A Sense of Guilt ✔

Chapter 47

Joe scowled as he opened a text message from Katherine asking him to confirm, again, if he was going around on Saturday to remove the remainder of his stuff. Feeling irritated that he'd already answered her, he ignored the message. He was beginning to understand why people blocked their exes, and yet he remembered how hurtful it was when Shannon had done that to him all those years ago.

He let out a deep sigh as he thought about her, ever since the baby shower she'd been unnaturally quiet. He knew it must have been difficult, and he'd tried to be sympathetic, but she kept shutting him out. Once she would have told him everything. It reminded him how far apart they'd grown over the past five or six years, his hopes that they could simply fall back into their old relationship were naive at best. He was so deep in thought he didn't hear the sharp knock on his office door, his father's entry startling him. 

'Nice of you to wait to be invited in,' he muttered under his breath, and Adam raised his eyebrow.

'Watch it, you're still skating on thin ice around here.'

'Why?' Joe asked not caring if he sounded surly. 'Cos I dumped my girlfriend? That's hardly a work matter.'

Adam looked down at him and Joe could see he was weighing up his reply. He always insisted on not blurring the boundaries between work and home life and yet here he was struggling not to.

'I think those long lunches with Shannon might have affected your productivity somewhat,' Adam finally said.

'I wasn't aware I was supposed to clock on and off, this is a salaried position.' Joe leaned back in his chair, feeling almost smug.

'You still have to put the hours in.' 

'I'm confident that I have, but if you have any doubts then audit my productivity over the past six months. I'm sure it will stand up to scrutiny.' He eyed Adam coldly, refusing to be intimidated by him.

'I'd like to think that isn't necessary,' Adam said waving his hand dismissively. 'That's not why I'm here. Are you up to speed with our plans to purchase those apartments in Kensington.'

'Kensington in London?' Joe asked frowning. He'd heard rumours that Adam wanted to branch out overseas but he hadn't paid much attention.

'Yes, London,' Adam said impatiently. 'It's the ideal time to buy. With all the current uncertainty prices are dropping, people who want to sell, want to sell quickly.'

'So wouldn't it be wise to wait, prices might drop even more.'

'They might, but they'll rise again. Do you know Russian oligarchs buy whole apartment blocks and leave them empty? They know that in a few years they'll sell for even more.'

'So you want to leave the apartments empty?' Joe couldn't help thinking that was wasteful and kind of immoral when people needed homes.

'No that's not what I'm planning.' Adam paused for a moment. 'I'd rent the apartments out, at a reasonable price, and I'd hope that would overcome any opposition I might encounter.'

'Okay, so what's the problem?'

'There isn't one,' Adam said giving him a rare smile. 'And that's where you come in. I need someone to be there to oversee the purchase of the apartments, and get the whole thing off the ground.'

Joe gulped. 'Me?'

'You're not up to the challenge?'

'It's not that,' Joe said as he rapidly tried to process his dad's words. 'But do you really need to have someone physically there? In this day and age, with conference calling, it's an unnecessary expense.'