Chapter 5

Nicholas was bopping his head to the beat as he drove back home, and among the songs that were playing on the radio, this was one of his favorites. Despite his build and height, he knew a lot of people would think he would be a fan of rap and hip-hop.

But he was just a guy who loved some nice indie and blues. He prefers soul-stirring songs, and that was quite the opposite of Cameron, his best friend.

He and Cameron had been best friends since birth. Their fathers were both college friends who set off to establish themselves. The road to success wasn't easy, and their success story wasn't the smoothest one. But they were able to persevere, and now they were among the richest individuals in the country.

Rumour had it that his dad and Cameron's dad had planned it so that they could be born together. And on the 9th of May, Nicholas Harrington was born, while Cameron was born on the 28th of the same month.

Nicholas finally got in front of the gate of his mansion. The house was a gift from his father, along with the cars. The gate opened automatically, and he drove inside, packing the car in the garage.

Nicholas straightened his shirt as he came down and began to walk the path that led to his home. As he walked towards the front door, he wiped his phone from his pocket and called in his dad.

"Hey dad."

"Son? How did it go?" And that was his dad. Always going straight to the point and never one to reply with pleasantries.

"It was ok." He stood in front of the lens as the sensors scanned his face and let him in.

"Did you like the girl?" I want to start moving in with the plans." His father continued, impatient.

"Hmm, yeah, I guess she was okay." But she was more than okay. She was perfect, but Nicholas wasn't about to tell his dad that, or else he would say he told him so.

"Is she to your liking? I had to pick someone based on your taste." Even through the phone, Nicholas could tell that he was grimacing. His father had never been supportive of his habit, but he just allowed it.

"Yeah, she is. You know me too well." Nicholas remarked, and his father was nodding his head. Sebastian knew his son wouldn't hesitate to turn down the offer if he didn't like it, and he didn't want that.

The silence that followed was so long that Sebastian thought his son had cut the call.

"Dad?"

"Yes Nik?"

"I know that it hasn't been easy taking care of me since Mom died, and I haven't exactly been the kind of son you wanted. I know I fought with you over the issue, and I understand that you only want the best for me. But you are the best father I could ever wish for." Nicholas didn't know what had prompted him to say that, but as he began, the words continued pouring out.

Maybe it was after what his sister Martha told him about Mary, but he was grateful for his father.

"You are the son I wanted, and I wouldn't have had it any other way, Nik." Sebastian assured his son.

"Thank you, dad. And sister Martha said you shouldn't forget her check." Nicholas added. Both Harringtons burst into laughter.

"Like I would ever forget that, the sister loves money more than anything, and she wouldn't stop bugging me. I will wire it to her now so she can get off my neck." The older Harrington said.

"That will be better. Goodbye." Nicholas said, and he ended the call before proceeding to drop his body on the sofa.

A ping went off from his phone, informing him he had a new notification. And he opened his phone to see that it was his dark-haired friend, Cameron."

"Thank fuck." He sighed. He was already getting hungry, and he didn't think he could cook anything, so maybe Cameron would be of help. The guy was a great cook, and Nik would convince him to make something for them.

"Hey man." Cameron greeted everyone as he walked in. He beelined to the nearest sofa and threw himself on it. "Wassup with you? Someone seemed to be happy. Is the new chick sucking your dick right?"

"Haha." Nicholas laughed sarcastically as he chucked a pillow to his head, but he dodged that artfully.

"So where did you call me here?" I was thinking of going car racing. I need to get my blood pumping, and since I can't score a chick now, I need another thing to get my blood pumping and that adrenaline." Cameron sighed as he closed his eyes, as if recalling the event.

He was a big fan of all those adrenaline-pumping games—car racing and skydiving. He also liked exploring and traveling. He was basically the one who introduced Nicholas to all those games.

Cameron was a handsome guy; he took his facial features from his mother, and his mother is very beautiful. So he had a bit of feminine flair that would make people think he was cute. But he was anything of the sort. He had used his "cute" face to lure a lot of girls in, and once in, they were trapped, not wanting to come out.

Sometimes, Nicholas envied his friend. He was the second son of Tom, so he had no worries about inheriting his family business. Because of that, his father gave him a bit of free rein, allowing him to live his life as long as he didn't tarnish their image.

"Would you stop thinking about your cock for a moment? Something serious just happened to me. But first off, I am famished." Nicholas declared and Cameron looked at him suspiciously; he could already tell where this conversation was heading.

"And what does that have to do with me?" Cameron asked, pointing to himself.

"I am sure you are hungry, so you could just quickly whip out something for us to eat." He said, looking at him pleadingly. Cameron shook his head.

"No, no, no. That is not going to happen. You have hands, so make good use of them."

"I know, but I just came back from a very tiresome meeting, and it physically drained me. Besides, the faster I eat, the faster you will hear the story. And trust me, it would make your jaw drop." Nicholas replied with a smirk. He knew he had already won because his friend couldn't resist a juicy story.

"Argghh." Cameron groaned, already defeated. "Fuck you!"

"Now that would be gross." Cameron's face twisted into a frown, and Nicholas couldn't help but burst into a fit of laughter; his friend was just so entertaining.

"Fine," Cameron sighed as he got up and headed to the kitchen. "What do you want?"

"I don't know, anything that has less cooking time. I am starving right now."

"Alright." Cameron opened the pantry and saw the pack of pasta. "What about pasta? It has a lesser cook time."

"Sure, I am down for it. Just make sure it is edible, chef." Nicholas called it from the living room. His friend turned on the stove and began to boil water for the pasta while he sat, waiting for him to finish.

He soon got bored and stood up, stroking to the kitchen to keep him company. The pasta was in the pot and currently boiling, while another pot was on the fire as he prepared the sauce.

"So what is this you wanted to tell me?" Cameron asked as he noticed his friend was beside him. He gently stirred the pasta so it wouldn't stick together.

"Remember that my dad saw the news flying around about me." Nicholas started, and the scent of onions frying began to fill the room.

"Yeah, you did. That was just messed up. I hope he didn't give you too much trouble." Cameron said as he expertly poured the tomato paste into the oil.

"Well, not really. But he became stricter. He basically sent me to go to work on a Sunday."

"Oh yea. You told me that. That is just messed up. I don't think I would forgive anyone who takes away my free day like that." Cameron noted this as he continued stirring the pot of boiling tomato sauce.

"Easy for you to say; you are not inheriting the company. My dad is the boss, so I have to do whatever he says."

"Lucky me. So what happened?"

"So I literally spent the week sucking up to my old man and trying to be very diligent at work, thinking he would pardon me. But at the end of the week. Guess what he had to say to me for all the hard work?

"I don't know what?"

"He said I was getting married."

"What the hell!" There was a crash, and then everything went tumbling down.