Chapter Thirty-Two: Aiden

Ava excused us and headed upstairs while I sat down opposite my dad. "Claire, go bring us some whisky," he instructed the maid.

Claire has been working here with us for some years, even when Olivia and I were still together. So naturally, she was well acquainted with my father.

She curtsied and then left us alone. His eyes met with mine and he leaned forward, propping his elbows against his thigh.

"So, to what do I owe this surprise visit?" I asked, pretending like I didn't know the financial term oil that the company was going through.

Maybe if I didn't bring it up, he wouldn't either. I knew he always had his way of finding things out so he probably already knew about everything even without me telling him.

"What happened to your arm?" He asked, sounding detached as he took a quick glance at my shoulder sling.

"It's nothing, just an accident on site."

He slowly shook his head. "You waste your time on site when you should be in the office doing important things, things that matter."

"I am the engineer, it's my job to make sure things are going well on site."

"I was an engineer too, but I was always a businessman first. And I think you seem to be lacking in that aspect."

Before I could open my mouth to speak in defense of myself, he interrupted me.

"Do you know that we are running at a loss?" His voice was clipped and straight to the point. "The company that is."

I swallowed involuntarily. "Yes sir I'm aware."

"So why didn't you tell me anything? Why do I have to find out from another minute? I made you CEO because I thought I could trust you."

I tightened my jaw, lowering my gaze. "I didn't want to get you worried. I didn't want to tell you until I had a solution."

He chuckled, and I knew the sound of that laugh. It was the kind you let out when you absolutely had no faith in somebody.

It was one I had grown used to hearing over the years. "How did that turn out? Have you found a solution?" He asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I'm on it, I'm working on it. I'm looking for a solution-"

"Nonsense! So then tell me what is it? What's your solution?!" Just as he began to raise his voice, Claire returned with the bottle of whisky and two glass cups.

He relaxed, straightening out his blazer and then he rested against the seat, muttering a small thank you to her as she dropped the drink and left.

The sitting room was silent, neither of us saying a word to the other. He extended his arms and grabbed the whisky bottle, pouring himself a cup.

From the corner of my eyes I noticed Ava looking down at us from upstairs. She was wearing a pitable expression, like she was sorry for me.

Michael poured the second glass and slid it towards me. "What? You don't want to drink?" He arched his eyebrows.

I slowly grabbed the cup and took a gulp. "Aiden, always knew you were soft. You never had what it took to be the CEO of a company," he began after taking one shot.

He got on his feet, "You're soft and spineless. Never willing to do what it takes to succeed in the corporate world."

I raised my head to look at him. "That's unfair, all these years I've been CEO and I've been managing the company-"

"Managing what?! Managing what Aiden? All you've been managing to do is to keep us afloat, we're not even making profits like we used to, we're just managing to cover for operational costs and making some peanuts on top. And then now finally you've put us in debt."

"And I'll fix it. I'm scheduling a meeting with some foreign clients. I'm going to speak to investors tomorrow. I'm going to reach out. I'm also going to go see the mail to see if I could get any mega projects for the city. I'm working on it "

He scoffed and then took another gulp. "By the time you're done with your method, the company would have been long gone. We're done doing things your way, it's time to do it my way."

I adjusted on my seat, waiting for him to elaborate some more. He turned around to face me. "You need to get the Deluca's to invest in the company. I've been trying to get Hernandez Deluca but that man is tough as a nut. I hear his son has not taken over the deluca empire, Aiden you must get them to invest in our company."

"You basically want me to continue where you stopped."

His face twisted and I could tell that he seemed offended by my outburst but I didn't care. "You will meet Antonio and you will convince him to partner with us."

I set my glass down with a scoff. "This plan of yours sounds great in theory, but how am I just supposed to randomly stumble upon Antonio DeLuca?"

"You're not going to randomly stumble upon him. You're going to meet him at your wife's gala."

I looked up at Ava then back at him. "I have sources, I know Antonio is attending the gala, he came all the way to New York for it. You and your wife have the opportunity to make it work, so you better make it work."

He dropped his glass on the table and then spun around and walked away from the house. It wasn't until I heard the sound of his engine starting and his car driving away before I headed upstairs to talk to Ava.

"What was that? How did you manage to get Antonio to attend your gala?"

I felt a little frustrated by the fact that my father knew this and I didn't. She simply shrugged, "I don't know, I sent invites to a lot of important people some of them accept some of them don't. I never knew that Antonio accepted the invite."

"If I miss this opportunity my father would think I'm a disappointment."

She gently began to massage my shoulders. "You won't miss it, I know you'll do great. Don't worry."

****

When I woke up the next day, I realised that she had already prepared breakfast. "Come join me, I made this myself, though Claire helped a bit," she admitted with a small smile.

We shared a quick kiss. "Sorry but I'm already running late, maybe you can keep some for me in the fridge so I can have a taste of you cooking when I get back."

She nodded and I left for work. Immediately I got the site, everybody kept greeting me and asking about my arm.

I had to plaster a smile and keep telling them the same response. "I'm fine, it's not that serious."

As I was watching the men work, my father's words kept replaying in my mind.

"You waste your time on site when you should be in the office doing important things, things that matter."

Unlike him, I was more hands-on on the profession. I had a passion for engineering, and not just sitting in an office.

Olivia was walking towards my direction and slowed down when she neared me. "Hey, how is your arm?"

"Well, better than yesterday."

She smiled. "That's great to hear." we stood there side by side in silence as we watched everyone work.

The scent of a perfume wafted into my nostril. She's smelt like lavender. "You still like that lavender perfume huh?" I said.

She looked up at me with a nervous smile. "Yeah."

The atmosphere grew uneasy, we kept stealing quick glances at eachother. "Would you look at that, how time flies. It's already afternoon, I kind of have somewhere to be. Later," she breathed and then turned and left.

My eyes are fixed on her as I watched her leave. She was still so beautiful. A couple more hours on the site and I got tired so I left someone in charge and then decided to go back home.

I stopped by a supermarket to get something. As I was moving through the aisles, my eyes caught glimpse of a familiar figure.

"Olivia?"

She turned to face me, holding some groceries. "Hey, what are you doing here? I mean of course it's a supermarket I had to buy things I just meant it like-"

"It's fine. Don't worry I'm not stalking you, I just came to get something."

She slowly nodded and pushed her shopping cart forward. My eyes lingered for a while before I facedy front.

I paid for my goods in the counter and then waved her goodbye before leaving.

I was heading towards my car when I caught a glimpse of something from the corner. It was a group of men, about three.

They were dragging a kid into a white van. "Hey, hey!" I called, dropping my shopping bag as I rushed towards the scene.

"Let me go!' the kid yelled.

"Andrew?" I muttered when I saw his face.