THE DEAL

"Damien, as your grandfather, it is my right to tell you where and when to get married. Your lifestyle is tarnishing the Kingston name, and I will not let this continue," my grandfather said, his words filled with disapproval. Tension rose in my shoulders as I tried to keep calm. He had no right to dictate my life—I was a grown man.

"Grandfather, this is sudden. You had no issues with me being unmarried before. What brought this up?" I asked, my voice calm but the turmoil inside me growing. My gaze shifted from my grandfather to the ticking grandfather clock behind him. I couldn't concentrate with that clock ticking away.

"Now I do, after the last scandal with that model. What was her name again?" my grandfather asked, his face displaying his disapproval.

"Elena Jackson, grandfather," I answered. "Oh yes, that was her name. You shouldn't keep company with people like that, Damien. Don't you care about the image of the company?" my grandfather said, resorting to emotional blackmail, a tactic he knew would affect me given how much the company meant to me.

"Grandfather, this company is my whole world. I brought us to where we are now," I said, a touch of smugness in my tone as I reflected on my achievements. By the age of twenty, I had already become a billionaire. You could say I had a very inflated ego.

"That doesn't matter. If you do not clean up your act and find a suitable bride by the end of September, I will hand over the company to your half-brother, Daniel. He is also quite capable of running the empire," my grandfather threatened. As if I would ever allow him to give everything I had worked for to that mutt Daniel. I would rather die.

"Grandfather, that will not happen over my dead body. Daniel will never have this company," I said, my voice low, as I turned to take my leave. "You will have a daughter-in-law by the end of September, grandfather." With one final glance at my grandfather, I left his room and walked down the hall to check up on my mother.

It had been a year since she had fallen ill, and I had taken her to the best hospitals, but the doctors had all delivered the same prognosis—her cancer had spread, and she would be lucky if her current chemotherapy kept working for her.

I knocked on her door before entering. Her nurse was sitting beside her, and they were engaged in conversation. My mother turned to see me, a smile lighting up her face. "Look who's here, Emily. It's my son, Damien, the one I've been telling you about," my mother said, attempting to sit up on her bed but almost falling to the side. If it weren't for the nurse, Emily, steadying her, she would have fallen off.

"Mother, be careful. You don't have to get up. I just wanted to check up on you," I said, smiling as I shifted my gaze to the table in the room, filled with flowers.

My mother followed my gaze. "A volunteer from the hospital sends them every week. Aren't they lovely? She is beautiful and kind. I wish you could meet her. You would make a good couple," my mother said, her eyes fluttering closed for a moment before opening them again, fighting to stay awake for me.

"Emily told me you went to see your grandfather. I hope everything is okay at the company," my mother asked softly.

A small huff escaped me, accompanied by a smile as I answered, "Grandfather wants me to find a bride by the end of September, or he is going to hand over the empire to Daniel."

"Oh, that's not good at all. What is your grandfather thinking, giving you an ultimatum like that?" I heard my mother say, her voice filled with concern. I focused on her, my gaze locked on hers.

"He wasn't too happy about my last scandal, so he came up with this ultimatum. And from his reaction, he is serious."

"Will you go through with it and find a girl to marry?" she asked.

I walked across the room and stood beside my mother, leaning in to place a kiss on her forehead before standing straight. "Mother, don't worry about anything. I will be fine," I said, attempting to sound playful, though deep down, I knew my mother wasn't buying the act.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Her voice was barely a whisper, still filled with concern for me."I wanted you to get married for love and not because you're being forced to,"

"We can't always get what we want, Mother. I have no choice," I replied, my voice tightening as I spoke the words.

"But -" she tried to say, but I cut her off

"What I said before was true, Mother. It will all be okay in the end. Trust me," I said, leaning in once more to place another kiss on her head, trying to calm her nerves.

"I have to leave now, Mother, but I will come by during the weekend to spend some time with you. I love you," I said, offering her a smile as she waved at my retreating figure.

"I love you too" she replied as I walked out of the door, once I was on the other side of the door, I let out a sigh I hadn't even realized I was holding.

Two days later...

This week has been fucking shitty so far. First, my grandfather tells me to get married, or he'll give away my empire to my half-brother. Now, the head of accounting in my company tells me that one of my partners has been stealing from me.

"What you're trying to tell me is that you idiots didn't know $7 million was missing from the company's funds?" I yelled, causing my secretary to flinch from the intensity of my voice.

"Sir, the person was very subtle when he stole from us, and from what I found out, this is not his first time he has done this before but this is the first time he's been caught," my head accountant explained, perspiration beading on his forehead indicating his fear. He should be scared. If we weren't in the office, and I wasn't trying to maintain my image, I would have slapped this idiot.

"And what is the name of the man who had the audacity, or balls, to steal from me?" I asked, my tone calm yet threatening.

"His name is Thomas Sanders of Sanders & Co. They're an interior design company that handles most of the interior design for our hotels and restaurants," my accountant replied, still sweating but not as profusely as before.

"Any other information I need to know about him? What about his family?" I inquired, searching for any leverage I could use. I didn't care if I had to involve his family; he had crossed me, and now he would face the consequences.

"He had a wife, but she died of cancer twelve years ago. He remarried a woman named Lillian a year later, who already had two children—Alex, a boy, and Katherine, a girl. Thomas adopted them, but there's a chance they're his biological kids. He had a daughter with his late wife, who is two years younger than Lillian's children. Her name is Tamara, she has a better reputation than Thomas’s other two kids, the boy Alex is a drug addict who has been in and out of rehab since he was fifteen and the girl Katherine is your typical party girl” he finished and a smile made its way to my face.

“Set up a meeting with Mr Thomas,” I grinned as my head accountant stared at me like I had grown two heads.

“Sir but-” he was about to say when I sent a glare in his direction. “Sorry sir, yes right away” he said as he quickly dashed out of my office leaving me alone with my thoughts, that greedy son of a bitch might be beneficial to me after all.