4. Michael
Michael strode into his lawyer’s office with serious intentions.
‘Good morning, Grey,’ Michael said, shaking hands with Grey Todd, his longtime lawyer and friend. ‘Thank you for meeting me at such short notice.’
‘Of course,’ Grey replied, his slicked back black hair and handsome jawline looking as imposing as ever. ‘When I got your message, I figured it was time to clear my appointments. And you know I’d always make space for a man of your caliber. Us Princeford grads have to stick together, right?’
‘Indeed,’ Michael replied.
Michael smiled and the pair of them briefly embraced.
Grey’s office was a large corner office in one of the city’s most prestigious buildings. With its panoramic views of the city beyond the floor to ceiling windows and sleek but comfortable interior, Grey’s office was a place to discuss tricky legal situations, catch up on old times, or simply run over ideas for potential investments.
Grey Todd was one of the top corporate lawyers in the city and had a long history of handling some of the most high profile business disputes and corporate actions. Grey was smart and had an encyclopedic knowledge of the law.
Having trained as a prosecutor but since moved into corporate action, Grey had a balanced and highly perceptive mind. Only a fool would try and get anything past Grey, and it was well known that Grey didn’t stand for deceptive behavior.
But Grey was far more than a quick minded and trusted lawyer, he was a great friend too.
Michael and Grey first met back at Princeford and had grown closer over the years as their lives both took them down the path of becoming a Daddy. With both men staying single into their forties too, they were always good company for one another when it came to a late night vodka or three.
But this wasn’t a social visit. Far from it. Michael had been dealing with something of a headache in recent months, and by the sounds of things, that headache was only getting progressively worse…
‘We’ve spoken about Phillip Neal before,’ Michael said, taking a seat opposite Grey. ‘And it looks like this sonofabitch is back to cause some more shit.’
‘Okay, tell me more,’ Grey replied, handing Michael a small glass of iced water.
Michael began to explain that Phillip Neal, a former business associate who moved out of town a few years ago under something of a cloud, was back on the scene. Except by the looks of things, he wasn’t attempting to make amends for his previous actions. If anything, it appeared that Phillip was more determined than ever to make money by any means necessary – fair or foul.
‘I’ve heard from more than one source that Phillip is attempting to hack into prominent business accounts,’ Michael said, clenching his jaw in anger. ‘And with his working knowledge of my affairs, I know he’ll be targeting me. We’ve already had several security alerts relating to my online financial management.’
‘But let me guess, Cane has so far managed to leave no traces of his involvement?’ Grey asked, sipping on his own water.
‘You got it,’ Michael replied, grimacing as the thought of having to deal with Phillip again felt very real. ‘I saw him off a few years ago and figured that was the last I’d hear from him. Apparently, he’s built himself back up and made some powerful, not to mention less than savory, contacts. I want this asshole out of my life. And I want him gone permanently this time.’
‘I understand,’ Grey said, furrowing his brow as he took on board what Michael was saying. ‘I can look into him. I can set up some legal traps, ready and waiting for when he makes a mistake. But until he reveals himself, it might be a case of playing a waiting game. But tell me…’
‘Tell you what?’ Michael enquired, sensing that Grey was taking this matter very seriously.
‘Just how personal is Phillip Neal’s vendetta against you?’ Grey continued. ‘You’ve got previous history together. You kicked him out of town once. So if he’s back, that means that he probably wants to go for you again. And this time, it stands to reason he’ll be bitter, twisted, and probably willing to stoop even lower. It’s far from optimal. But, I’ll work with you and do whatever needs to be done.’
‘Thank you, brother,’ Michael said, deep in thought.
What Grey was saying made sense. At the back of his mind, Michael had always suspected that one day he might need to face Phillip again. Over the years, Michael had made quite a few enemies in business. Michael prided himself on being firm, but always fair.
However, when Michael had come across dishonest or treacherous associates, he had no problem with dealing with them severely. And Phillip Neal definitely fell into that category…
I can’t let this escalate again.
Phillip Cane is rotten to the core.
And if he’s back, I need to do whatever it takes…
‘Let’s think about this,’ Michael said, breaking out of his thoughts. ‘Like you say, we’ll set the traps for Phillip. He might be a rat, but he’s not stupid. We might have to play a waiting game. I appreciate you helping, Grey.’
‘Don’t mention it,’ Grey replied. ‘Us Daddies need to stick together. Speaking of which, how about you give me a Little bit more detail on Korben’s Kandies and the boy himself… Korben Arnold.’
‘It’s just an investment,’ Michael said, doing his best to appear as stoic as he possibly could. ‘He’s got potential. And yes… he’s cute. But that’s it.’
‘Right, and you expect me to believe that?’ Grey laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. ‘When we spoke on the phone after you met, you sounded like you’d just met the boy of your dreams.’
‘Come on, that’s an exaggeration,’ Michael said, knowing that he was fighting a losing battle in his attempts to hide his attraction to Korben.
‘I think you’re forgetting who the lawyer is,’ Grey said. ‘I can spot a lie from six blocks away. You like the boy. And, hey, I say go for it. You’ve been single for way too long.’
‘Look who’s talking!’ Michael bellowed. ‘We’re the same age and you’re still single. Unless of course there’s something you’re not telling me?’
Michael saw Grey flinch just a little bit.
