Boss (3 page)

“I don’t even know what to say,” Levi slapped his hand on Joshua’s shoulder for what felt like the twenty-second time since they had sat down at the bar.

After they had dumped their bags in Violet’s hallway, Joshua and Levi headed straight for the nearest place with alcohol they could find.

“You don’t have to say anything,” Joshua stared down into his whiskey.

He didn’t know if he ordered the whiskey because it was his dad’s favourite drink or because he wanted to get as wasted as possible, as quickly as possible. He couldn’t feel any more numb than he already did. Leaning against the bar, he tossed back the drink, ignoring the burning sensation. The chatter and quiet music floated around the bar but Joshua had tuned out.

“Dude, it’s okay to cry,” Levi lowered his voice, “I won’t judge you.”

“I’m fine,” he shrugged the hand off his shoulder, ordering another drink from the young barmaid.

She handed him the drink and he handed over the cash and it wasn’t long before he was ordering another. He felt like he should be grieving but he didn’t feel anything. He tried to tell himself he was probably in shock but he didn’t feel shocked. When Violet told him the news, he was more confused than anything. He didn’t understand how he couldn’t know his own father had died. She had assumed somebody would have told him and he hadn’t wanted to go to the funeral because of everything that happened. Nobody questioned his absence because nobody expected him to show up. She never mentioned it to him because he never mentioned it to her and she assumed that he didn’t want to talk about it.

Joshua thought back to his mother’s funeral and how distraught he had been. He had only been eleven but he could remember it like it was yesterday. He could remember everybody standing around the grave as the coffin was lowered, crying into his or her tissues. Everyone except for his father, because the blank, stone cold expression Bill kept throughout the entire day had stayed with Joshua into adulthood and he could pin the breakdown of their relationship right to that point.

He couldn’t help but wonder how many people would have been around his father’s graveside, weeping dramatically into their tissues. How many family members did he have that he hadn’t pissed off?
If people didn’t think I would show up, who else didn’t bother saying goodbye?

“You should slow down on those,” Levi mumbled, still sipping his second beer.

Joshua had lost count of how many straight whiskeys he’d had but he didn’t intend to slow down. They weren’t doing anything to him and he hated it. He had given himself a liver of steel by drinking himself blind in the bars around the world.

“I said, I’m fine,” he felt the bite in his voice.

Levi leaned his elbow on the bar, his hazel eyes glittering in the spotlights, “What do you feel?”

“Nothing,” he shrugged.

He knew the emotions he was supposed to be feeling but he couldn’t summon them. He couldn’t even summon the guilt for not crying about his own father’s death. He hadn’t seen his father for seven years, so how could he cry for a man he barely knew? Now Joshua didn’t have the choice whether he could know him or not because fate had decided that he was never going to get a chance to make things right.

“What about your inheritance?”

Joshua hadn’t even begun to think about that.

“What about it?”

“You were his only kid, right?”

Joshua nodded, the whiskey taking its effect on his brain function.

“Don’t you get everything?” Levi furrowed his brow, “If he’s as rich as you say he is, doesn’t that mean you’re now rich?”

Trying to think straight for a second, he suddenly regretted those last couple of drinks. His mind wandered straight from his father, to his father’s money. He had millions sitting in his bank and that didn’t include the houses, the cars and the company.
Silverton Industries
would be worth millions, if not more. He thought about
Silverton Tower
sitting in the middle of London. It was something he actively tried not to think about.

It was all too much so he tossed back the rest of his drink, hoping to find the answer at the bottom of the glass.

“Did he have brothers?”

“No,” Joshua dropped his head, “a sister, but I’m the only one that fucker had.”

His chest heaved and a warped laugh left his lips. He felt dizzy as he imagined what it all meant. Had he just become a millionaire? He laughed again at the thought.

“I think you’re hysterical, Joshua,” Levi gripped his shoulder, “let’s go back to your cousin’s place and crash. We’ve barely slept.”

“No,” Joshua pushed his hand away, “I’m staying here. I’m celebrating.”

He stared at Levi as he felt the adrenaline speed through his body. As he imagined his bank balance fill up, he started to think about the places he could go. He could travel forever without begging anybody for money. His stomach lurched but it wasn’t from the alcohol, it was from the possibilities.

“Come on,” Levi tried to pull him away from the bar, “let’s go.”

“I’m staying here,” Joshua yanked his arm out of Levi’s, “get off me.”

“You’ve just found out your dad died. You’re not thinking.”

Joshua wasn’t in the mood for rational thinking. He tried to think about his father but it was impossible to even imagine his face. He was nothing but a distant memory.

“He never cared about me,” he shrugged, signalling to the barmaid again, “why should I care about him now? Why are we expected to kiss the arses of people we didn’t like, just because they’re dead?”

Levi didn’t say anything.

Clearly biting his tongue, he slid back onto the barstool and picked up his beer, “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

He didn’t know what he was doing or what he was thinking but he knew he wanted to order some shots.

“You boys celebrating?” the barmaid smiled as she poured the bright green
Apple Sours
into tiny shot glasses.

“It looks like it,” Joshua smiled at her.

Staring at her, he tried to decide if she was as gorgeous as he thought or if it was the whiskey goggles he had acquired. She had platinum blonde curls and huge tits.
Yep, she’s hot
.

