Complete Me

by Gray, Khardine

"Son, I couldn't resist. I'd been thinking about taking our company in a different direction for months now, and this was like the answer. Especially given the situation poor Cervantes found themselves in."

  Sam chuckled at that. Poor Cervantes. The facility was worth billions, and their scientists were priceless. They'd developed some of the most unique scientific developments in this century, and their future developments were far out of his concept of what science could do.

  A company like them were worth saving. He was definitely seeing why his father needed him. Only someone like him could decipher how a company like that could end up in so much trouble. Although Cervantes was worth billions, they'd mysteriously started going under months ago. The world was shocked last week when it was announced that they'd be shut down. To everyone else, it may look like it was just one of those unfortunate events that happened. Some may even think it was down to running out of funds and owing on existing debts, but that couldn't just happen to a company like that.

  Sam knew even before starting an investigation that the answer to most problems was theft. With this one, it would be high-tech theft and embezzlement on a very sophisticated level. He'd seen it all before. Often it was done by the companies most trusted officers and in such a unique way that ensured no one ever got caught. Sam had a gift for solving such problems and revealing those types of culprits. He'd just never done it on a research lab before.

  "What's the plan?" Sam asked.

  "I want to fix them and get them back to where they were before things got bad. They get to keep their name and everything." There was an inherent strength in his face.

  Sam looked at his father with deep respect. It was times like this when he truly admired him. He was a man who never indulged on wealth, and wasn't greedy for more. He used what he had for good, to do good.

  "Same name?"

  "Yes, that name has been around for a hundred years. It's an established business just like ours. There are some things in this world that need preservation. This is one of them. We run it, we fund it and keep it going. But first we need to fix it, and by we, I mean you."

  Sam released a slow, thoughtful sigh.

  "You even get to take Zane," his father added.

  Sam stared at him, realizing that he must have really needed him for him to allow Sam to take Zane. Zane wasn't exactly the most favorable person in his old man's eyes, but he was excellent at his job. He was also Sam's right-hand man, his best friend, and the only person who could keep him sane. The only person who had kept him sane through the hell of a life he'd experienced in the last twelve years.

  Sam rested back into the chair again allowing his eyes to drift to an old English fox hunting picture his mother had painted. It was right next to the other she did of the English countryside, very close to where she'd grown up. Sam had seen for himself that the painting had been a remarkable depiction. In fact, just looking at it took him back to days spent there as a child, and sailing along the English Rivera with his grandfather. All his mother's paintings had that striking, memorable effect. Particularly the pieces she kept for the family. Her other work she displayed in her galleries or sold on.

  Buying Cervantes was a good move on his father's part. It was a fantastic idea, and Sam felt bad that he couldn't be more excited. Especially since Cervantes was in San Francisco. Good old San Francisco.

  It was incredibly stupid of him but every time he'd thought about, or visited, San Francisco he found himself thinking of her.

  Claire.

  Even after so many years, he couldn't make himself forget her. His mind had clung to the vibrant memory of her and forbade him to forget. She was so alive in his mind that whenever he'd found himself in San Francisco, on business or in passing, he'd always look out for her. He looked for her in places he thought she might be. Although he didn't know how he could or would imagine that up since he didn't really know her.

  He also tended to think of her in his most depressing hours like when he was in a coma after his accident three years ago. To everyone, he was asleep, barely alive to the world. But to him, in his mind, he was stuck in that vision of them on that date he'd imagined up. Dancing at the Bellagio. It was a scene that played over and over again in his mind, and he'd had a hard time believing it never actually happened when he eventually woke up. She was the first person he asked for, but of course, no one knew who she was.

  It was only then that he told his parents about her. They must have thought he was crazy to hang on to her the way he had after only knowing her for a day, and particularly since he didn't even know who she was. Claire wasn't even her name.

  Over the years he'd never been able to stop thinking about her. He wondered how things turned out for her.

