Meeting mum

A black BMW parked in the middle of a large compound and out of it stepped Joshua. It was the day his father had asked him to go home. He sighed heavily as he stood in front of the building and looked up at it. He hadn't been home since he had gone back to school at the beginning of the semester because he had been trying to avoid any encounter with his father.

His relationship with his father had always been strained but it worsened when his grades started to drop in high school and then when he said he had no plans of taking over the company. They had gotten so distant to the point that his father only called him when there was a company event or a meeting that he wanted him to attend. Knowing this he had already dressed up for the occasion.

He stood in front of the front door and sighed for the second time before turning the knob. He stepped into the brightly lit living room which was filled with expensive furniture and decor that really fit the rich family image they gave out. He walked towards the backyard area where he was sure his mother would be because that was where she spent most of her time. He heard her laughter before he entered into the sin lit garden and saw his mother seated on one of the benches looking down at her phone.

"Mom." Joshua said with a genuine smile on his face as he walked towards his beautiful mother.

Daniella Hong was a beautiful woman and looked young for her age, despite being in her forties. She had light brown hair and eyes that always shone with happiness and pure admiration any time she looked at her son. She always loved her son and was always worried about him when he was away. The bond between the mother and son was so strong that a lot of people envied them. Right from a very young age, Joshua had always told his mom every thing about him, no matter what it was, whether good or bad. She in turn had always spoilt him. She gave him everything he ever asked for to the best of her abilities and him being the only child made it worse. With him being all grown up, people hardly believe they're mother and son when they go out together because of the way they play and talk to each other.

"Joshua." She said as she looked up with a bright smile on her face.

He engulfed his mom in a tight hug and didn't let go.

"I tried calling you but you didn't pick my calls. Is there a problem?" She asked as she laid her head on his chest.

" No mom, there's no problem at all. I just missed you, but wait I think I see some white hair in the middle of your head, wow you're really getting old." He said raising his hand to run it through her silky hair.

"Where, really?" She gasped as her hands reached up to touch her hair.

"Just kidding." He laughed as he pulled her hand down and hugged her one more time.

"Stupid kid. If you weren't holding me down I would have wacked you in the head. I missed you too but you don't have to suffocate me." She said as she laughing as she pulled away from the hug. She knew there was something wrong and he was trying to hide it by joking around but she let it go for now because he had more important matters to deal with.

"Well you need to go see your father now, he's in his study and you're late." She said as she straightened out his suit and adjusted his tie.

His heavy sigh caught her attention and she placed her hands on both sides of his face and looked into his eyes.

"Hey it's gonna be okay. I've already spoken to him, so no provoking him and be nice. I don't want to hear any arguments or I'll be angry at the both of you, okay?" She said and Joshua nodded.

"Okay, go." She said smiling as she pushed him towards the door.

He walked to the door and blew his mother a kiss before closing it behind him. He went up the stairs that led to the hallway his father's study was in. He got more nervous as he approached the door at the very end of the hallway.

He tapped on the door twice and waited until he heard a soft 'enter' which he would have missed if he wasn't listening really hard. He opened the door and stepped into turned around to see his father's tall figure standing at the ceiling to floor windows behind his table over looking the garden where he was sure his father was watching his mother and had probably also been watching when he was there with her.

Mr Stevie Hong, founder and CEO of Mango Inc., was a man known to be a perfectionist both in his business and his personal life. He was strict and cold to everyone including his son. The only person that didn't really see that side of him was his wife. Joshua knew his father loved his wife very much. Anyone with a good pair of eyes could see that he adored his wife more than anyone in the world. He was a very traditional man. Even after spending so many years in America, he still did things like the typical Korean man that he was.

Standing at a whooping six foot, two inches he had short brown hair styled away from his face and eyes so dark they almost looked black if you didn't look closely. Joshua only had eyes like his father's and nothing else.

"Good afternoon dad." He said with a deep bow and a firm voice, as he stood with his hands behind his back, trying not to let any of the nervousness he was feeling seep into it.

His father just hummed in reply as he looked away from the window and assessed him with stern eyes. He moved to seat in his chair behind the table.

"Have a seat." He said to Joshua and gestured towards the couches arranged at the centre of the room. He walked up to the couch and sat down stiffly. He didn't slouch and put his two hands on each knee. "I'm sure you know why I called you here, seeing as you're already dressed up." He continued while looking at the papers on his table.

"We have a meeting at three o'clock at Dotsy Corp. I'm sure you know the company I'm talking about." His father said.

Of course he knew it, who didn't know Dotsy Corp. It was one of the biggest gaming companies in the country. They are the creators of some of the most played games in the entire world.

"We've been trying to get them to sign a contract with us for the production of their newest game. Today is the day they finally decide if they would sign the contract with us or not." He said still not looking at Joshua.

"So I need you to be there to witness it and so that you can get to know the people involved. You have to be on your best behaviour because this is very important to both the company and I. You won't have to say anything, your presence is the only thing that's required. Is that clear?" He explained.

"Yes sir." I replied.

"You can get to the office on your own. Mr. Han is already there waiting for you. I'll be there in a few minutes, then we'll leave for the meeting." He said all the while not glancing at his son even once.

"Yes sir." He said as he stood up and gave another deep bow before he walked out the door.

Joshua let out a sigh of relief as he was walking down the staircase. He was really glad he had that part done. Then next problem now was the supposed meeting he was meant to attend. He wondered why his father would invite him to such an important meeting when he knew he had no interest in it and would most likely zone out through out the meeting. He had never done anything like this before.

He couldn't stop the feeling in his gut that there was something odd about what was going on. He went out back to tell his mother that he was on his way out.

"Hey, baby" She said using the Korean word for baby as she put her hands on either sides of his face.

"Mmmm, mother." He replied using the Korean word for mother.

"Whatever happens today, always know that I love you and that every thing we do, we do it for your own good, okay?" She said, her eyes sad.

"Okay, mom I know and I love you too." He smiled at her and hugged her. He wanted to let go but she held onto him tighter and squeezed.

"Whoa, you're strong for an old woman." He joked pulling out of her grip and running away before she could hit him.

"Bye, mom. I love you." he shouted as he walked towards the door.

"I love you too, boy." She shouted back.

He walked out of the house and looked back at the house. His mother's behaviour had made this situation even more confusing. He climbed into his car and drove off, still trying to figure out what was going on in his father's head.