Beyond the Skyline | [UNDERGOING HEAVY EDITING]

Chapter 4| Emotional

Ajax

•I don't wanna live another life
Cause this one's pretty nice•

I miss him.

Sometimes I think to myself. I'm a man, I should not care this much.

But he's my father. And there will never be a past tense.

Simon can never replace him, CEO or otherwise. And he doesn't deserve to be one. Because what I've endured from him-

BEEP BEEP BEEP

I put a cork in my thoughts and drag myself out of bed.

Honestly, in my penthouse, this alarm clock is the only thing that doesn't fit. The theme was modern minimalist, making my apartment look modern and classy, but that alarm clock was the one thing I didn't change.

Its your standard alarm clock that resets when the power goes out. My dad gave it to me on my 10th birthday claiming he was tired of dragging my ass out of bed every day.

I take a quick shower and dress up in black slacks, a gray shirt and black tie. I come out of my room, head to the kitchen and start a new line of thoughts as I put two slices of bread in the toaster.

I feel annoyed that I'm not apparently trusted enough to run the company on my own. And to add insult to injury, Simon put me under one of the lower employees in the business. He couldn't even place me under one of the Department Heads.

My phone buzzes and I want to check it until I realize it must be Courtney. She's probably lying beside one of her many men. It doesn't make sense that she gets into a relationship with me, yet she doesn't want to be exclusive. My subconscious comes to her defense, telling me that her father forced her into the relationship.

But it still isn't justifiable.

I grab the two slices once they pop out of the toaster and take out the butter from the fridge. I put some on my toast before dropping it back and heading to the couch. I start up my computer that I left there the night before and check my email. Nothing major in so I shut it back down.

After a few minutes of thinking and eating, I grab my computer and suit jacket and leave the apartment. I call Mitch and ask him to bring Mercedes around. As I arrive at the lobby, I see him pull out of the garage but something else gains my attention at the lounge.

Black Louboutins lead up to long, tan, model-like legs that are crossed at the knee and she's wearing a wrap dress with the Versace logo printed on it. In her hand is a coffee cup that she must have gotten from Aroma Mocha and she looks like she is waiting for someone.

Me.

"Courtney, what are you doing here? Don't you have to get to work?" I ask, stopping in front of the love seat she was sitting on.

"Yes, but I thought I'd drop by first and see how my own boyfriend was doing. You know, you could be at least more receptive of my presence if we're going to get married."

"I am not your boyfriend and we are not dating. We are simply beneficiaries of a mutually binding contract to bring both our companies together, hence our partnership." I coldly reply.