  Foolish youthful whims of fancy, his grandfather would call it. But it was the kind of foolish youthful whims of fancy he was glad he encountered. Sam could still remember her liquid brown eyes and luscious long hair. Her golden skin and beautiful face. He could still remember how she made him feel.

  Maybe he held on to her memory so tightly because his life changed drastically after he met her. He had Jessica to thank for that. She'd single-handedly ruined him.

  He knew his father needed him, but Sam was quite uncertain. Being here in Chicago meant being closer to Amy, his eleven-year-old daughter. Staying meant she was only a forty-minute drive away from him. Anywhere else could throw things out of sync.

  This wouldn't be like before the divorce when Sam could spend a few months in places like Hong Kong, or Australia. Jessica would give him any hassle she could conjure up to stop him from seeing Amy. At the moment she'd allowed him the last weekend of every month and sometimes that didn't happen. If Jessica decided she wanted to be spiteful because he offended her in some way or, she just didn't feel like being human then sometimes he didn't get to see Amy for months. Granted, that hadn't happened in a long time, but anything could set off a chain of events that would be to his detriment. If it were up to him, he'd ensure that she lived with him permanently. But that wasn't possible.

  Not being Amy's biological father meant that he had no rights. The divorce only enhanced that aspect. The problem was made even worse with his accident and lengthy recovery. That part, however, couldn't be helped. Sam had broken his back and had his left leg crushed. It was a miracle that he was even walking today. Albeit with a cane, but soon he wouldn't need that.

  "Son," his father's voice interrupted Sam's deep thoughts. He looked back to his father and saw that tentative look again. "Sometimes change can be a good thing. You really are suffocating here. Your skills and talents aren't being put to use. This is a great opportunity for the company as it will show that we can be dynamic and versatile. It will also be good for you because it'll put those mad skills of yours to great use. I don't do these things for myself you know." The corners of his mouth lifted into an open, friendly smile. "I don't need to. And you can't confine yourself to Chicago, or lock yourself away in your house forever."

  That's exactly how his life had been for the last three years. A confinement. It sounded bad, but it was what worked for Sam.

  "So slugger, what do you say? Can I count on you for this one?" His father could always count on him. No matter what, or despite whatever feelings Sam felt. He'd always help his father out.

  "Okay. I'll go. I'll be gone for a while won't I." His stomach tensed.

  His father nodded. "But, I've seen you work miracles before." His eyes sparkled with enthusiasm as he ran his hand through his hair.

  It was good his father believed in him so much, because right now Sam didn't have the energy he used to, to believe in himself. He was still confident in his work abilities, but his life with Jessica had changed him.

  He'd have to tell her about this and hope she didn't blow things out of proportion. To make things easier, he'd try to come back to Chicago to visit Amy, so as not to upset their arrangement.

  Sam didn't know what he was up against yet by venturing to Cervantes, but he would try to ge
t the job done as quickly as possible. In his experience the bigger the company, the bigger the job, and the older, more established companies were usually a pain in the ass too. How it worked was he'd take over management for the time he was there and conduct his investigation. As these guys were in very deep trouble and investors would probably be jumping ship, he'd have his hands full. It was definitely going to be a big job, but if he gave it his all maybe he could be back by Christmas. Minus three weeks, that was practically a year. A whole year in San Francisco. Maybe that could be good for him.

  He may also be walking properly by then too. He was doing really well at the moment and didn't even use his cane at home. It was more of a precautionary measure. He tried not to overdo things for fear of doing more harm than good, like a few times before when he'd tried to fast track his healing. Maybe walking without his cane would make him feel better about himself. Like when he stopped using his wheelchair. He'd done extremely well for someone who'd been told there was a chance he'd never walk again. It had taken him a long time to get to this stage.

  He rose to his feet and reached for his cane.

  "When do I leave?"

  "Next week would be good."

  "Alright, next week it is."

  His father smiled. "Thanks, slugger, you've made my day kid."