She ran his order through the cash register and held her hand out with a small wink. He felt a fuzziness rushing through his stomach as he fumbled for his wallet.

“One for yourself,” he tossed £20 at her.

She caught it and nodded, a playful smile on her lips. Levi rolled his eyes but Joshua was far past caring about his friend’s disapproval. Levi was usually the one to catch girls in bars but tonight, Joshua felt like being that guy. He needed a distraction and even if he didn’t get the barmaid, he knew there were more girls in the city.

Joshua started to toss the shots back without waiting for Levi. He watched as Levi tried to catch up, pausing between each one as Joshua tossed them back without a second thought.

“Fuck,” Levi winced, wiping his mouth, “tonight isn’t the night for this.”

“Shut up and drink your last shot,” he pushed the last one to Levi but he shook his head and pushed it back.

“You have it. I’m jet lagged, dude.”

Not wanting to turn down more alcohol, Joshua emptied the shot glass and slammed it on the counter. His mind wandered to the money again and he thought about how he was going to get it. Pulling his phone from his pocket, he forced his eyes to focus as he scrolled through the contacts. Joshua had changed his phone dozens of times since he had left home but he had never changed his SIM card so all of his old numbers were still there.

He scrolled through them as quickly as possible, not wanting to see ‘
Dad
’. When he landed on the name he was searching for, he tapped the tiny green icon and pressed the phone into his ear.

“Who are you calling?” Levi tried to pull the phone away from him.

“Family lawyer. He’s probably been trying to find me for the last year,” he batted Levi’s hand away.

Tobias Cole wasn’t only the family lawyer, he was the man responsible for keeping Joshua out of prison for most of his teenage years. Every time he was caught with a bag of weed in his pocket or caught driving twice the legal drinking limit, Tobias would get him off the hook.

“Tobias Cole speaking.”

The familiarity of the voice sent a cold shiver running down Joshua’s spine. He spoke in the same hurried tone, which always gave Joshua the impression his mind was always trying to think about multiple cases at once. He imagined him sitting at his desk wearing an
Armani
suit with his dark hair slicked back. He had always reminded Joshua of the type of men who played Italian mafia members in movies but he had a private school, posh boy accent.

“Tobias, my old friend,” Joshua couldn’t help but grin, “It’s Joshua. Joshua Silverton.”

He pressed the phone into his ear, as he heard a roar of laughter take over the bar. He peeked over his shoulder to one of the booths and it was filled with young professional types, all wearing suits and dresses. They were hanging on the words of one man, who was sat at the top of the table. He seemed to be telling them a story.

“Joshua,” Tobias coughed, “how are you doing, lad?”

“I’m good,” he didn’t know if he was, “I just found out about dad.”

“Found out what?”

“That he died,” it felt weird to say it out loud.

Tobias paused and sucked the air through his teeth before speaking, “You only just found out? I wondered why you weren’t at the funeral.”

“Yeah,” Joshua cut him off before he could say anymore, “You probably dealt with his will. I just want to know what happened with it?”

Tobias paused again and this time it was even longer. Joshua quickly checked the screen to see if the call was still connected.

“Tobias, are you -,”

“Can we meet?” Tobias lowered his voice, “I’d rather not discuss this over the phone. Sensitive subject matter. Tomorrow? You can meet me at my office.”

Tobias gave him the address of his new office on
Fleet Street
before he ended the call. He couldn’t shake the uneasy tone of Tobias’ voice.
He’s just surprised to hear from you, that’s all.

“Tomorrow,” Joshua winked to Levi, “everything changes tomorrow, but tonight, we’re going to get absolutely smashed! We need a good wild night out, London style.”

The barmaid slid another tray of shots towards them on Joshua’s command and she happily accepted another tip. It caused her to bite her lip and hide her face under her blonde curls.
I’ll have her in my bed before midnight.

“I’m done,” Levi slapped the bar and slid off the stool, “I’m going back to your cousin’s place.”

He shrugged apologetically without looking Joshua in the eye. Joshua wasn’t sure if he wanted to drink alone.

“What? No! You can’t leave me. I just bought more shots,” Joshua could hear the begging in his voice.

Levi was his best friend and his partner in crime. They always had the best time, regardless of where they were. He needed Levi there to make sure he had fun because he didn’t want his mind to start wandering to the dark places.

“I’m jet lagged, I’m tired and I’m still on Indian time. If you have any sense, you’ll come with me.”

Knowing there was no changing Levi’s mind he felt the anger surge through him. Reaching out for a shot, he noticed the shaking in his fingers.

“Fuck off,” Joshua lifted the tiny glass to his lips, “get out of here. I’ll find somebody who wants to party.”

He shot a wink over towards the blonde barmaid and she looked up from the customer she was serving to throw one back. It looked like he was sticking around.

“Whatever. I don’t know who you are right now but you’re not yourself. I’m out of here.”

“Dick!” Joshua called after him.

Levi held his middle finger up over his shoulder, before pushing the heavy door and disappearing into the rain.

Shifting in his seat, he looked around the bar to see if people had noticed he was now alone. Everybody knew drinking alone was the most depressing thing a person could do. His eyes wandered over to the booth filled with beautiful people. The leader’s eyes caught Joshua’s for a split second, causing him to turn back to his tray of shots.