CHAPTER TWELVE
NATHANIEL
I can't believe I got her to go on a date with me, but then what did I expect? Caroline had made it clear in the past that she wanted money and wouldn't mind selling herself to the highest bidder.
Something in me keeps hoping that she is different, but I am on an alone sinking boat. The earlier I swim to shore, the earlier I can get a company.
I will take what she had denied me of getting, and that will be that. She can then move on to her next victim for all I care.
I don't understand why the idea of Caroline with another man does not always sit well with me.
For crying out loud, she had been with other men all the time I had known her.
I walked to my door and inserted my card into the security lock. The front door swung open, and I walked in with my bag and the flower I bought from Caroline earlier in one hand.
Leaving Caroline's shop, I head back to my workplace, leaving the flower in my car.
Now I have the flower.
Now, I am stuck with the flowers till they die, as I have no one I would like to give them to, and I can't possibly leave them in the car to dry off.
The house is as empty as ever. My younger sister, the one person who had constantly visited me, had stopped visiting since she got married and started raising her own little family.
I dropped my jacket and briefcase on the centre table.
I pulled out my phone from my trousers pocket and dialled her number. She picked up on the fourth ring.
"Hello, biggy." her voice boomed over the phone.
"Hi, baby," I responded, as usual. I can imagine her frowning right now.
"Stop calling me that," She returned almost immediately.
I told you, my son calls me that name long after you have called." I laughed heartily.
She never failed to make me laugh each time I called her. I loved to laugh at her misery.
"I guess that's what elder brothers are for."
I laughed once again at my joke.
I heard a loud crash and sobered up immediately, knowing this conversation would soon end.
"When are you coming to see me?" I asked quickly. Although I knew the answer was always not at this time dear.
"I loved to come to see you, but juggling between work, being a mother and a wife had rubbed me off my best sister title." her voice shook as she said the last part of her speech.
You are still the best sister ever. No one can take that title away from you.
After another loud crash with Please, speak to you later, her line went dead.
That conversation with her was the longest I had with my sister in two years.
I stood from the coach I sank into to call her and walked to my launch.
Picking up a clean glass, I poured myself fresh mixed juice from the can, promising to do alcohol later.
I stepped into the sitting room, where I had dropped my briefcase and jacket, picked them up, and then took the staircases, heading for my bedroom.
Once in my room, I emptied what was in my left hand on the bed and walked to place the juice glass in my right hand on the bed stand.
Unbuttoning a few buttons on my dress shirt, the picture of my Dad in a frame on the nightstand caught my attention.
I walked to it and picked it up, fingering the frame.
I miss my dad. Although he is as stubborn as a bull, I still miss him.
My father died not long after he handed over the company to me. He single-handedly brought up my sister and me.
As for my mum, I can hardly remember what she looked like. She left us too early.
My Dad was too hurt to say what led to her death.
I do not know any of my mum's family members, as none visited while we were growing up.
Dad won't introduce us either, forbidding us to ever talk about our mum or her family.
I made plans to question my Dad about Mum's death when he was close to dying himself.
With the thought that he would be careless at that time and reveal who my mum's family were to me, all the secrets he had been holding in.
He then had to die while I was out of the country, and making it back on time before he died was way beyond me.
My dad took my mum's secret to his grave, and my dad's brother, who feels cheated out of my dad's money, can bring it together long enough to talk to me about what went down.
Come to think of it, why am I going down this line? Am I now too lonely and wishing I had a non-exciting family for a company?
If I need a family company that bad, I could jolly well seek out my uncle's sons. No one needs to tell me those are death traps.
They will become my friends in the two minutes it will take if I let them, then kill me off as quickly as they can.
Their next step will be to become the CEO of my transportation company and then run it down in the same amount of time it took them to be friends with me.
I dropped the picture back to its formal position, stood up and walked out of my room, heading down the stairs and toward my kitchen.
In the kitchen, I brought out the meal in the microwave, prepared by my cook and sat at the kitchen table to eat.
The food tasted as delicious as ever, so I cleared my plate.
I was about to drop my plate in the dishwasher when my phone rang.
Carefully, I dropped the dishes, retrieved my phone from my pocket, and picked up the call.
