Chapter 17

Derek PoV

I almost tripped and fell while kicking the punch bag.

I clenched my fingers, prepared to receive another blow.

"Is it your conscience keeping you up at night?" Someone spoke up.

When I turned back, I saw Luke enter the space.

He stayed over on days when he had a lot of work to complete.

This must have been close to three in the morning.

I tossed and turned for a while before deciding to go to my gym.

"Why do you not go to sleep?" I shot back.

"Well, my employer is very picky. I intended to drop by and deliver a few punches to start waking me up and preventing me from dozing off." He responded.

I took a step back to give him room to parry my blows.

"Would you want to discuss what happened today?" he inquired.

"You know, thinking back on yesterday's events, I've never met somebody who is this fortunate," I said.

That meeting with the doctor was so near. In this manner, I could refute all of her falsehoods and prevent her from embarrassing herself.

"What would happen if she became pregnant with your kid in the end?" He enquired.

I laughed. "That is not feasible; it would be really bad for everyone." I responded.

"Most notably for you, yes?" He answered.

Besides, this is just something I'm doing to discipline her. She must come to understand that lying to others is unacceptable." I stopped. "Do you think I should inform her that I just learned that I am not able to conceive?" I could fill up a page with an imaginative tale about my childhood horseback riding. It would be fascinating to see her response. I chuckled.

"That poor girl is really being played with by you. Instead of acting like a typical wealthy person, why don't you simply get yourself a sports vehicle or something equally expensive?" He enquired.

"I'm not quite ready to part from her yet. Furthermore, where would the joy be in that?" I grinned.

"Well, I know you didn't want cameras in your penthouse, but if you want to look at it, I got the video from that night's elevator and outside your apartment," Luke said.

"You are aware that I am too busy for it. In addition, I'm not bothered." I responded.

"Well, sir, you need to attempt to get some rest. "Remember that you need to go to your grandfather's party," he said.

*****

I caught up on the progress of our most recent project at work throughout the day. Overall, everything has been going quite nicely. Still no closer to persuading Leonardo to give up his property, however. Everything we've accomplished so far would have been in vain if that transaction didn't work out.

What was Clara up to today, I wonder? Which lie will she tell next, I wonder? She deserves some credit, I think. She has surprised me once so far.

My granddad entered suddenly as my door sprang open. Leaning on his cane, he walked as one foot dragged behind him.

"I already have to meet you this evening—isn't that enough?" So I did.

"Well, I personally came here to confirm that you would be present." He responded. "In addition, whatever you do affects me, even your business, since you have my last name." He went on.

He dragged out a chair and threw himself down on it.

I took a seat back and waited for his words.

He said, "Well, word has it that you still haven't been able to persuade Leonardo to sell his property."

I could not help but squint. It indicated that I was about to hear one of those, "I could do better at your age, I'm so disappointed" lectures.

"I've previously explained to you how this company operates. Blackmail is what you do when you can't cheat or buy your way to success." He talked with pride.

"Grandpa, I've already told you that I'm not like you. I don't use blackmail to go ahead in business. I pushed.

"However, you will," he said. He pushed the folder across the table to me, softly, so I didn't realise it was there. Fortunately, one of us still has a strong spine. I believe some of the study my PI conducted on him might be helpful to you. He grinned.

I slipped it back to him and said, "You know that's not me; I'd prefer to have nothing to do with it."

"Consider it. I'll simply hang onto the folder for now. You are able to use it whatever you like." He said.

He helped himself up by leaning on his cane. He was back on his way in no time. "Tonight, I'll see you." He gave a last wave.

This must have been his shortest stay.

My gaze kept going back to the folder.

My grandpa continued to believe that I would use his methods even after several attempts. Yes, I may be manipulative at times, but I would never resort to blackmail.

I was still unable to take my eyes off the folder. It didn't hurt to look; it was already there. I wouldn't use anything in that folder against him, after all.

I picked up the folder by reaching across the table.

I sat back in my chair and turned each page of that file.

Clara, huh? I opened my eyes in disbelief and murmured.

******

I was probably the last person to come to my grandfather's gathering since I had a couple of meetings throughout the day and an hour-long siesta.

I kept thinking about Clara. Did she really know this? If that's the case, there are a lot of unsolved questions.

It was all I could do for an hour to get her out of my brain. It was time to pull out my finest party facial expression.

My granddad went crazy with the decorations, as always. Violinists played in the background as lights illuminated the space. Everything, including the tea, was immaculate. The majority of the visitors congregated in the living area. It was large enough to accommodate everyone.

My first sighting was of my cousin Vincent. He was at the far corner of the living room, at the bar. Three additional females were gathered around him. He never appeared to change; he was always the flirty guy he was.

