Chapter 7

DAMSON

“Lily went for an interview, she wouldn't be coming back until later in the day”, Damson overheard the housekeeper telling the chef on his way out.

It was the day after the burial and he was tired. Sleeping in for most of the morning did little to ease his tiredness. He had the chef make him chamomile tea when he woke up which gave him enough strength to get the day started. 

He was going to see Fin put some things in place for work tomorrow as he wouldn’t be able to make it to the office. He trusted Fin with his office affairs which made it easy for him to carry out his duties whenever he was not opportune to be in the office.

“An interview? not at his firm” he mused. If Lily got a job elsewhere, how else was he supposed to fulfil his father’s wish of giving her a job at the firm? On the other hand, though, he was happy he wouldn't have to deal with that as he would have a valid alibi. “Hopefully, she gets the job, '' he prayed.

The drive to Fin’s apartment was short as his shortlet was in the same neighbourhood as his house. 

“Look what the cat dragged in” Fin smiled as he came up to the house. Fin never for once respected him as his boss and that was why he loved him so much even though he would never say that out loud.

“Your favourite human of course” he replied with a little mocking courtesy. He and Fin greeted him as he asked him how he was so cheery following the previous day’s activities. He even stayed till midnight putting things in order before leaving for his home.

“I’m stronger than you, you know” he laughed sarcastically with a slight British accent that he had struggled to perfect over the years. 

“You wish”, Damson replied as he went into the kitchen.

“Are you here to eat or work?” he heard Fin ask. “Both” he replied with a smirk.

He spent the rest of the afternoon with Fin huddled over his office laptop and folders. It was already getting dark when he stood up to leave. They have covered most of the work, the rest would require him to be present in person. He would have managed to go to the office the next day but he had to meet up with his mother and he didn't know what to expect. That woman was unpredictable.

On his drive home, he made a mental note to remember to ask Lily’s mother about how the interview went. He was getting more intentional about appearing human to those around him. Everyone else aside Fin saw him as a god of some sort, mostly because of how reserved he was. Small talk wasn't his forte but he felt he owed it to her as a sort of apology for his reaction during the will reading. 

“She said it went well”, Lily’s mother said excitedly, holding herself back from clapping her hands with glee. She was sure proud of her daughter. Deservedly so too. He remembered she was announced as the best graduating student in her discipline when he went to her graduation. “No wonder Father was so invested in her education,” he thought. 

“Hopefully, she gets the job” she prayed. 

“Hopefully” he murmured under his breath as he finished his meal and retired into his room for the night.

He took off his shirt revealing his well-defined torso, took a quick shower as he was too tired to have a longer bath and slept off almost immediately as soon as his back hit the soft bedding of his king-sized bed. 

It was the sound of feet that woke him up from sleep the next morning. It was 6 am from his bedside clock. He groaned and turned over to the other side. He planned on hitting the gym this morning but it was already late and he wouldn't be able to get much done before freshening up and preparing for the day ahead. 

After a cold shower and a cup of chamomile tea, he was fully awake and ready to go. He was dressed in a white tee and grey shorts paired with Adidas shoes, they were his favourites. He grabbed his keys and closed the door behind him. Downstairs, the chef already made breakfast for him. It was waffles with eggs and he had a good helping before leaving. 

The hotel his mother stayed in was quite a stretch from the house. It took him 45 minutes to arrive and he rang her to inform her he was in the lobby. After being granted access to her floor, he entered the lift and headed for her room. The room was large and had a great view. “Must have cost a lot” he thought. It was on the company though. He made a note to check the company's account and see how much she was spending on this per night. 

His mother was eager to go straight to business but he intended to take his time. He made her place an order for him even though he wasn't hungry and she grudgingly obliged. After helping himself to bits of each type of food on the platter, he settled down and was finally ready to talk.

“I am thinking of willing to you the vacation house in Zanzibar and Marrakech. The subsidiary company in Ohio could also completely be under your control but I'm not sure I'm willing to take the risk” he started.

His mother was taken aback by the last part of his statement. “What do you mean by risk?” she asked.

“Oh well, you haven't proved to be remotely responsible enough to control such a huge and important arm of Heirs holdings”. “You've always been after the money and I am not sure you will be capable of putting in the work needed to run the place successfully”. 

“How can you say such a thing to your mother” she sounded offended. He knew his mother couldn't be trusted with a responsibility as large as that but he was willing to give her a chance if only she would agree with the conditions that come with it. All his life, she always lived off his father and started multiple businesses but had nothing to show for it. She just couldn't be bothered. 

“It will be all yours though if you sign an agreement with me” he continued as he brought out the file containing a clause of agreement. The document stated that she would be the Chief Operating Officer of the Ohio arm of Heirs Holdings if only she promised no losses would be recorded for one year. If she could successfully run the company with no employee complaints, and no complaints from the shareholders and also provide a balanced account at the end of the year with no losses recorded, she would be given full autonomy.

She started at the document for a long while debating whether or not to go through the stress of proving herself to her son or just take the two vacation houses alone. After all, she was placed on a monthly salary and there was no likelihood of her running out of money anytime soon.

“Take your time”, said Damson as he rose from the chair. He gave her a deadline and told her he would be back for it. He knew his mother wasn't too happy with the conditions he gave but it was either his way or no way.

He started the car and considered going to the office to put some things in order but he wasn't feeling up to it yet so he decided to go to the gym instead. He rarely goes to the gym in the afternoons but he didn't want to go back home just yet. His phone rang and it was Fin. He was asking him about his plans regarding getting another secretary to fill up the vacancy. He was having trouble locating some important files and the frustration was evident in his voice. 

Damson laughed it off and told him he would work on it as soon as possible even though he had an idea of who might be taking up the position. The gym was quiet as most people gymed in the early mornings or late in the evening. He warmed up and got into it. It was leg day and he didn't enjoy it one bit. The heat wasn't helping matters too.