I am giving them enough, but I am wrong. Dammit, Xander! How could you be so stupid and reckless? How could you let this happen right under your nose? I cannot believe it; how did I not see this coming? I thought they were happy. I thought they were content with everything.
This business runs fairly and runs on the laws and rules that my father made and that is how it will be till the end of time. But how did they manage to break the rules without me noticing, I missed something, but I couldn’t have, it's impossible. The people I trusted the most turned against me. This isn’t good for the company or my reputation.
As the security guard waited outside my office, I quickly grabbed my things and the disk that Charles had given me and put them in my briefcase. Charles comes rushing towards us with one taco in his hand and another in his mouth. I roll my eyes, and he shrugs in response.
“We need to get a move on sir,” the guard says.
We quickly take the stairs down to the basement parking of the building and before we could get to my car, the protestors come rushing in, holding banners and knives, and guns, Charles and I rush to my car and a bullet is fired, we duck, and the bullet hits the car next to us and we proceed to move towards my car.
We get to my car and quickly get my keys out and unlock the door, I make my way in, SWAT cars arrive circling the protestors, and more shots are fired, every single bullet missing me and hitting other cars and areas. I quickly jump in and wait for Charles to get in, but he doesn’t then the back door of the car opens, and the guard had Charles's arm over his shoulder.
“He got shot,” he says, placing Charles in the back seat, he takes Charles's shirt off and uses it to apply pressure on the bullet wound.
Charles seems to be slipping in and out of consciousness and this isn’t a good thing, the blood on his shirt is making me sick, and the guard gets into the front seat and tells me to drive.
“We need to get him to the nearest hospital now,” he says, he looks back at Charles and tells him to stay awake, he starts talking to him about food and it seems to be working.
“Sir we need to get moving now!” he says loudly, I jump in my seat and start the engine.
“Drive sir, drive,” he yells, I look back at the rearview mirror and the crowd is getting even more restless, I quickly reverse the car and drive out of the basement parking.
I thank God for the SWAT team keeping things under control. The nearest hospital according to my GPS is five minutes away, we arrive at the hospital in record time and the guard rushes out and gets Charles. I wasn’t ready for this.
“Mr. Forsythe, I need your help carrying him in.” the guard says, I jump out of the car and take my jacket off and throw it in the car. I rush over to the guard, take Charles's arm, and throw it over my shoulder, I try my best not to throw up at the sight of his blood. We quickly and carefully make our way to the hospital entrance as soon as we step in the nurse rush to help us.
“What happened?” A blonde male nurse asks.
“He got shot.” The guard answers and the nurse looks at the wound and frowns.
“Bring me a gurney now, we have to perform an emergency surgery,” he screams, and more nurses come in and they put him on the gurney, and they take him away.
“Please don’t let him die,” I say, looking at the nurse.
“We’ll do the best we can to save him, sir,” he replies and walks away.
Never in my life have I ever felt so vulnerable, I am going to lose my best friend, and, in all honesty, it is not sitting well with me, I want to cry but I can’t look weak in front of a guard and the entire hospital, I'm standing in an empty corridor, and everything is just falling apart inside me.
“Sir, are you okay?” the guard asks, I nod my head and let out a shaky breath. I rub my face and run my fingers through my hair.
The guard takes off his helmet and his dark green eyes are the first thing I notice, he removes his balaclava, and his face appears, tanned skin, and soft yet defined facial features, he had to at least be 28 years old or younger.
“What’s your name?” I ask.
“Damien, Damien Harris sir,” he says holding out his hand and I shake it firmly.
“Well Damien, thank you so much for helping me you will be awarded for your assistance.’’
“No problem, sir, I'm only doing my job,” he replies.
“And you're good at,” I chuckle, I walk towards the waiting area, and he follows behind me, I sit down, and I point to the seat next to me and we sit down.
“Thank you, sir,”
“Please call me Xander, you’ve earned it.” I smile.
“Cool, was that your boyfriend?” he asked, well that escalated quickly. I turn to look at him in shock; nobody has ever asked me that question before.
“Oh, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, too soon?” he apologizes quickly, “It’s just that I... Shit I'm sorry.” he continues to ramble.
I let out a chuckle and nodded my head in understanding.
I know that the media has been saying a lot about me lately and it’s because of my status, I’ve been single ever since I was born, and people assume that Charles and I are a thing because he and I spend a lot of time together.
“It’s okay,” I say, “I understand why you would ask that; I don’t blame you.”
“Yeah, I guess, a man of your status and age would at least be engaged or in a committed relationship with some supermodel or something,” he says fiddling with his helmet.
“I know I just don’t like having any distractions,” I reply, clearly lying through my teeth to the boy.
“I understand that.” Damien nods, looking at me in suspicion.
“Charles is my best friend, the only human being that tolerates my ass. We’ve been friends since grade school” I say, “He is like a brother to me, hell he is a brother, I love him, and I care for him. If I lost, I don’t know what I’d do.”
“I too had a best friend, but he left to live a better life with his girlfriend,” he says looking at his helmet as though the memories are being portrayed on it like a crystal ball.
