Justin's POV
Laughter. Drinking. Shots. Neon lights. Sexy music. Half naked women. Grinding. All of these things were coating every inch of my peripheral vision, yet the only thing budging was my thoughts. I couldn't wrap my mind at how all these luminous colours and sexual indulges, things that were such a norm only weeks ago, were the last scenario I personally wanted myself in. It made my skin crawl.
No matter how much the blonde women tightened her grasp on my thigh and slowly brought it higher to awaken the bulge in my trousers, I refused to budge down there. My entire body was tense under her indifferent fingertips and the thought of that women not being Selena.
I was in too deep with the consumption of her now that I saw her in every stranger. Perhaps it was a guilty conscience seeping through as the wedding was drawing closer by each second. I could have done more to prove how my father's drive was because of all these lies and facades. Instead, I stormed out of the house, thinking of myself solely because I'm too much of an asshole.
Since I confessed about the recording, Alfredo had barely spoken to me and may as well link arms with my father for the rest of the night. Better yet, he could have taken Selena's space at the end of the alter. They were both sitting next to each other as the two strippers did their thing, laughing like there's no tomorrow like we used to.
"Would you like a more private show?" The stripper in front of me tries to pull my hands to probably escort me to the back, where the show was more provocative and to their delight, more expensive. Her tongue licked her lips seductively as her DD cup breasts lowered towards my face. "I have a place we can go where nobody needs to know what we'll get up."
"I don't think so," I say politely as possible as I shoo her away with a forced smile. She stands up straight now and seductively winks before strutting herself to other men across the room. Thank fuck she was now gone.
Now it was just me and a glass of whiskey that was desiring a refill.
"What are you doing son? She is possibly the hottest one here?" My father leans to my side, still letting the woman continue her routine. I could just hear him despite the blaring RnB track that was playing to try and perfect the setting. "And I heard she gives really good deals as well."
"I'm fine." I spit.
"What is wrong with you, Justin?" His fatherly support and concern were just too infuriating.
"I could say the same thing to you, father," I say the last word out like poison leaving my mouth. That word definitely had no meaning or substance for him anymore.
"What?" He says confused slightly.
"You fucking heard me." I snap harshly, taking down the rest of the whiskey neat.
"What is that supposed to mean?" For some reason he laughs, maybe with a hint of nervousness. I admit, he was like a stone right now. He didn't show any sign of visible weakness or that he had anything to hide behind the intense look he was showing me.
"You know full well what I mean."
She smirks before sinking back into his position on the chair. "Perhaps you should lay off the whiskeys for a while." The woman leans forward, her breasts which were tightly covered in a scarlet red bra were practically in his face now. He was too pleased with himself that it created a fire in my stomach that was full of infuriation.
I let him have those few moment of satisfaction before I lean towards him, the whiskey glass settled on the table I just placed it on. "So, when did my father start marrying women to suck them of everything they own?"
Got him. That had him horrified. His head jolted in my direction as anything positive melted off his face. Shocked covered it instead. I could see his jaw clenched as he figures out what to say without disturbing the party around us.
"Stay out of my private affairs, that has nothing to do with you." He was now pulsing with anger. "Besides, it will all be over tomorrow."
"Are you fucking insane?" I stand up instantly, near knocking the table over. The glances from his remaining friends and Alfredo made a mark on me. I overlooked him, the height difference made me feel like I had a certain dominance with it as he smugly melted in the chair more. "You are nothing but a corrupt bastard."
"Woah, Justin calm down a little." Alfredo steps in and pushes me away slightly. I was somewhat grateful because I didn't want to physically attack him but one wrong word may lead me into a whirlwind of regret tomorrow morning. "You are making a scene here."
"A scene? A scene is nothing in comparison to what this sadistic asshole is going to do. Were you going to leave her straight after the ceremony or maybe leave her completely on the honeymoon, stranded in a foreign country? What was your plan then, Michael?"
"Come with me, now!"
Frustration flood him as we left the room, my father's hand dragging me by my shirt's sleeve. I didn't squirm out of his grip, until we walked past a variation of doors until we were in a small back room. It was probably a dressing room that no one was using. As he aggressively pushed me in, locking the door after he was in.
