The Billionaire's Sweet Trouble

45

Sebastian

Early Monday morning, I was in my office, sitting behind my desk, while Mom was standing in front of me.

"I shouldn't have trusted you to handle that deal, Sebastian. You failed me, your father, and the entire board!" She scolded me for the past fifteen minutes already, non-stop. "That was supposed to be an enormous opportunity for our company, and you blew it all away. Just because you went to Danville to prioritize your date."

"I'm so sorry, Mom." I kept on repeating my apology. I had a headache listening to her endless ranting.

"That was a very irresponsible thing to do. You could have moved your date with Sweet Treble on Sunday and prioritized meeting Mr. Takahashi. You already knew that he's a strict guy and choosy in meeting people, but still you postponed the meeting. Look where it got us!"

"I'll try to make an appointment with him again. Don't worry, okay? It's not the end of the world."

"He doesn't give second chances. There's no way that he'll meet you or any of us in the company anymore!" She hissed aloud.

"I know. I'll find a way."

"How? Darn it, Sebastian. What were you thinking, huh? You compromised the whole deal. What is it in Sweet Treble that you can't stop seeing her? I already told you a million times to get over her, and yet you prioritized her over our company."

"Please. Don't involve Sweet on this. She has nothing to do with my decision to go to Dansville."

"Why won't I involve her, huh? It's because of her you went to Dansville. What else would be your reason? The festival? To win that carrying potato sack race? You can't fool me, Sebastian. I'm your mother. I know what's going on in that head of yours. You went there because you can't wait to be with her."

She was right though, and I was jealous of Sweet hanging out with her ex. But I couldn't tell Mom about that, or she would continue to nag and scold me for another fifteen minutes.

"It won't happen again. I promise."

"Of course, it wouldn't happen again," her chin lifted so high and spoke firmly, "because right at this moment, you're out of the board, and of the company."

"What?" I stood up abruptly. "You can't remove me from our company, Mom."

"Well, I just did. There are no excuses anymore. I don't give a damn if you're my son. You're out!"

"That's not fair. We have a deal."

"What are you talking about?" She asked sharply, her eyes glaring.

"You've given me four months to clean my reputation and prove to you I deserve to be the CEO of our company. I still have two months to go. You can't just forget about that. You've given me your word."

"You're right. But because you ruined your chances, and made every one of us on the board not trust you again, then forget that ultimatum."

"What about your word of honor? As a mother, you taught me and Luna the importance of keeping your word. It's not just about respecting others, but yourself, and becoming a good example for us."

Mom took a pause, then stared at me. After nearly a minute, she sighed, then said.

"Okay, because I have a word of honor, the ultimatum still stands."

Yes! I said to myself silently. In that instant, I felt so relieved.

"You have two months more to prove to us you're qualified to become our company's CEO," Mom added, "but I warn you, Sebastian. This is your very last chance. If I hear you failing to close a deal, or not attend important meetings and missing work, because you prioritized seeing Sweet Treble, then you're out for good, with no discussion. Is that clear?"