Chapter 20: Desperate Times Call For Desperate measures
"DAD!" Steve yelled angrily as he walked past his father's secretary's desk, ready to barge into his father's office with a white envelope in one hand.
"Mr..." One glare from him and his father's secretary who had been about to stop him, shut up and looked away from him.
"DAD!" Steve yelled angrily as he roughly pushed the door open and walked in.
His father who had been busy looking at a document looked up at him without showing the slightest surprise at his outburst. From the look on his face, it seemed like he had been anticipating it and was ready for it.
"What is the meaning of this?" Steve asked as he flung the envelope he was holding at his father.
"Why are you making so much noise in my office? You do realize I am the chairman during work hours and your dad after work hours, don't you?" He asked Steve who was glaring at him angrily.
"You should have thought of that before relieving me of my duties. What for? What did I do wrong? Why am I being fired and accused of things I know nothing about? WHY?" Steve asked, his eyes red with anger.
"You already know the reason. You know what to do too, so stop asking me useless questions, I need to focus on what I'm doing since we have one staff less," Steve's father said without touching the envelope Steve had dropped on his desk.
Steve took in a deep breath and raised a hand to massage his forehead, "You are really doing this? What for? Why do I have to marry her? WHY?" Steve yelled angrily.
"Because I say so. You are my son and you work for me. The sooner you stop being so stubborn, the better for us all," his father said dismissively as he returned his attention to the document in front of him.
"But I don't love her! I don't even see her that way!" Steve protested.
His father smiled as he looked up, "From what I heard, that didn't stop you from doing anything with her, if you know what I mean," he said with a wink, making Steve grit his teeth in frustration.
"That has nothing to do with this, and you know it!"
"Do I? I don't understand why you are being so stubborn. If I were you, I would be happy I'm being asked to marry my best friend who I am sexually attracted to, and not to a random stranger. Stop trying to be so difficult," his father said calmly.
"Why? Shouldn't I at least know why you suddenly woke up and decided that I was incapable of running my own life so you have to do it for me?" Steve asked making his father pause to look at him with a thoughtful frown.
"Sit down," his father ordered, and Steve reluctantly sat down, waiting to hear what his father had to say.
"Do you trust me?"
"Of course not!" Steve muttered under his breath, making his father chuckle.
"Okay. Do you trust your mother?"
"Yes," Steve said without thinking twice about it.
His father wanted to ask how he could trust his mother so easily, but not him, but decided it wasn't time for that, "Good. If you trust her, then trust us on this too. It is in your best interest that you marry her. I know it might seem preposterous at the moment, but once you look past the absurdity of the situation, you will see that this is for your own good," His father said calmly.
"But why does it have to be now and..."
"No buts. You have been relieved of your duties. This should give you enough time to make up your mind, not that you have a choice. The only answer we are expecting from you both is a positive one. Go and see her, and then you both should talk things over and pick the most suitable date next month..."
"Next month?" Steve asked in disbelief.
"You have a problem with that? I was thinking you would want to hurry up so you can resume work quickly and have access to your accounts..."
"My accounts?" Steve asked in confusion.
"Yes. They have been frozen temporarily since the company is currently investigating your accounts..."
"DAD! Don't you think you all are going too far?" Steve growled.
"Desperate times call for desperate measures, son. Take your time and think about it. You will get everything back and even more after your wedding to Joan," Steve's father said in a tone that told Steve that their discussion was over.
Without saying another word to his father Steve walked out of the office. Now he wasn't as angry as he was when he came in. He just felt drained and exhausted. He headed straight to the parking lot and once he got into his car he drove to the bar closest to his street. He was about to get out of the car when he recalled what his father had said about freezing his accounts. He decided to try using the POS around to confirm if his father had been serious or just pulling his legs.
A few minutes later as he returned to his car, he was feeling thankful that he hadn't gone into the bar as planned, else he would have used the little cash he had on him to pay for the drink. How could his father be so callous as to do something like this? They knew very much that he wouldn't be able to survive for long without money.
He couldn't help but wonder if Joan was going through the same fate. His brows creased in a worried frown when he dialed her number and was told the line was switched off. Joan wasn't the type to just switch off her phone in the middle of the day for no reason.
He turned on his car's ignition and drove over to Joan's office to check on her. He became even more worried once he got there, and was informed that she no longer worked there. He knew how much Joan loved her job, and he knew she would have called him to complain by now had the issue on ground not involved him too.
He got into his car and drove over to her place. He knew this issue was bothering her as much as it was bothering him, but she was still his best friend as he was hers. They needed to rely on each other now and find a way out of it together.
Once he got to her house he noticed her car parked outside as he parked his own car and got out of the car. He unlocked the door using the spare key she has given to him, and he looked around the living room with a concerned frown. The high-heeled sandals she had worn to the office were just there by the door, her handbag and wig were on the couch, her car key and earrings on the table. It seemed like she had taken them off on her way to the bedroom once she walked inside the house.
He sighed when he walked into her bedroom and saw her lying on the bed face down, fast asleep. He could tell she was feeling drained the same way he was. God knows he really wanted to sleep too, Steve thought with a sigh as he took off his shoes and got into the bed beside her. They could both think about their problems after sleeping.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone