They were standing outside the 12-storey building that housed Cedar Inc, both defeated by how the day’s event had unfolded. Andy felt a larger well of guilt because he had no real stake in this, he ran an independent law firm. He knew this would take a chunk out of Cedar’s current stock value.
“Where are you going to?” Andy asked in a tone of voice that betrayed the anxiety he bore for his friend. He would not be surprised if stories of Prince bingeing on alcohol and getting into brawls were released in the tabloids the next day. He had gone on profligate benders for much less.
“I’ve got lunch plans with Angelique,” Prince replied. “You?” he asked, although he probably did not care about the details. Their cars were brought around by their drivers and had been waiting for more than five minutes, but they stood in front of the building making needless small talk.
“Back to the office. She’s back from Paris?” Andy asked.
“Yes. Three days ago.”
Prince seemed scared to sit in the car alone on the drive over to meet his girlfriend. No doubt he didn’t know what move he was going to make next. Creating innovative designs had always been his forté. The previous year he had launched an AI that made and was still making the company billions of dollars. Yet he wasn’t shrewd enough for the business angle of the corporate world.
“My dad is going to kill me,” Prince finally breathed.
Andy winced, stumped for a reply. He looked on sadly as his friend climbed into his car and slowly pulled away from the curb. He always thought Drew Walker was too hard on his son, too critical of his actions. No longer the dependent teenagers they used to be in former years, they had grown into hugely successful men, and still, Prince cowered at the thought of his father’s disapproval.
Andy got into his car, making a silent promise to do whatever he could to soften the long fall his friend was about to take.
