The Ultimatum

The atmosphere in the room was heavy, the glitzy structure practically vibrating with how music was being blasted through the numerous speakers lining the surrounding walls. A dim purple glow illuminated the room. The only other bright source of light being the center dance floor that was packed full. Various skimpily dressed women and men plastering themselves against one other as they danced to the beat. While others looked on from where they were lounging on the seats littering the sensuously lit night club.

Above the crowded first floor was the more secluded VIP space, where unlike the lower floor it had a much more expensive feel to it. Seated against one of the plush leather couches that overlooked the dance floor was a raven haired man. Impassive blue eyes taking in the sight below him with disinterest, swirling the glass of Scotch he held in hand.

"Well, well, look who decided to come by tonight," A voice from behind him purred seductively from behind him.

The man remained immobile, however, blue eyes glanced at the approaching woman.

Bright blonde curls fell below her shoulders, a dark red dress hugging her figure displaying ample amounts of her cleavage. Green eyes slightly hazy with alcohol and her smile a bit too wide with teeth.

"Fancy seeing you here, I thought that you needed to look after your son."

The raven haired man spared her a look but said nothing, choosing instead to continue his surveillance over the dance floor. Conrad raised his glass to take sips of the alcohol as he kept an eye on how the blonde was obviously raking her eyes over him. He arched an eyebrow at her, silently allowing the woman to drop herself on his lap, seductively pressing her body against his.

"I have family looking after him tonight, besides it has been a while since I've been out."

The blonde giggled, laying a manicured hand on his chest as she shifted to drape her free hand over his shoulder, playfully massaging at it. "Work piling up already, Mr. Youngest CEO?"

Conrad smirked down at the blonde; his eyes seeming to glow in the lights. A hint of lust shining in their depths. "Are you sure you really want to talk about my work right now?"

As if waiting for those words the woman pressed her lips against his, hands clutching at the back of his head. The man kissed back just as urgently, his own hands moving to stroke at her upper thigh before they circled around her hips. After a few minutes they separated and the blonde woman gazed up at the man a coy smile on her lips.

"Let's take this somewhere else yeah?"

Without waiting for a response she clutched at his arm, dragging them to their feet, heading towards the private lounges. Conrad allowed himself to be lightly dragged to the corridor which he knew led to the various empty rooms typically utilized for more... private shows.

Reaching an open door, the woman swiftly turned towards the raven-haired man, dragging him down into another filthy kiss with a moan. The man eagerly responded to the woman's demand as he stepped into the vacant room easily pushing the woman with him. The blonde eagerly clawed at his clothes, fingers swiftly unbuttoning at his shirt. In response, Conrad moved his hands to hike her dress higher, placing a hand on the woman's smooth thighs. As more and more noises began to spill from the woman's red lips, Conrad slipped free a hand to shove at the still open door, closing it shut with a resolute 'thud'.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sharp pointed rings of his phone caused Conrad to groan. Reaching out a hand blindly for the phone, having several unsuccessful tries before his hand felt the cool metal of his phone. With eyes still mostly shut he brought the device to his ear.

"Who is it?" The blonde groaned, laying his unoccupied hand over his eyes.

"Conrad," a female voice spoke, "you need to come home right now. Your grandmother is here, and she needs to speak to you, it seems urgent."

"What?!" The man shouted out in shock, sitting up abruptly. His movements causing the girl resting on his chest to grumble angrily at him, cracking an eye open from where she now laid splayed to his left. "Grandmother's looking for me? Why? Did she say anything? Is it about the company? Why didn't you call me sooner, Mother?"

Now the voice sounded amused, "I called you the moment she arrived, Conrad."

"Alright, I'm on my way back right now. I'll be at the house in 20 minutes."

"Good." The voice replied, and Conrad could picture the smile on his mother's face as she spoke. However, her next words were firm, voice having turned cold. "Oh and Conrad? Don't even think about bringing that girl with you home."

