Chapter 11

• DAVE'S POV
• The beeping monitor and my Dad's raged breathing were all that could be heard in the hospital room as I sat on the chair in front of the bed staring at him. My mother sat beside him, holding his hand with her head resting on it fast asleep.
• I remembered the last time I was in the position, it was when my brother dropped me off at my penthouse after our little vacation. A few hours later, I got a call from my dad that my brother was in the hospital. It was when I got there that I found out that my brother was dying from Liver cancer and it had already developed beyond control before he found out.
• It came as I surprise to me that I didn't notice that he was dying after spending the whole month with me. I only understood why he did that through the recording, but that didn't stop me from getting mad at him.
• He passed away in the hospital the following day after saying his last words to me, "I'm sorry." I remembered that moment like it was yesterday which was why I got more scared when I received that call from Nixon. I thought history was about to repeat itself.
• After Nixon explained what happened to me, I couldn't help but feel guilty for my dad's condition. My dad was getting older and needed to take a break from the company but because of me he couldn't and his company was on the verge of being taken away from him.
• Before my brother died, my father had left the company for him to handle but he had to step back in when I refused to take over after my brother left. Because of that decision, I almost lost my father to the cold hands of death. The situation made me rethink everything because I didn't think I could handle losing another important person in my life.
• The door opened and Nixon walked in without the suit jacket he had on that morning. He and Lena went back to the company to put things in order after they found out that my dad was doing fine.
• "How is he doing?" He came to stand beside me.
• "He has been like this for six hours, but the doctor said he's fine and would probably wake up tomorrow."
• "That's good news at least." He placed his hand on my shoulder. "Can we talk outside for a moment? I don't want to disturb them." He pointed at my parent.
• "Sure." I stood up and we walked out of the room together. I took my seat on the chair outside and asked, "What is it?"
• "Have you made your decision yet?" He rested on the wall opposite me with his arms folded.
• "What decision?" I raised my eyebrows at him.
• "To take over the company," he replied. "I know you are beating yourself up for what happened to your father and you know that the only way to rectify this is to agree to manage the company for your dad."
• I sighed in defeat because I knew he was right. I had to make amends if I didn't want to end up losing my father. "But I don't know anything about the company. I don't even know the first thing about becoming a president of a company."
• "That's why your father is still around to guide you. You also have me by your side. Let it always be at the back of your mind that you are not alone, Dave." He moved closer to me and placed his hands on my shoulder.
• "What if I don't do well? What if I don't meet the standard that my Dad and Daniel have made?"
• "Dave, you need to stop thinking like that. You and your brother are different people and you shine in different dimensions." He sat next to me. "Do you remember when you helped me pick the designs that should be launched and they ended up becoming a big hit? That shows that you have a great fashion sense which is exactly what a Fashion Company needs. Remember when you told me what to say to convince people to invest in our company's project and they did without questioning which shows how good you are at negotiating."
• It was when I left the country to escape my parents that Nixon was forced to assist them in running the company. Throughout those times, he would call me countless times for help, and somehow my suggestions and ideas always turned out to be good.
• "You're right though." I smiled at the memory.
• "So what do you say, Dave? Will you do it? For me, for your Dad, for Daniel." He gave me a pleading look.
• Letting all his words sink into my head and remembering the favor Daniel asked of me to look after Mom and Dad, I replied, "Yes."
• "Yes!" Nixon fist-bumped the air.
• My brother had done a lot for me, so it shouldn't be that hard to do one favor for him.
• "Trust me, you are not going to regret your decision. You will enjoy working in styles and the best part, is we get to see each other every day." He grinned from ear to ear.
• "That's the worst part of everything," I countered and he punched me on the shoulder.
• "I can't wait to give your parent the good news when your dad wakes up. They will be over the moon."
• "And I can't wait to finally let the world know that I'm Dave Mendez and also study everything about the company including those stupid rules and regulations," I said with sarcasm dripping off my tone.
• "At least sound a little bit happy about it." He gave me a bored look.
• "Of course, I'm so happy that I can't even contain it." I stretched my lips in a fake smile.
• "You are an idiot." He shook his head at me. "Anyways, while you are at it with the rules and regulations, why don't you dispose of the rule of employees not being allowed to date each other?"
• "Why should I do that?" I raised my eyebrows at him.
• "So I can get a chance with Lena." He shrugged.
• "I'm not even president yet and you are already trying to use me to get yourself a girlfriend."
• "My best friend is going to be the Company's new president, what's wrong with wanting to get a little advantage?"
• "You're sick." I stood up and walked back into my Dad's room.
• "Dave, Dave, " he called but I ignored him.
• It had been a while since I'd seen Nixon chasing after a girl. Maybe I should help him out with it.