"I will?"
Jacob stared past his assistant's petite frame, and at his father, confused. The frown on his face deepened. This was more than news to him.
He had proved himself worthy of inheriting his father's company, but this project could make or break Mayce with the slightest mistake. It made him curious. He wanted to know what his old man's plans really were.
He knew his father. There was always something more than what was on the surface.
"Violet, brief him on the subject."
Jacob blinked. He swallowed and adjusted his tie as the human software ran on.
Violet went through every detail in less than three minutes. He had wondered if being a secretary required a racing mouth. But she had done her part well.
When she finished, he rounded the desk and rested his lower back on it. Crossing his ankles, he scanned through the files on the tab in a new light.
"Envoy's creative team would be here in an hour."
Nodding his head, he said, "Make that three."
"Sir, but—" She stopped herself.
He saw the will to protest rise on her features, but it had fallen back like a sea wave just as soon. A robot like her would detest last-minute changes like an enemy. The sooner she realised that neither she nor the advertising team called the shots, it would save everyone the trouble.
Violet exited the office with an unsettled mind. It was a simple message Jacob gave. She was his secretary, not a remote control. He had every right to dismiss whatever he wanted, however, and whenever he pleased.
Once the door clicked shut, he wasted no time. Jacob asked his father the one question that had been biting at him the entire time.
"This is our first rodeo as realtors. How did you get Abraham Price of Zeta as a partner?"
Singapore was miles away from home, but that didn't stop Jacob from knowing who the big guns with power in the country were. Zeta was on an international scale and getting to them wasn't child's play, even for Mayce.
Jameson put his glass down. He cleared his throat and faced his son. "You should know better."
The instant father and son locked eyes, deeper meanings that words couldn't express passed on. Jacob tasted dread as he imagined the bigger picture.
He didn't smile. He left the tablet on the desk and asked in a tight voice.
"What was it? What bargain did you strike?"
In business, deals were the order of the day. Whether your opponent was a saint or the devil, the most classic way to make things go in your favour was to give the other person something in return. Jacob knew this better than anyone. He was a master of the art.
"Price needs the assurance that we would never try to bite the hand that feeds. There's only one way."
Jacob had raised a brow, waiting for more.
"Our families must become one." He paused. "So I offered you."
The minute Jacob grasped the understated meaning, his jaw tensed to steel. He sprung up, glaring hard at the man seated in the middle.
"You bargained with marriage? That's reckless, father! How could you?"
"Anger has never looked good on you."
Jacob's palm slapped hard against the desk, cutting his father off. He held the edges with both hands, backing his old man. He bent his head and exhaled.
Jacob realised something only then.
The real reason they had rushed his return was all for this. If things had gone as planned, he wasn't supposed to be here. He turned thirty in a month and the initial agreement was to be back a week before then.
But of course, that plan sailed south the minute he became the very key to actualizing his father's dream project.
"Didn't it occur to you I needed to know first?"
Jameson chewed on his snack, acting so flippant that it irked him.
"Business is business. Do you want my position or not?"
Jacob scoffed at the question. If it wasn't for the situation, he would admire his father's manipulative skills-how cunning and witty.
Jacob pinched the bridge of his nose and walked around to the window. He looked at the city skyline with brooding eyes. His thoughts travelled long and far.
This was crazy, he kept thinking. He didn't date women. Commitment was an unreasonable stretch away. In all of his twenty-nine years, he had let only one woman into his heart, and she betrayed him in the most gruesome manner. His father was asking for too much.
He should have drawn the line now, backed away, left and returned to his business in Singapore. But it didn't surprise him when he couldn't. He had come so far to turn back now.
Jacob felt a hand grip his shoulder. He hadn't even flinched.
"Do you know why I have let you work so hard for something that was already yours from birth?" Jameson said when he noticed his son's desire to be silent.
"I had to see if you wanted it. I had to see you fight for my legacy."
There was an edge to Jameson's tone.
Jacob gazed away as he heard his father's truth. He had never lacked the courage to fight any war, but at this moment, something unexpected had brought him to his knees. The fear of the level of intimacy that came with commitment.
"Don't let the fact that your mother abandoned us make you a quitter."
His words were like slow poison. It breached the walls he had worked to build his entire life in seconds. It opened up deep wounds from the past. But then, had it just been about his mother? There was another woman that had done much worse.
Shrugging his father's hand off, he grimaced.
"I will marry Abraham Price's daughter only on one condition."
Jameson stared at him intently, waiting for the ball.
"Take a break," Jacob said, and added when he noticed his father's protest. "Nicole would love a vacation to the Maldives, or even Corfu. You can even take Jace along if you wish. I will handle Zeta and the issue with Zion Castle."
It was scary because he didn't expect it. His father had thrown his head back, laughing hard.
Jacob's forehead creased. He was wary of the unusual behaviour he was receiving.
"What is it?" He asked, still frowning.
Jameson picked his cane and fell back on the seat again. The leather sighed. He took more of the juice with him, still amused.
Jacob approached immediately. He took the glass of juice from his hand and savoured its fruity taste. Violet hadn't spiked his drink or anything. There was nothing wrong with it.
It puzzled him. What was the current scene for?
Jameson eventually stopped his fit and said, "There's something you need to know."
His body tensed hearing his father speak in that no-nonsense tone just after a laugh. The switch was unbelievable. He expected the worst now.
"But first, I advise you to pay attention. I will up the security on the house and around Nicole and Jace."
His father looked him in the eyes.
"Get yourself some backup because Castle's CEO has just made Castle Realty public. This means war."