“Where did he go?” I ask curiously.
“He went to South Africa,” he replies, my stomach turns, and I feel like throwing up.
“Why?”
“There is more freedom in South Africa, his wife wanted to run her business and she couldn’t do it here so, they packed up and left. He wanted a Democratic country,” he explains.
“Democratic?” I say, trying not to laugh. “South Africa is far from that.”
“Actually, this country is.” he says, “This country lacks freedom, democracy. I know it sounds mean but it’s the truth; ask anyone.” Damien says placing the helmet on the ground.
“Yeah, I know that but I'm not changing my father’s laws just because people are not happy and because a bunch of low lives tells me to. This is how things should be and I'm not changing that,” I say calmly, trying to keep my anger inside.
“I get that Xander,” he says, “But Xander, things have changed and so does the world with the people that live it. You need to get out of that little bubble.”
I let out a sigh of defeat, he was just like Charles, always right about everything.
I really need to stop being so narrow-minded and arrogant but I'm not changing the laws for anyone, this is how my father wanted things to be and that’s how they will stay.
An hour passes before the blonde nurse returns.
“Mr. Forsythe?” he calls out.
“Yes, that’s me,” I say nervously as I stand up from my seat, the nurse walks towards and I hold my breath.
“I’m Nurse Olsen,” he says, I shake his hand hoping that he doesn’t notice that I am a nervous wreck.
“Hi,” I smile nervously; I look like an idiot right now.
“Well, your friend is just fine, we managed to get the bullet out of him, there was no damage to any bone or skin, just a few stitches, and some painkillers,” he explains.
“Oh, thank you so much.” I sigh in relief.
“No problem Mr. Forsythe just doing my job.” he smiles.
“Can I see him?” I asked nervously.
“Yes, of course, room 120A,’’ he says, “I must go, sir, have a good evening.”
“You too sir and again thank you.” I smile, I watch as the nurse walks away and I can’t help but keep smiling my best friend was going to be okay. I turn around and Damien is looking at me, I walk over to him, and he gets up.
“And?” he says with raised eyebrows.
“He’s going to be okay,” I say too excitedly.
“That’s great, can we see him?” he asks with a smile.
I nod, “Would you like to accompany me?”
“Yeah sure.” he nods; I lead the way to Charles's room
We get to the door, and I open the door he has a Taco in his mouth, and I want to yell at him.
“Really Charles, again with the Tacos,” I say shaking my head.
“It’s still Taco Tuesday Andy,” he says taking a bite of his taco.
“But are you okay though?”
“Yeah, I’m good. Who’s that guy?” he asks, looking at Damien.
“Damien Harris, the guy that saved your life” I reply.
“Hi,” Damien greets with a smile, and Charles blushes because he has a taco in his mouth, he chews and then swallows.
“Thanks for saving my ass, Xander here cannot live without me,” he says, slapping my ass.
“Charles!” I yell, and he laughs.
“You like it.”
“It was no big deal; I was just doing my job. I'm glad that you're okay,” he replies with flushed cheeks.
Crap don’t tell me you're gay
“Cute little soldier, he should be my bodyguard,” he smirks.
Already knowing what his intentions are I roll my eyes, and yes you guessed it, my best friend is gay.
It’s been two days since the strikes started and today the strike ended: according to the news. Charles was discharged from the hospital yesterday and he is doing fine, well more than fine. Charles never lets anything get him down, no matter how tragic it can be. I remember after his father died, he had this smile on his face and he told me not to cry for someone who is going to be in a better place, we should rejoice and be happy for that is what they want us to feel, and I’ll never forget that. Right now, Charles is enjoying his day off with our new personal bodyguard Damien at the gym and I did not agree with it, Charles asked Damien and he agreed I couldn’t disagree because I was outnumbered. I thought he was joking when we were at the hospital, but it turns out he was dead serious. We had an entire argument about it before he made the call; I just thought it was an absurd idea. Charles only wanted to be near the guy because he had a major crush on the guy. I can’t win against Cha
Charles and Damien return from their shopping trip about two hours later, my hard-on had disappeared after drowning myself in a bottle of whiskey, I wasn’t really drunk but my head sure wasn’t thinking straight. My thoughts were all over the place, I'm usually in control of myself when I’m drunk but this time around, I don’t think I've ever lost control of myself this much, it’s both terrifying and shocking at the same time and that’s never a good sign. Charles walks through the door and I jump up, walk to him, and give him a big hug, squeezing him a little. “Xander, you smell bad man,” he says pushing me away. Thanks for making me feel better Charles “I’m sorry Charles,” I frown, feeling bad for upsetting him. “You’ve been drinking, haven’t you?” he says looking at me worriedly. Honestly, I never drink this much in a day, let alone a week. I'm an extremely strict person and I'm self-disciplined and right now all my rules have just flown out the window. “I'm just trying to forge
