The Morning After

CHAPTER THREE

STEVE'S POV

I woke up with a strong migraine, I had drunk myself to a stupor yesterday night, I took a minute to glance around so I'd know where I ended up but to my surprise, I was sitting on a couch in my private suite at a hotel I owned, how did I even get here? Did I spend the night on the couch? No wonder my neck is stiff.

I swayed my neck left and right to try to ease the tension, I reached out for my phone on the side stool only to notice a note placed under my phone

I picked it up, rubbed my eyes off the sleep, and took a look at the first sentence which read "Thank you so much for last night Sir"

"Shit!! Shit!! What had I done, I may have been angry with Diana but I would never intentionally cheat on her." I murmured to myself as I threw the note back on the table, partially too scared to find out what I did in my drunk state.

Giving it a second thought and realizing that I could only handle the issue if I knew what I did, I decided to keep reading.

"I owe you for saving me from Sam's fury last night also please forgive your wife and give her a chance to explain, she must have a valid reason for what she did" I unconsciously hit my forehead

"Gosh, I told a total stranger about my wife and me, what if she decides to G****e me and then tip off the media or worse blackmail me?" I scratched my hair as I dwelled in my thoughts, I picked the note up one last time determined to know what she wanted.

"I didn't take the tip of $100 as you said, I didn't want you regretting anything after you wake up, as for your car I carefully packed it at the garage opposite our bar, thank you again"

Okay, I judged her harshly, she seems like a nice person, I was vulnerable last night yet she didn't take anything, my car is worth over $50k which could change her life yet she simply drove it to a safe place and returned my keys.

My mind went to my wallet and I rushed over to the coat stand and retrieved my wallet from its pocket, I started by checking for my credit and debit cards, all were intact, I recounted the dollar notes in my wallet, it was complete, how then did she bring me home? Did she pay for the cab with her money?

I walked back to the couch and slumped into it immediately I reached it, I buried my face into my palm as I tried to fully recollect the entire night after she sat with me to keep me company, I never usually asked for escorts, I just saw her and felt drawn to her hence my request.

As if on cue, the door flew open startling me, I looked up ready to yell at whoever had my key card without my permission only to see my mother walk in as her heels made the usual "click click" sound.

She stopped in front of the couch I sat and dropped her handbag into the empty spot on the couch

"I can perceive you from a mile away, You wreck of alcohol" She slightly pinched her nose

"Nice of you to notice ma" I replied in my sarcastic tone putting a fake smile on

"When would you man up and stop settling for drinks when your mind is troubled?" I looked up at her and noticed she had relaxed her expression

"Well when everyone stops taking me for a ride" I replied putting my head down once again

"Your father noticed your absence at home last night and has been asking questions, you know how observant your father can be, I lied and said you attended a friend's party and would be back today, I knew you would be here hence my decision to come and talk to you"

"If this is you coming to tell me to leave my wife then it wouldn't happen, what she did was wrong but I am willing to hear her out and settle this issue because I love her" I scrubbed my face with my palm, and attempted to fix my hair

"So you want to remain childless for life and let the Williams Empire collapse with you?"

She sounded amused much to my displeasure, my mother only sounds this way when she has something up her sleeves

"Diana and I will adopt" I blurted out before I could hold it in

"Never, no foreign blood will set foot into my family, I promised your grandfather that I would do my best to nurture the future of this family's legacy and I will not let you and your shameless wife thwart that promise"

"I would not opt for divorce either way, I love my wife and I would do my best to fix things, can you for once let us Fucking do things like the adults we are" I was losing my temper as I scratched my hair uncontrollably

"Mind your language young man, when it comes to the issue of succession then the entire family has a say," she said with her stern voice, after a minute she relaxed and sat beside me adjusting her handbag.

"First things first, I need you to return home by the end of today"

"I am not yet ready to face Diana"

"That's none of my business unless you want me to tell your father exactly what is going on and have him transfer the company to Nathan instead of pending when you are ready"

"He wouldn't, we all know Nathan is a ticking bomb, he only married Stella and agreed to take our Last name just so he could his way into our family's fortune, if only Stella could see through him"

"Just as you couldn't see through Diana's schemes. I know about Nathan, nothing is hidden from me especially if it involves my children and the family's legacy but at least he already has a successor who happens to be my grandson with the same Williams blood running in his veins" I thought for a moment about what she said

"Moreover, the official handover ceremony is not until two days, I wouldn't want the press catching photos of you arriving at the home that day, they would make speculations and it would be disastrous for the company, Value of Shares would remotely decline, investors might pull out and the shareholders might pass a vote of no confidence" she said.

If there's one person I trust with handling situations like this, it's my mother, I knew she could fix this, my father was the CEO but it was my mother who ran the company from behind the curtains, I wanted the company, I have given it my all for almost 10 years now I couldn't imagine not being CEO.

she moved closer to me and held my palms in hers

"I will fix this trust me Son, just come home," she said looking me in the eye and I saw her concern for me as I nodded

Growing up Martha and I were always more scared of our mother than our father, she was always so strict, she would ground us and even reduce our allowance once we did something she didn't approve of, she was my father's business support though she didn't hold any office asides being the CEO's wife but her presence held fear amongst the board members and the employees, I secretly wished Diana could learn from my mum on this.

She stood up, glanced back at me, and gave a tiny smile before picking up her handbag and heading for the door, but suddenly she paused and looked back at me.

"Make sure the media doesn't catch wind of whatever you ended up doing last night. Pay off everyone who witnessed anything last night, I will take care of the staff here"

With that, she disappeared through the door. I still felt so weak, that I decided to hit the shower before heading home.