Fall and Rise

Chapter 10: His Solace

"Come in!" barked David without looking away from the papers before him. 

Aiden walked inside and closed the door behind him. He frowned at the first sight of his brother.

Anyone looking at David could say he was in a shitty mood. His tie was somewhere around his office, his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and his hair was a mess because of running his hand through them so many times. One look at his face would send anyone crawling away. 

His face was stone-cold but you could see a raging anger blazing in his eyes that would freeze your blood. 

"What do you want Aiden?" grumbled David, bringing Aiden out of his thoughts. 

"This is the new contract with De Luca Inc." said Aiden, placing the manilla folder on David's desk. "I have gone through everything before signing it. We are good to start."

"Good," grunted David still not bothering to look up. "You can leave now."

"Have you talked with Samuels?" he asked. "It's been a week since he started."

"Nothing new." answered David and his hand clenched tighter around the pen. "I linked him with Adrian. They are working on finding some evidence to start with. It seems that fucking Shepherd has left nothing suspicious behind. He is a sly snake."

"They are too slow." groaned Aiden. "We should do something else. Maybe we should take ..."

"Don't you think I know this myself?" snapped David angrily as he stood up. "I know it's taking so much time. I'm tired and frustrated as fuck. But what we can do, huh? Go and take evidence out of Shepered or Catherine by our punches?" 

Aiden's surprise turned into anger in a second. "No." he seethed angrily and leaned on his hands toward David. "What has crawled up your ass and died there since a few days ago? It's because of Sarah, isn't it?"

"Don't start that now." said David through gritted teeth. "I'm barely holding myself from exploding Aiden, just leave."

"Then snap." yelled Aiden frustrated and slammed his hands on the desk. "Let out what is bothering you so we can fix it. You have been an ass for a week and have kept everyone on their toes. Everyone is full of stress to approach you in fear of being yelled at for no reason."

David let out a tired breath and plopped down on his chair again. His hands came up and he rubbed his face aggressively. He knew Aiden was right. "I'm sorry, Okay?" he groaned. "Now can you leave me the fuck alone so I can finish this shit and go home?"

"No!" answered Aiden as he snatched the papers before David away and held them in his hand. "You will get your ass up, freshen up and go to daycare. Other than spending time with your daughter who you have barely held this past week, you will solve whatever shit that is going on between you and Sarah."

 "Why do you think it's because of Sarah?"

Aiden scoffed offended and folded his hands in front of his chest. "What are you taking me for? A fool?" he asked annoyed. "Suddenly you become an irritable ass and she becomes distant with you, not saying more than an awkward hello to you. Don't you think it's a bit obvious?"

"And why should I care If she is distancing herself?" asked David though in his heart he knew her ignoring him was the reason for his awful behaviour. For some unknown reason, it was bothering him to no end that she was practically avoiding him for the past week.

"She means nothing to me." yet he continued stubbornly. "It's better this way. I don't need a fucking woman near me. Wasn't the last one enough for a lifetime?"

Aiden sighed and looked at his older brother sympathetically. He knew about David's fears. He knew why he was so cold and now Catherine had given him a reason to want to protect his heart.