"It is time to pay up, old man."
Derek Hastings, the CEO and owner of Hastings TV Network, already felt a headache oncoming as he saw his son enter his office with a swagger in his steps.
"Here's the degree you asked for. Now, it is your turn to uphold the deal we struck four years ago."
Liam waved his college degree in front of his father's face and unceremoniously sat in the chair opposite to his father.
Derek Hastings merely blinked at his son's antics and remained calm, showing no emotion. After two decades, he had become accustomed to his son's antics. Now, many things couldn't shake him anymore.
Derek Hastings calmly took the degree certificate and looked at it with pursed lips. His son had indeed obtained his degree. That too First Class. But, looking at the report card, he felt like spitting blood.
Derek had always known that his son had a sharp mind. In fact, his son could be called as a genius. The only problem was that, his son never seemed to apply his sharp mind in the usual way. From childhood to till now, his son's actions had always been unconventional, bringing one headache after another to him.
However, they were all fine when he was a child. After all, which house didn't have a naughty child in it? Moreover, naughty children always brought joy to parents. But, his son's growth began to become more and more abnormal as he entered the rebellious teens.
While his son never truly crossed the line that one couldn't come back from, he often toed the line making Derek break his head trying to contain his antics. His son's irreverent attitude coupled with his sharp mind was something he truly feared.
As a self made man who grew his business from a small local TV station into a large national TV Network, Derek knew that sharp individuals like his son, who never conformed to the mainstream, would always end up in trouble once they stepped into society. In his four decades of experience in the media sector, he has seen countless prodigies be swallowed alive by the ruthless society.
As a father, he didn't want such a thing to happen to his son. He had hoped that as his son grew up, his rebellious attitude would tone down and he would become sensible when dealing with society. Unfortunately, his wish didn't seem to manifest. If anything, his son's rebelliousness only grew as he aged.
But, what irked Derek the most was his son's attitude towards his own future. It was fine if he played around with other things, but how can he be careless when choosing his future? He had hoped that four years of college life would have taught his son some sense. But, it looked like it was in vain.
"You passed 17 courses in just last year. If you had applied yourself from the start, you could have graduated early with honors. But no, you played around for the first three years and only got serious in your graduation year," Derek commented with barely restrained anger.
"What does it matter? You asked me to earn a degree, I did it. That too a first class degree. So, it is time you honored our deal," Liam shrugged his shoulders and answered nonchalantly.
Derek felt like reaching over the table and smacking his son hard. But, he restrained the urge in his heart and tried to think.
When his son came to him and wanted to join the family business right after completing high school, he was surprised and gratified to see him interested in their family business. However, he felt that his son needed more education to take over after him and refused his request firmly.
But, he didn't close the door completely.
As a compromise, Derek struck a deal with his son. The deal was that if his son earned a college degree, then he would give him a high position in the TV Network after he graduated. The better his results, the higher his position will be.
When he struck that deal with his son, Derek expected his son to strive hard and learn diligently in college in order to obtain a high position once he joined. Knowing his son's genius mind, he expected his son to even graduate early.
But, who knew that his rascal son would play this unreasonably. While sticking to the terms of the deal, he completely ignored the spirit of the deal. Graduating with a first class degree sounded great to hear, but only when one looked at the report card can one see what kind of a devil his son truly was. It was clear from the report card that his son was still the same rebellious one.
Derek knew that his son must one day take over the reins from him and lead this chariot on his own. But, before that, he hoped that his son would learn some wisdom and conceal his sharpness. Above all, Derek wanted his son to learn some responsibility and mature.
Managing a large national TV network wasn't an easy affair. It required hard work and intelligence. There were countless people's livelihoods linked to every decision one would make. Such an important position needed someone both responsible and mature.
Unfortunately, responsibility was one thing his son refused to learn. He was still in his rebellious phase. Maturity seemed to be a foreign word to him.
Derek felt like having a stiff drink at this moment. After realizing his son hadn't truly matured at all, he didn't dare to grant his son a high position. If anything went wrong, the losses would be in millions.
While the Hastings were wealthy, they weren't filthy rich to the extent of shrugging of loss in millions. Moreover, it wasn't just him who ran this company. The broad will have his head if he allowed Liam to play his antics.
Now, he was truly left in a pickle. Having watched his son grow up, Derek Hastings knew what kind of a character his son truly is. If he dared to go back on their deal, his son's retaliation would be fierce. He would have to say goodbye to his peace of mind.
Still, he was a bit reluctant to keep to the deal.
"Old man, you aren't going to go back on your words, are you?" Liam's devilish voice sounded just in that moment, causing Derek to shiver slightly.
"Who am I? Do I, Derek Hastings, need to renege on a deal with a little brat like you?" Derek reprimanded sternly to mask the unease in his heart.
Liam wasn't fazed by his father's reprimanded. He only chuckled in return.
"Good, then I don't need to use my backup plan," Liam's nonchalant reply poured cold water on Derek. "You wouldn't have really liked it."
"You!" Derek was left speechless for a moment.
He didn't know what sin he committed to get such a son. Which son threatened his father in his own office? His son was truly a devil.
Luckily, he was only a bit reluctant. If he had dared to really not keep his end of the bargain, then who knows what this brat would have done. As for whether his son was bluffing, Derek didn't even consider such a notion. Knowing how vindictive his son could become, he had no illusions that his son was bluffing.
Just thinking about his son's vindictive nature sent goosebumps across Derek's skin. While his son was in high school, he got into a conflict with one of his teachers. In order to take revenge, his son seduced the teacher's wife and slept with her.
If he had just stopped there, it would have been fine. But the brat actually filmed the entire thing and sent it to the teacher as a gift. That teacher divorced his wife and left the school soon after.
The incident had become a big issue back then. The Principal was quite keen on expelling his son for his actions. Derek had to use his influence to hush up the entire matter. It had given him a huge headache for over a week at that time.
So, he really didn't want to know what his son had in store for him.
Derek knew he had to come up with something that satisfied the letter of the agreement, if not the spirit of it. However, he was stumped on how to do it. So, he decided to postpone the meeting for a day or so for now and come up with something later.
"Don't worry, I won't renege on our deal. You head back home and come back two days later. I will have something for you. You haven't been home for a long time, your mother misses you. Don't dally outside," Derek spoke in a strict manner and tried to send his son away.
"Alright, two days it is then. I will trust you for now, old man," Liam agreed readily and got up from his seat. "By the way, the secretary outside looks new. Is she a new hire?"
"Get lost!" Derek roared, causing Liam to chuckle and beat a hasty retreat.
"This brat! I am afraid the company will encounter a lot of sexual harassment lawsuits after he enters. Sigh! What am I going to do now?"