CHAPTER 2

<2 WEEKS AGO> 

"You're getting married, that's final, you can't keep living this way", his dad said while he poured some whiskey from the decanter.

"And if I don't" 

"You will have to step down from your position, end of story. Find a way to make it work boy. You can get married to Sasha, it will strengthen the alliance between our families; you've known her forever, I see no reason why a union won't work between you two. I won't be here forever and your promiscuous activities are not looking good for the press and the company. Our stocks plummeted the last time you had a scandal, we suffered some losses and lost a few clients".

As much as he would like to argue with him, he knew the old man was right. Different ladies every week; the newspapers and blogs didn't fail to carry the news. It's a reputation, a reminder that he could have whomever, whenever and they all love him. He never keeps any of them for long. Fame and money; that's all they want. He doesn't have the patience to deal with female drama. The longest he's been with a girl was a year and a few months and that was high school. Sasha was his high school sweetheart but they had to break it off after high school due to distance. He had to go Harvard and Sasha on the other hand was at Washington. By the time he was done schooling and came back, she was with someone else, not that he expected her to wait for him, he didn't really care and they are still friends, he's okay with that. He then began managing the family company alongside his dad. Blackstone corps enterprise has stood for years, very prestigious, offering employment to over a thousand persons, they had branches scattered around the globe.

His Father wants to step down as CEO so he could take over, but he wanted to make sure he is leaving his company in competent hands. Gray sure knows how to run the company smoothly, he's good with numbers, convincing and stubborn when making negotiations to close deals with clients. His lifestyle was what worried his father, settling down would look good for Blackstone corps, besides he needs grandkids running over the place, bothering him. His second son Ryan is still in college and very young, his birth was a surprise but he was grateful for it, because they've been trying for another child for years after Gray was conceived. His now ex-wife had been so happy, though she wished for a girl, she was still pleased about Ryan. Nicholas Blackstone and his ex-wife Cilia had irreconcilable differences, so they had to part ways, they were still in good terms, not just married anymore, after the divorce she relocated to England, she runs the company there, she's good at it, she has a good head on her shoulder, and she's trustworthy. Ryan visits her often, he's studying to be Surgeon at Harvard. He always had a knack for sciences. 

Gray is his heir, he has to do everything in his power to make sure he is straight before handing his life's work to him. Gray just turned 30 and Nicholas on the other hand is 57, he's still fit to run his company but he's thinking of an early retirement, leaving the company with Gray is a good decision but he needs to settle down to assume his position as the new CEO of Blackstone Enterprise.

"You have a month to get married and take my place, do we have an understanding young man?" he clenched his fist, downed the whiskey in a gulp as it burned his throat.

"Yeah, I understand. Have you told mum?"

"Yes, we've talked about it, she thinks it's the right decision so make your peace with it", he says while making his way to his study. 

Gray, his hair was tousled, graying at the end of his hairline, specks of silver hair, he's the replica of his father, while his father stood at 6'0ft he stood at 6'3ft. His father is just an older version of him, he looked up to him, respected him. His resilience, building the company from the ground up at a young age and managing it seamlessly over the years, not everyone can pull that off. He has to figure out how to deal with the situation. He hated the idea of getting married but he didn't have a choice right now.