The Prince

Part 38

A week later, Skye insisted that they see his father together. Having Casey and Didi on their team had made things somewhat easier, as he now had a clear direction of where he was going. Getting ready, he looked at himself in the full-length mirror. Should he take the jacket off, is wearing a suit the right thing, will his dad laugh? He turned around to look at himself again, pulling a face at his reflection. Hopefully, he looked grown up enough and not like some stupid prat pretending to be an adult.

Noah was waiting expectantly in the sitting room dressed in a pale blue shirt and chinos, wondering what was taking the others so long. He was almost always late, but getting ready for one family visit couldn't take that long.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," 

Noah looked up at hearing  Skye's voice, seeing him smile shyly, before taking in the whole picture. Skye stood in a midnight blue suit that looked like it was poured on him, making it almost impossible to look at his blinding beauty for a moment. His fiery raid hair made him every bit as hot as you could imagine, Noah thought going weak in the knees.

"No, that's fine, it was worth the wait," he grinned as Tsukasa entered the room in a black suit. His dark eyes sparkled as they landed on Noah.

Looking at the two in front of him, Noah didn't know whether to gasp for breath or fall to the floor, maybe both. He should be used to their blinding beauty by now, but now and then it hit you like a bus out of nowhere.

"Are you ready? Remember, no fear." Skey reminded the other two as they left the house. He didn't s[eak for the rest of the drive, going through all the possible problems that would be placed in his way. Knowing his dad, he wouldn't be happy if he didn't get a good deal out of it all.

Getting out of the car, he pulled his jacket straight and looked at the other two standing next to him. Hopefully, this encounter won't scar them for the rest of their lives and they could escape unscathed. 

"Right, Hollard, you know what to do?"

"Of course young master," he inclined his head with a smile and led the three into the building.

"Squirt, what are you doing here?" Raymond asked in surprise seeing the three boys.

"Good morning Dad," he smiled pleasantly, sure that his visit wasn't much of a surprise. "Gran has told you about what she wanted me to do."

"She did, yes, but I'm not sure how Zenith can help you in this situation," he frowned.

"I don't need much from Zenith at the moment, but I'm told that I have unrestricted access to all the resources that Zenith has available. So for starters, I only need money," he placed a folder on the table and slid it over to his father.

"Everything you need is in there." He watched as Raymond opened the document to scan through its contents.

"This is a lot that you're asking for. I don't think we'll be able to cover the costs if there is no incentive for Zenith."

"If you read page five, you'll see how much Zenith will benefit from partnering with us and that's excluding the media exposure and marketing that we'll be doing on your behalf. If you look at the next page, you'll see that besides a ball, we're also incorporating a fundraiser.

"That's very impressive, Squirt," he looked at Skye in surprise, he had a head for business and seemed to be holding his own. "But still, you're asking a lot from us,"

"This isn't a negotiation Dad, I've come to tell you what I need to do what I'm supposed to. This is only a courtesy visit to inform you of what we're planning to do." He pushed forward trying to assert his dominance. If he backed down now or lost steam, then his dad would shoot him down faster than he would a duck. 

"Now, if there isn't anything else, I'm sure you'll get all the paperwork ready to be signed by the end of the week."

"Courtesy visit, huh?" Raymond looked at him chuckling. He certainly had balls coming in guns blazing. "I'll have to let legal take a look at this before signing." 

"I don't think that will be necessary," Skye leaned back in his chair. "Hollard, would you explain  to my Father the situation he's currently in?"

He watched as surprise crossed Raymond's face before it settled on his usual closed expression when he was making deals. Skye knew him well enough to know when he was in a corner.

"It looks like my hands are tied," he frowned slightly. "Although I do have to warn you that what you're proposing isn't going to be easy to pull off, especially considering what you're promising in your proposal.

"Don't worry about that, Dad, We'll deliver on everything in the proposal, you have my word."

"Well, since you're so convinced and your grandmother has locked me into this deal, there is nothing to do but sign," he sighed pulling the document nearer to sign. "Remember Skye, you will have to deliver on everything you promised or pay the penalty.

"Thanks, Dad," he got up and took the folder off the desk. 

"Well, that wasn't too hard," Noah commented as they left the building and were on their way to see Jackson. "So we only have to speak to your Dad now, but that should be a cakewalk, right?"

"We'll see when we get there," he didn't want to celebrate too early. His dad would do anything for him, but business was another story.

"Little One!" Jackson jumped up to give him a tight hug, grabbing Noah thereafter. "Now, I've been waiting for this meeting for a long time, so go ahead and do your best," he smiled lovingly at Skye, leaning back in his chair.

Jackson had to admit that what Skye'd put together seemed watertight and made good business sense. He'd thought of every possible problem he could run into, but Skye was promising a lot that he wasn't sure he'd be able to deliver on.

"That's very impressive, son, but how will you be able to deliver on everything that you've promised in such a short space of time?"

"We'll be able to deliver, or else pay the penalty. Either way, Dealer doesn't lose a thing.

Well, you seemed to know what you're doing, but I'd still want regular reports on your progress and financial statements since you'll be working with Dealer's money."

"Thanks, Dad, I'll deliver on everything, as promised," he smiled and got up to leave. Before he could move, Jackson rushed from behind the desk to grab him into another hug.

"You're going to be great at this, I know it," grinning he stepped back, watching as he left with his friends. 

"That went well," Hollard said holding open the door for Skye.

"Thanks to you," he frowned.

"Come on Skye, don't be so glum," Noah called from in the car. "We've got what we wanted, now we can move forward. Don't go trying to find a monkey behind a molehill."

"Don't make it sound like you have everything figured out just because you didn't fall this morning," he laughed as they drove off. 

He was relieved that this part of his plan was over. He knew how difficult his fathers could be when it came to business, but they had given him a soft landing, which he was grateful for. As confident as he looked on the outside, on the inside he was in a state of panic that something would go wrong.

"Where next, young master? Hollard asked from the driver's seat.

"To school, we have to do a presentation," he grimaced not looking forward to laying out the whole plan to the faculty. "And I thought we spoke about the master thing?"

"We did, but it's too much fun watching you get annoyed," he laughed. "But, I'll stop and only use it for special occasions, what do you say?" 

"Leave it to you to leave a backdoor open," he grumbled.