Mistakes Made

As the heir to Haven Group, Derek had been trained in a variety of things from an early age. History, arts, mathematics, business, psychology, languages-he spoke Swahili, Spanish, mandarin, Japanese, Korean, French. And he could get by in a few others even of he was not really fluent in them.

But those were lessons he had not really enjoyed much. But the lessons that he had enjoyed, quite a bit actually were some of the more unofficial ones that had come when he had finally been old enough.

The drinking lessons more than anything. If needed, Derek was pretty certain that he could outdrink a fish. The amount of alcohol needed to get him tipsy was what would have most people on the ground thinking the sidewalks were actually the sides of buildings and that they had somehow developed superpowers.

His alcohol tolerance was through the roof. And somehow, his body had also gotten very good at removing toxins from itself. Once he had scattered the powdered pills throughout the manor. All he'd had to contend with was a slightly higher temperature as his body had burned out the pills from his system. From then he had been right as rain. Even having enough energy to go for a swim, before he had to get ready for work. Enjoying the feel of the water for the first time, even just letting himself float from time to time. Using the water to relax, not to tire himself out.

Being off the pills was wonderful, and it gave Derek an extra bounce in his step. At headquarters, he glided through the offices. Doing surprise visits to the department heads just to see them shake.

When he finally made it up to his office and found Emily waiting, he graced her with a smile. His lips stretching further when she returned it.

How many of her smiles had he missed when he had been on the pills? He tried to think back, but he could not remember her ever smiling during the time that he had been clouded by the sleeping pills. He must have really been out of it to have not seen her smiles. Miss Molson was one of those people who smiled at random people in the streets and said hello to cute babies whenever she got the chance. He would definitely be steering clear of pills in the future.

Now back in the game, with his insomnia not yet making itself a nuisance, he went over the work that he had done while under the influence. Most of it was alright, not up to his usual standards by any means, but it was still passable so he let it be. Going through his emails, he found nothing amiss and was about to close the tap when he saw something that made his stomach clench.

An email from his uncle.

He clicked on it a his sense of dread worsened.

In all the excitement of not having to take the pills anymore, Derek had forgotten why it was that he had decided to stop in the first place.

His uncle had pulled a fast one on him. He had known at the time that something was wrong, but he had been too weakened by the pills, and had found himself going along despite not knowing exactly what it was that he was agreeing to.

And now as he read a digital copy of the contract that bore his signature, Derek knew he was in trouble.

He had given full control of one of the Group's most profitable plants. A solar panel factory based in the small town of Joy, to his uncle.

As a rule, Derek did not give his uncle control over anything that a two year old could not handle. The man having such a viable project under his full control, that did not bode well.

They were talking millions lost in a matter of days if his uncle messed things up. And the only thing the board loved more than trying to drag him over hot coals when things were going great, was trying to drag him over hot coals when things were going really bad.

Closing the document, Derek rubbed at the bridge of his nose. Not only did he have to look forward to his inevitable decline when his insomnia kicked in fully, he would also have to be dealing with whatever his uncle came up with.

Pressing a button, he waited only a few seconds before Emily came in.

"Derek?" She questioned when he stayed quiet, now focused on massaging his temples.

"I accidentally gave my uncle control to the Joy Solar panel plant," He said and watched as she drew a startled breath, her eyes widening. Then she pulled herself together and her expression hardened.

"What do you need me to do?" She asked, already in problem solving mode, something that Derek greatly appreciated. That and the fact that she was not wasting time with trivial questions about how he had let such a thing happen.

"Nothing for now, just keep an ear to the ground and tell me if you hear anything," She nodded, spun on her heel and left.

Derek for his part, reopened the contract and reread it, hoping to find someway out of it.

Unfortunately for him, it was more secure than a maximum security prison.