HIS BROTHER'S WRATH

Trenton sat regally in his office, a calm and collected look on his well-sculpted beautiful fair features watching his brother pace a storm in his office. His brother had an angry bear look on his face and looked as if he was on the verge of murder and the target him. " Wearing out my tiles is not going to magically poof us out of this mess, you know, " Trent said to his brother getting fed up with the oscillating movement that was making him slightly dizzy.

Chase Wade paused like a braked train and whirled on his brother, the veins on his forehead pulsating to the gravity of the ire tearing his insides apart. He was so angry that he could blow a fuse. " You are the reason we are in this mess and you sit there looking like a damn king on his throne and complaining about my pacing. How the fuck does that help us, " he growled at his brother and returned to his pacing. He was trying to wrap his head around the fact that his brother was so stupid and gullible that he fell into the hands of scammers costing the company billions of dollars that they are struggling to recover from, placing them on the verge of collapse.

" And how does pacing like a cage lion help us, what is done is done all we have to do is figure out a way to rescue the company and not throwing muds at each other, " Trent retorted in a cool leveled tone, refusing to raise his voice like his brother.

Chase's hand tightened into a fist, just to stop himself from matching to his brother and wriggling his neck. " No brother, there is no we, your mess, you clean it up and you have two weeks to come up with a concrete plan to lift us off from this huge debt you sunk us into or I am calling an emergency board meeting to impeach you as the acting president of this company, " Chase threatened with a red look in his eyes.

Trenton frowned and held his brother's gaze head-on. You wouldn't dare he growled at him in a challenge staring at him with hatred built up from the sibling rivalry that existed between them right from their teenage years.

He and his brother are always competing with each other, be it their father's love which he has, or the girls who tend to prefer his bad boy charming looks to his brother's cool executive serious exterior. It rankled his brother's feathers when his father chose him to be the president of the company which had come as a surprise to them both, as he wasn't expecting the post feeling that Chase was the more suitable candidate but whatever reason known to their dad he was choosing which had skyrocketed the intense rivalry between them.

Since after taking over from the company Chase has been looking for ways to prove him unfit for the position and he had just played into his hand.

Chase leaned in till he was almost invading Trent's personal space. " Watch me, " he snarled in a dark tone and leaned back up, he straightened his black suit before throwing one more parting shot at his brother before he walked out of his office. " I am going to prove to Father and everyone that he made a mistake choosing his bastard son to be the president of a company he put in his sweat and blood to build. "

" Fuck you! " Trent hurled after his brother, his voice filled with frustration and anger at his brother for throwing the circumstances of his birth to his face.

Chase was right. He was the bastard son of their father. Their father is one of his business trips had met his mother a musician who hopped from bar to bar singing and trying to make a living. Luck was on her side that she happened to be singing in the same bar the rich business mogul, Cheston Wade was meeting some clients. According to his mum, it was love at first sight. Then she had no idea that he was married and only found out few months into their affair and by then she was already pregnant with him. Nine months later he was born but his mother had died giving birth to him and that left his father as his sole living relative and he didn't think twice about taking full custody of the son of the woman he loved, but he already made family, his wife and four-year-old son had a lot to say about it. Luckily for him, he was the apple of his dad's eyes because of his mother and got dotted on by the old man which is part of the reason he is sitting on this chair instead of his elder brother whom his father doesn't have much regard for.

He sank deeper into his seat a thinking look on his face but his brain was blocked, he couldn't think of a single idea that will help him mop up the mess he created. He pulled out his desk drawer and took out the packet of cigarettes lying inside and the metal fancy lighter and pulled out one of the white sticks and lit it. He took the burning stick to his pink full lips and took a long drag. Most ladies have complimented him on his lips saying he has a feminine lip, he didn't know about that but it seems to draw them a lot to his side, that and his charming cocky personality. The saying that most girls tend to be attracted to bad boys who are assholes seems true in his case as he never seems to lack for bed partners every night.

He took another puff bringing his mind out from the ladies and back to the worry of the day. His mind took him back to how he landed in this mess in the first place.

Their company was one of the two top corporate sharks in the city that are into acquiring small businesses or businesses that are on the verge of collapse and building it up and selling it for a huge profit more than what they sold it at. A few months ago he was approached by two men who claimed they had a business to sell. The difference was that this company was huge and thriving but according to them are no longer interested in running the business and just wanted to sell it off and travel. It was a big financial institution. Going over everything he got hooked by the amount of profit and revenue he stands to gain if he makes the deal. He was blinded by the need to impress his dad with his business acumen that he didn't read the handwriting on the wall until it was too late and he spent a hundred million dollars on a firm that wasn't the guy's property to sell in the first place. He had threatened to sue the company for duping him and when he presented all the documents he was given by the two guys it was found out that they were all authentic fakes. He was duped alright but not by the company. He suspects the guys to be one of these Nigeria 419ners.

