Rancorous

Chapter 10

THREE YEARS AGO

Brevin

I needed a drink. I saw a leeway to exit my Uncle's office while he was on a call. There'd probably be a lecture waiting for me on why listening to his call was more important than a quick trip to the break room. I took my chances.

Going straight for the refrigerator, I found a water bottle and chugged half of it.

"Hand me a water too."

Urvan stood by the door with a bored look. Taking another water bottle, I threw it at him to which he caught it with ease.

"Let me guess, you're here on an intership like Reth." I finished the rest of my water and tossed the bottle in the trash can.

He scoffed and twisted his bottle cap. "I wish. I'm not even getting paid to be here."

"Then why be here?" Urvan was so obstinate there wasn't anything that could sway him. He was like a huge boulder. If you wanted to move it, you'd need a lot of force.

"The CFO wants to breed his own replica." He swallowed his water like it was acid. Something about what he said felt familiar, but I shook it off. Sleep deprivation was seriously affecting me. I hadn't had much sleep last night because my dreams still kept haunting me with illusions of Herlina.

"What about you?" Urvan jutted his chin at me.

"Here because I actually want to learn more about the business."

His eyes showed recognition. "Richard Romes is your dad."

A dry chuckle left my body. "He's my uncle."

We left the break room and bid each other a curt goodbye. Opening my uncle's office, he was signing a few papers. He didn't lift his head even after I sat down across from him.

Five minutes ticked on the clock and the door creaked open. A tall man with dark blonde hair, a semi crooked nose, and a crisp clean suit wandered in with a smile that said he was a thread away from laughing.

"Thought you said the business was going perfectly fine." The man's eyes crinkled at the corners and he had a full-on grin now.

If my uncle was irritated, he didn't show it. He never did. Picking up the papers, he aligned them perfectly using his desk as the leveler.

"Sign these papers with Frederick Van Doren's signature where they're needed. There are quite a number of papers to go through, but I'll need them back by Monday."

The blond man took the papers and glanced toward me. Raising both eyebrows he extended his hand. "I'm Silas Lasko."

Shaking his hand, I said, "Brevin Romes."

His eyes seemed to widen a fraction of a second. It was so short-lived, I doubted I even saw it. Then, a tight lip grin stretched on his face. "You must be the nephew."

"The sooner I get those papers, the better." My uncle's monotonous voice burst forth.

"You'll get them." Silas clicked his tongue with a wink and pointed at me uncle before he left.

I relaxed in my chair further and gripped my chin in thought. "Is his name Silas or Frederick?"

"Silas." He typed on his computer.

"But he needs to sign the papers as Frederick?"

Uncle Richard paused typing before turning to me. "He's forging signatures from a certain businessman."

"Why can't Frederick Van Doren sign them himself?" I knew it was permitted for me to delve deep with my questions. My uncle encouraged it.

"He didn't like my ideas or values, so he left my office without a second glance. However, I have a partnership pending with a more suitable person. The only problem is he requires me to show him evidence of a contract with Mr. Van Doren."