93 DAYS...or longer?

9.

I basically haven't slept the whole night. Why? 

Because as soon as I got home, around 1 am, my mother was waiting for me to I guess teach me a lesson (yell at me for no reason). 

I got in bed around 3:30 am and I had a meeting at 5 am, because of the time difference. So, what was I supposed to do, other then check to see if Mackenna was awake and maybe talk to her for a bit?

Now, it's 5 minutes til 5 am and after I've had my coffee, I sat on the balcony, setting up my laptop for a meeting. I was already in the call, waiting for all the other employees who were supposed to attend the meeting.

"Helloooo, Mr. Amos" I hear on the other side as one of the empty squares now shows a video of Nicholas "Good morning, Nicholas"  I reply with a smile on my face, but my eyes spoke instead of me, making it visible how tired I am "Are you alright? You look worse on your vacation then when you are here - no offense" Nicholas calls me out for my looks and makes me chuckle "Thanks Nick, but you know, saying 'no offense' after calling me out doesn't really make it sound better and I am aware of how I look right now, but this is an important meeting" I reply to him and after he apologizes for his comment, the rest join our call and I begin talking to them about upcoming changes, new ideas and what is expected from them in the next week, considering it's Friday today.

At the end of the call, Nicholas interrupts me "Mr. Amos? May I say something in the name of all of us?" and I nod at his request, letting him speak "We wanted to transfer money to your personal bank account for your brother's birthday, since he isn't here and we can't give him any other gift" 

Shit.

My brother's 18th birthday is tomorrow.

"Yes, of course, I'll send you my bank account number in a text right after we finish this call." I reply to him and proceed on closing our meeting then texting him the number, as I said.

I walk downstairs and head out to the front yard where the pool was, sitting on one of the chairs that was around a big table, waiting for breakfast to be ready.

"Good morning, Mr. Amos" Lily's voice makes me snap out of my thoughts as I look over at her. She is our chef that travels with us anywhere we go and now she is setting breakfast on the table for me. 

"Good morning Lily, ah.. this smells amazing!" I say with a wide smile on my face as I inhale the smell of freshly made juice and pancakes covered with strawberry syrup. 

"You say that every time!" She smiles back at me, proud of herself and loving the compliments each time. "Mr. Amos.. is everything alright?" She asks me with worry written all over her face.

I look up at her and sigh "I don't know what to say to you.. I guess, I mean, everything will be fine" I put on fake smile, but she knew me since I was a kid, she was basically more mother to me than my own mother, so she places her hand on my back, rubbing my back to comfort me and I almost teared up at that act, as all that I needed now was a motherly, full of love hug, but I had nowhere to go to and ask for that. 

"Thanks Lily, I'm sure these pancakes will fix everything" I wink at her, making her giggle and she walks away, leaving me alone with my thoughts, mostly filled with plans for my brother's birthday. 

"Kas!" I hear a joyful voice coming from afar, making me look up from my plate as I was in the middle of eating, noticing my brother jogging towards me. 

"Good morning Em" short for Emilio, I didn't really like using short names and nicknames for people but calling my brother a full name would be weird, I only do that when he makes a mistake.

"So, I was thinking we could go to the beach today" Emilio says, sitting down across from me and grabbing his plate of pancakes right away, except his were covered with chocolate and sprinkles. 

"Yes, we could, but later I have plans so I won't be available for the whole day" I am sad to disappoint him, but I had to organize the party, buy the presents from our employees and try to make it unforgettable. 

"Oh.. well of course.. you are the CEO.." He trails off, looking down at his plate and all the joy he had, has disappeared. I frown at the sight of him, sighing "Emilio... I told you already, if I could, I would give up my spot and give it to you.."

"But I am an idiot who doesn't know anything about it and am unable to even learn so I'll just stay mama's boy for the rest of my life, while dad will keep on being proud of just you." He shoots me a dirty look and causes anger to fuel up inside of me.

"So you think I wanted all of this? Sleepless nights, worries 24/7, all those employees feelings and lives on my back, the future of the company as well depending on my decisions? Not leaving the office for days and nights when big mistakes are made? Having to be up to date everyday with the law, the trends? If you think it's so easy, I'll gladly give this up on Monday. It's not just the name and the money, Emilio. It's far more than that." I reply to him, trying to control my anger and sound as calm as possible. 

"Right.. those are all the excuses why dad has left us." 

That sentence made my blood boil. I hit the table with my fist as I jump up from my seat, pushing my chair back "That is the last time you've said anything bad about our father. You'd be nothing - we would be nothing without him." I reply to him, clenching my jaw not to yell.

"Yeah, thank him for all the money and power he gave you that you use to get all the bitches that you-" 

A slap. The first time I've ever slapped him in my entire life.

"Never again call a woman a bitch."