"Rowan." He groaned into the pillow; he was acting like a damn kid. "Get up." This is the third time I called his name. Once again, a groan left his lips. "Few more minutes, please." I sighed at that. "It's been four days; you have to visit your company," I stated firmly. That got his full attention as he abruptly sat on the bed. "What do you mean?" "You need to visit the company today. We should control the share price of the company." "My dad is handling things; why do I need to visit?" I rolled my eyes at that. "Because you are the current CEO and you can't hide like a coward." He groaned at that. "I am not a coward." I chuckled at that. "You are proving that today."
He started to rub his face, along with his hair, out of frustration. "You are throwing me into the water full of sharks; they won't spare me this time." I knew, but I would never send him without a backup. "You said you would handle things?" I shook my head at that. "I will handle it, but you need to visit the company, Rowan. You can't hide, and this is a serious matter." He nodded, considering my words but still torn. "My dad would throw me to Shreya, without wasting a second." I chuckled at that. "No, he wouldn't trust me on this." He sighed at that. "Directors will not spare me. Let them remove me from the damn position; it doesn't matter anymore." I finally faced Rowan after getting ready. "You should voluntarily resign; directors removing you will do major damage to you, your reputation, and your family also." He huffed at that. "I can't swim alone, with those predators around me." He whined. I rolled my eyes at that. "You managed just fine these past years," I stated matter-of-factly. "Yeah, with the help of my father." He grunted the words. "Trust me, you will be just fine." He coughed at that. "You are not the one who is swimming around the shark, and I am damn tired." I leaned on the wall. "You are just 25, Rowan." He waved his hand at me. "Doesn't matter, I am tired; they always push me around like I am some kind of rug, put me on the spot, and blame me for every chance they get. These days my dad's hands are tied too." He leaned on the pillow, crossing his hands over his chest. I felt sympathetic at his words. I should have done something sooner; I never thought he needed a hand on anything. With a good background and successful family members around him, he still suffered. "My grandfather is finding a chance to get his hand on me; this time he would not let me go." His gaze was on the window; the morning breeze was hitting his face. I sighed at the blissful sight.
Nothing is normal when I am around; that point has been proved multiple times. I don't want to see anyone's early morning face, and early morning breath is the last thing I want to inhale. Sharing my bed, the scent around my room has changed; my bed, pillows, and bedsheets all smell like Rowan, and it's addicting. My eye bags are completely gone; I am too active these days and have no bloody nightmares. I don't know whether the nightmares have taken a short break, but I am relaxed and calm. He gives me 'N' number of reasons for me to lock him up and somehow make him tie to me forever. A wishful thought that would never come true in this life.
"Trust me, no one would take you without your permission. You need to address the board and the media, along with your dad. He can't handle everything." He groaned. "I won't let you swim without a backup," I further added, and he perked up at that. "What do you mean?" "I have appointed someone as a director, and he will back you up at the meeting." "Who?" "Mr. Mehanth." He nodded his head slowly. "I thought finally someone was backing me up because he saw something in me." His face fell a little. "Every day is a war and test, Rowan." He swatted his hand. "I was just fine before I was thrown into this shit." He grumbled. "See, so many problems I have created for not only myself but also for the company and employees," I hummed in understanding. "Well, you need to solve them too, right?" He nodded, murmuring something underneath. "Why can't I have a normal life?" I chuckled at that. "You should get ready, as I said; things would be handled." He hummed at that.
He started walking to the bathroom, and I got out of the room to wait for him at the table. After 10 minutes, my dad joined me and waited. I inwardly chuckled at that; unknowingly, he was getting used to Rowan's presence. Rowan joined the table and greeted my dad, who acknowledged by nodding his head. Breakfast started to be served, and for the first time, I felt peace at the dining table. I prayed that Rowan would not open his mouth, as I knew my dad was in no mood to provoke anything.
"So, Dante, how does this 'Bi' thing work?" Dad and I almost choked at the food. We both saw him at the same time; while chewing, he eyed both of us and spoke. "What? It's a genuine question." He grumbled, and Dad's and my eyes met for a few seconds. "You didn't Google it." I really wonder; he turns out to be a pro at googling every damn thing. He nodded at that. "Trust me, I did. There are so many sexual contexts; my god, my brain stopped working for a few seconds. Like really, what are those? Damn, I was content watching boobs, waist, and girls' backs." He explained too much, and trust me, we stopped eating. I didn't turn to my dad to know what was running in his head. "So, what would you guys be content to watch?" Did he just ask that? "You turned gay all of a sudden, right, Rowan? So, what pleased your eyes, as you saw my son?" He abruptly stopped eating at the question, and I swallowed the laugh that I almost thought of bursting out. Dad and I saw Rowan's face, who was confused as hell. "Hey, no retort question, please. As I said, it was a genuine question?" My dad sighed at that, and I didn't utter a word, not knowing what to say. "Dante should answer that." "My dad directed the question to me, to which I glared. "I thought you were 'Bi' too?" "Now, completely gay." My dad clarified. "You can switch completely too? This is insane." Dad and I groaned at that. "You can switch to whatever, however you want? How is it even possible?" "Because we like pussy and dick; sometimes our preference may vary." "So, you just switch however you want; that's how it works?" "Rowan." I tried to defuse the topic; it's going out of hand. "What? You had sex with a freak and an asshole; that's not a sane thing to do. I am wondering how this whole shit works." He glared while saying every word, and his voice went louder.