‘So there is a boy?’ Michael chuckled. ‘Well, I look forward to hearing all about his. But right now, I need to get my single ass up and out of here. I’m viewing a property across town.’
‘Well have fun and try not to think too much about your future candy boy sweetheart,’ Grey laughed, winking at Michael as he reclined in his comfortable office chair.
‘I’ll try,’ Michael replied, returning the wink before striding out of the office.
It was time to view the potential development opportunity and then follow it up with a nice lunch at Metros, Michael’s favorite restaurant in the business district.
Michael might not have heard back from Korben about the investment proposal yet, but that wasn’t going to stop him from having a good afternoon…
The development opportunity frustratingly turned out to be a bust. With planning consent not agreed and all manner of structural issues to deal with, the project had all the earmarks of a long term, low return investment.
As he strode out of the building, Michael’s mood was black.
Fucking timewasters.
Don’t they know I’m a real businessman?
That’s two hours I’m not getting back…
Michael shook his head and began to make his way across the street and toward his car. The only thing that could top off the waste of time meeting would be if his car had been given a parking ticket.
Happily for Michael, there was no such ticket on his car. And as he took a seat, he took a deep breath and did his best to get rid of all the bad energy from the wasted meeting.
‘Good thoughts only,’ Michael said, his experience telling him that not every opportunity was a good one, and there was sure to be another great deal just around the corner.
Just before starting the engine ahead of the short drive to Metros, Michael checked his phone. And from the moment that Korben’s name flashed up on is screen, Michael suddenly felt a whole lot better…
Dear Michael – thank you for meeting me the other day. I’ve given the whole thing a lot of thought and I’d like to see you again to give you MY DECISION face to face. Thank you, Korben Arnold.
Michael arched his eyebrow. It wasn’t entirely clear from Korben’s message whether he was planning on accepting his offer of investment or not.
‘Don’t play games with me boy,’ Michael growled, his Daddy side kicking in with a vengeance as he imagined the look of mischievous glee on Korben’s face as he sent his provocatively vague message. ‘I’ll spank that ass of yours until it’s redder than your cherry candies…’
Michael knew though that even if Korben thought he had the controlling hand in that moment, it wasn’t going to last for long. The boy thought he was the one with the power to call a meeting – but what Michael knew was that once he arrived to meet his, the power dynamic would shift back into his favor.
Korben’s workshop was across on the other side of town, but with Michael in full-on Daddy Dom mode, the journey was likely to take half as long as it normally would.
‘It’s time for you to see the real me, Korben,’ Michael growled, revving the car’s engine and putting it into gear. ‘And when I’m through with you, you’ll know who the real boss is.’
‘Hello?’ Michael called out, walking into Korben’s workshop full of purpose. ‘Let me guess, you’re going to keep me waiting again?’
Michael took a moment to cast his eyes around the workshop once more.
It was clear that Korben had a very clear idea of who he was and what he wanted. Each and every detail seemed deliberate. From the framed illustrations of vintage candies on the walls right down to the candy-striped tiles in the kitchenette area, everything was on point.
The boy knows his mind, and that’s good..
But maybe he knows it too well.
I think his bottom might need a reminder about who’s in charge…
‘Michael…’ Korben said, walking down the steps from the small mezzanine area. ‘Thank you for coming so soon.’
‘I’m here to do business,’ Michael said, gruffly. ‘I’ve had one time waster to handle today. If this isn’t going anywhere, I don’t want to waste any time.’
‘Hmmm, you sound like you’d enjoy a fizzy lemon candy?’ Korben giggled, his stuffie under one arm and a big jar of bright yellow candies in the other.
‘I don’t do candies,’ Michael said. ‘But I do deal with investments.’
‘But what about the Greeny Dreamy I gave you?’ Korben asked, a look of shock on his face. ‘Didn’t you enjoy that?’
‘Well, that was decent as far as candy goes,’ Michael grumbled, cursing himself at how much he had enjoyed it when he ate it the previous evening.
‘Hehe, I knew you’d like it!’ Korben said, bounding over toward Michael. ‘So… do you want to know if I’m accepting your offer of investment?’
‘Drop the nonsense,’ Michael growled. ‘You know that’s why I’m here. Now, tell me.’
‘Well…,’ Korben teased, taking his time with every letter, dragging the moment out as long as he could. ‘The answer is… yes!’
Michael couldn’t help but smile.
Korben might have delivered the news in just about the most opposite way to how Michael would have done in his position, but he couldn’t deny that it felt like good news.
‘Good,’ Michael replied. ‘We’re going to help one another make a lot of money.’
‘And a lot of candy!’ Korben said, a look of the purest joy on his face. ‘I knew that I wanted to say yes as soon as I met you. But I also knew that I needed to give myself a cooling off period to think it over. I guess my legal training kicked in just when I needed it, right?’
Michael arched his eyebrow.
The boy’s a trained lawyer?
This just got a whole lot more interesting.
I need to know more…
‘How about we sit down and go over some of the finer details,’ Michael said, motioning over toward the couch in the corner of the workshop. ‘And you can tell me all about your journey. Law school to candy maker… I’m intrigued.’
Korben smiled coyly and the pair of them walked over toward the couch.
Michael was beginning to sense that there were many layers to Korben, and he was desperate to peel them back and find out as much as he possibly could…