Several hours passed and I glanced up to the window sleet pounded the city beyond, and I wondered how bad it would be since a flood and lightning warning went out about the severe weather, we hadn't seen a since storm like this for many years and I knew that it would come with the suppressing of whatever dirty dealings that the city was having revealed.
I'd been staring over everything, and finally gave the order for the company to go forward with a lawsuit, and to leave the recruitment of the lawyers to me. That had caused a silent afternoon since everyone seemed to be shocked that I'd been willing to go forwards with what would effectively bring more attention to the company though there would be a large scale intervention into the way that financial crime would be approached, and measures would be taken, obviously no one would realize it was happening, and yet I wondered if there would be more then just this one case to deal with over the course of time that this would likely go on for.
Projects had been set up to be contracted and that did worry me though I'd be recommended a company ran for the past half decade to do the jobs where I couldn't directly oversee what happened. I needed to have those jobs done well and I'd been promised such which was when I began to focus on the lawsuit, though my mind began to drift to Mia who I knew would be dragged into the bullshit of this situation regardless of the fact she had nothing to do with it, being my girlfriend, sister to an associated company, and the surrogate youngest sibling to Adrian likely was enough to drag her into anything.
'Why is it always us?', Riley had said that to me one night when the two of us had gone out for a business dinner after I had become CEO. I hadn't been able to answer the question, but being apart of the top most echelons, where the real power in the city was, I learned it was all secrets and lies, games played day after day. It was the same reason I stuck to building things, designing, and building and problem solving got to be the middle ground for various scenarios and I wasn't forced to pick a side because I did what I'd been requested to do. There was always bullshit, but I would navigate it and move on to the next project sets. Riley probably saw it more since his whole day was problem after problem as a corporate lawyer, and I imagined he enjoyed the times were things were settled out of court, or were just changing hands of who owned what.
It was Nico, and Adrian that played the games with damning information. Nico was about as close to being in control of tech for all of New York, and the numerous other tech cities across the world, while having contracts for protection and defense. It put him at a high risk if this lawsuit didn't go well along with Adrian, whose entire reputation was being able to control every aspect without a single issue at least on the surface, though I knew this one case would define him just because he'd been the one to uncover the information, and if it didn't go as he planned it would be public knowledge that Adrian couldn't put people away for misdeeds, and his private investigation services, and privately discussed rumours about him knowing everything in this city would evaporate, reducing him to just another businessman who had gotten 'lucky' in the publics view.
Calling my mom who had been sending me texts for the better part of the afternoon since she'd most likely read through all the articles, I walked to the window of the office and stared out at the world beyond.
"Hunter, hi," she says and I smiled at how cheery she sounded at me calling her back.
"Hi mom," I say as the sleet changed to light hail.
How brutal.
"How are you? What is going to happen with the information that got leaked?" she asks hurriedly.
"Adrian found that information, he's organized all of this, where he gets the fucking time, I don't know," I laugh, "it's like he controls every aspect inside and out of this city," I added my sarcasm edging into the words.
"You made friends with the son of the two most influential people I ever knew," my mom says with amusement, a light chuckle leaving her lips.
"That friend could damn me if I ever pissed him off. But it's fun toying with him," I muse and another laugh left my mom in response.
"Always doing something dangerous," mom said and I tilted my wrist looking at my watch.
"I don't always do something dangerous. I can't anymore. I'm too busy running this company," I reply.
"And there is a scandal regarding the past of your company," she says.
"It's under control mom, I promise," I reassure, and she hummed.
"There will only be one victor in all this. I want you to be that victor".
There was no victor's in anything that involved a lawsuit in NYC, there was only who manipulated the result, and the only company that could do that on an international scale that involved bringing all twelve former Execs back to New York. That information had been sent to me less then an hour ago along with the information that Adrian would be coming home tonight, and that the dozen extraditions would be publicized in the morning when the twelve execs were in custody though I knew my raven haired friend enough to know it would be house arrest, and it would be his PPO's caging them in.
Reminders were everywhere if one knew where to look.
"I'll take the twelve execs being in jail for what they did, as my section of the victory," I say, and I remembered that my mother held more power in the relationship between her and my father then he did. So she'd learned all of the things he did, and he did his best to hide them.
"I just didn't think you'd have to revisit the past so soon in your career," she says and I caught the sounds of pain in her voice as she spoke about it.
"Mom, I've been walking the line of everything in my life, since I came back to New York at thirteen," I say and the flickering image of the first time I'd seen Mia all those years ago after returning from Rosenberg appeared in my mind, and one of the smiles I only ever gave her rose to my lips.
"You better not be walking that line with Mia, she's a sweet girl, and she looks at you with puppy dog eyes when you're not looking, but don't tell her I told you that," my mom says and I chuckled.
My mom might have the best intuition I've ever heard.
"I'm not mom, and I have to go home to her now," I say deciding I'd talk to Riley tomorrow on the weekend if I got the chance to, or even later today.