There was pin-drop silence, and I was opening my mouth but closing it, not knowing how to defend myself. What was he pointing at? My dad chuckled as he watched me. "You should leave me out of this, kid, because I was a faithful husband until my wife passed away. I got connected to Brandon, and now, I am faithful to him." Rowan nodded at that. "So, what about you?" He directed the question to me, and I was confused. "What about me?" I retorted, to which he rolled his eyes. "Were you fucking both of them?" "I never had a threesome." "I mean, were you sex buddies with both of them in the same period?" "Yes," I said slowly. "Of course," he taunted. "I wasn't in a relationship with either of them." "That doesn't mean you can't switch however you want." He stated the matter of fact, but I knew he was digging for something else, and I was not getting what it was. My dad coughed to get my attention, and I faced him, still confused. "He thinks you can't be loyal to your partner." Slowly, I nodded at him. Why would he think that? I clarified that I was not in a relationship with them. It was just sex; again, he had sex with only one after getting into a relationship. How will he understand anything?
"Rowan." I faced him, and he gave me his full attention. "You should pluck Shreya and Eddie out of your brain. It's a closed chapter in my life." I spoke every word in a more serious tone. Sometimes, his vibes make me fear and shiver; unknowingly, he is playing the boyfriend role thoroughly. Pointing out the same thing, conversing on the same thing and trying to clarify, but he is still not satisfied. I am not getting whether he is worried, cares, or just wants clarity. Besides, it doesn't make sense. "I am 'bi,' no doubt about it, tried things too, nothing wrong with it. I will be loyal if I ever get in a relationship." I tried my best to replace the image that he has portrayed wrongly about me. "The on-and-off switch is with me, Rowan. I am attracted to both genders, not to the level where I fell and dated anyone. If I fall, I will fall hardly that much, I know, so the person need not worry about sexuality and feel insecure." I finished, satisfied with my justification. Rowan went silent, focusing on something. After a few seconds, he nodded his head. I hope he gets my point and doesn't dig into the matter once again. "Well, he or she will be lucky." He gave a punchline, to which my dad chuckled and I rolled my eyes. "Goodbye to both of you; wish me luck." With that, Rowan walked out to his car.
My dad and I were at the table, in silence. We had finished breakfast, which was rather half-eaten, but didn't think of moving. "You know I like you more when you were mute." I groaned at that. "Don't you know what to share or not?" "I never thought he would make this big deal out of it. He is stuck on that; I don't think he would let go that easily." My dad chuckled at that. "I bet on that." "I will get going." "Watch your mouth." My dad shouted as I walked, to which I coughed.
"You are glowing." Thomas greeted me with a broad smile on his face. "Look at you, no eye baggage, not exhausted and active as hell." I smiled at that. "I forgot to take sleeping pills yesterday; I didn't hit the gym because it was too late, still slept like a rock," I added, and Thomas's eyes went wide at that. "Come again, you skipped pills?" I nodded at that. "No nightmare, no sweating, as I said, it's peaceful." He hummed while sipping the coffee. "Leave the kid alone, Dante?" "He is not a kid, Thomas." "Leave the man alone." I chuckled at that. "It's because of Rowan; I told you before." He rolled his eyes at that. "Please don't do this?" "I know, I know, I will never go against his will." I walked toward the wide window. "It's just hard to ignore," I stated. "He is giving these vibes, which creep me out, trust me. I tried to brush it off, ignore as much as possible, but day by day, it's getting hard. " Thomas joined my side, watching the same view. "You should know where to draw the line; let this end in harmony." I sighed at that. "I would never hurt or go against Rowan's will; I promise you that. I could never do that, not now at least." He nodded at that. "He was hard again this morning and covered with a pillow. He thinks I am not noticing." I chuckled, and Thomas snorted. "Leave the man alone. Come on, we have lots of things to discuss." I hummed and joined him.
As I got out of the car, Devis ran to me. "Where the hell were you?" I ignored him and continued to walk. "Rowan, your phone is switched off." "I did it on purpose." He had an unbelievable look on his face. "Are you bloody serious? In a situation like this, you fucking switched off your cell?" He shouted, and I ignored him once again. "Where the hell were you? With Dante?" "Please stop questioning me; so many people are waiting to do that," I shouted back at him, and he shut his mouth at that.
