Chapter 8

Cornelius

Babe. Babe. Babe.

Calling Lydia Hayden that for the past couple of hours was torturing. Starting my Jaguar which I'd parked a mile away from the cheap restaurant we were in, I took the box on my passengers seat carefully removing my three piece suit.

Within few minutes I was able to get into my formal wear getting rid of the stubble that almost came out with my skin.

My phone buzzed and I checked the caller ID.

"Chance, I'm on my way. Got delayed but I'm on my way"

"Aunt Vicky is here, man" Shoot!

"What is she doing in my office? Come up with something that will make her go home ,"I said but the silence that had gone for about two minutes confirmed my fear.

"She's in my office isn't she and lemme guess you have your phone on speaker again don't you?"

"Unfortunately...yes and my phone's on speaker"

And I hung up. What would be better than my wonderful aunt visiting my office on this fine day? The last thing I needed was to listen to her lectures. The ones that I never seemed to avoid.

When she came to LA, I thought she would stay at home entertain herself with cooking not what happened in my company.

As fast as I entered Power Inc. the noise that once filled my halls had subsided. Truth be told, I never was the type of boss that employees would see and fear or feel the need to beg when they did wrong and yet when I entered my own building today everything felt different. Even the guy in glasses who had quite the teeth hadn't smiled at me today, which was both a relief and something to worry about.

What had happened while I was gone... Everyone seemed...busy?

Taking the elevator and reaching the top floor,I took a huge gulp of air once Liz, my secretary informed me of Victoria Powers' presence.

X

Here goes nothing. I opened the door the first thing coming to sight was the Victoria Powers behind my desk. The whole domineering aura laced around her, she still looked the same, held the same look like that of the Mona Lisa, had the same scowl everytime she didn't like anything and more importantly had that gaze that would cut deeper than any Yakuza's sword.

"What sort of freakshow are you running here?"

She asked and it is after getting closer that I noticed the small amounts of grey hair in her once 70s black hair. The kind of hair that Whitney Houston would flaunt on stage. Taking a seat across her, I loosened my tie aware that the AC had been turned off. Had she turned it off?

"Well it's great to see you too, auntie. What brings you here? At my place of work?"

I smiled but she stared before scanning me.

"Can't a mother see her son? You left the house before we could even talk. I really don't understand why you have been hiding here Nel"she started and I'm pretty sure the next words would be, 'come home with me, again.'

"There's nothing here for you come home with me. Your family is back home"

Told you so. Newyork was never a home to me. Newyork was Cain's home not mine. Cain was the golden child in the family and I realized that there was no room for me and my cousin so one of us had to back out and I gladly did. I left him everything, my position in Power Corp, my father's love, my home. Why would I want to go back?

LA was my home.

"We've been over this", I stood up clearly frustrated.

"We've never been over this, Nel. I tell you to come home you make an excuse to drive me away but not this time"

"What do you mean not this time?"

"Cain...Cain isn't doing fine. He still hasn't gotten over the fact that your dad...is no more"

Freaking unbelievable! So what? He was pretending to be in pain more than me?

"And lemme guess you want me to run Power Corp till Mr Do it all recovers? My answer is no. I'm not going back and whether Cain wants to let the company crumble to shambles, let him do it"

"Nel you don't mean that"

"I mean it, auntie. What? You think I'm not mourning? He was my dad for fuck's sake and y'all don't see that right? Nel is the tough one right? The one without a care in the world right?"

And before she could comfort me with her languid eyes, I was out of my building in a rush.

xXxXxXxX

"One more please"

I grunted gulping down another shot of tequila down my throat. How many I had had, I had no clue but truth be told alcohol sure was the cure to everything.

Sure I felt like the world was spinning, like my soul was being separated from my body and I was miraculously floating but wasn't that the essence for alcohol. That it would take way all the things you thought were impossible, that it would make the memories you had in your mind be like vapor and vanish into thin air?

"Damn you dad!"

I said. The very words I had for so long held them in.

"Don't think I've forgotten about you mom"

I raised my middle finger. Funny how they said money was everything. I had money since childhood but I was still miserable. I was still the same kid my mom abandoned and my dad took to look down upon. I was rich yeah but the one thing I lacked in abundance was love. And now? I might as well called myself an orphan.

Hahaha. I was already an orphan way back then though it had taken some lot of guts to admit it.

"A...another one"

I raised my pinkie hoping that the bartender would keep the shots coming.

"I think you've had one of too many man"

He spoke and from there my mind went blank.