SIX

ADAM

I was fixated on the spot, with my mouth wide open, trying to process what just happened.

I had seen guts, but what Julie just displayed before me was on some terminator level craziness.

I knew her hatred for me was at an all-time high, but I never thought it had gotten to the extent of talking back at me, The Adam Jones.

Nobody in London, scratch that… No woman in London dared to talk to me in that tone. Who the fuck does she think she is?

I thought of firing her after that, but in as much as Julie had sworn to be a thorn in my flesh, she knew her onions in the fashion Industry and I would be damned if my competitors got their hands on such priceless asset, which is she.

“She’d come around. I’m sure she will. But before that, I would put that scallywag in her place. The fact we used to fuck years ago gives her no right to fucking address me in that manner. She’s way beneath me!” I raged, while heading out.

It was quite a distance from the office to Dad’s place. I had to go without the driver, because it was a personal affair and more importantly, I needed to rage at imaginary Julie, while driving, without anyone thinking I was going crazy.

“She thinks she’s the shit now. I’d put a leash on her permanently! You dare talk back at Adam Jones because of a silly one-night stand” I murmured.

After driving some miles, I finally got to Dad’s mansion, or as he proudly calls it- The Jones Lair.

As usual, the entire environment was graveyard silent, save for the frequent going in and out of the housekeepers. It’s been a few years I last saw the house I spent majority of my life in. A lot of structures had changed, but the memories I had there were still fresh in my memory.

“And who do we have here?” Dad cheered from the balcony upstairs.

“Hey dad”

“You see your father for the first time in years and all you can say is Hey Dad? Get your flat ass up here and give your old man a hug!” He demanded.

I smiled and went ahead to meet him where he was relaxing and taking in the cool afternoon breeze upstairs.

He welcomed me with a tight hug and that was when it hit me that it has been decades since I felt that kind of warmth hugging someone.

“So nice to see you again, son” He beamed with smiles.

“I’m glad you’re strong, dad” I smiled too.

“How long has it been? four, five years?” He exaggerated.

“I see you’ve still not dropped this habit of exaggerating. I’ve only been away for two years, dad” I corrected, heading to the bar to get a bottle of rum and glass.

“Well, you can’t blame me that much. You don’t look so bad yourself. Are those gray hairs on your head?” He inquired.

“Yes. Just a little”

“I guess I’d have to accept the fact that you’re getting old too and not the little Addy of yesterday” He coughed.

“Wait! Don’t tell me you still smoke, dad”

“Son, an old man needs his fun. You’d understand soon enough. Golf?” He offered.

Dad had the finest Sports connoisseur in London construct a miniature golf course at the back of the mansion years ago.

“Nahhh. I don’t think I’m in the mood for that” I sipped from the glass.

“C’mon, son! It would be just like the good old times” He persuaded.

The Good old times were not exactly good as he painted them to be. He’d always zoom off to some business meetings five minutes into the game and that usually left me disappointed. I ended up playing all by myself all the time.

“Dad, let’s just sit by the poolside. That would be better”

“I know your problem, boy. You’re scare of losing. You’re scared an old man is gonna whoop your ass” He tried harder.

“Yeah yeah. I accept defeat. I’m a scared little boy. Accepted. To the poolside, please” I drowsily pointed towards it, while he laughed and patted my back.

We got to the pool and took a chair by the side and relaxed.

“So tell me, how is the company?” He asked.

“For now, it’s all under control. Checked the charts this morning and we are still on top. Our competitors would have to work extra hard to catch up” I assured.

“Quite impressive. Any plans to establish another franchise?”

“Nahh. None for now. We still need to put the fashion franchise on a global scale and I’m on the quest to doing that”

“You know, I was thinking, what do you think about joining politics? I mean, isn’t that the retirement plan of everyone these days? You have the funds to finance it. I can pull a string or two from my side too. You should really give it a thought” He suggested.

“Adam? Politics? That’s like two side of a coin that have no plans of meeting. Politics ain’t my thing, dad. I’d rather stick to the company and bagging the ladies” I took the last sip.

“Speaking of ladies, you’re almost 40, if my memory isn’t failing me. Don’t you think it’s high time you settled down?” He drew closer.

It was one of the most dreaded questions I never wanted to answer from my dad.

Over the calls, I had been able to manipulate my way around the question, but here he was, looking me in the eye and asking me the same question. I knew that was the major reason he wanted to see me after all these years.

“Dad, I’m still making plans for that. It’s just that right now, the most important thing is to keep the company at the top. I don’t need the distractions for now” I explained.

“Ohh. It’s settled, son. If it would make you lose focus on the company, just do your thing. No pressure at all. Won’t want my years of hardwork to go down the drain” He supported.

I knew just how to get him to stop asking me and I had just used it to bail myself out of the awkward situation.

Dad loved his “empire” more than anything else. If it’d take me staying single all my life to keep the company alive, he’d approve of it.

“I also forgot to tell you, dad”

“What’s that, Adam?” He lightly sprang up.

“The devil is back” I announced.