The Bargain

Klaus Moore gazed out of the sleek office window, lost in thought. Today was the day he had planned to confront his father, Elijah Moore, about the future of the family business. He had always dreamed of leading the company one day, just like his father. The man had never taken him seriously, but now he was finally going to make the man listen. Klaus gathered the documents and plans for the company that he had drawn up and left his personnel office. 

He went to his father’s office and knocked on the door. His father’s voice beckoned him to come in and he did so, but only after taking a deep breath. He marched into his father's office, a determined look in his eye and a speech in his head when his stride was interrupted by a clumsy figure.  

“Are you blind?” 

An auburn-haired lady started to pick up his fallen documents from the ground. Was this a new intern? Tch. They really need to pick up on their training these days. 

“I was speaking to you, intern. Can't you see where you’re going?” 

Still, the lady didn’t give him a reply. Oh, this must be one of his father’s new playthings. His father was fond of having some of them every now and again, much to the detriment of his unknowing wife at home.  It was well known while growing up that their father’s business with women, as crude as they could be, didn’t need to involve him, but now this clumsy woman had basically dragged him into it.  

“I’m so sorry, are you okay?” Hazel finally replied to him as she stood straight and handed him his papers. Dark gray and p*ss*d off eyes stared back at her. 

“Don’t ask me such a  meaningless question. Do I look okay? You almost knocked me down, you bimbo.” 

He was in no mood for this. He was already nervous about speaking to his father about running the company himself someday about his favored younger brother and here this woman was, making a fool out of him.  

Hazel raised a perfectly carved brow at him and frowned. 

“Maybe it's you who shouldn't stand in the way like you own it, Corporate boy.” 

If Klaus was an onlooker his mouth would have dropped with the way she spoke to him. Did she not know who he was? Who was this girl, and why did she think she could talk to him that way? 

At that moment, the tension was thick as they stared each other down. Klaus watched as she turned back to see his father and apologize. 

“Sorry about that, Mr. Elijah. I’ll see you, bright and early tomorrow morning.” A second later, Hazel faced Klaus once more, s*ck*d her teeth, stepped beside him and walked out of the office. 

Klaus frowned as he watched her walk away. He berated himself for even engaging with her when his father still sat in the office, watching the encounter. He turned his attention to his father. 

“I’m sorry for that. Who was she anyway?” He said as he walked closer to Elijah’s desk and took a seat.  

“A new employee. Hazel Fox.” 

“Oh, so she isn’t.” 

“A bimbo who you thought I was sleeping with? No. Is that how low you think of me, son?” 

Klaus opened his mouth to apologize for the mix-up, but he was halted when the door to his father’s office opened and the irritating voice of his sibling filtered into his ears. 

“Good morning dad. How’s it going?” Klaus’ younger brother, Lionel, asked as he plopped down on the seat beside him. 

The gaze of the brothers met, and an unspoken tension filled the air. The sibling rivalry between them was no secret, and each believed he was the rightful successor to their father's empire. Klaus was a workaholic and strong-headed one. He did everything to his best ability, always wanting to make his parents proud. Lionel, on the other hand, was a smart one, but he had a history of indulging in a carefree and frivolous lifestyle, which had earned him a reputation which his father hated but overlooked due to his love for the boy. 

"What are you doing here, Klaus?" Lionel sneered in disdain.  

“Most likely something better than what you came here to do, brother.” Klaus retorted, trying not to sound so condescending. 

“Huh. Aren’t you supposed to be in the muck trying to get his approval? You seem to clean here on the high horse.” 

Ignoring the taunt, Klaus reined back his words. He was not going to stoop down to his brother’s level. 

"Well, as for me, I'm here to speak with Dad about the future of the company. It's time he considers handing over the reins to someone more mature. Someone with fresh ideas and a clear vision," Lionel said, with a grin on his face. 

"Fresh ideas? Vision?" Lionel scoffed.  

"All you ever cared about was frolicking with the next model you saw on the cover of a magazine or maxing out your credit cards for a trip to some godforsaken island to live it up with people who care nothing about you or this family. What ideas could you possibly have that would skyrocket the profits and standing of this company?"  

