Chapter 11
Nobody goes to work expecting a catastrophe or anything that will occur at some time during the day and then ruin the remainder of the day or even the entire week. We’d go to any length to ensure that everything goes according to plan. Benson was a meticulous planner who always followed through with his objectives. And on that particular day, according to his schedule. He was attending a VIP party to which he had been invited purely for the purpose of seeing a prospective client and discussing their business. He was opposed to the concept of throwing a party, but he persuaded himself to do it for the sake of the company.
Benson disliked gatherings because practically every woman in the room would be smiling excessively at him from a distance, even if they weren’t close enough to flirt with him, which made him feel uncomfortable. He never appreciates the things that he receives very easily, so the women that come to him and hurl themselves at him just serve to dampen his mood and make him want to flee as soon as he gets the opportunity.
Like every other time, he was prepared for a lot of drama and rejection. You might be perplexed as to how he can despise parties while still frequenting nightclubs. In addition to the fact that he was never the guest of honor in a club and that there were fewer people who recognized and knew him in the club, the fact that it was almost always dark allowed him to conduct his business in peace and at his own pace with fewer people getting in his way.
He would go to his office and then, later in the day, he, Sarah, and Luke would go to the party with the other guests. He always took them since having them with him makes it more difficult for some of the women who would throng around him to get close to him. Although some of them are pretty blatant and determined to get their hands on him and didn’t mind if he was alone or not.
He had completed all of the necessary preparations before receiving a phone call from his mother, and the wonderful news left him feeling depressed and out of the mood to party.
An incoming call flashed on his phone’s screen. He despised picking up phone calls in his office. They were a source of distraction for him, and occasionally they took longer than he would have liked to continue chatting. He rarely answered the phone, but it was his mum’s phone, so he couldn’t avoid answering it.
He raised his phone to his ear after raising two fingers over the screen to answer it, he smirked. “Hi, Mrs. Astor,” he said, raising it to his ear.
“I’ve told you a million times not to call me that, you fool, but you keep calling me that,” his mother said with a groan and hiss. “Someone might overhear you and conclude that I am still married to your father,” she exclaimed rashly. She took a deep breath. “All right, how are you doing today?”
“I’m OK, as always, and judging by the tone of your voice, you’re doing fantastic with the money I send you, aren’t you?” He muttered this while squinting and rolling his eyes to the side.
“You arrogant jerk,” she snorted. “It’s the guts,” she sobbed. “You, too, are a significant portion of your father’s ego, which is why you no longer have a wife. Astors simply do what they want-
“Stop right there, thank you, and now tell me why you called me,” He chimed and scoffed afterward. “You know how much I dislike answering the phone in my office, but you still call, and you call me stubborn and proud,” he said as he drew the phone to his face, slightly biting his lips, before swiftly drawing it back to his ear.
While speaking, his mother’s voice became thinner as she said, “Your brother’s wife has just given birth to a cute little baby boy.” “I am in such good spirits right now, and I am looking at the baby right now.”
When Benson heard the news, he was devastated by it. That is not to say that he was not pleased for his brother; on the contrary, he was; yet, he was reminded of his predicament, specifically his inability to provide his mother with the grandchild she had desired for quite some time. He was well aware that he would never be able to have children.
“Wow, wonderful…” he muttered into the phone and then went completely silent for a moment. “Please tell him that I am delighted for him… I have to get going now; I’ll contact him later when I get home from work,” he said. He hung up the phone and slammed it down on the table in frustration.
He bounced his leg continuously on the ground, drumming his fingers against the surface of the table. He loosened the knot in his tie. It suddenly felt as if it was wrapping around his neck too tightly.
With his back away from his chair, he stretched his hands out in front of him over the table. He’d lost his ability to relax. Without a doubt, he couldn’t help but think that if he hadn’t taken that wrong turn, he would already be the father of the two children he had always desired by now. He was accustomed to knowing what to do all the time, but at the moment, he was completely clueless as to what to do with himself.
Having decided that he needed to do something to silence the whispers in his head, he stormed out of his office.
The moment Sarah saw him walking out of his office, she ran after him, sprinting behind him to catch up with him. “Sir,” she cried, realizing he was moving too quickly for her. Her breath caught in her throat as she panted and tried to regain her breath. “It’s almost time for us to live,” She raised her hands in the air I really should go to the gym more often,” she whispered.
His words were nonchalant: “Take care it, you and Luke.” He did not look back or slow down.
Sarah stood there and watched him get into his car and drive away. It was obvious that he was agitated about something. She quickly contacted Luke to let him know about the change of plans and headed back to her office, wondering what had gotten him so wound up that he had to cancel the meeting with the client she had scheduled.
Despite the fact that Benson was driving at top speed and honking at other drivers to get out of his way, he had no particular destination in mind. He was just driving about, feeling the need to get away from something, but can a man really get away from himself in this world? A truck passed him by and he had to slow down to avoid hitting it.
After a brief moment of self-pitying quiet, he raised his head to look down the road ahead. He was well aware that he needed to leave before anyone recognized him. He decided to go to his favorite pub, which he enjoyed since everyone there was kind and only the wealthy could afford to drink there because it was prohibitively expensive if you weren’t. So there were fewer and well-coordinated people than in regular pubs.
After what had transpired, he decided to drive slowly to avoid another accident. What does it even matter in the first place? He had already lost his ability to generate life as a result of an unfortunate mishap. What else could he possibly have to lose but his life? To him, he appeared to be barely alive at the time.
He arrived at his destination, got out of his car, and walked into the building after taking a few steps back and looking about for no apparent reason. A few shots later, he took several deep breaths and simply rested his head on the counter, thinking about and overanalyzing matters that should have been left alone.
It appeared like the booze he had pumped into his system was making things worse rather than better, which was the opposite of what he had hoped would happen. He was obsessively overanalyzing everything.
Julie’s face popped into his head and he grinned at the sight of her in his mind.
His attention was pulled to his wristwatch and saw it was time for him to leave and head home. Alita would be waiting for him at the door. He remembered he was to pay her because it was the end of her first week. He got to his feet, shook his head to clear his eyes, and then walked forward with firm steps until he arrived at his car, which was parked just outside. He wasn’t drunk to the point that he couldn’t drive
He returned home after sprinkling his perfume all over himself in an attempt to hide the stink of alcohol.