The line went dead, ringing with a tone of finality. The raven haired man smiled wryly, 'It's not like I plan to date her, let alone marry her, Mother.'

A hand tracing at his back brought him out of his thoughts. The man tilted his head slightly, to look at the blonde woman next to him. "What is it?"

The woman—Maria or Mary, something with an M—pouted, blinking her eyes up at him. "Who was that? Another one of your girls?"

Conrad arched an eyebrow, pointedly removing the hand that had moved to clutch at his shoulder, "that was my mother."

"Oh."

"Yes, oh."

The man glanced around the room before his eyes zeroed in on the crumpled shirt that had been discarded hastily last night

Conrad reached over to grasp at it, wringing it lightly once he did. "Anyways, it was a great night but I need to go now."

The woman pouted once more, rolling onto her stomach as she did. Not moving to conceal how she stared unabashedly as the man made his way around the room to pick up at his clothing. Seemingly unbothered by how her bare body was only covered by the thin white sheets, "Will you be back soon?"

Conrad spared her a sideway glance as he buttoned his shirt. "No. Why would I?"

The blonde let out a gasp, bracing her arms on the bed; the sheets nearly slipping of her form, exposing white shoulders littered with red marks. "But I thought we had something,"

The man allowed a dark chuckle to pass through his lips.

"What, gave you that idea? Just because I spent a night with you does not mean that you're special."

Grabbing his phone and tucking his wallet into his pocket, he raven haired man turned to walk out the door waving a hand over his back.

"Let's hope that I don't see you around anymore, whatever your name was."

The dumbfounded woman's shout in reply echoed through the entire building.

"Conrad Walter, you are an ass!"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Elise Walters let out a tired sigh, a sound quickly followed by a soft 'clink' as she gently set down the porcelain tea cup in her grasp.

"Daphne," she called out to the woman seated across from her. "Where is your wayward son?"

Daphne Walter nee Miller spared her mother-in-law a gentle look, reaching over to fill the elder woman's cup as she responded. "I'm not sure mother, he never said where he was going when he dropped off Michael yesterday evening. He did, however, say that we would be arriving here soon."

"I sincerely hope that he's not tying up those personal business often mentioned in the news when in relation to him." The matriarch across from her sighed.

The blonde woman hid her own grimace behind her cup of tea. "I believe so. After that incident he really has taken a turn for the worst,"

Her mother-in-law let out a hearty laugh, "by now, I'm quite sure that it's a phase that all the men in our family will have to go through at one point."

The two shared light laughter over the matter, thus they were unaware of the soft creak the large ornate doors had let out. A small figure stood hidden behind those doors, large blue eyes peeking through the small gap. Upon only noticing the two women inside, he turned questioning eyes to the butler accompanying him.

The aging man seemed to have understood his silent question because he replied, "Your father has said that he will be back shortly, young master.

"Ohkay, tank you." The child nodded before he pushed at the door, finally alerting his presence to the room's current occupants.

"Michael!" Daphne greeted with a smile, blue eyes crinkling with delight. "have you just woken up dearest? Come, have some breakfast."

The boy waved back, tiny fingers releasing their hold on the wood as he did. He toddled over to the empty seat next to the blonde woman, the butler a few paces behind him. Upon reaching the chair the boy struggled to make his way up the chair and despite the worried looks shared between the women they forced themselves to remain seated. After all they would only do more harm than good if they tried to physically help the child. And so they waited bated breath, only relaxing when the boy was securely seated on the chair.

"Goo' morning grandma, great grandma," Michael greeted, nodding his head at each woman as mentioned.

The Walter matriarch smiled lovingly at her youngest grandchild, "Good morning Michael, did you sleep well?"

The boy nodded at her before his gaze shifted to the large breakfast spread on the table. After a careful scrutiny, tiny hands reaching over to scoop up some eggs and sausages to his own plate.

