Courageous Love - Jerry Cole

Chapter One

I admired the way the newly fitted suit shined on me in the trifold mirror, as my family’s secretary chewed me out for the hundredth time that week.

“Are you even listening to me Adam?” Ms. Stacy asked while shoving her tablet forward for me to look at for the fourth time. I glanced at it and saw it was some email with the symbol of my family’s business on the top, but I really couldn’t care less about whatever family business nonsense she was dealing with.

“Sure I am Stacy.” The suit was black with winding gold fabric that swirled around me. The gold contrasted nicely with my dark brown skin and brought out the gold in my golden-brown eyes.

I could see her eye roll in the corner of the mirror. She was dressed sharply in a black suit jacket and skirt and a prim white shirt. Her dark black hair was tied up in a neat bun and her pale skin and ruby red lips could make anyone think she was a model and not an administrative assistant. Although, I knew no other job would suit her quite so well with her attention to detail and ability to find me no matter what corner of the city I had crawled and disappeared to as often as I did.

“Then tell me what I just told you.” She narrowed her eyes at me.

“Fine, it was something about the business. I stopped listening after that. Every time I’m dragged to one of these ‘family meetings’ it’s for show. I’m the youngest Stacy. I’m never going to have to worry about managing anything.” I pressed down my high top and contemplated what earrings I’d wear with this suit at the party later that week.

“This isn’t a normal ‘family meeting’, Adam,” she said harshly while exaggerating her air quotes. “I’ve been trying to tell you that something is off about it.” She suddenly sounded genuinely concerned for me.

I sighed and stepped off of the platform and away from the mirrors. “I’ll take it seriously this time.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t go; Rosidae sent this email...” her voice trailed off as she scrolled through the email again.

“Make up your mind.” I crossed my arms. “What are my dear siblings planning this time?”

“It’s just that, well, they insisted that you come home for the meeting today. Usually they don’t care.”

That was strange. My two older twin siblings Rosidae and Isaac were planning to inherit my family’s pharmaceutical business and had been preparing for it all their life. They never really wanted me to come along and threaten that inheritance, even when I was a baby, but I didn’t plan to anyway. But our parents liked to get me involved just in case I changed my mind. The twins were worried someday I was going to ask for one third of the business and then run it into the ground. It was like they didn’t even know me; who wanted that kind of responsibility?

“I’m sure they just want to look good for dear Mom and Dad by showing them how much they love including me.” I smiled at her as the sarcasm dripped thick as honey through my words.

She frowned at my smile. “So are you going to go?”

“I guess,” I sighed with extra dramatics. “If I don’t, they’ll just end up blaming you for not bringing me.”

“Your siblings are wrathful.” Stacy shuddered slightly. It was a good thing my parents liked Stacy so much or else my siblings would have fired her years ago since she refused to put up with their scheming. When the terror twins took over the company, I hoped she found a job she deserved.

“You shouldn’t let them treat you that way,” I said, not the first time I encouraged her to quit.

I headed out of the tailor’s shop with my brand-new suit and Stacy following behind. I thought I heard her mutter, “Neither should you.”

***

My family’s mansion was a large sprawling Victorian styled manor. The paneling was white and the shingles and detailing were black. I honestly thought it was boring for most of my childhood. The whole drive over Stacy was tapping away on the tablet I had never seen out of her hands the whole time she worked for my family. She had a look of concentration on her face. I wondered if she was trying to figure out what the meeting was about but honestly it was probably only another talk about how good this past quarter had been or something