He never forgets faces

The sterling mansion stood as a testament of opulence and grandeur. Set amidst sprawling grounds, meticulously manicured gardens stretched as far as the eye would see. The foyer was adorned with marble floors and towering pillars exuded an air of wealth and prestige.

Alexander walked confidently into the mansion, the carefully tended grounds were abuzz with a flurry of activity. Uniformed housekeepers glided through the foyer, their movements silent except for the occasional greeting as he passed. Their presence signaled one thing unmistakably_ another one of his stepmother's party was underway.

Making his way towards the elegant dining room which was a masterpiece of elegance and refinement. Bathed in soft golden light from the chandeliers above. A long polished mahogany table stretched the length of the room, adorned with pristine white tablecloths and shimmering silverware which was carefully arranged together.

His father sat at the end of the table engrossed in the morning news displayed on his tablet. Abigail, his stepmother adorned in elegant attire with her hair neatly coiffed which exuded an air of composed sophistication sat quietly beside her husband.

Meanwhile, Jeffery slouched in his seat, bearing the disheveled appearance of someone who had endured a tumultuous morning. Soft music drifted through the air.

The servant who stood at ta corner in the dining room rushed quickly and drew out a chair for him as he made his way to the table.

"Good morning." Alexander greeted not expecting any response.

Three pairs of eyes turned to him. Abigail resumed eating, his father gave him a grunt of acknowledgment, and Jeffery stared him down with red-shot eyes.

"What happened between you and Selena Tequila?" His father asked.

"Who's that?" Alexander asked.

"Even a kid born yesterday knows who she is," Jeffery slurred on his words. "Don't act all high and mighty pretending you don't know her."

"I don't," Alexander stopped the servant from dishing his food. It was best to be over and done with his business and be gone as soon as possible.

"What's the matter?" Abigail asked, cutting through an omelet and shooting him with a raised brow "Food not to your liking? Would you want us to bring your preference even though you were late?"

"Father asked to see me at breakfast," Alexander said.

"Which is served by 8 o'clock. How do you run your business when you can't even keep to time?" She asked droppin he cutlery and faced him.

Alexander ignored her and faced his father

"You wanted to see me?"

"I heard Mr. Kim was at the award ceremony, and that you both had a meeting afterward." His father said.

Alexander was not surprised, although he had no idea where the conversation was headed. Mr. Kim was one of the biggest producers of vegan beverages across the country and was about to be one of his biggest clients.

"Oh yes, that award ceremony," Abigail said, drinking her glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. "Who won it at the end?"

Jeffery pointed a finger at Alexander. "Mr. High and Mighty over here."

Abigail didn't look at Alexander. "Oh," she set down her glass. "Oh well, but Selena was doing so well. I wonder why it wasn't given to her. Poor girl, no wonder she was that furious. She did deserve the award."

It was a casual comment tossed to hurt him, but Alexander allowed it to bounce off of him. Many years of hearing such comments had taught him how to create an armor to protect himself from the hurt.

"She's got a banging body," Jeffery said, throwing a grape up and catching it with his mouth.

Abigail tutted. "You have a girlfriend now, son.""Hey, I'm twenty-five. I'm young. I'm living life to the fullest, you can relate yeah?" He looked at Alexander and laughed. "I forgot who I was talking to for a moment. The only party he's ever been to is his graduation ceremony."

Alexander waited for his father to finish perusing the news. If he wasn't done, he wouldn't speak fully. He resisted the urge to check his watch. Abigail patted her lips with the napkin on the table while casting glances at him.

"I was the one who asked your father to call you for breakfast, which you have declined to eat," Abigail said. She set the napkin down . "Anyways, I'll go straight down to business. Recommend your brother to Mr. Kim."

Alexander was not expecting that. "Why?"

"Well, you know your father has made your brother a manager at the family company," she started. "And he had his eyes on Mr. Kim first."

"That's not how things work in the business world." Alexander said calmly

Abigail's eyes flashed. "He's your brother, and he had wanted to sign a contract with him forever. Don't you have any conscience? Are you going to take something that rightfully belongs to him?"

"That's not how business contracts work," Alexander explained calmly, although he was beginning to feel the simmer of his anger coming up. "Mr. Kim owns his company. He can give the contract to whoever he deems fit."

"Oh God, he just called me dumb, didn't he?" Abigail gave a mirthless chuckle and directed her glare to Ethan, who was still reading the news. "Ethan, your son just called me dumb. Are you just going to sit there and watch him do that?"

"Look man," Jeffery hiccupped and tried to sit up. "Look, just give me the contract. You can always get another. Think of it as an early birthday gift."

"No thanks, I can always get you a car as a gift," Alexander said in that same calm voice.

Jeffery's eyes matched his mother's. "Screw you. Mum's right. You're really selfish."

Ethan Sterling set down the tablet. At fifty-eight, he was a handsome man with silver hair and the same deep blue eyes as Alexander, which was the only quality Alexander had inherited from him. His face looked like it was carved from stone, features hard enough to scare anyone who dared him, and his eyes were trained on Alexander.