He took another drag of his cigarette allowing the clear smoke to saturate his lungs before puffing it out through his nose, his mind still lost in the business of coming up with a solution. Then an idea struck his mind like lightning making him sit up quickly in his seat with heightened eagerness. He picked his intercom and dialed his secretary.

" Get me a meeting with Mr. Clark, " he barked into the phone without preamble still puffing out his smoke. He ended the call as soon as he passed his instructions along and relaxed back again on his seat. Mr. Clark was the owner of Clark Corporate Castle. Their most ardent business rival.

Thirty minutes later his intercom rang. " Yes! " he drawled into his phone. " Mr. Clark is unavailable sir, he is out on a business trip and his office doesn't know when he will be coming back to the city, " his secretary relayed in a polite slightly nervous voice.

" Fuck! " Trenton snarled darkly puffing the last end of his cigarette hard. He hated having to wait to do something once he had made up his mind and the second time was a costly luxury that he doesn't think he can afford right now. But at the moment the only plan hitting his head was approaching their business rival for a silent partnership between their two companies.

For the rest of the week, Trent hounded Clark's company for any information on when the old man was coming back into town through his secretary while doing his best to carry on as if nothing was amidst while his brother watched him ticking the passing time with his eyes.

On the fifth day, his persistence paid off the man was coming in on Friday for his birthday on Saturday and Trent made plans to crash the party cause he didn't know when next he will be able to catch the man without being giving the flimsy excuse that he was busy.

Dressed in his finest suit and looking dandy and handsome his hair properly styled he made his way to Clark's residential mansion where the party is being held.

He walked into the luxurious and heavily grand party to see some guests loitering around with champagne glasses in their hands while they searched out for anybody in the mood for some societal gossips. His eyes combed around the large room searching for his query and zeroed in on him where he stood talking with five other older men dressed formally. Probably his business associates.

Trent made his way to the old man in a confident bold steps not letting his nervousness reflect in the carriage of his body. When he joined the gentlemen, he greeted them with his famous charming smile and once he said who he was, he saw their eyes light up with interest especially the man he was here to see.

Joining in their conversation he was able to woe them with his witty and funny conversations. When he requested to speak to Mr. Clark before his party kicks off he was granted an audience.

The old man took him into his study. It was a large traditional study room with priceless artifacts lining the shelves. He sat down across the man and politely took the glass of wine the old man served him.

" So what brings you to my doorstep, young man? " Steven Clark asked taking a seat in the black huge chair on the other side of the large desk.

Trent swallowed his drink to gather his composure before he opened his mouth to speak. When he was done he expected the man to bluntly refuse his offer, I mean which sane man partners with his arch-rival but was rather shocked to the root of the hairs on his skin when the man said yes to his proposal. He began to grin slowly but paused midway at the but that followed seconds later.

" I am listening, " Trent said waiting for the man to state his condition for the silent partnership.

" You have to marry my daughter. "

Trent face drained of all color as his eyes bulged out behind their sockets. Did the old man just say marriage? That was the one word that didn't exist in Trent's dictionary. Trent hates and fears the institution of marriage, something he regards as a glorified prison. He was a free bird who enjoys the freedom to sample all the beautiful females that the good Lord has made available on this earth and he was not willing to sacrifice that freedom in the name of marriage. He was almost on his feet to take to the hills when he remembered what is at stake and settled down.

He coughed. " Are you going to force your daughter into marrying a man she doesn't love? " he asked, hoping to dissuade the man from his insanity by playing the love card.

" Love is something that can grow and I believe that you too will learn to love each other with time. " Trent bit down hard on his tongue to stop the words ' not him ' from coming out of his mouth.

He nodded and shook hands with the man. The formal contract will be drawn up on Monday.

They stood and walked back to the party.

They have just entered the room when a sweet melodious feminine voice screeched Daddy from across the room and the most stunning woman he has ever seen hurried towards them. When she drew closer Trent recognized her and his heart summer assaulted into his stomach in dread. There was no way Evangel Clark, his high school ex was going to agree to marry him, not with the way things ended between them. And he was proven right when a few minutes later after the news was broken to her and she said the most ridiculous words he ever expected to come from her gorgeous lips.