The Crimson Affair Chapter 14
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, SEGA does. Thank you so much guys for the wonderful reviews and the honest ones, too.
Monday, 9:30 am at Darius Conglomerate
(Shadow's POV)
Monday, the first day of the week, this is the time when I have to make rounds with my father around the corporation and also the time when I have to give him a detailed report about everything that happened for the past week.
"I've got a call from Mr. Akio, the owner of 'Yaneda Telecom.' He said he found our telecommunication company fascinating and would fly to Mobius this week to discuss a deal with 'Sky Telecommunications' to offer our telecommunication agents a job opportunity in Japan teaching English to Japanese businessmen."
I glided my stylus on my organizer and scrolled it down "He will arrive on Thursday around 3:30 in the afternoon."
"How about the guest accommodation?"
"I have already arranged the hotel and dinner reservations for the guests as well."
"Good"
"In addition to that, Ivo Robotics has requested a business partnership offering two new refineries with a total capacity of 300,000 barrels per day. The matter would be further discussed on the next meeting that's going to be held two days from now"
"Interesting…But I have doubts affiliating with Ivo Robotnik. Make sure you know his intentions first before signing up the agreement. Overlanders are difficult to read compared to Mobians"
"Understood"
"Taking those aside, how did the agreement between Emerald Industries went? As far as I know, those stubborn echidnas at the top won't make business partnerships with us. They always come with a hatchet" my father asked in his usual deep and calm voice.
"The agreement between Emerald Industries has already been signed and the future projects agreed upon will be commenced this coming month."I confidently responded.
My father gave me a cynical look like he usually does whenever I did something beyond his expectations.
"Exactly, how did you charm those snakes, my boy?" he asked, his hand resting on his chin
I discreetly rolled my eyes at his statement, wondering to myself how he often finds my actions implausible.
"Persuasion, bargaining and a quick cup of coffee" was my quick response.
"I'm impressed. You've proven yourself worthy enough to be my successor, boy" he leaned from his seat.
I ignored his dry compliment and excused myself out of his office but I was halted once again.
"Shadow, there is another matter we need to discuss" he stood from his seat and walked towards me with his piercing eyes.
I stood there confused, wondering what else he wanted.
"I am finished with my report, father. What is there to discuss?" I calmly retorted.
"For my upcoming business trip, I would like you to go instead"
I almost gasped in surprise. This is the first business trip that he refused to go to.
"Why are you asking me to go?" I asked coldly "You've never asked me to go before"
"I have matters to attend to in this office"
There he is again, lying again.
"Matters? Like what?" I crossed my arms, disregarding the fact that it's impolite to do so especially in front of your boss.
I didn't care anymore.
"Paperwork" was his calm response.
"Stop lying, I've finished all of the paperwork yesterday. What else is your excuse, father? Are you going somewhere? Perhaps visiting someone?" sarcasm filled me this time.
"Shadow, that attitude of yours is starting to become bothersome. I did not raise you to be disrespectful."
I felt my adrenaline rush at his statement.
"Don't pass the burdens to me and we don't demand respect, we earn it" I snapped back in response.
"That does not give you an excuse to insult your own father. Your ego is as enormous as this company I've worked so hard to build."
I gritted my teeth, I'm starting to lose my temper.
"It was you who helped me build this ego of mine."
"You've done that to yourself. What has become of you? Right now, all I see is a spoiled, egoistic and ill-mannered hedgehog disguised as my son. You used to be a very nice boy, what happened?"
Unbelievable. To think that he's using my childhood against me.
"I'm never going to be that cheerful hedgehog that I used to be. I used to look up to you but the time when Maria died, you began to drift away from us. Where were you during those times?"
My father took a sharp breath, I could feel his rage in his calm form
"I was grieving…"
"Away from us?"
"I had a business trip that time"
He's indeed a very bad liar.
"You only made me find more reasons to hate you. Here's a fact: It all started with you. Everything is your fault, you made me like this!"
My father's piercing glare competed with mine, we're like two lions fighting over a chunk of meat, ready to pounce at one another any time.
"I clothed you, fed you, gave you everything you want and molded you to become my perfect successor and here you are giving me more reasons why I should not have chosen you to take over this company. What kind of a son are you?"
"A son who never wants to be like his father! It's always about me. Let's talk about your mistakes this time, father, so that we could be fair. Have you seen mother lately? Have you noticed how much she had changed ever since you started getting busy with doing your damn 'Business-related' trips during weekends?!"
I lost my temper and I blurted out what I've been keeping for so long.
"Don't involve your mother into this and you have no reason to meddle with my affairs" his eyes narrowing, I could feel his rage emitting from him.
"Affairs. That's right, that's exactly the appropriate term for that, father. I'm glad you pointed that out. I guess there's no reason for me to say it out loud anymore"
"That's preposterous!" he angrily shouted at me
"Don't deny it anymore, father" I gave him a disgusted look "I already know you've been betraying your family for years"
He looked at me in disbelief, rubbed his temples then soon took a deep breath and he looked away from me.
