HIS SECRETARY

Julian took a deep breath as soon as the sounds of the plane tires rolled out from behind the plane with a loud bang; they had landed. He was back; he was back to this place where he had the worst memories and he never wanted to come back but he had to. Following the instructions given by the intercom, he joined other passengers as he stepped out of the plane. He adjusted the glasses on his face while he walked towards the baggage claim area to collect his luggage.

Dragging the box after him, the first people he noticed in the airport hallway were the men in black suits standing outside waiting for god knows who. Well Julian knew who they were waiting for. As he got closer to them, two of them walked up to him and bowed in a show of courtesy.

“Welcome back” one of them said as Julian furrowed his brows at him.

“Andres” Julian called out as the latter wore a soft smile and nodded.

“You remember me” he replied as Julian nodded and left the luggage he was dragging along with him slipping his hands into his pocket while he walked towards the car. With one last look at the airport, he got into the car and the door was closed behind him.

He chuckled at his father’s effort at making him feel comfortable when he got back. Sending him his former bodyguards but they were grown up now. Julian could of course recognise all the bodyguards that stood in front of him and the driver who drove? He also remembered the latter clearly. They all used to work for him during his high school days.

At the thought of high school, Julian removed his sunglasses and glanced outside the window trying to check for what had changed in the streets of California. Seeing that nothing big had changed; he retrieved his eyes back and laid them to rest while lowering his eyelids. He didn’t open his eyes until the car came to a stop. The door opened as immediately he felt forest breeze on his skin; Julian knew he was home. He opened his eyes and stepped out of the car.

“Your father is in his study” Andres said and Julian nodded at him before walking into the house.

As he climbed the stairs, Julian noticed that except for the chairs and the curtains. Nothing really had changed in the house. He had been gone for over six years yet nothing much had changed. He knocked lightly on the door of the study as a soft yet firm voice drifted into his ears.

“Come in”

Julian pushed the door open and stepped into the room. Like before, the study reeked of the smell of old books. A smell that Julian had never been comfortable with and was still not comfortable with.

“If I didn’t tender my letter of resignation, you really wouldn’t come back; would you?” the older man seating on the chair and going through some documents asked as soon as Julian stepped into the room.

He dropped the papers in his hands and turned to face Julian. Seeing the older man face, it wasn’t hard to realize that they were father and son. Julian was more like the younger version except that he was more handsome. Julian easily took notice of the grey hair and aged face of his father, the past years seemed to have taken a toll on him and not that Julian gave two fucks whether the years had worn him out or not.

“Do you really think I want to be here?” Julian asked in a grim voice as his father smiled at him.

“This is your home; why wouldn’t you want to come home?” he asked in reply as Julian snorted.

“Home? Home?” Julian asked again as he chuckled.

“Do you even know what a home is?” Julian asked irritated but his voice remained the same.

“Now, that I’m taking over the company tomorrow. Do not put your hand in my business or anything that concerns the company” Julian said as the older man nodded.

“I won’t put your hand in your business or anything that concerns the company” he said and Julian opened as he turned to leave.

“Wait” the older man said as Julian stopped and turned to him.

“Your secretary. You can’t change her” the older man said as Julian furrowed his brows.

“You absolutely can’t change her” he repeated as Julian glanced at him before walking out of the study. The older man laughed lightly as he shook his head.

“Still as headstrong as before” he muttered as he returned back to his documents.

Julian slowly pushed the door of his room open. The room was still the same way as he had left it. As he stepped into the room, he dropped his phone on the table before walking towards the windows and pushing them open.

He stared across the windows towards the lush pasture that stretched after the mansion. The breeze blew inside the room and Julian released a sigh he didn’t even realize he was holding. From the trees to the shrubs and to the flowers, Julian could see that they had been well kept and maintained. He heaved a sigh of relief as he turned back towards the room and peeled off his clothes as he stepped into the shower.

Water spluttered out from all the sides of the wall on his body before they slid down to the cold tiles then into the perforated hoes at the end of the bathroom. Julian rested his hand on the wall pushing his body underneath the onslaught of the shower heads allowing the water to run freely all over his body. He turned the shower heads off as he was done and stepped back into the room as he changed into a pair of long joggers and a huge shirt.

He picked his phone and saw that he already had two missed calls. Seeing the caller ID, he didn’t hesitate before calling back. He pressed the phone to his ears and after two rings, the other person answered the call.