"Okay, you be safe," she says, "I love you Hunter, you've turned into a fine young man".
"I love you too mom," I say before hanging up and another lightning flash crossed the sky.
Closing my laptop, and pocketing my phone I took my keys and headed out of my office bidding Johnathan a good evening as I did so, and descended to the main level where the media crews had luckily packed up and been shooed off by security.
Descending the steps I watched as a procession of black vehicles passed through the city, and I recognized them to be the vehicles issued to WGI Executive Directors who were probably the most envied people in this city simply because their jobs made them proxy CEO's of each of Adrian's subsidiaries.
Though what they were all doing in one large convoy I wouldn't even bother guessing.
Climbing into my Mercedes, I began driving back to my penthouse all while Tory Lanez played from my speakers as I drove, and I would imagine it looked ridiculous, and every time I saw someone look I just stared straight ahead even if I didn't stop dancing.
Five minutes later I parked in the garage and as swiftly as possible I made my way into the elevator and up to my penthouse.
I spotted Mia's Range Rover, and I was never the kind of guy who chased women, I didn't even pursue them until her. I'd wanted her, needed her, but all the times I'd seen the look in her eyes as I arrived with hickeys, or was flirting with other girls, it destroyed her more and more each day. So I stopped for her, I'd bugged Adrian for being a simp when it came to Olivia but I was no different for Mia.
Stepping into the penthouse, and it's bright interior I found Mia sitting in the living room in a cream hoodie and white shorts with her hair in a ponytail, and reading glasses on. She hated wearing them so for work she often only wore contacts but when at home she wore glasses.
"Mia," I say and she doesn't look up which was when I noticed the rose gold airpods in her ears, as she typed on her laptop. Rounding the couch I leaned over her before pulling one of the earbuds out of her ear and putting it in mine while her music played into my ear and she turned back to look at me.
"Hey I was listening to that," she protested though the smile told me she didn't really care especially after I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her though she stood on the could and wrapped herself around my middle while staring at me.
"You're too cute to not disturb even just a little, besides your pretty green eyes are framed," I smirk and she flushed pressing her lips together even as red rose over her face.
"How many times have you used that one on me now, and it still works?" she says staring at me in only the way that she could. The girls before her couldn't dream of comparing to her, she was the last one, the only one for me. I had gone for blondes, and even redheads hoping one of the former would peak my interest, that I'd find someone, and even if I tried I couldn't, I had to play the role of the playboy, but of course it had to be the sister of my close friend that got my attention each and every day.
"As many as you allow me to Mia, as many as you allow me, working on getting a tech scanning program?" I ask peering at the laptop screen which she followed my eyes too.
"Yes, how'd you know?" she asks lifting her chin, and instead of taking her immediately serious I kissed her lips softly, and whispered my response.
"Because you've labelled it that," she glanced back to the screen and blew out air in amusement, before resting her head against my chest and then back up to me.
"I've been working on it since you left, eight hours of coding makes my brain turn to mush," she says dropping her legs to the ground and standing between my feet.
"Do you want me to make dinner tonight, I'll ask the shadowy one for a recipe that won't make my own brain turn to mush," I say pulling out my phone and finding Adrian's contact before requesting a recipe that he almost immediately replied to with a recipe link, and a suggestion to fix a problem he found with it.
Typical, he improved even food.
"Adrian has a restaurant chain do you honestly believe that it won't be twenty steps," Mia teases, as I let go of her and walked into our white stone kitchen with all of it's cabinetry matching in a light sandalwood colour since Mia had wanted our home to give off a beach house vibe, so gold replaced bronze, more lights were added, wood started to be installed everywhere, and carpets became one of her favourite decorations though I liked to call them Oreo carpets to tease her.
"Adrian also is a perfectionist, Mia, shouldn't you know that as his surrogate sister," I tease in response and she pouted.
"You're no fun," she muttered as she found peered at my phone and went to pick out a bottle of wine to have with the meal, before coming back with a non-alcoholic white.
"I make up for it in other areas," I reply as I did my best to follow the recipe, as Mia poured each of us a glass of the wine, sliding mine to me.
"Thank you, love" I reply and she flushed again.
Even though Mia and I had been together since Junior year I had never expected her to open up to me, and let herself be so vulnerable. She had made me a better guy, and she got all the softness she was convinced I didn't let myself feel since I'd only known casual, lacking all the comforts of a monogamous relationship. Mia as everyone likely expected was right, she opened me up, and now I was as much in her heart as she was in mine. Though her teasing me, and me getting to see her deep blushes at every compliment would warm my heart and keep me here just for her for many hard days that would inevitably come. Love for her was an anchor, and I was happy to be the ship fixed in the harbour of life to persevere the storms, and mellow waters together.
I want to build on the relationships of the individual characters and their others, that's also why the problems are mentioned, but not supposed to be the main storyline, even if it is the main issue. Comment, vote, and share. Anyways
Peace✌