything for me. I walked in and the harsh smell of tobacco wafted into my nostrils followed by the sight of him posing on the leather chair like a king on his throne.

He was Mr fucking Bolton after all, my father and my curse. Sometimes I wished it had been him instead of my mother. I wished he’d been behind the wheel that day, not her.

And just like that he barely discussed her demise almost like she never existed to him or he’d never loved her. He’d replaced her without second thought succumbing to his lustful desires, indeed, I was my father’s son.

I bristled so hard as I stepped closer, adjacent to him, Adam sat with his legs crossed a sickening smile on his lips. I couldn’t help but wonder what he found so amusing.

For reasons I couldn’t quite explain, I disliked Adam, I’d barely known him for what? Twenty minutes yet I was shocked at how he worked his way into my fathers heart, gaining his trust, He appeared calm, he barely spoke to me, just grinning and smirks here and there, but there was a dangerous vibe attached to him, even though I didn’t have proof that he was bad news yet I trusted my gut, it doesn’t lie. But it didn’t surprise me, you know why? , it was men like this my father liked, polished pretenders who acted perfect while rotting beneath the surface.

“Hey, Michael, didn’t think you would be back in a jiffy,” my father crowed in surprise, I was sure he hadn’t expected me to come down here, I rarely came around this corner anymore, especially after what happened with Celeste.

“Let me get straight to the point and not waste anyone’s time,” I stated, pulling out the wooden chair across Adam. “ I was just wondering when you will stop terrorizing my professor and start focusing on… oh, I don’t know… inventing new ways to make love to your beloved personal assistant instead.”

Silence fell in the room and I knew the insult hit him harder than expected.

Adam straightened a fleeting Smile on his face before turning into something colder, “Michael, that’s rather a rude way to speak to your father, don’t you think?”

I turned my head slowly to his direction my jaw clenched, “And I don’t recall ever speaking to you, Adam, I don’t give a damn about your opinion, I don’t even know who the hell you are, you just waltz your way in our house acting like a fucking saint ganging up on your colleagues, that’s not just unprofessional; it’s petty… dont you think?”

Adam pursed his lips. “ I’m sorry…”

“That’s enough both of you,” My father cut in lifting an index finger in dismissal. He then gazed at me, “ I understand your anger, Michael, I’m not a fool I know you have a … thing for her. I mean, it’s not your fault, she is hot, tall, and sexy. I can’t understand why that is, but I’m disappointed, why do you keep falling for older women? There are so many young blood in the street, keep an open mind son.”

His words sound so funny that I couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh, “Oh, same way you have a thing for your ladies is the same way I have a thing for older ones? I guess it runs in the family, huh?”

His nostrils flared and the corner of his mouth twitched, I expected him to flare up, but he didn’t, instead, he smiled and reached into a stack of white papers on his mahogany, and slid a set towards me. “We’ll talk about your… preferences later, for now, we have other pressing issues, I want you to have a look at the spreadsheets for the company.”

I wonder how he always does this, side-stepping my words like it wasn’t nothing like like I didn’t just try to start a fight, he always knew how to twist the moment till it suited him, I fixed my gaze on the spreadsheets in front of me. Of course, it contained numbers percentages, and things that made my head spin, out of the corner of my eyes I could almost feel him watching me, he must be feeling so satisfied, feeding on my confusion and discomfort. Maybe this was the plan, to make me look like an idiot in front of his… guest.

“I see that you are confused already “he paused, snickering, “That is exactly why Adam is here, he has the kind of expertise that could push our company gain through the roof in a matter of weeks, I want you to be ready for this okay?”

I stared at Adam, he leaned back spinning lazily on the chair That smug smile was still plastered on his face, the kind of smile that sent chills like he was already winning this game. But right now none of this mattered, not the spreadsheets, not my father, not Adam.

I only care about one person, you already know who it is;

Betty.

“You know what? This sounds nice but,” I mumbled tossing the sheets back to my father. “ I’m not really in the mood,”

“Backing out too soon?” Adam said.

I smiled, “No, I’ve got a headache, which means I need to rest.”

“Of course son, that’s fine, you need your rest, anytime you are ready, Adam and I are here for you.” My father chortled.

Adam got up on his feet “He is right Michael,” he extended his hands, “I just realised we never got the chance to shake.”

I took it, briefly but there was something about the way his fingers gripped mine, it was like a thorn in the skin, he was stronger and was giving predator vibes.

I quickly withdrew my hands turning to leave, my hands were resting on the doorknob when I heard Adam’s deep baritone voice in the background, it was low but not low enough like he wanted me to hear.

“….we need to deal with Michael’s attitude with a cold fist, that’s not the proper behavior of a future CEO.”

My father doesn’t say a word at least not loud enough for me to hear, I froze there my fingers still clutching on the metal. I was tempted to respond but I didn’t care enough to so I just kept moving.

Outside the hallway feels empty and quiet at the same time. Adam’s face still resurfaced in my mind, that annoying facial structure of his, his too-perfect smile was annoying the heck outta me. He also seems weirdly familiar like I’d seen him before. But no matter how hard I tried to remember, I could not place him.

I’m back in my room and finally I can think about Betty. Our brief encounter, his stubbornness the way she gripped my hands, and the way those Grey-ish blue eyes stared into mine for too long. It was like she was trying to read my thoughts, I wondered how she was doing she didn’t seem like herself.

My phone rang. It’s Link.

I cussed before answering, and suddenly the screen split into three faces; Link, Noah, and Matty are staring at me.

“Hey, man! We were so worried about you!” Link began!

“Look who decided to pick up,” Noah said grinning, I couldn’t help but smile.

“We just wanted to see if you are okay, we didn’t like the way things ended during practice,” Matty Added, his tone laced with concern.

I smiled, rubbing my temples. “No, I should be apologizing, I’ve been such a dick.”

“Yeah, a big one.” Link said and we all laughed in unison.

“Let’s all hang out tonight, Bradly is having a party,” Noah suggested, he’s always the party kind of guy. “It might do us some good.”

I shook my head, “Sounds like fun, you all should go without me, I don’t feel too good.”

There is a pause before Noah sighed. “It’s alright, rest up man! But next time you are coming, no lame excuses !”

“Yeah, sure!” I smiled ending the call.

Suddenly I heard a knock at my door.

It was Claire, she was standing there with a mop and bucket in hand, her hair tied up in a messy bun, and she had a seductive smile on her face.

“Hi, Mike, I came to clean, “ she winked.

“My room is clean,”

She slanted her eyes her brows dancing, “ I know… I just want to be close to you, talk to you, kiss those…” she is about to move close but I push her back softly.

“I’m not in the mood, Claire.”

She nodded looking away before rounding the corner.

I didn’t feel bad for doing this, if it had been Betty I wouldn’t have chased her way, maybe that’s what kept me hooked all along because I was the one doing the chasing.

I didn’t hear the creak outside my door or the second.

But the third was loud enough to jolt me out of my reverie.

I hear loud footsteps outside my door.

And then I hear a familiar voice.

“If you won’t have me then I’m telling him the truth!”

I already knew it was, Claire, she has come to expose our little secret to my father.