To Hate My Stepbrother

Mason’s POV

Sighing, I sought to leave the restaurant to go back to the company and tend to my business.

My business was really booming and the growth was so rapid that even I was taken aback by how much people had gotten to know about my new company and how much sales I make in a week.

Going through the lists of the company’s investors it wasn’t hard to tell how rich they all are, “at this point, the company will be one of the biggest in the city.” I smiled to myself as I set down the paper to go through another.

I was glad that they really believed in me and what I could do enough to invest in my company.

While I was soliloquizing the door opened, jolting me out of my thoughts and I opened my eyes to see my secretary already in my office.

“Is anything the problem?” I asked, dropping the paper I had with me so I could hear her out.

“Nothing Sir,” she responded, “except, you have an urgent call from one of the directors of the company.” She added, placing a file that I assumed to be my schedule for the week on my table.

“From who? And did they say what it’s about?” I enquired but she only shook her head negatively, she’d only taken the message and delivered it to me.

Dismissing her, I told her to connect me to the call as soon as she left my office and not long after she left, the telephone in my office rang and I picked it.

“Hello.” I said into the phone, clueless and curious at the same time. I had no idea why one of the directors would be calling so urgently.

“I’m sorry, do I know who this is?” I asked with a raised eyebrow and the man introduced himself to me properly this time. I’ve never heard of him before but he was assertive and I could take advantage of that.

“So what do you think about having lunch with me?” He asked, “because I really have something important to discuss with you, it’s pressing and I’d have said it over the phone but it’s more of a physical discussion.” He added after a while of silence.

“That’s fine,” I shrugged as I picked up a pen and paper, “call out the address and I should meet you there in, let’s say twenty minutes?” I added.

The man called out the address for me and I scribbled it on the piece of paper that I’d picked out already. Hanging up the call, I silently hoped that something good was going to come out of this meeting.

He’s a potential person so I’d decided to discuss the company with him and also ask for his help in running the new branch.

Picking up my car keys and the piece of paper, I immediately drove down to the address he’d called out to me so we could meet.

Getting there, I didn’t need a soothsayer to tell me that he was the man I was looking for, except he looks so stern and mad at the world but I shrugged it off.

“You called me earlier?” I asked with a raised eyebrow and his nod made me let out a slight smile as I stretched out my hand for a proposed greeting.

“Let’s just leave out the formalities and get down to business.” He growled at me, ignoring my greeting as he had his seat and confused, I also sat.

He sounded nicer when we haven’t met than now, I began to feel uncomfortable and I started hating agreeing to this meeting when I could’ve just declined.

The thump of a briefcase on the table jolted me out of my thoughts as I returned my gaze to him, “what’s this?” I asked, really confused.

“That’s 50 million dollars and it’s just for starters,” the man responded as he opened the briefcase and my stomach churned. I hated the fact that I knew where this was going already.

“Quit being the CEO and this right here and more will be yours,” he continued as he rested his back against the chair properly, “Sell the company to me.” He finally finished and I could hear a series of loud bells ringing in my head.

Fresh anger rose in me and if it weren’t for formalities I would have punched this man right on the face and broken his jaw.

Angrily, I sprung to my feet as I looked around in anger and disbelief, I had to rush to this meeting very early, leaving all the important work that I had been doing alone at the office because I wanted to at least get acknowledged by someone else other than my secretary and Ava, only for me to get here and see this.

The son of a bitch is offering me a bribe to step down from my post!

“I don’t get it, you told me you have a pressing issue to discuss with me and I get here now to listen to you ask me to step down from my post? What the hell?” I was almost yelling but the man couldn’t care less about my outburst.

Letting out a heavy breath and trying to calm myself down because I had no idea how much more calmness I had in me before I turned the tables.

“Why on earth would you ask me to do something like that?” I finally asked and the sound of the man’s cynical laughter made my stomach tighten as I clenched my jaw in utter anger.

He really is pushing me over the edge.

“It’s quite simple, Mason,” he started when he stopped laughing, “You’re just not fit to be the CEO.” He finished, standing up from his seat.

“For one, you’re dating your own sister and bringing unnecessary attention to the company, you’re spoiling the company’s good name and that’s why I had to come in.” He further explained.

“You just don’t deserve it, Mason and you know I’m right.”