Stand by me

4. Alfred Hill

Hill corp.

Inside an office in a towering building; the office was spacious with modern furniture but the lighting was dim. The main desk was empty but sitting in the sitting room by the right was a man, with his right leg over the other.

The lamp light illuminated his masculine figure; dark brown hair that neatly stopped at his neck, one part tucked behind his ear and a strand fell on his cheek. He had his eyes closed with sharp eyebrows, a bridged nose, and thin lips. His beard was smooth and short. Sitting quietly there, he gave a kingly aura in the dark.

Young and rich, building an empire without his parents' assistance, Alfred Hill is listed amongst the most influential businessmen in the state.

His fingers silently stroked the armrest deep in his thoughts when his phone started ringing. His eyes flashed open revealing sapphire blue eyes.

He stretched his hand and picked up the phone and frowned seeing the caller. It was his son's teacher, Mrs Martin. It was past 2 p.m., so he wondered why she was calling now.

"Good afternoon Mr Hill," the woman greeted when he picked up the phone.

"What happened?" Alfred asked in a deep voice.

"It's about Joseph sir," she answered and Alfred scowled. Whenever his son is mentioned, he becomes more than what he is already. His silence told Mrs Martin to go on with her statement.

Mrs Martin quickly explained,
"It's been two hours that we closed the school but Joseph's Nanny isn't here yet. I tried calling her but she's not picking up. The boy is…."

"I understand," Alfred muttered and ended the call immediately. His gaze turned dark as he stood up. "How dare she?" He stared at his phone in a husky tone before walking out of his office briskly. 

His tall and handsome figure came to light as he entered the elevator and headed downstairs immediately. The workers who saw him stopped to greet him in revere. Despite being a cold CEO, they can sense that gunpowder was about to blow out.

Alfred took his key and pressed a button. A silver car zoomed from the underground parking lot and stopped before him. The door opened and he grabbed it before sliding in. With his eyes focused on the road and his right hand on the wheel, Alfred drove out of the office.

He didn't bother to call the Nanny and headed directly to the school. The silver car stopped before the school and Alfred walked out. Mrs Martin who was standing by the gate immediately escorted him inside.

Sitting in the playground was a young boy in a royal blue uniform fiddling with his fingers nervously. He had a small stature, golden brown hair, and bright green eyes but those beautiful eyes lacked focus and seemed twisted. His pink lips kept parting like he was muttering something.

Seeing how Alfred was flexing his fingers, Miss Martin knew it was best to retreat. Alfred pursed his lips and walked slowly towards his son. Feeling the closeness, the boy became more confused and shifted more on the bench.

Alfred immediately turned from a cold demeanor to a gentle being. He squatted before the boy and tried holding his shoulder. The boy naturally reacted and tried pushing his hand away.

"Joseph calm down. Joseph," Alfred called out softly and grasped his son's shoulder. It pained him that Joseph was still avoiding his gaze.

"Look at me, Joseph. It's Daddy. Not a stranger, okay? Daddy." He mouthed and Joseph finally calmed down. His green eyes stared at Alfred and even if they were twisted, Alfred knew his son was matching glances with him.

"Daddy," he called out in a timid voice and Alfred nodded. Joseph immediately broke into a tantrum. "Where's nanny Lisa? Why didn't she come to me today? And Daddy forgot about me? No one loves me!" He cried and started hiccuping.

Alfred immediately embraced his son tightly. "Shhh, sorry son. It's Daddy's fault but I love you okay? More than anything else." He whispered in his ears as the little boy sniffed silently.

"You are not going to leave me again?" Joseph muttered.

"Never Joseph. Never," Alfred returned patting Joseph gently.

Due to the hit that Joseph had when he was a baby, his brain was affected. If not for the timely assistance and the Lord's miracle, the baby would have died from bleeding. It still ended up with adverse effects such as convulsions and jerkings. Alfred spent a lot on his son to make sure he was like normal kids. The symptoms reduced but he had to be careful as Joseph was a delicate kid. He hated loneliness and darkness and was scared of the crowd.

What made things worse for the family was the absence of a mother. Alfred's parents stayed away from Joseph and hated him because of his mother's identity. Alfred had to hire professional nannies to take care of his son, but they kept making mistakes or getting tired of it. Being someone with a temper, he fired them instantly.

Nanny Lisa had been Joseph for three months now and even with the scolding she got Alfred, he hadn't fired her because she was a cautious one. As he held his son gazing ahead, he played what happened earlier. Nanny Lisa called him earlier and told him that she had taken Joseph home already. Turns out that she was lying. To think that she dared to.

Alfred pulled back and stroked Joseph's face fondly. "No more tears Joseph. How about getting you some new toys? Anything you want." He suggested.

Joseph simply nodded and Alfred picked him up before walking out of the school. Mrs. Martin watched them leave with no comments. She decided to keep what was happening to Joseph in school from his father for now.

Alfred strapped Joseph in the car seat before driving to the mall. He took his phone and dialed Nanny Lisa's number. It rang continuously with no answer and his jaw tightened. He calmly called again before she picked up.

"Can you explain your attitude?" He inquired in a low voice.

"I thought you would ask me if I was tired of living?" Lisa's voice came from the other side. Alfred stayed quiet for her to continue.
"Hmmp. I don't care if you make my life a living hell or threaten my family but I am quitting my stupid job. Even if you pay handsomely, I can't keep taking care of that nuisance you call a child. He can throw tantrums when he wants but I'm always the one at fault. If you think that it's easy to take care of him, do it yourself!"

The level of anger building in Alfred's heart was unpredictable but he suppressed it and glanced at his son who was quietly looking through the window.

"Do you have to lie?" He growled slowly into the phone, in a way that Joseph wasn't alerted at all.

There was silence before Lisa spoke.
"I don't have to explain anything to you. Goodbye."

The call ended and Alfred kept his phone. Lisa was scared and cautious of him, who wasn't? So he wondered where she got confident from today. He would have lived his life in vain to not know that something was going on.

"Daddy, is that Nanny Lisa?" Joseph suddenly asked, still watching the outside.

"Yeah," Alfred didn't hide it and answered.

"Why did she leave me too?" Joseph asked again. He had met many women and watched them leave, so he wasn't surprised if Nanny Lisa left too but having spent more time with him and how she was never rude to him like the others, he wondered why she left too.

"Nanny Lisa wants to rest son. So let's forget about her and enjoy shopping okay?" Alfred smiled faintly.

"Okay," Joseph nodded.

Alfred focused on driving as a glint passed through his eyes. Things need to rest indeed.

What do you think of Alfred and Joseph?

So who loves our male lead?