Serious Business

Lillian had always been protective of their father, and they all knew she had never gotten over her parents divorce. Unlike Steve, she had been in secondary school when their parents had decided to end their marriage, and as such had been the most affected by it. Somewhere at the back of her mind she still nursed the hope that her parents would reconcile and come back together, hence she was always aggressive towards all her father's girlfriends, since she saw them all as enemies of progress against her parents' reconciliation.

"Lillian calm down. Don't be distracted. Remember the reason we are here." Steve whispered into her ears, as he calmed her down.

Their father shot her a warning glare, before turning to his girlfriend, "My dear, meet my children. Steve and Lillian."

"Oh baby!" Their father's girlfriend gasped, bringing her manicured hands to her mouth.

"Did she just call my father baby?" Lilian asked Steve in surprise.

"Calm down." Steve said to her in a hushed tone.

"Are these your kids that you speak so much about?" Their father's girlfriend asked as though she hadn't heard Lillian.

"Okay that's it. Did you just call us kids? Come let me ask you, how old are you?"

Out of fear, the lady hid behind their father.

"Lillian Olawale, you will not be disrespectful to my guest under my roof!" Her father snapped at her, and Lillian started mumbling words that were only audible to her.

"Baby it's fine, I will just excuse you guys." She said, flashing a smile at Steve who seemed more understanding than his sister, and then turned to their father.

"Alright darling." He gave her a peck on the cheek and tapped her ass, before she turned and went back to the bedroom, earning him an angry glare from Lillian.

"Ewww..." Lillian scrunched up her face.

"So to what do I owe this visit?" Their father asked, ignoring Lillian's reaction.

"Daddy could you at least go put on something more decent before we talk?" Lilian asked, referring to his briefs.

Their father chuckled, "Okay, give me a minute then." He said, and went back upstairs to change, and then came back few minutes later, putting on a three-quarter short, and a shirt.

"I hope this suits you my queen?" He asked in sarcasm, spreading out his arm.

"Yes." Lilian replied him, still frowning.

"It's funny, how you dictate to me, on what I should put on in my own house." He sat down on a chair adjacent to them. "So what's up?"

"Dad we actually came to talk to you about something." Steve said to his father with a serious look on his face.

"Okay, this sounds serious, maybe I should go, and get us something to drink." He said as he stood up, and went to the bar that was in a corner of the sitting room, and took a bottle of whiskey, "Lily, go get us glasses from the kitchen."

"Dad, I'm here to talk to you, about something mom told me this morning." Steve said, after Lillian came back with the glasses, and poured a short of whiskey in each.

"Okay...? And what was it she said?"

"She told me, both of you made a decision for me to get married to Joan. She's kidding, right?" Steve asked with a hopeful smile as he waited for his father to assure him his mother was playing a prank on him.

Their father took a sip of his drink before responding. "No she is not." He said with a nod, crashing all of Steve's hope.

"What? You mean it's actually true? You both agreed that I should marry Joan without seeking my consent?"

"Yes, we all did, including Joan's parents." Their father said indifferently.

Steve was speechless for a while, he couldn't believe his parents who barely agreed on anything since they've known each other, finally decided to put aside their differences long enough to agree on something, and it just happened to be his choice of a life partner. What was happening?

"You are joking right?" Steve asked again.

"Why would everyone of us be joking? I heard you're already doing things with her, so that should make things easier." His father said with a wink as he stood up, "If that's the only reason you came to see me, you can leave now. I have to attend to my guest." He said dismissively, making it clear they were done with the conversation.

"And if I refuse?"

"Refuse to do what? Leave my house? I have two spare rooms___"

"That's not what I'm talking about. What if I refuse to marry Joan?"

"Then you can just submit your resignation letter at the office on Monday, and also move out of your apartment. And I will also make sure all your accounts are frozen on the grounds of embezzlement..."

"Dad!" Lillian called in disbelief.

"If I were you, I would convince him to do it, else you will also lose everything." He added before strolling away, leaving his two children who stared at each other, looking dumbfounded.