His face was no longer red from the strobe lights, but red from his reactions. The altercation didn't leave me wondering how I would leave that door. I just wanted to leave. Not one word left our mouths at all and I just didn't care for where this was going to lead us
"So, how'd you find out then?"
I scoffed to him. "Next time your little pals message you about how much of an evil bastard you are, don't leave the message on your answering machine."
He nods once. His hands land on his chin whilst he starts to pace a little. I could hear him let out a small gasp of air.
"Are you going to explain yourself or just walk around like a dick?" I roll my eyes impatiently. I don't know why I wanted answers when the reality was I didn't want to know. Reasonings didn't matter. His choice to ruin women in such a way is vile.
He turns around to me and gestures me to sit down on the wooden table behind me with his trembling hand. I was just standing up, arms strictly at the side, ignoring the alcoholic side effects that wanted me to sway to each side slightly.
He shakes his head when he realises I'm not going to follow his simple order but he contently sits down himself on the opposite table. I felt like I was heading into a typical business meeting and preparing to get some ugly fucking lecture because my assistant or someone in my department fucked up.
"Selena is a lovely women, it's a shame that she wasn't."
"W-what do you mean?" I was confused.
How can you treat someone who you claim to be lovely like that? Definitely the alcohol taking a big effect.
"She's a Gomez."
We all knew the Gomez family. Ricardo Gomez was notorious within the music industry. It was fair to say if you were apart of his music label, there was no such thing as a flop or a failure. You were practically granted stardom but it wasn't always in the best ways. They thrived off gimmicks, sexualisation and god knows how many controversies.
Despite the Gomez name being a symbolic name, what does that have to do with him?
"Ricardo and I actually used to be best friends growing up." He starts to smile, but it doesn't last a long time. "Him and I used to always talk about how we wanted to be successful businessmen and having thriving careers, you know the drill? We both worked at the age of 13 just to save money for investments and it was something we bonded on. We didn't know each other until the first year of college and we lead very similar lives."
I nod as he talked listening to what probably wasn't even true or completely one-sided while my arms crossed tightly against my stomach. Discreetly, my fingers kept clenching together and back out, like I was trying to release a form of stress that was being created in this atmosphere I didn't want to be in.
"Anyway, one night after our classes we headed to some local bar and we just talked about what business ventures we wanted to do and after hours of discussion, we eventually decided that we wanted to be business partners."
"You two? I cannot see you both working aside one another. That seems really hard to believe and even harder to imagine." I couldn't articulate him working for a recording company or being a CEO of one. The fact his neck vein wasn't pulsing just talking about the bastard was a mystery to me as well, he despised Gomez with a dark passion.
But I admit, the most shocking thing about him going into music was his music taste was shocking. That was the more immature side of me thinking about things. I don't think I have even heard him listen to decent music unless Jazzy and I were choosing.
He lowly chucked at my comment for some reason. "Gomez was a very different person back then, well he held a good front anyway." He clears his throat, preparing for the continuation. "After planning and continuous in-depth research, we finally decided to invest into the music scene."
"I just cannot see you working in the music industry."
"Trust me son, music was like a gold mine back then, especially if you were able to execute it properly and if you know what you are doing. I had a few connections through family friends and so did he. We were somewhat fortunate and it would of saved us many years figuring everything out."
"Can you just hurry up with this story? Just get to the point" I was just getting irritated by the fact he wasn't getting straight to the point now. My impact rice grew massively in the matter of seconds. I didn't give a fuck for the small details that didn't matter, I wanted the juicy bit at the end. The why to my question.
"Fine." He glares. "We found a studio in the city and it was perfect for a starting point. We needed to put down a large deposit on building otherwise it was going to be sold to someone else. Gomez told me he didn't have the money on him at that time and he wasn't certain whether he could obtain it before someone beats us to it." He sighs. "After visiting the place and making sure it was ideal, I gave him around a million dollars which was all the money I had on the condition he would pay me back half. This wasn't just for the building itself but for recording equipment, possible renovations and such."
"Okay."
"Gomez was an extremely smart yet malicious man. He used every single penny of mine to invest in the studio with no intention to pay back. I don't think he even touched a cent of his own money in the beginning. His name was on the building, not mine so he owned everything. There were no details anywhere that I was apart of this venture. There was no contract which meant legally I had no upper hand to get my entitlement or my money back. There was also no proof I even lent him money."