The day I have been dreading has finally arrived the day I decide the fate of all my employees, I don’t know what to do, I can’t fire them because they are the best in the business, and I can’t let them off with a warning because that will make me look weak and I don’t want that. I face my biggest challenge and I’m not prepared for it. I'm nervous because I just don’t know what I'm going to say to them and that’s not the difficult part of this thing; the difficult part is getting in there and delivering the most terrifying yet influential speech, how do you do that without scaring people away? I'm so conflicted and I'm never been this confused. I'm in the middle of breakfast; Charles and Damien have left for work. While enjoying my fruit salad with yoghurt, the room goes icy cold and the hairs on my body stand. I at once know what’s happening. ‘Xander James Forsythe, you are a disappointment he says in disgust. I know he is right behind me, but I won’t turn to look at him. “I’m doi
“Xander James Forsythe,” Charles yells from downstairs. “I’m coming Dante, just chill, beauty does not make itself,” I yell back as I fix my hair in front of the mirror. “I swear to god you're gay sometimes or bisexual” he laughs. “Shut up,” I say as I walk down the stairs, “You're the gay one Charles” “Xander tell me something I don’t know and hurry up we’re going to be late for our flight, Damien is already in the car,” he says as he walks to the door. “I know Charles,” I roll my eyes and make my way out of the house; Charles turns on the alarm system and locks the door. I walk to the car and can see that Damien is glued to his phone in the backseat. I’m sure he is playing the new game Pokémon Go; I’m making billions with that game. I jump in and he gives me a warm smile and looks back at his phone. “Pokémon Go?” I ask; he doesn’t look up at me. “Yep, it’s fucking addictive,” he says with a childish grin. “I know Dame, I know,” I chuckle. “How many have you found?” he asks,
As we make our way to Abraham’s Incorporated in Sandton City, Charles, and Damien cannot stop talking about just how amazing this meeting is going to be. Coming up with crazy scenarios of how I’m going to react, all of them end up with her pregnant. At this very moment I am upset with her, why were there rumours of a merge? Hopefully, it is just the public making assumptions for her sake but nonetheless, I am still upset with her and in all honesty, scared too. I didn’t want to meet her, after seeing those pictures that day, I haven’t been the same, that’s all I see, in my head and my dreams, I hate her. “Uh, Xander, you’re thinking out loud,” Charles says to me worriedly. “There is nothing to be scared about Xander, you’ll be fine,” Damien says. “I am not scared,” “Dude, you’re angry and somehow terrified of the woman, she is way better than you and I mean if she – ouch!” Charles says, and Damien gives his lover a looking of warning. “What? I’m being honest,” Charles says. “May
The next morning, I was somehow in a good mood, nothing could get me down today, not even Charles and his little antics. I got out of bed and go straight downstairs; Charles is sleeping on the couch, which is odd because I could have sworn, I left him in his room last night and Charles made a vow a few years to never sleep on the couch and he hasn’t until now. I walk over to the couch and tap his shoulder and whisper his name, he doesn’t respond. “Charles,” I call out. “Charles?” I call out again, a little louder. “Dante!” I yell, he jumps and looks around before his eyes land on me and he lies back down and groans in frustration. “What is wrong?” he asks groggily, rubbing his eyes. “What are you doing on the couch?” I ask, his face falls and I immediately can tell that something is wrong. He sits up straight on the couch and I jump over the couch and sit beside him, preparing for a dramatic sob story. “Damien ditched me last night,” That doesn’t sound like Damien. “Why?” I ask
Damien – ‘Xander, be nice, be a gentleman and show some respect.’ Damien and I are texting each other in the car because our little agreement cannot be known to Charles because once he’s involved the whole world will know. ‘I’ll try, I text back. ‘Don’t try, DO! Or you’ll be dealing with Charles,’ he texts. ‘FINE’ ‘Good, then you’ll find.’ I look up and smile at him and smile back. The car stops, and the nerves immediately set in, my palms are sweaty, and my mind is racing, I want this to work, for me to get over my hate for women and maybe learn to be civil with them. I step out of the car and put my suit jacket on. “Relax Xander, you’ll be okay,” Damien whispers to me. “I hope so,” I whisper back, Damien takes my briefcase and I put my phone in my suit pocket. Charles steps out, walks over to me and fixes my collar. “Charles, please stop,” I ask, I hate it when he moms me in public and for no reason. “You have to look good, to feel good,” he says, “And PS I want those c
After dinner with Aiden, we decided to watch a movie. I’m lying on top of him, ear to his chest, listening to the sound of his heartbeat. He shifts beneath me, and I look up at him and as soon as our eyes meet, our lips follow suit. Aiden moves his hand to my cheek and strokes it with his thumb, deepening the kiss, his tongue slips into my mouth and I moan, but he pulls away just as I beginning to enjoy it. “God, I missed you,” he says kissing my lips. “Work has been so stressful without you,” he kisses me again. I had missed him too, the way he held me, kissed me, and just made me feel special, there was no man like him, he has always been the one for me. “I missed you too,” I say, we both sit up and he signals for us to take upstairs to his room, and I nod my head, in one movement he swoops me into his arms and carries me bridal styles up the stairs, “You have no idea