  Sam nodded and offered a small smile. He was thirty-six years old, and his father still called him things like kid and slugger. It was fine. He supposed it gave him some form of normalcy.

  "Dinner at home later? Your mother's doing beef wellington and banoffee pie."

  "Wouldn't miss it." Sam gave a curt nod of farewell before he left.

  As he made his way to his office, he thought about what he'd tell Jessica. He wanted to say it in a way that didn't make her think he expected Amy to travel all the way to San Francisco to see him. In a normal arrangement that would have been normal.

  But nothing had ever been normal with Jessica. Both she and her family were the most despicable people he'd ever met, and his marriage to her was a sham. After he met Claire, he'd looked forward to breaking up with Jessica. He actually couldn't wait to get back to Chicago to do it, but before he could even get the words out of his mouth, she hit him with the news of her pregnancy.

  It was Jessica that suggested they get married, and quick too so it would look like she'd gotten pregnant on their honeymoon. She didn't want to look anything other than the perfect image she'd portrayed to everyone. Sam should have said no. He was never really the romantic type, but he'd always imagined getting married to someone he was in love with. If he were probably a little firmer, he wouldn't have fallen into the trap she and her family set out for him. They all knew Amy wasn't his from the beginning, but they allowed him to believe it for over eight years, find out in the worse way possible and then set about a chain of events that led to an accident that could have taken his life.

  He pulled in a deep breath as he entered his office, clearing his mind. It was best not to think about it. Thinking about the past never did him any good, and right now he needed mental clarity to stay focused. Working on Cervantes was going to be hard and more than anything a challenge for him. He needed to do his research and get to know how things ran there before making any decisions to use his normal processes. This wouldn't be like the financial businesses he'd previously worked with.

  Zane burst through the door with his trademark smile, the moment Sam sat behind his desk. He was still sporting the tan he got from his vacation to St Tropez last week. And still looked like he was on holiday with his short black hair slightly ruffled, Bermuda shorts with coconut trees splashed all over it, and a long sleeved cotton shirt that lay open at the top to purposely display his bronze chest.

  Sam rolled his eyes at the sight of him. "What are you dressed as Zane?"

  "Forget about my clothes. Please tell me you said yes?" Zane loomed in on him like a predator stalking its prey. He shut the door behind him and sauntered over, sitting on the edge of Sam's desk.

  Sam grimaced and shook his head. Of course, Zane already knew about Cervantes. Zane knew everything, and always before Sam. He must have known about it all from yesterday. And yet he went to Sam's house, played pool, ate dinner, and said nothing. For that, Zane could wait for Sam's answer. Sam turned on his computer and ignored Zane.

  "Hey, come on man. Don't leave me hanging."

  "I don't know what you're talking about." Sam didn't even look at him.

  "I just saw you hobbling away from your father's office."

  Sam shot him a sharp look. "Hobbling?" Zane could be so disrespectful sometimes.

  "I'm just messing with you. So tell me, did you speak to him?"

  "I did," Sam returned his focus to the computer screen. He typed apartments in San Francisco into the Google search bar.

  "And?"

  "And, the least you could have done is give me a heads up."

  "Heads up. No, no. I'm the trusted advisor. Old Man St. John asked me not to say anything until he'd spoken to you. I was just following orders. He simply ran the idea past me. Heads up guy was Tom. You couldn't trust his mouth to keep shut."

  Sam rolled his eyes again, but couldn't help but think about Tom. Sam hadn't really seen him since his accident. Tom left the company and decided to go traveling. That was what he told everyone, but Sam knew better. There was something not quite right with Tom, and it worsened after Sam's accident. Having him around would have made things easier because Sam had always relied on him for strength. Tom, however, had other things on his mind, and Sam didn't have the energy to find out what that was.

  That was when Zane really stepped up, and he was right. Zane was the trusted advisor. Tom was heads up guy. If Tom were here, Sam would have known about this whole Cervantes thing before the thought of purchasing had even entered his father's mind.

