Nathan drove into the parking lot of his father's luxurious penthouse and exhaled deeply to calm his nerves.
"Whatever this is about, I will get through it." He affirmed and nodded to himself.
But despite that, his hands were still trembling slightly on the steering wheel as he stopped the engine.
"Here goes nothing." He muttered, stepping out of the car.
The security guard at the entrance, James, immediately brightened upon seeing him.
"Young master Nathan! It has been too long. How is school?" James asked excitedly.
Nathan managed a smile despite his nervous mood.
"Hey James, how is the family?" He tried to be his usual friendly self.
"Growing! Little Tommy just started walking." The man was willing and excited to share.
"Already? Man, I need to visit more often." Nathan said, his smile growing bigger at the mention of James' son.
"You should. Tommy is always asking of you whenever his mother brings him over." James informed him and Nathan nodded in agreement.
As Nathan walked through the grand entrance, Sam, one of the maids, immediately appeared with his favorite drink – fresh orange juice.
"I had a feeling you would come today." Sam beamed, handing him the glass.
"When did you become psychic, Sam? And so good at it?" Nathan chuckled and collected the glass, immediately taking a sip.
"Maybe because I have missed you so much." Sam replied jokingly and Nathan smiled.
Those were the people who ensured he was never bored whenever he was at home. He loved them like his family.
"Why don't you come home more often? Your school is not that far. You are making us miss you too much." Sam pointed out.
Nathan laughed, though it felt hollow.
"Just trying to keep my grades up, Sam. You do know I have to make Dad and all of you, proud, right?" He stated.
"Is that really it?" She asked softly, raising her eyebrows knowingly.
But before Nathan could respond, Caroline, his stepmother, walked into the living room. Her face lit up when she saw him. And Sam gave them privacy.
"Nathan!" She called out and embraced him warmly.
"How are you? How is school?" She inquired.
"It has been good, just busy with these never ending assignments and-" Nathan was saying but got interrupted by Caroline's ringtone.
The smile on her face dropped as she saw the caller's ID. The call ended before she could accept the call and a message dropped.
"Oh no..." She mumbled as she read the message.
"What is wrong?" Nathan inquired, worried.
"There has been a fire at one of our stores downtown. The secretary there is just keeping me updated on how it is being managed." She sighed, already gathering her things.
"What? Shouldn't Dad be handling this?" Nathan asked.
Caroline gave him a pointed look.
"Your father is... preoccupied with his political commitments. As usual, it falls to me to maintain the family's business image." She said, heaving a heavy sigh.
"By the way, He is in the meeting room with reporters. Only God knows when they would be done with that meeting. I need to run along now." She informed Nathan.
Nathan furrowed his eyebrows at the mention of reporters.
"What are the reporters here for?" He asked curiously.
"They are here about you, actually." Caroline revealed and Nathan's heart skipped a beat.
"What?" He blurted out.
"Well, I don't know why. I have to go. Will you be okay?" Caroline asked him with concern.
"Yeah, definitely? Wait, do you need me to come with you?" He asked.
"No, stay. Your father is mad at whatever it is that you have done." She informed him as she grabbed her purse.
"Okay..." Nathan muttered helplessly and watched as she left with two bodyguards.
"What could the reporters possibly want with him?" He wondered inwardly.
~~~~~~~~
Twenty minutes of anxious waiting later, the meeting room door opened.
His father emerged with three reporters, all clutching identical parcels that Nathan recognized all too well.
"Huh! My dad's preferred method of 'managing' the press." Nathan mumbled under his breath as he saw the parcels.
"Thank you for your understanding, gentlemen. We will be in touch." Richard said, shaking their hands.
After exchanging pleasantries with fake smiles, the reporters left. The moment the doors closed, Richard West's facade dropped.
Without warning, he threw a newspaper he was holding at Nathan's face.
"Explain this!" He demanded angrily.
Nathan caught the paper and his eyes widening at the photo on the front page.
It was him and Scarlett from last night, when he had given her a ride home.
"What the hell were you doing in that neighborhood? And who is that girl?" Richard demanded.
Nathan tightened his jaw.
"Why is this even news? I am not the politician here." Nathan shot back, his anger rising.
"But you are my son! My heir! My heir! Which means one day, you will be in politics too. You should know better. Now answer the question!" Richard snapped at him.
Nathan's hands clenched around the newspaper.
"I was giving her a ride home. That was it. Why is that anyone's business?" He said through gritted teeth.
Richard studied his son for a moment, then his expression relaxed slightly.
"Well, it doesn't matter now. I have handled it." He told him.
At that, Nathan could feel a chill run down his spine. He knew how his father supposedly handled things.
"May I know how?" Nathan asked.
Richard narrowed his eyes on his son, as if wondering why he was wanted to know, before speaking up.
"I told the reporters that the girl is part of our new community outreach program. That you were overseeing our initiative to help the underprivileged in that area." Richard said casually, straightening his tie.
The newspaper slipped from Nathan's hands. He knew he definitely wouldn't like his father's method of handling it but he didn't know he would decide to go to such extent.
"You did what?" Nathan snarled and Richard was taken aback.
His son had never snapped at him before.