Ben fiddled with the the glass cup filled to the top with whiskey, he brought the cup to his lips and gobbled it down his throat, his Adam's apple bobbling up and down, before he dropped the glass cup on the table with a slam. An annoying thought invaded his mind. Opposite where he sat was Karl who was fiddling with a pen in his own hand, while the other hand held a glass cup which he took his time, sipping slowly from, savoring the taste, and taking a sip again. His eyes darted to Ben who looked troubled somewhat, a very unusual expression on his face. "What's up? Seems like you've got a load of things on your table," Ben spared him a glance as he settled on the couch, waving his hands through his hair, "Is it business related? Or the other?" Karl asked, visibly worried, because he was well aware of the countless number of people trailing behind Ben recently. For one thing or the other —mostly negative things. "Nothing serious," Ben answered with a flip of his finger
Ben rubbed his forehead, seeming bothered about something after he cursed. "What's up?" Karl asked."Speak of the devil," Ben muttered as he dropped his phone on the table. Karl raised a brow, wondering who Ben was referring to—he suddenly paused, throwing a gaze at Ben "Don't tell me you are referring to grandfather as the devil when you are even more delish than he is? Is that a text from him?" Karl asked bemused. "Who else will I be referring to if not him?" Ben asked with a shrug of his shoulders, he stretched his hand, "It was from Steve. He said grandfather had to be rushed to the hospital again. But it wasn't very urgent no need to worry. Grandfather just wants to be out of the hospital, I guess that's why he didn't wait for more than two days before rushing out of the hospital, only to be rushed back in."Karl chuckles—both of them fully aware of how tough the old man could be, only doing things he wanted and wished. "And he also wants me to come by tomorrow, bet that's ju
She felt like she was drowning in a sea of exhaustion, the arch of her back was aching and her heavy shoulders weren't in the best shape, she lifted the weight of her body on the floor and felt the warmth of what seemed like a cover in her side, she remembered clearly that she didn't cover herself with this.It looked like Ben's jacket so she quickly took it off and rushed to place it back on the rack before he came back. Her muscles were tensed and she still had so much book to cover. She could not even think for a second that it was Ben who put the cloth on her. Without much thought, she stood up from the floor, feeling dizzy. An hour passed, and Aliyah concluded her tasks at the library. Exiting after meticulously arranging everything, she descended the stairs, anticipating Ben's presence in the living room to report the completion of the assigned work. However, he was nowhere to be found, prompting her to head straight to the kitchen for a much-needed water break.Viola, hav
*************It was a breezy evening before a storm. Mr Vawn stood in front of the expansive window before him as he muttered to himself about not being able to undergo his nightly strolls. Even For a man who had been unstoppable all his life the limitations of aging and the eventuality of death were unavoidable. this was the task he faced every day as he was on the last leg of his life, he had left most of his work in the hands of capable men, and the strolls were the only thing he looked forward to these days apart from the timely visits of his grandchildren as he awaited his end. He spent his time resting these days as he had fully relinquished all his positions to retire but there was one thing that bugged him to this day. His search for a successor. Being a man who arrived at the pinnacle of business by sheer dedication and hard work he wasn't okay with the idea of inheritance merely on the basis of blood tiesHe had made it clear to his family that the one who inherited his
Aliyah thought about what Ben had playfully said earlier. Yes. she made his life miserable back in college, and even though he was being excessive with his ways, he had all the right to want to exact revenge on her. Now that she was thinking back, she did not exactly know why she was so fixated on him.She shrugged off the thought and followed them into the living room, she had some acting to do after all, and Ben would kill her if she did not put her act together, at least for now. Ben and Aliyah sat on a couch together, while his grandfather was on the couch opposite theirs, his eyes scheming through them as if searching for any hint of false chemistry between them. He still wasn't ready to accept that Ben was being honest because he was sure that the young lad wouldn't have done anything to make him quit talking about bringing a partner. Ben sat comfortably on the couch, his hands draped across Aliyah who seemed to be having a mini panic attack, she was already tired of th
A man who appeared to be in his early fifties stormed through the double doors, his hair carefully slicked back, wearing a composed expression."Sorry Father, there was a meeting with the shareholders and I was running late" the man uttered as he walked closer, "Oh Ben, I didn't know you'd be coming"Aliyah nodded in greeting, yet another person she did not know, the man seemed to observe her face as if wondering who she was supposed to be. Another middle-aged pale-looking man soon walked into her sight. "Good afternoon, Uncle Fred and Uncle Morgan," Ben greeted with no expression on his face. His Uncles? She thought to herself, with the remaining people yet to come in it was clear that this was turning into some sort of family reunion affair, that she had no idea whatsoever about, she wasn't even aware that he still had family up until just a few minutes ago. This was all happening too fast for her to catch her breath. The least he could have done was give her a heads-up about th
When they were done having dinner, Ben wiped his mouth with a napkin and rose swiftly, making Aliyah follow suit, it felt almost as if she could read his thoughts for a moment. "Grandpa, I have to leave," he paused briefly, his words disrupted the decorum of the room. He then continued. "Something came up, so I'll be heading home first. I'll come around first thing tomorrow morning on my way to work."Mr Vawn had earlier told him to meet him in the library after the dinner, and it seemed to be important, but he could tell that Ben had something of urgency he needed to attend to as well. He sighed in acceptance. "Alright, I hope you remember the promise you made earlier, boy," Mr Vawn asked, his heavy, half-closed eyes narrowed at him. Ben hesitated, his gaze traveling to Aliyah and back to his Granddad, "alright I'll keep that in mind"Mr Vawn's stare turned to Aliyah, and he seemed to flash a subtle Smile, obscured by the deep wrinkles that lined the sides of his cheeks. Maybe th
They were alone once again, and she did not know how to feel about that, at least she was no longer in the presence of his family where she had to fit in. Silence hung in the car and Aliyah would be lying if she said she was okay with it. Aliyah could feel the cold breeze coming in from the opened window, brushing past her luscious blonde hair. She pursed her lips and closed her eyes before opening them again as the world flew past her—suddenly, she had a lot on her mind and internally struggled to let words out. Ben wasn't saying anything—it didn't seem like he was open for any conversation with her, so she respected that and didn't say anything, to him—nor him to her. The air around Ben screamed for her to back off, and she complied, unaware of where they were presently heading. She wanted to open up and ask but she didn't—she couldn't, especially not with the vibe coming off him, that whole drama with his family made it clear that he did not have a good relationship wi