Michael gave a cheerily, "Thank you" as Daphne placed a cup of apple juice in front of him with a fond reply of "you're welcome dear".

For a moment the only sounds filling the room were the soft 'clinks' of Michael's child-sized cutlery as the boy ate and the quiet chatter as Daphne and Elise continued with their talks.

That was until a voice spoke out, "Just in time for breakfast I see,"

"Daddy!" Michael greeted, beaming at the man walking towards them. The raven haired man smiled at the child, reaching a hand to ruffle at his son's sleep tussled hair once he was close enough to. "Good morning Michael, have you been good for your grandmother?"

The child whined, reaching up to swat at his father's hand but nodded in answer.

"Michael's always good, aren't you sweetie?" His mother cooed at the child who smiled back at her before her gaze shifted to her son. "Unlike a certain someone here,"

Conrad looked more amused than anything at her slight reprimand. "I have no idea what you mean mom," He quipped back with a small grin, moving to take the empty seat next to his grandmother's.

"So, why did you call for me grandma?"

The elderly woman pursed her lips in hesitation, sharing a look with her daughter-in-law before moving her gaze pointedly to Michael who was now occupied with a tablet he had been handed.

"Why don't you go ahead and get ready for the day Michael?" Conrad spoke, receiving a blink and a pout from his son. "Didn't you say you wanted to come with me for the day? I won't be able to take you if you aren't ready yet."

He was barely finished with his words when Michael scrambled off his seat. Nearly running towards the doors, the boy had only stopped momentarily to yank them open before he was back to rushing.

"Watch your step and don't run!" The man reprimanded sternly, however his words fell on deaf ears as the child quickly vanished from sight. Conrad turned to the butler who stood nearby, "Please make sure he doesn't fall Richard."

The aging man bowed politely at him and muttered an affirmative before he too left the room, closing the previously opened doors as he did. With that Conrad turned his attention back to the elderly woman seated next to him, "Now that Michael's occupied, what is it you wanted to tell me grandmother?"

Elise drained the last of her tea and stared evenly at her grandson. "I heard you've settled well into your role at the company?"

"Yes, it took a little time but now I've gotten used to both the workload and the additional responsibilities. Having Aiden as my assistant helped as well," the raven haired man replied before the expression on his face shifted into one of confusion. "Why do you ask? Last I remember there are no recent worrisome reports regarding the company's growth..."

"Is there anything wrong about me asking my grandson about how he's handling his grandfather's legacy?" The older woman asked pointedly.

"Of course not grandma," The man assured, his voice much more softer at his next words. "it's just rare that you're discussing the company, particularly after what you said at the willing reading."

Elise stared down at the ring on her finger sadly, "It's not that I plan to involve myself in it once more. I said that I'm trusting you with it and I am. But I also knew first hand how you were during the initial handover, and with Michael's condition well..."

Daphne reached out to pat softly at the other woman's hand. "I'm sure Conrad understands your concern mother, it was a very challenging time for all of us."

Conrad nodded agreeably, a sympathetic smile on his face. "Mom's right, I was having a very difficult time back then, but I've gotten much better." The raven haired man then paused, as if to gauge the situation. "Was that all you wanted to talk about?"

The older woman faltered briefly before she seemed to steel herself. "No, unfortunately I don't come bearing pleasant news."

"When I first handed you the reigns to your grandfather's company, I took into account the current situation then and decided to temporarily withhold some of the conditions he had set for the next successor." The matriarch took in a breath before she continued. "But now that you're in a much stable position, I am unable to keep delaying it."

Her grandson stared back at her, brows furrowed in concern. "What conditions did you temporarily bypass grandmother?"

"The condition that in order to be eligible as a successor, the candidate must be wed or will be wed within the year."

Conrad gawked back at her, blue eyes wide. "You mean..."

A brief look of pity crossed at her aged features before they smoothed back into a mask of firm resolve.

"In order to remain as the CEO you will need to be wed in 6 months time."