Capítulo 3: The Stones
One of the moments I enjoy and cherish is the monthly Sunday visit and family time I always spend with my family in their mansion. The place is big enough to house a village but then, being a large family, it is expected. My Ma and Pa are people who value family and ensure we uphold this value, if you want to be the recipient of my Mum's wrath, miss the brunch without a genuine reason.
Watching my niece running around the garden with my youngest brother, playing hide and seek brought a smile to my face. I could remember how notorious my brothers and I were when we were young. I wonder how Ma handled 5 boys while my Pa was always on business trips.
"Reese, leave the kid alone!", my mum shouted, "Ari, darling, go and wash up, it's time to eat"
She turned to me, "Ryan, tell your other brothers that food is ready".
I walked up to her and dropped a kiss on her forehead, my mum smiled and gave me a pat on the back. I walked to the other side of the house where two of my brothers were playing basketball.
"Hey, big bro, wanna join us?", Ronald asked me, while juggling the ball and trying to get the ball away from Roarke.
"No, get your ass off the court before Ma does it for you, she said lunch is ready and you know how she likes everyone to be seated before saying the Grace", glaring at Reese who was done playing with Ari and trying to join the boys.
Reese is the last born of the Stone brothers, the "baby" of the house which he detests being called, even though he always acts like one. With his boyish grin which is always plastered on his face and his laidback attitude to work. I would've doubted that he's a Stone if not for the obvious family DNA sign- 'cleft chin' which all the Stone brothers have.
We are sometimes referred to as the cleft brothers and there's a popular joke that 'to know if he's a Stone, look out for the cleft chin. We all got the cleft from Pa's side of the family.
"Uncle Ryan, hurry up, I'm hungry!" yelled Ari, I smiled and quickened my steps, "coming, sweet-cheeks"
I have to admit, that girl has us wrapped around her little finger. Ari is an adorable daughter of Roarke, the cheerful girl is nothing compared to his father who is always wearing a bored look. My brother has been like that ever since his 'love of his life', Ari's mother left him. He could have been as handsome as I am, except that the bored look always gets in the way. His daughter is his world and he would go to any length for her...as we all would.
"Reese, say the grace", Ma instructed and grinned, knowing I'm about to hear another funny grace from Reese.
He cleared his throat, "dear Lord, bless this food which I wasn't there when it was cooked cos I was busy saving Ari's life from being killed by boredom", my lips curled and Ari laughed.
"Bless my parents, not with money cos the one you blessed us with is more than enough but with patience especially my mum", suddenly a spoon was thrown across the room by my mom.
"Ouch, Ma!" shouted Reese, holding the spoon that landed on his head while Ari giggled.
"Dear Lord, bless this food and us all, amen", Roarke interjected and we all dug in.
Lunch in Ma's house is always like a grand meal fit for the royals, well, if we were back in the Victorian era, I would say we were one of the nobles, the Duke and Duchess of Stone.
The only person missing on this table is Rick, and this is because he's touring the continent, or in his own word 'discovering' himself.
Of the stone brothers, he's the one who is always unsettled, while I'm the CEO and manage the hotel, Roarke is in charge of the Real Estate business, Ronald is a structural engineer and works together with Roarke 'Ricky the gypsy' as Reese fondly calls him, is the lawyer and in charge of any legal issue associated with the company while Reese is the Tech guy. I thought all IT guys were nerds with average face and big rimmed glasses? My brother is more like a super male model!
"Ma, I'm leaving", after the meal and bantering with the boys. "hey son, see me in my study before you leave", my dad said.
I handed sleepy Ari to her father to join dad in his study. He occasionally asks for the update of the company even though he knows everything that is going on, he sometimes like hearing about its progress from me directly and shares his input and suggestions if necessary.
Dad knows it's a tough world out there with cutthroat competition in the business world and he knows that I'm competent and ruthless when dealing with my counterpart. I may be charming but ruthless as well when I want to. I don't give up when I want something, and that has made me achieve things others couldn't have, my brothers are always ready to help when I need them. One of the usefulness of having loyal and several siblings, all of them can't be unavailable at once. Even 'Ricky, the gypsy' is always reachable.
"I heard from a friend that Garret Campbell has made another deal with two of his children and this time, it involves us" he said, tapping his finger on the table to produce a rhythmic sound.
It's an open secret that Garret Campbell is an asshole who enjoys toying with his children by making deals with them to get the work done, especially those he couldn't handle himself and using the desperation of his children as an opportunity to get the deed done.
"I heard about it too and one of my men is already looking at what it's about. I'll let you know the detail as soon as he gets back to me and how it involves us", I told my father, making a mental note to call my assistant later.
"Ok, I trust whatever it is, you'll be able to handle it". I left the study, bid the others goodbye and drove home.
My home is not far from my parents' although I have a penthouse in one of our hotels in the city. There's a permanent penthouse in all our hotels which is always available for any member of the family when needed.
When I get tired of the city and needs a change of scene, I usually come home, I don't bring women to my home, it's not a mansion like my parents' but big and worthy enough for the 'most eligible bachelor in the country'. My home is greatly furnished with state of the art equipment. My garage is filled with boy toys – Porsche, power bike, Mercedes Benz and a Range rover. My gym is better and well equipped than most regular gyms- these ripped muscles and eight packs didn't get there on own their own. I have pool indoor and a roof which can be open to let in the daylight during the day and the stars and moonlight shinning over the pool at night, its worth every dime I spent decorating the house. I have several rooms waiting to be converted to whatever I want, after having a cinema room, a large study, bedrooms and game room – Reese favourite room of all rooms in my house and lastly a room which is specially designed for Ari.
My laptop chimes, just as I'm getting out of the shower, notifying me of a new mail. With the towel still wrapped around my waist, I opened my mail to see a report from one of my men concerning the details of Garret Campbell's deal with his children.
"Interesting", I said aloud while scanning through the details. That bastard is pitting the kids against each other. I called my dad to explain the deal and how we're involved.
"Apparently, whoever is able get the contract of being the sole supplier of their goods to all of our hotels gets to be the next CEO", I chuckled.
"So, it's just two out of his four children? He asked.
"Yes, his eldest son, Junior" and my dad scoffed, "that one uses people to do the heavy lifting and isn't as competent as his daughter", my dad said with a hint of admiration for the daughter.
He continued, "Serena is his only daughter, a product of an affair", I heard she's a smart and hardworking young woman"
"so, I've heard", i replied and ended the call after bidding him good night.
Other things I've heard about Campbell's bastard is that she's gorgeous as fuck, unfortunately, I haven't been able to see her, she hardly attends the social events and when she does, I barely see her except her fiery flame hair with her back turned to me walking out the door. Guess I'll be meeting her soon.
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