Chapter 15

"So, you want me to text my dad back that I would be at tomorrow's dinner" Paul asked Helen.

Helen was making some pancakes in the kitchen while Paul was sitting down on a chair in the dining room. It was a type of room design where there was no demarcation whatsoever between the kitchen and the dining room.

Helen was putting on a long-sleeved shirt which she folded on both her arms. The shirt barely reached her laps midway and there was no sign that she was putting on anything underneath.

"Yeah. You should," she replied without removing her attention from what she was doing.

"Why don't you shed your light on my situation since you seem to know more than I do," Paul said.

And then almost immediately, he began to laugh. Helen looked back briefly to see why he was laughing.

"Why are you laughing?" she asked him.

"Something occurred to me when I made the previous statement," he said, still laughing.

"What is it?"

"Helen is a Greek name. It is pronounced Ελένη and it means light. So, you most definitely would be in a position to shed your light on me haha."

Helen laughed. "You speak Greek?"

"Only to some extent," he said. "Let's just say I like to learn something new whenever I can."

"Interesting," Helen said as she moved the pancakes from the frying pan into some plates. "And what does your name mean?" she asked as she brought the plates to the dining table and sat down on a chair next to Paul.

"Paul is a Latin approximation of the name Saul which was a Hebrew name," Paul began to say. "In biblical times, it was common for Jews to bear Hebrew and Greek names since they were under Roman rule. The name means small, or humble."

"Disappointing."

"Why?" Paul asked.

"I thought since God appeared to the guy using a bright light and then changed his name to Paul, it might also mean light, or converted," she said as she stood up.

Paul laughed.

"Nah, the only connection both of us have, is this," he said as he stood up, walked towards her and tapped her ass.

"I will break that hand," Helen said playfully without turning around.

Paul only laughed and went back to the dining table.

Helen returned to the table with two forks and handed one to Paul.

"What if you took over your dad's company?"

Paul, who was chewing some food, stopped for a split second, smiled and continued chewing.

"That's probably the biggest joke you've heard all year, right?" Helen said, not taking her eyes off Paul.

"I can't tell if you're serious, or you're going to make fun of how stupid I am for taking you seriously haha," Paul said, looking at Helen.

"So, what you're telling me is that you've never thought about revenge?"

Paul shrugged, not knowing what to say.

"I mean, what he did was fucked up, he fucked you over!" Helen said, raising her voice.

"Yeah, he did, he's also my dad," Paul said thoughtfully. "Also, the only person really fucking me, is you and I love it," he said smiling.

Helen shook her head and smiled.

"So? Dad fucks son, son fucks him back. Sounds like a great title for a movie to me," Helen said.

Paul laughed.

"Let's say I agree with you, how the fuck am I supposed to go about it?" Paul asked.

"Now you're saying the right things!"

"Okay, but that's not the answer to my question."

"How about you start by going to dinner tomorrow," Helen said.

"And pretend like all is well?" Paul asked.

"Wrong! All is not well and make sure he sees that but, don't blow the problem out of proportion, make it look like you might be ready to come back to the company if he says the right things."

"How do you have such ideas?" Paul asked inquisitively.

Helen smiled and shrugged. "If he wants you as much as you told me,” she said, "then he'll ask you to resume whenever you're ready. He thinks he has won and that he has had his way like he always does with everyone else, but he won't know what hit him when you're done. Also, with all you've told me about his shady dealings, it seems you'll find a way to make soft work of this."

"And when should I return to work?" Paul asked.

"Give it a few days. Tell him you'll think about it."

"What did you say you studied in school again?"

"I didn't say," Helen replied with a mouthful of pancake.

Paul smiled. "So, what did you study?"

"Just another useless course that you can hardly find a job for in a country as shit as this."

"Tell me," he pressed.

"Philosophy and Criminology."

"That most certainly explains a lot," Paul said.

Helen didn't reply. She went back to her food and began to eat. Paul did the same.