  Zane could have still told him though. He knew what it could mean with Sam's situation. At least he would have had some time to prepare his mind.

  "And what?" Sam replied wrinkling his forehead.

  Zane flung his hands open and hopped in the chair opposite the desk. It bobbled on the impact.

  "Dude give me a break. Okay, so your dad spoke to me yesterday because he wanted to see if I'd go." Zane blurted out. "Truth be told, he knew if I was going you'd go too. Think of me as a pet. I would just simply need to exist, and keep you company."

  Sam had always found Zane interesting. Zane had always got by on his play hard and work less view of life. He was ten percent work and ninety percent play and did the bare minimum work required in that ten percent. However, that work was top quality and second to none.

  Zane had done his internship with the company at the same time as Sam and Tom. Tom and Zane got on straight away because they were practically the same person, with the same sorts of interests and mannerisms, and they both used to drive Sam insane. He'd gotten on well with Pete and Jeff too whenever they arranged a meetup. Zane became that guy that everyone liked. Most of all for Sam, Zane kept him from going insane. Sam would have relied on Tom for that, but he'd started acting strange after Sam married Jessica. He begged Sam not to do it, but Sam didn't listen because he felt it was the right thing to do. He never knew if it was his resistance to heed Tom's advice why their friendship faded, but things certainly changed after that.

  "Zane this will be unlike any other project we've done. You can't just simply exist while I do all the work."

  Zane's face lit up. "Great, so we're going."

  "Did you even hear me?"

  His eyes grew openly amused. "Sam this is perfect. I'll have to get a new car. I can't drive a rental while we're there. No way. Who knows how booked up I'll be with all my dates."

  Sam sighed and rested back against his chair. He wasn't in the mood for this. Either Zane hadn't heard a word he said, or he was annoying him on purpose.

  "This could be perfect for you too. But you'd need to change this." Zane pointed at him and grimaced.

  "What do I need to change?"
Sam thought he was pointing to his face.

  "Actually it's everything." Zane motioned his hand at Sam and circled it around. "Change everything and do something with yourself."

  Sam reached for his cane and lunged it at Zane. It just missed his chest as he ducked to dodge it and started laughing.

  "In case you didn't notice, I'm not in the mood for your crap. I'm being serious Zane."

  "Me too. Just think of it, all you need to do is make a few tweaks. We're going somewhere where no one will know how boring you are." The teasing laughter returned to his eyes.

  Sam didn't need to make any tweaks to anything, and he wasn't boring. Admittedly, he didn't really do much in the way of fun these days, but that was because he was always working and preferred to use his spare time to rest and work out. It was bad enough that he was worried about walking properly again, but it would devastate him to completely let himself go. Even when he was wheelchair bound he still lifted weights. Working out took his mind off things. Especially since he couldn't do the one thing he wanted to do, sailing. He hadn't done that in years. It actually felt like a life time.

  Sam grunted, "you're a real ass you know Zane."

  "Yes," he gave a dismissive wave of his hand. "We know I'm an ass, but I'm an ass that states the obvious. You are boring, and you totally need to loosen up. Who knows how long we'll be gone for. There's no harm in having a life. Anyway, I took the liberty of sorting out everything, so all you need to do is pack."

  "Everything like what Zane?"

  He spread his arms out wide. "Everything. I got you a great apartment near Cervantes, a Porsche like the one you have now, and registered you for physio."

  Sam simply stared at him and huffed. He wanted to snap and ask how he knew Sam would accept the offer to go but decided against it. Zane knew him well, just like his father did. Also, in all honesty, Sam was grateful he didn't have the hassle of sorting out any of that stuff himself.

  "I'm good aren't I?" Zane smiled proudly.

  "On occasion. I'll book our tickets then. Maybe we can aim for Wednesday." That would give him some time to plan and speak to Jessica.