Klaus always thought of his brother with so much jealousy. In the confines of his house, he’d break down feeling ashamed that everyone thought of his younger brother as the better one. People knew it. They knew he envied the boy for how he got it easy when it came to their father, but he would show them that he was better than the brat. Firstly, by calling him out for his obvious b*llsh*t. 

Lionel couldn't bear Klaus’ overseriousness when it came to the family business, and Klaus was envious of Lionel's undeserving favor with their father. Their ambitions clashed continuously. They both opened their mouths to retort what the other had said, forgetting that they were in their father’s presence. It had always been like this since they were born. As kids, their parents had tried to put a stop to it, but it only reduced the fights and as they grew older, there came a rift between the two siblings. A right that Elijah never cared to fix. 

“We could have a brand-new opening for a new branch. A branch which I can head down to Baltimore. I think that.” 

Klaus let out a mocking laugh. 

"That’s your big idea? A new branch in Baltimore. Do you really not hear yourself spewing nonsense? You've always been dad's favorite, that’s why you have no idea how foolish it would look if you had brought this before the board. I've worked just as hard, but he seems to think you can do no wrong. You've always been the perfect son in his eyes, while I've had to fight for his approval. But I won't let him hand the company over to you. Not unless he wants it to crumble to the ground in a blaze of fire within the next three months." Klaus pointed out, sharing a look with his father as he ended his mini-speech. 

Klaus turned to Lionel, silently daring him to speak up and oppose him on it but Lionel had had enough. He scoffed at Klaus, stood up and stormed out of the room, leaving Klaus alone with their father. 

Elijah Moore sighed, shaking his head at the display he had just witnessed.  

"I’m glad that’s finally over. Next time you want to tear into your brother, do well not to do it in my office.” 

Klaus bit his cheek. As he expected, the man showed no care towards him but in some vague way sided with the younger son. 

"I can't work with Lionel. He's reckless, and he doesn't take the business seriously. Whether you see it or not, that boy is a liability to both the family and the business." Klaus replied, his voice tinged with frustration. 

His father looked at him dead serious. 

“You are not in a position to make that decision. You are not the CEO.” 

Klaus frowned at the rebuttal. When would this man learn that he was only trying to do what was best for them? Lionel included.  

“But I do understand what you mean. I would have liked Lionel to take over, but I know that he isn’t ready yet. So, in the meantime, after I retire and while he learns, you will run the company in his place.” 

Klaus was taken aback by Elijah’s words. Although he wasn’t really being given the reins of the company, that temporary spot might be what he needed to change his father’s mind for good.  

“There is one thing that you have to consider if you are going to be the interim CEO of the company.”  

"What is it, Dad?" Klaus asked, eager to hear his father's advice. 

Elijah’s expression turned somber. 

“Your brother's past mistakes have made it difficult for the board and executives to trust him fully. They see potential in you, but they need reassurance that you're ready for the role, but you need to understand that having an exterior matters in the business world. You're good, but you lack some life experience. Your life is only tied to work and I want you to have something to hold onto when your brother becomes the CEO." 

Klaus’ eye twitched at the mention of Lionel usurping him, but he let it go. After all, when his father saw how good he was at running the place, he wouldn’t want him gone. 

“What do I need to do?” 

"Get yourself a wife." Elijah blatantly said.  

Klaus blinked. 

“What?” 

“A wife. Someone you can go home to when your time is over.”  

“So what you’re saying is that before I can become the CEO, I have to get married?” 

“Interim CEO and yes. You do.” 

Klaus was taken aback by his father's suggestion. He didn’t understand what these people wanted from him. He’d gone to school, gotten his degree and excelled in almost every part of his life and now this? A marriage to secure his own birthright? This was ludicrous.  

“I’m not ready for that.” 

“Well, get ready for it. I will retire in a month or so. You said that you wanted more responsibility. Here it is. Bring me a wife in a month and you can have what you want.”  

Klaus sat there, his jaw in his hands, unable to say a word. 

“If you have nothing else to say, then please leave. I have work to round up on.” 

Klaus stood up on command and walked towards the door, with his papers still in his hands. The idea of finding a partner solely for business reasons was daunting to Klaus. It left him confused and as he walked out of his father’s office, he groaned to himself. 

Who in the world would he marry?