It appeared as if he couldn't get away from those females any quicker once he spotted me.

He went away with his drink and came up to me, releasing the one female who had her arm looped in with his.

"Hello, cousin," Vincent said. "I'm so glad you could come. Grandpa's self-centred banter was starting to grow on me." He exhaled. He sipped from his beverage.

"Were those three not with you?" I gestured toward the females.

They were waving to us, we observed.

"Talking about myself was starting to become old." He was honest.

A waiter came over and gave me a drink.

I looked over the throng for a time, trying to recognize anybody.

That's Calvin, right? Observing an old buddy, I inquired. Vincent and I attended college together.

He was conversing with an elderly woman in a quiet spot. "Is his mother there? She's not someone I know." I asked once more.

Vincent felt amused.

No, that's his girlfriend, who is sixty-three years old. Soon after, his parents disowned him." He said.

"Gosh, I wish my folks could just throw me out if I had a sixty-three-year-old girlfriend. My mother has an odd belief that she can locate a bride for me." I said something. I swigged from my beverage.

"Your folks are only now getting started? The amount of ladies I have already been introduced to is too many to count." He chuckled.

Vincent gestured with his cup to a former business partner of my grandpa. "I'm amazed he made it to the event. He wanted to be with his mistress instead of his wife. He hired someone to entice her since he couldn't simply walk away from her. He feared that after the divorce, she would inherit everything. It seems that the scammer became enamoured with his spouse and assisted her in obtaining all of his funds. He has nothing now." Vincent clarified.

"Don't tell me that you two are chatting up other people as usual." Grandpa came over to us.

There was a guy with him.

"Vincent and Derek are my grandkids." Grandpa gestured toward us. "This is Matthew, too. I am friends with him." Grandpa gave us the tour.

"I've heard about your future project, Derek. It seems rather ambitious, I must admit." He said.

"You said your daughter was working on a new project, right?" Papa enquired.

Matthew said, "Yes." He said, "There she is, in truth."

I was in disbelief at my luck. Madison was there. I felt like I would never see her again after my folks' supper.

Madison walked over to grin. I made an effort to search for every route I could go, but it was already too late.

Madison came over to us.

"Hello, Derek," she smiled.

I nodded in response.

She wasn't as touchy-feely today, which is a relief. I doubt I could tolerate it.

Grandpa said, "I see you two are already familiar with one another." "I have a thought. Why don't you two collaborate on a project? It would be fantastic if you were both participating, I'm sure. I'll cover all of the costs myself. He went on.

Matthew gave a nod of affirmation.

My mouth fell open. For an hour, I could hardly bear to be near her. What would be the most efficient way for us to work on a project that may take a year or longer?

I saw Maddison's eyes progressively fill with excitement. I interrupted her before she could say anything.

"Although it seems like a fantastic deal, I would have to turn this down. I said, "I'm working on some huge projects right now, so I can't afford to divide any more time.

"It's okay, son," Grandpa sadly said. "I've always maintained that it's preferable to own up to your shortcomings. It doesn't make you weak to admit it." He went on.

He had intentionally provoked me with his statements, but it was not going to work this time.

"Derek has always chosen the simple route since he was a little child. As opposed to his cousin Vincent, who consistently ventured to take on more difficult tasks. My most cherished grandchild." Grandpa went on. He gave Vincent a back pat.

He went on to explain the remainder of the tale, and I grinned. By designating Vincent as his "favourite," I was just able to get rid of him for a little bit longer.

"I should have simply given him Barbie dolls and playhouses as a child instead of having him tag around to learn from me, and here I was thinking that he was finally doing something with his life," the woman said when he initially informed her that he wanted to get into the hotel industry. Grandpa went on.

He had the ability to manipulate people, and it was effective.

My fingers gripped my glass tightly. "What do you know? "Let's get started," I replied. "My assistant can definitely find a little window of time in my schedule to work on this job."

After saying it, I immediately regretted it.

Grandpa said, "That's my kid, that's the Montenegro spirit."

With a back pat, he expressed his approbation.

It's unbelievable that I unknowingly stepped into his trap.

"To fresh beginnings," Grandpa raised his glass.

Each of us raised our glass.

"Pardon us, please," Vincent said something.

Vincent took hold of my arm and dragged me away from the throng.

As soon as Grandpa was out of sight, he finally stopped.

"Are you crazy now? Will you really collaborate with Mad Maddison? Do you understand that you've just dug a grave for yourself?" Vincent queries.

I exhaled.

It was all up to me. Grandpa was obviously attempting to rile me up," I retorted.