Ares sat in complete silence as he faced the fire-breathing dragon aka his Grandfather. The latter had always been somewhat strict towards him but never this angry. Just from the look of it, he knew that he was in trouble. Hence he had no confidence in opening his mouth to start a conversation even though he had never been good at maintaining quietness. Additionally, sitting with his flower-printed beach shirt and shorts against his Grandpa's designer suit made him more and more overwhelmed as time ticked.
Arthur had been livid with rage when he summoned his Grandson but that anger soon turned into annoyance as he saw the latter sitting clueless. How neglectful had his grandson been to be this lost? He is the CEO for Damn's sake! Arthur wanted to shout and shake his grandson back to his senses but decided to hold back. For now.
"Ares Alonso"
Ares jolted in his place when he heard his grandfather's grim tone, "Do you know why you are here?"
"I...." he cleared his throat before answering, "No, Grandpa," he thought of many reasons but nothing of importance came to his mind. He was about to ask his grandpa to cut the chase and come to the point but the latter did it before he could do so.
"I heard about Golden Farm terminating their contract with our company. Is it true?" he had already looked into this matter but wanted to hear his Grandson's opinion of this. Because it was clear that he had done nothing about this matter being the chief executive officer of AA corporation. Golden Farm was one of their oldest and strongest partners when it came to providing graded coffee beans to keep their cafes running. They became a prominent factor in making their company such a great name, mainly during their initial stages of business. They were important to Arthur and his company but it seemed like his Grandson thought otherwise.
"Golden Farm?" Ares said with a scoff and a dismissive tone, "Grandpa, don't say you disturbed my vacation for this measly matter?"
Arthur saw red, "Measly matter!? Is this what you think of this? Our important business partner has decided to cut ties with us and you are dismissing this as nothing?"
"Oh, please Grandpa" Ares retorted, "They are but small country farmers, how on earth are they our partners? Till now, we have paid them more than necessary, they should be grateful that our AA corps is even willing to do business with them"
"Ares.....Ares!" Arthur covered his face in aggravation while he roared, "How can you be this foolish, Ares? When I first heard of this matter, I wanted to give you a benefit of doubt. I thought you were unaware of this and it had somehow slipped past your attention. But no! By your words it is clear that you knew yet failed to act. Do you know the shareholders are starting to oppose you? They want you to step down from your position, you fool!"
"Because of some coffee farm?"
"No, it's because of your negligence you brat! They have been looking for a chance to attack you and lo behold, you gave them it yourself. It has not been long since you have been the CEO and you already made a long-time business partner leave our company. What do you think this demonstrates to them?"
Ares sighed, "I don't understand Grandpa, why are all of you turning this into such a big problem? A supplier left us, good. We can always buy from another. Countless other suppliers would want to work with us, all we need to do is throw some money at them...."
Arthur got up from his seat, "Money....that is all you think about. You think money will solve everything, you deem money as the ultimatum but there is more in life, Ares. Golden Farm is different, they do not seek money blindly"
"No, they do. Everyone does" Ares was quick to refute his Grandfather's notion, "Money is and will always be the ultimatum, grandpa. There is no power greater than that"
"Trust, love, and people surpass that, Ares. We can fulfill all of our needs with money but there is much more a person needs that money can never buy"
Ares smiled, "It still isn't convincing enough, Grandpa. No words in this world will change my mind"
Arthur's face fell. He glared at his mule-like grandson before declaring, "I may be not able to convince you but you will" Ares frowned as the former continued, "You will go and convince the Golden Farm to not terminate their contract with us. You must negotiate and make them renew our past arrangement. And you will do that yourself by visiting the said farm in Summerton"
Ares stood up from his place completely flabbergasted by his grandfather's words, "Grandpa, you cannot mean that"
"I do," Arthur said in a clear tone, "Oh, and one more thing. If you fail in your negotiations, then I will put your brother Alex in your seat. I will make sure of it"
"Grandpa...." Ares was annoyed beyond measure, "That bastard is not my brother"
"Well, technically a half-brother to you but still a Grandson to me" Arthur shrugged, "Alex has proven himself as a competent worker while he worked incognito. His superiors are full of praise for him and unlike you, he is hardworking and the shareholders like him"
Ares lowered his head. It was not because of shame. Not at all. There was nothing he was ashamed of. Alex could never reach his level in this life but hearing his Grandfather's words did stung him a little. The latter had always supported him no matter what but for him to be this angry, Ares felt like he messed up. That damn coffee supplier, they were making his grandpa say the words he probably didn't mean. They would pay dearly for this. Alex decided to make sure of that, "Alright, Grandpa. I will leave for Summerton" Now he looked straight at the former, "That contract or whatever, I will get it to you" Arthur frowned at his Grandson's last words, "And I will do that with money. I will prove that money can buy anything in this world"