"Who told you that?!" I heard him ask with his back remained unturned.
"It doesn't matter but I'll let you know that mother didn't tell me anything. She wanted to give me an illusion of a perfect family but sad to say I'm already aware of your dirty secret"
He looked at me, finally wearing that expression, the expression of complete humiliation but quickly avoided my gaze to conceal it from me further.
"So, who's this whore you're seeing? She must be quite a catch. Probably good in bed, too. Why don't you introduce me to her so I could tell her how she tore this family apart?"
I'm determined to find out, whoever that is.
My father took out his stress ball from his pocket and squeezed it tightly.
"Enough of this, Shadow" he turned his back at me "Leave my office…"
"I'm not leaving this time until you admit it. You're cheating behind mother's back and I want to know who your gold digging whore is"
My father glared towards my direction with fire burning in his eyes that somehow made my fur rise.
"You want to know? Fine, I'll tell you. Her name is Sapphire and don't ever call her a 'gold digging whore.' She's a decent woman who cares for her family. I only asked her for her time and she gave that to me without anything in return. She refused all of my offers, she refused every gift I gave her…It wasn't about the money why she came to me, it never was to begin with…Don't judge every women that way"
I felt my heart racing. This time, it is rage that's making it like this.
"Still, you sought comfort with another woman while mother and I grieved?!"
"I have a string of mistresses before Sapphire and your mother knew that too well but I made sure I never fall in love with any of them, your mother is still the only one for me"
He's not making any sense, he's only making this conversation worse.
"So there's more…How dare you, father. You tell me you love my mother at the same breath you tell me that you're sleeping with other women. That's outrageous!" I sharply pointed out
"Don't even think your mother is a saint as well…" was his calm response
"What are you implying? What did mother ever do to you?" I snapped at him for making a comment like that "Isn't she the victim here?"
"She…did the same" I saw him gritting his teeth as he slammed his fist on his desk.
"What are you saying, father?" I'm starting to feel uncomfortable, the aura around us suddenly changed, it was suffocating.
"Maria was only 2 years old when your mother found out I was having an affair. Enraged with my actions, she…sought the comfort of my brother and they started seeing each other behind my back. Terios had always loved your mother and she loved him as well but I took her away from him. I strived to take his spotlight, I was jealous of everything he had because our parents favored him more but when the plane crash took him away, I got guilty. Months later, here you are, constantly reminding me of him as though he's punishing me for taking all of the things he had…Terios is your real father, not me"
The world crushed before me. I felt my blood draining from my head, I'm getting dizzy but I fought to stand still.
This can't be true.
All this time, I've been living in a world full of lies.
I can't believe that the people who I grew to trust were actually the ones who betrayed me.
10:00 am at Zen Massage Parlor
(Rouge's POV)
Mondays, this is the time when we restock oils, put clean towels and change the drapes.
The busiest day of the week.
I was refilling scented oils when all of a sudden…
"Rouge!" I heard somebody called my name and looking back, I saw Felicia wearing a huge frown on her face.
"What is it?" I asked.
It's too early and she's already emitting a terrible atmosphere in this establishment.
"You are supposed to put clean towels in room 3, where are those towels?!" she flared while one hand grasped on her mobile phone.
Texting during working hours. Is that even allowed?
"I'm on it" I sighed as I went towards the stock room to get some towels.
"Hey Rouge" one of my co-workers called out.
"Hey Mina" was my only response as I gathered the towels in my arms.
"Oh, let me help you" Mina took the half.
"Thanks"
Walking towards room 3, Mina suddenly broke the silence.
"The queen seemed pissed again, what have you done this time?" my co-worker wondered.
"Nothing and I don't even want to know. Maybe it's the time of the month?"
Mina grinned
"Or maybe the manager refused to sleep with her last night"
Both of us laughed at the thought.
It's going to be a long day.
A/N: Sorry for the short chapter. Just a quick little note after reading a recent story review. Yes, I actually read reviews and find inspiration from them.
I know I still need to learn a lot in writing a better fanfiction and I'm aware of that because this is my first time writing a fanfiction and English is not my native language. I want to share my story to the world because I want to inspire. I'm still taking baby steps in writing that's why I have a lot of flaws.
I appreciate criticism, however, it could be a bruising experience to some and critics should know how to deliver it to help the author improve, not by taking away their passion to write because I'm aware that criticism can either be encouraging or discouraging but here's a thing: Learning from mistakes help you grow.
So, for those who like my work until now, thank you so much, you guys inspire me to keep going; for those who didn't and find it 'awful' and 'unrealistic' as quoted, I'll try to do better but I just want to emphasize that 'I am not a quitter and I'm determined to finish what I started.'
It's human nature to be imperfect and I'm proud to be one and having the power to give an honest opinion does not give you a license to hurt.
Here's something to inspire new writers:
"You can either be judged because you created something or ignored because you left your greatness inside of you."
-James Clear