AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Raven
Carson
My stomach grumbled, and my eyes dimmed behind the photochromic glasses, but I refused to get up from the ergonomic chair. I typed the last lines of code and hit the enter button. If I got the output I wanted, I would be done with the day's work after hours of sitting in front of the screen. I knew I wouldn't leave this seat until the project was finished. It was the rule I had lived by all my adult life. Show up every time, and be disciplined. Don’t stop until the job is done. I had every reason to cut myself slack because my father was a frigging billionaire, and I wasn't doing shabbily either. But I wanted to be richer and more productive than my father was, and it would take sheer focus and will, beating the old man.
The compiler returned some errors. No output could be shown. My time in this leather chair wasn't over yet.
“Fucking hell!” I groaned. Mentally, I had moved on from the setback and was already thinking of how to clear the errors. Never dwell on mistakes. That was another of my rules. I leaned forward and began to debug. The twitching and itching in my eyes grew worse, but I was sure it would all get better when I stepped away from the desk. It was merely my body trying to stop me from doing what I needed to do. Apart from the wealth, discipline was another thing I inherited from my father.
A ring went off from my workstation’s speakers. Someone was at the door to my lair, which was a section of the basement of Rodericks Manor remodeled by me to look like a luxurious office. Well, that was until I added the giant-sized sleeper sofa at the center of the room, and a large screen tv and gaming console on one of the walls. I even had surround sound speakers and a mini bar in the corner, which served me well when I needed to grab a drink and unwind after a hard day of coding. I liked working in the basement because it was isolated from the rest of the house, and since the walls and floors were made of concrete and covered with rugs and carpets, no sound came through to disturb me. It gave me the peace and solitude I needed to become the IT whiz I was.
That was until everyone in my family discovered my secret abode. Each person had promised not to tell the others, but soon, even our distant relatives who visited for family dinners knew about the place. The ring came again, and I forced my attention away from the screen. Only my family could get this far because no one else had the key to gain access. I had installed two doors just to make sure it proved difficult for them to come in. The first door allowed them the pleasure of using a key to unfasten the lock, while the second was an electronic door that needed to detect my voice before it slid open. On the third ring, I was sure that it had to be something urgent. I hated distractions. They were anathema to the kind of work I did.
I switched to the security display and watched my dad standing at the door. The security camera had a bird’s eye view, and I could see the impatience etched in his features as he waited for me to open the door. My voice was gruff as I said, "Come on in." I hadn't spoken to anyone verbally all day. I had been holed up in this room, trying to complete my project and beat the company's deadline.
The door slid open just as I took off my glasses and rubbed my itching eyes. My stomach gave a loud growl, a harsh reminder that I had skipped lunch after taking coffee and croissants for breakfast.
I stretched my body and skipped to the sound system to turn off the music. Dad walked in, his eyes darting around the entire room like he was searching for hidden treasure. He looked younger than your average sixty-year-old. That's what you get when you have good money and live a healthy lifestyle. I caught a whiff of his cologne as he walked past me into the room. My eyes were on him as he surveyed my workstation and turned his nose.
“Why?” He turned to face me.
“Why what?”
"Why is this place so littered?" He waved his hands over the room. The room wasn't in such an awful condition, although stacks of books and a change of clothes beside them were on the floor. Okay, I'd admit it wasn't good, but it was something I could fix in a short time. I just couldn’t afford any time away from my computer. Even now, I wished Dad would say what he wanted and let me get back to work.
“You haven’t answered me, son.”
“I’ve been busy working. I’m sure if you look at that chair, you’ll find the marks of my butt on it. This is the first time I’ve moved in hours.”
“You’re not done with the Fisher project?”
I spread my arms out in frustration. “You gave me very little time. I’m doing my best.”
“You’re right.” He patted me on the back. “But at least have someone come in and clean this place up. I can get one of the house staff to come down here and take care of it immediately.”
"It's just the basement, Dad. I’ll get it taken care of. It’s not like I live down here. My room is still up there, you know." I pointed to the ceiling. "Besides, you didn’t come all the way here to talk about the state of my office. Did you?”
“We have a new client, a bigger project than the Fisher’s. It’s a big deal. If you’re not close to the finish line with the other one, leave it and let’s focus on this one.”
I felt like a powerful tornado had just swept me off my feet. "Dad, the agreement was that I could take a break after this project."
Dad squeezed my shoulder. "Everyone else is occupied at the moment. You are the only one in the company who can handle this. Surely, the vacation can wait till some other time.”
“Right,” I muttered. “Let me have all the details, then I’ll get to work.”
“That’s my boy.” Dad looked around again. “This place could use a woman’s touch. Your entire life could use a woman’s touch. When are you going to follow in your brothers’ footsteps and find your true love? Of course, to do that, you’d have to leave the house occasionally.”
I sighed and shook my head. No matter how much work we had, Dad would always find time to comment on my solitary existence. You’d think he might want to keep me around, considering all my brothers had gotten married and started families of their own. Rodericks Manor was going to be a huge empty nest when I was gone. “Let’s talk about that later. I need to clear up this Fisher job, so I’ll have the time to solve the new case.”
“Work is not all there is to life. Live, love, and have fun. With a good dose of discipline, you can carry out all you want to do. See you on Monday.”
Dad ruffled my hair and walked to the door. As soon as he was gone, I walked back to my computer. The compiler had run my code, and again, it came up with an error. As I suspected, my eyes no longer ached, but the biting hunger was still there. Since Dad had forced me into an untimely break, I could use a cup of coffee before deciding what to eat for the night. I turned off my phone’s airplane mode and saw that I had several texts from Terry. Terrence Silver was my friend and business partner. Unlike me, he was crazy about having fun and squeezing as many good memories out of life as possible.
I called Terry and put the phone on speaker while I walked to the fridge to get something to eat. My eyes darted from the plate of beef rolls to the pack of curry rice; it was hard deciding what to eat when there was so much in the fridge. All I needed to do was get off the chair and walk over here.
Terry’s voice soon came through the phone’s speaker. “Hey man, I’ve been calling your phone all day.”
“Was busy with work, sorry. What do you have for me?” I asked, closing the fridge and walking to the dining area with a food container in my hand.