"So, that's the story?" For some reason, I expected a petty excuse. Maybe even a cliche he stole my woman kind of thing. I didn't think there would be any depth to the story, but clearly there was more than what meets the eye.
His head bops up and down, as his jaw clenched. Reminiscing about this was clearly bringing back unwanted emotions and to me it just showcased how much this had an effect on my father. It still didn't excuse what he was doing.
"He bankrupt me, made me believe I had a friend as well as a business partner. My father was so proud that I was finding myself beyond the family business and when he found out I lost everything, he almost disowned me and even didn't pass the company to me in case I did the same. Gomez nearly ruined me to the point I didn't know what to do with my life. If I hadn't of met your mother, god knows what I would be doing right now." His anger was vibrant through his gritted teeth until the mention of my mother, the only person who knew him inside out. I never knew this. I didn't even know a second of this story.
It was like an entire portion of my fathers life had been censored so he couldn't disappoint anybody, especially the people closest to him. I was surprised at the fact this was kept as a sacred secret when father had always been upfront about mistakes or bad ventures in his past. I never knew he could sink lower than what I already had prior knowledge on.
From the tears developing in his eyes and his skin blazing a faint red, this wasn't just any secret. It was a part of him that made him feel weak, like he didn't deserve anything that he was eventually handed. Or possibly made him worry that trusting someone else would lead similar consequences.
I slowly sit beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder after his head drops down to the floor. "I could see why you wanted revenge of some kind on him. I mean he practically ruined you back then but what does that have to do with Selena? Why does she deserve to get punished because her father is an asshole?"
His head remains low as he continued his excuse. "I want Gomez's to get a taste of their own medicine whether it be him or her. When he died, everything went straight to her and she was an easy target. They all think the same, money is always their number one priority. I mean, come on Justin, why would someone like her fancy someone like me? I have no redeemable traits expect my financial status." I had no direct response to that, even though I was absolutely certain she wasn't a gold digger or just out here to get money. It was the discreet, small things she did that made me sure of it.
However, after my non-existence reply, he scoffs to himself with a chuckle, like he expected me to be stunned of an answer.
"How'd you do it?" I have to ask.
"How'd I do what?"
"How did you pull all of this off?"
I didn't really need to ask - he was a knowledgeable man with ways of finding confidential information if he needed it.
"I knew who she was from the start because from her application. I had to do an extensive background check to ensure it was the right girl. I admit, she was a good worker and I was impressed by her work ethic. I purposely bumped into her the day I spilt coffee over her so I could seem like a nice guy, make her fall for me." He seemed to have his answers perfectly flowing as if he was rehearsed. No pauses. No unexpected mistakes. It was flawless.
I think about the first night Selena came over and how unbearably happy they seemed, even when I was being an asshole. The image burned away as I realised it was all for a show. I remember the conversations bright as day.
"Did Kate know?" Kate, my dad's girlfriend, fiancé type of thing was still in his life when they met. I still remember that because I was purposely being rude to ruin their night.
His head comes back up, I could imagine the neck pain or stiffness as it comes up a slow pace. He just looks at me.
"Kate? What does Kate have to do with this?"
"If I remember correctly, you met Selena while you were still with Kate. Is that why you both ended things? Did she find out?"
The rehearsal was over now and he was unsure what his response was.
"Yes." He confesses ashamed. "She found out about the background check when she was cleaning my office one day so I told her everything. She wanted me to back out of the idea but I refused. Eventually, she told me she didn't like the man I had become so she left." I really wanted to advise him on a lock for his office.
"God, you are despicable." I rapidly get up to somehow get away from him. I burst into a sudden rage thinking about his morals. Kate was a pleasant woman, even if I tried to tip her away from my father. Underneath my bias opinion of her, she cared deeply for him and somewhere along the line, he did too. She was his first serious love since the passing of mother. "You seriously let Kate go over a 20-year grudge? She loved you and you can deny it all you want in respect of mother but you loved her too."
"Tomorrow all this will be over and we can live our lives like it never even happened." He ignores my anger towards him, taking several steps towards me in a drunken manner but I ensure the distance is kept by copying his jagged movements, only mine were more sober.
"Yeah, that's not going to happen. You seriously think I'm going to forget about all of this?" I wanted to scream at him. Shout until my lungs collapse at the disgusting man he had transformed into.