My dad glared at me as he saw me. I don't know what my mom was doing here, but as she saw me, she hugged me tightly. I had contacted my mom and cautioned her not to inform my dad, though. She was restless, I guess. "Directors pissed off, Rowan. You are giving enough reason to the media so that they could go against you." As if they were for me or anything I do. "I am here." "It's been four fucking days. Do you have any idea of our company share price as of now?" I am not an idiot; I was getting updates on everything. Danial joined us, a little pissed off at me.
The four walked to my cabin, and everyone had different reactions on their faces. "You need to address directors and media." My dad started. "How are you going to justify your absence?" he shouted. "A sensible person would never run from difficulty. You absconded, Rowan." "I didn't." "They portray that way." "You are giving enough reasons to them, Rowan," Davis added. "How are you handling this?" Dante has informed me about the director who could control the situation and a new addition from his side, but I should have asked more about handling the situation. Rather, I was an idiot discussing sexuality, seriously, Rowan. What is wrong with you? His sexuality matters to you when you have serious things to discuss. You wanted to know whether he was reliable or not. Why? I groaned at my absurd behaviour; I am making a big deal out of him being with Shreya and Eddie. Making his business a big deal and everything.
"Rowan." My dad shouted, and I flinched at the voice. "I will handle it." "How?" Well, by making a call. Can I say that no, I can't? He sighed as he watched me. "You tested me too much. This is it. I have called Shreya." If I didn't have a pep talk today, oh boy, I would have run from here. Still, fear crept into me. "Rowan, you better be prepared because the directors are boiling. They kept asking for you, and it was a shameful situation for your dad." I groaned as I stood near the French window. "He tried his best, but he couldn't dodge so many bullets." I sighed at that.
This overall situation is not for me; it suits Dante very well. Things should be plain and simple, not always hectic, with pressure added. I can't work under damn consistent pressure and always carry something or the other on my damn shoulder. This is not fucking for me, but the surname is tying me down and locking me up. I want a peaceful life, but I am not going to get one anytime soon. This life sucks. I had a blast these four days, lying around, watching anything, having everything, just chilling.
"Rowan." He should stop doing that. "We should go to the boardroom; everyone arrived." I hummed at that, suddenly feeling panic. Everyone got up from their places, waiting for me to move. Their gazes were unbearable; no one was taking a step toward the door. I groaned at that; they thought I would run. Like seriously. "I need to be alone for a few minutes." "Why?" Doubt poured from my dad's voice. "To think," I answered him, which he didn't buy. "You can think we won't disturb you." Seriously. "If you guys didn't get out, I am finding solace somewhere else." I threatened my dad, who just glared at me. "Fine." Both Dad and Davis started walking, but Danial stayed, which was ok.
I went to the balcony, closed the window, and dialled Thomas's number. "Dante informed me about the directors, but he didn't tell me the solution," Thomas grumbled as I finished the sentence. "You guys didn't find time, I guess." Thomas retorted, "This time," I grumbled. "Thomas, sharks are waiting at the meeting; just one step, and they would shred me into pieces." Thomas laughed at that. "They are that bad, huh?" "You don't have any idea." He chuckled at that. "I can't believe you walked into the company so blindly." He pointed out my stupidity. "There is a new addition; they will control the worst situation, so don't panic. Tell the directors that you are considering merging with Morris's Co." He stopped, and my heart dropped at that. What the hell? "Are you serious?" "If needed, it should be done, but it's the last option. Morris's company will be leveraged for you, and the name holds goodwill where they wouldn't argue with you." Merging? My dad would kill me, and my grandfather would never leave this world. "Do you think I should just state that? It's a big thing." Thomas sighed at that. "Yeah, but it's the last option if they get on your nerves; tell them to dodge the bullet; the rest, we will see." I panicked at the idea; it may be a solution for now, but. "What about Dante?" "He was the one who came up with the idea." I sighed, still feeling restless. "His dad knows about this." "No, Dante doesn't discuss company matters with him, not anymore." "What about the company name and everything? Directors would dig more and more about this." I tried to work my brain as much as I could; this is too big, and I just can't walk in with all glory with the idea. "Tell them the names would be combined." "That's it. What about the press?" "Tell them that if Desmond went to the verge of declaring bankruptcy, you would merge with Morris's Co." I hummed at that. It looks solid and believable. "Do you think our company would go bankrupt?" It doesn't matter whether I am interested in running the company, taking pressure or not, but my dad has poured his soul into growing this company, and it should not go in vain. "No, it won't." Thomas's assured word gave me some strength. "Anything else you want to know?" "People might think of confirming my statement." "Of course, they would, and I am going to handle that," I hummed in satisfaction. "Thank you; I would be lost if I entered the boardroom without preparing myself." "Dante predicted your call." "Of course," I grunted. "Good luck, Rowan." I definitely needed that.