"A businessman always familiarizes himself with the news," he said to him, putting a fork into his scrambled eggs.

"I always have my assistant send me the important parts in the morning," Alexander said.

"And your assistant didn't inform you of the mess you made?"

Alexander frowned. "If it was important, I'd have received it as a text."

The dinning room grew silent. Abigail stared ath Ethan expecting him to say something.

Ethan said nothing for a while as he ate. He looked over at Jeffery and frowned when he saw playing with the ketchup bottle.

"You've handled a lot of projects," Ethan said. "Let your brother have Mr. Kim's own.""It's not possible…"

"It is," his father cut him off. "You tell him you can't handle it, and recommend your brother with glowing reviews. If he's come to you for a contract, then he'd believe your recommendation." He raised the hand holding the fork when Alexander wanted to speak again. "It's not up for discussion anymore."

Abigail gave Alexander one of her victorious smiles. He was fuming now but kept his lips clamped. There was no use arguing about something that he was obviously outnumbered in. So instead, he excused himself and rose.

"If you will excuse me , I have some business to attend to," he said and quietly took his leave.

Louis, his driver, was already waiting by the door when he stepped out. Alexander got in, and Louis drove out of the mansion. He wanted to hit something bad, go to the gym, and have a few rounds with the punching bag. He hated when they got to him, it made him feel the same powerless way he had felt in all the years he had spent in that mansion.

"Everything okay, Sir?" Louis asked once they reached a stop light.

"Yeah, everything…" he noticed his left hand was shaking , he quickly covered it with his right hand "...everything's fine." he continued.

"Mr. Robert called me," Louis went on. "Told me you weren't picking up your phone calls."

Alexander let out a quiet sigh and closed his eyes. He needed some distraction, and Robert, his best friend, might just as well give him that.

He picked up his phone and true enough, he saw several missed calls from his friend. He called him at once.

"Dude!" Robert's rambunctious voice boomed through the phone. "Where were you? Decided to ditch your phone and go back to the Stone Ages?"

"Good morning to you too," Alexander could feel himself getting better already. "I went to see my father" he said adjusting the phone to his ear.

"Ugh. That must have been horrible. What was it this time?"

"They want me to recommend Jeffery to Mr. Kim and forfeit the contract."

"Mother…," a series of curse words followed, and Alexander pulled away the phone from his ear. When he was sure Robert was done, he put it back to his ear. "I hoped you punched Jeffery for that?"

"Fortunately, I don't subscribe to your idea of handling some situations."

"I hope you are not thinking of giving into their demand?" Robert asked.

Alexander gave a small pause. "My father asked me to."

"Alex…"

"...and I can always do business with Mr. Kim in the future."

"To hell with…"

"Rob!" Alex knowing he was about to curse again interrupted him.

"Okay, okay, I just need you to understand that you need to stop trying to please that your father. He doesn't give a damn about your business, or you," Robert exclaimed angrily. "And what he's doing is unethical. If Jeff put half the effort into proving himself rather than partying and chasing everything in a skirt, maybe he wouldn't have to cheat his way into getting a contract."

"Robert, can you drop it?" Alexander requested, trying to maintain his composure. Another call was coming in, and he saw it was his assistant, Charlene. "How about you come to my office later today and we can have lunch? I've got a work call to take."

"Hey," Robert said, his voice softer. "You're stronger than them. Don't let it get to you."

"Sure."

Alexander picked up his assistant's call. "Yes?"

"Sir, have you read the news?" She didn't waste any time asking.

Why was everyone so curious about the news today? "Not yet. Wanted to get to the office before I do, I figured it was all going to be about the award."

"Uhm, yes and no," she said. "It's about the award, but then, there's a leaked video of Selena Tequila and Nancy Brighton."

The same Selena Tequila that his father had mentioned? "And this concerns me because…?"

"Oh, Sir, not exactly, but it's causing a stir on the internet. But a few people are taking a stance on the award being gender-biased, as Selena had mentioned."

Alexander sat up at that. "But it's not."

"I know, but watch the video, I sent you a link."

When the call ended, Alexander checked his messages. He scrolled past the news articles Charlene had sent until he found the video he was looking for. Once he opened it, he saw two women in a bathroom. The video looked like it was recorded from a hidden place, and he watched the brunette lady scream her lungs out.

"Some guy shows up from under the rock and steals the most prestigious award of the year?... To hell with his name!" She had yelled in the video, followed by a few other curses. When her face paned in the the mirror, Alexander remembered her instantly. She had walked up to him and smiled at his face after saying such horrible things behind his back. He had remembered telling her she was free to reach out for any business advice.

He had just left his family's place and was faced with a complete stranger attacking him for an award he won and sounding just like Abigail and Jeffery did.

Alexander locked his phone. He never forgot faces, and Selena's face burned in the back of his mind.