My father, the man that could do no wrong in my eyes, the man who taught me everything I needed especially after my mother passed away, was a man who I didn't even recognise now. It was like a spell had been cast because as I stared into the eyes of his drunken exterior, I couldn't even see an ounce of the father who raised me into who I am today.
I thought listening to his story could redeem something in him. Maybe I could wrap my mind around the nonsense and the crazy plots. But when I think I can, there is something pulling me back.
"Yes. I want you to and you will." He demanded more sternly now.
"Well, I am not. I don't betray people in such vindictive ways, I actually have morals unlike some." I spit in his direction. My head turns towards the locked door, ready to make my escape.
"That's not strictly true, is it son?" He says with an honourable smirk written on his face.
"What?"
With my feet feeling heavy as if they were drowning in cement, the gap between us shrinks as the smirk held almost perfectly. Tsk. Tsk. Those annoying sounds that left his mouth made me realise he knew something.
"Are you really going to stand there, talking about morals while you pretend that you and Selena didn't have sex a few days ago right on our sofa?" He chuckles.
My body went icy as I suddenly lost my tongue.
"W-What?" All I could say, the only word that would form.
"Not only is the Gomez family a bunch of money-hungry leeches, but they are unfaithful and sleep with their fiancé's children." That was fuel added to his fire and I mentally cursed at myself.
"I-I-"
"It looks like the Biebers are more alike than you think." He was right in front of me, his hand slapped on my shoulder. The first touch had me jump from it being so unexpected but the second made me jump out of trance-like situation and makes me push him violently away from me. He stumbles back but uses the table as a support.
"I am nothing like you." I hiss.
I don't think his sinister smile had left his face over the past few minutes. It was like a permanent scar.
"Really? Okay then, Justin. Hypothetically, even if you didn't find out about this at all, would you confess sleeping with Selena? In the end, you would have ruined me, our relationship, my love life and god know what Jazzy would have done mixed in that mess just because of her. That sounds like a Bieber to me." Sarcastically, he speaks words that I had no ideal answer to.
"Now you give a fuck about Jazzy? You have a daughter and instead of watching her grow up properly and do fatherly things with her, you schemed against someone who has done fuck all. She didn't ask for the Gomez title." I snap back at him.
"I don't care." What a surprise.
"Of course you don't. You don't give a fuck about anything you selfish wanker."
That was it. The last word into that conversation. My father's smile no longer was being held and I had no more ability to shout at him. But I knew it wouldn't be the last.
The thumping of the music from the main attraction was now recognisable among our silence. I could hear the men across the building cheering for possibly the woman that was in their sights.
We just sat on the opposite sides of them, looking at everything but each other, waiting for the silence between us to be broken. I had one lurking question in my mind, something that hadn't even been brought up by any of us yet, which did shock me. "What about the company then?"
"What about it?" He looks up at me with a black expression. He was too tired of be back in the battle of shouting and arguing.
"You announced that Selena was going to be the new owner. Are you even retiring or is that a lie also?"
"I am retiring within a year, that is true. Obviously that's not going to happen. That was just to make her oblivious to any doubts she could have about me." He tries to glimpse a smile but I don't believe it. It was a large scheme he was pulling and I couldn't fathom how much damage it could of caused. "You are still getting the company, son. I told you to continue to trust me with it because I knew what I was doing. It was always going to go to you."
"What? Really?" He hums a single type, meaning yes. "Even after I slept with Selena and with everything that's happened?"
Should I really be this shocked? I don't know whether the feeling in my stomach was utter happiness or just a warning from the nervousness of taking this on now everything was out in the open with no secrets.
"Yes. I know how much it means to you and it's only fair. You can have it completely only if you follow a few conditions." Here we go...
I knew this fatherly facade would have a few rules I would need to follow. I have proved myself time again for this position and now these rules?
"Depends on the conditions. What are they?" I ask.
I thought about possible conditions as he took his dramatic long pause. Maybe I needed to fill out more reports to give him more free time? Perhaps step up a little more? Fire people? But then he says the words I never wanted to hear. They were like knives, digging into my body on a constant loop and it made me feel on the edge.
"I want you to break things off completely with Selena and I want you to expose her unfaithfulness after we both say I do. I want her out of our lives and I want her out for good."