"Hello"
"Hi, this is Mark from Santos Logistic Company. I am calling to remind you and confirm your appointment with our marketing team tomorrow."
"Sorry to ask you what time tomorrow?"
I knew something was wrong with that arrangement, but I couldn't seem to place my hand on it.
"The meeting was scheduled for 7 pm tomorrow, sir." Oh, that is, it is clashing with my major plan.
"Really, can it be moved to a little earlier, please? or can we reschedule?" I asked quickly
"I will confirm and get back to you, sir."
"OK, I will wait for your call." The line went dead. Sagaciously
I can't believe I forgot such an important meeting.
They wanted to use my transportation company as a means of transportation for all their transport dealings.
It means more money, and I forgot.
God, I need my focus to make money back, but for what? Make more money?
It's beginning to make no sense. The emptiness is cutting deeply into me. That is more reason I need to wrap this up now.
I would rather lose this deal now, wrap this up with Caroline, and be back to my money-making business and looking for the love of my life, someone who wants me for me and not the money I can give.
I left the kitchen and headed for the bar.
I sat on one of my high stools.
Today was not one of those days I was to sit in the lounge as I wanted to be closer to the drinks.
I poured myself Absolut Vodka. I needed alcohol to sleep, so I drowned myself in it, not bothering to make myself comfortable.
Sometime in between emptying the glasses of vodka, I received a call, moving the meeting a week ahead.
I tried to remember why the call was so important, but I couldn't remember why it was, so I drank more.
******************
I woke up and looked around to find myself in my bar. My work shoes, dress shirt and pants were still on me, with my tie almost strangling me.
I had slept in here again; I can't believe I kept doing this to myself. My neck is stiff and painful. I can hardly move it around, and my head aches like an orchestra is performing an untamed masterpiece.
I adjusted my shirt and tie and stood up slowly. I have to be careful, or I die of excruciating pain. I need my bed, as sleep calls more to me.
I took every step slowly and painfully, calculating each step to take me over my staircases into my room.
Once there, I rolled into my bed, growling hard.
My phone rang, and I cursed under my breath as the headache magnified twenty times over.
I managed to pick it up.
"Someone better is dying," I said, thank God it's my PA
"Sir, good morning. Just calling to check on you, sir."
"I am fine."
"Ok, sir, when should we expect you, sir?"
"What time is it?"
"10 am, sir."
"10 am!" I exclaimed, then held my head as my head fired up again. I groan again.
"Are you alright, sir?"
"I will be. Please cancel my schedule for today. I am not coming in."
"OK, sir, do take care of yourself, sir."
"I will, thanks." I closed my eyes, praying and hoping bliss would come soon.
The aroma of strong coffee waffled into my nostrils, and I became active once again.
I lifted my head and noticed the orchestras were still doing numbers in my head.
My hand flew to my head.
"How are you, sir," my cook walked into my room with a cup of coffee.
"Your PA said you might need this, sir?" he asked, and I looked up to see him placing a cup of strong coffee on my bed nightstand.
God knows I need these badly.
"Not doing so well, Daniel," I said, my hand still on my head
"This will help, sir." He pointed to the coffee cup close to me.
I tried to sit up, but my head felt as heavy as a bag of cement. Why I kept doing this injustice to myself, I do not know, but I would like to understand.
I felt his hand on my shoulders, helping me to sit up.
He then handed me the cup of coffee, and I dug in.
I felt my eyes clear after the first sip; the drummers in my head lowered their beats as I drained the coffee cup and handed it back to him.
"Thanks, and please, I would like to sleep without disturbance or interruption, at least until five pm."
"Won't you like some food, sir?"
"Not now, Daniel, maybe in the afternoon," I said. All I wanted now was to sleep this shit away.
"It's afternoon now, sir, it's 2 pm." That late, I thought, I had a date. I must get everything right.
"Ok, give me one and a half hours, then wake me up to eat."
"Ok, sir." he turned to leave
"And Daniel, please say thank you to her for me."
"Your PA?" He asked, and I raised my tomb to affirm.
Just then, I remembered the flower in my sitting room. The flower doesn't have to die with me.
"Please tell my driver to pick up the flower arrangement in my sitting room and give it to my PA. She has always been there for me,"
I said as I closed my eyes, not bothering to see if he understood or not, and then I blacked out.