Love Has No Color

F O R T Y

Alex's POV

I uncomfortably shifted in my seat for the hundredth time, wondering when the two men in front of me were going to finish solidifying the deal they had made. Eva's father, John Mark, had a slimy grin on his face as he watched my father sign the papers to buy into his real estate business. This deal would give my father a permanent spot in the business and would yield the family thirty-five percent of any revenue that would come in. This would merge my father's and John Mark's companies together. And when I say that Eva's family was rich, I meant filthy rich. When I come to think of it, I never actually heard John Mark talk about selling or buying houses. I've never heard my father talk about this as well. I watched my father stare at the contract, waiting for the ink to dry. John Mark then stamped his signature on the contract and quickly handed the papers over to his secretary to file for him.

He got rid of those papers a little too quick, I thought. I felt the pit of my stomach drop as I stared at my hands to occupy myself.

"She'll take care of everything very quickly. You don't need to worry about a thing." John Mark assured. My father smiled and sat back in his chair, looking over at me with an almost loving look on his face.

"My boy here has been with me every step of the way to help this business, right Alex?" My father said, raising his eyebrows at me. I looked between the two men, who sat in silence as they waited for me to answer. My face went red and I simply gave a slow nod.

"Now that everything is signed, it will take a while for your part of the company to be finalized. Once it is, I will communicate that to you directly." John Mark stated. Something about this interaction was a bit weird but I couldn't quite grasp what it was. I figured it was just my nerves since my dad seemed on top of the world. If he was happy, then I guessed that meant he knew what he was doing.

"I'm telling you, John, Alex and Eva are the perfect couple. Within a few years, they'll already be married and have little ones running around." My father half-joked. John Mark's eyes widened for a moment before softening. He also laughed obnoxiously. I uncomfortably shifted in my seat, wondering when this meeting was going to end. Please change the conversation. Ever since my father gave me the roofie pills, he'd been asking me how the plan was going. My only excuse was that I couldn't find where Eva kept her birth control pills.

"They're certainly the perfect couple, that's for sure." John Mark replied. Do you even know your daughter?

"Should we start discussing how we're going to merge our companies together?" My father asked, tucking his pen into his suit pocket. I watched as John Mark's blue eyes turned dark for a moment before shifting them over to the crook in front of him.

"Let's wait for the money to come in and then we'll talk. I want to make sure you get the amount you deserve," he replied, eyes shifting from him to the cherry brown table we all sat at. The more I observed him, the more I didn't like his behavior. He seemed dodgy and was obviously lying. At this point, I could care less about what he was plotting, as I would soon be disconnecting myself from my family. I didn't care about companies merging or money. The timeline of me moving out was coming up quickly and so this was important for me to arrange. I'd have to wait for my father to go on another business trip to start moving my things. In terms of my mother...I'd miss her. Not in an emotional way but in a grieved relationship sort of way. She had a lot of time to be a catalyst and change things, but as a grown man, it was now up to me. I'd never want my own children to suffer like I had to.

"You always know what to do and when to do it, John." My father laughed, pointing a finger gun at him. John Mark gave a sarcastic smile and turned to me.

"Alex, what kind of business would you like to start one day?" He asked. He completely ignored my father, who now looked annoyed. It wasn't just any look; it was the look of pure jealousy.