"For the love of God Laurent, it's three in the morning! Seems you have a knack for calling me early in the morning!"
"I know, I know. It's just…wait, were you at Julianne's party last night?"
"I was but I didn't say long."
"Guess who was also there?"
"The Easter bunny?"
He laughed when he heard his response. "Peyton."
"Why does it seem like we've talked about something similar to this before? I remember because we have!"
"But…"
"Except then it was one, now it's three!"
"Pipe down Jacques."
"Just talk and get this over with."
"He almost wanked her."
"What the fuck?"
"And then…"
"Let me guess, you swooped in and saved the day. Congratulations, now go to bed."
"But…"
Jacques hung up on him before he could finish. This is the second time this is happening, he thought. All because of Julianne, again. He slumped on the bed, trying to get some sleep. An idea popped into his head. He glanced at the wall clock. It was ten minutes after three. He closed his eyes, finally falling asleep.
Laurent walked swiftly to his father's office. He adjusted his tie, not liking the fact he had to wear a tuxedo. But he had to if he needed his plan to work. Stepping inside, he quickly realized no one was there. He dashed out of it, running to the secretary. She was staring at her phone when he got to her table.
"Excuse me, miss," he panted.
She dropped her phone on the desk, meeting his eyes. "Can I help you?"
"I'm looking for Mr. Hathaway, any chance you know where he is?"
She twirled a strand of her golden hair around her finger. "He's in a meeting with the directors."
"Thanks," he said, before sprinting away. He marched to the meeting room, pushing the door open. His father sat at the end of the tables, his brown eyes widened. He wasn't the only one looking at him in shock. The directors stared at him with the same expression. His father finally broke the silence.
"What are you doing here, Laurent?"
"We need to talk," he said briefly, before walking out of the room. The directors averted their attention to Mr. Hathaway.
"What is going on?" The head of the directors said, sprinting out of his chair, "Why was he here?"
He buttoned the buttons of his tuxedo. "We'll continue this discussion later."
"You aren't leaving, aren't you?"
He ignored them, walking out of the meeting room. He found Laurent leaning against the door of the room.
"You had to create a scene back there, didn't you?"
His emerald green eyes meet his deep brown ones. "I had to do what was necessary, at least to get your attention. Seems it worked."
He put his hands into his pants pocket. "You're right, it did work. Now tell me what you want and get the fuck out of here!"
Laurent chuckled. "Language, Father. I believe you know Mr. Royce, right?"
"Ah, yes. We've been business partners for quite some time. What about him?"
"He has a shitty son named Peyton, he schools at Notre Dame."
"Are you telling me that you dragged me out of my meeting to talk about his son?" He barked.
"What if I did?"
"You're unbelievable boy," he said, walking back to his office. Laurent didn't stop following him. Seems he can't take a hint…
"Would it matter if I told you he tried to rape someone? How can you trust your assets with someone who can't train his kids properly?" He shouted, still following his father.
"Why would I care?" He shouted back, "He isn't my problem."
He stepped into the office, trying to close the door. Lauren pushed it open, stepped into the office, and finally closed the door.
"What do you want from me, boy?" He shouted.
"End the deal!" He shouted back, "Until his son apologizes to her!"
"What do you mean 'end the deal?' I take my business very seriously, and I won't jeopardize my name for your little shenanigans."
"She's Tiana's age, you know. It could have been Tiana!"
He stared at his father. His cold brown eyes seemed to have softened. "Why do you care about some random girl so much?"
"Like I said, it could have been Tiana, it's not like I care."
Why is everyone asking, he thought, I don't care.
His father chuckled. "I've heard you boy. I'll talk to him."
Laurent sat on the bench on the basketball court, looking at his wristwatch repeatedly. "He should be here."
He spotted his platinum blond hair and instantly knew he was coming. He chuckled lightly seeing the frown on his face.
"What do we have here?" He said sarcastically, "It's the high and mighty Peyton!"
"Fuck off Laurent," he seethed. It only made Laurent's grin wider.
"Relax Peyton," he said sarcastically, "School closes in two hours. We'll wait here while you practice your speech."
"It's an apology, not a speech."
"I know. But in the meantime, we can get to know each other, don't ya think?" He said, wiggling his brows.
"I hate you."
"Same here."
"Were you so desperate that you had to crawl to Daddy so I would apologize?" He mocked.
Laurent shrugged. "I wanted to see you apologize because you hurt her and also, I like a good laugh."
"You're so…"
Laurent's phone suddenly rang. He got up from the bench, walking to the oak tree in the park. He answered the call hurriedly. "Laurent speaking…"
"We're coming to the court?"
"Jacques? How are…wait, school isn't over!"
"I know, we ditched."
"How?"
"It's a long story, see you there!"
"Wait, I…"
Jacques hung up on him again. He was fond of hanging up on him. Laurent stuffed his phone into his pocket. He walked back to the bench.
"I have good news Peyton, Julie's on her way!"
"What? I thought you said school ends in two hours!"
"Means you have no time to waste! You should start working on your speech."
"Apology!"
"Whatever man. It also means we'll have to wait less, hurray!"
"You're a child, Laurent."
"Says the sulking baby. I advise you to start working on it, or else…"
"Fine."