Booking Glory-Chapter 82: Broken Brent

"Brent is not in a good place. I would be immensely grateful to you if you dropped by to check up on him. I think he needs a friend, right now," Lawyer Walker said in a subdued voice.

"Oh," Rob didn’t know how to reply.

He wasn’t sure if Brent would want to see him so soon after their disagreement. But, from what Lawyer Walker was telling it looked as if he needed someone in his corner badly right now. Rob didn’t know whether he could be that person.

While he did consider Brent as his friend, he also knew that they both belonged in different worlds. Their ideologies, thought processes, and passions were entirely different. It was the reason that they clashed in the first place.

"Listen, Rob. I know that you guys have had an argument recently. But, ever since that, he had become a lot more subdued. He is not sleeping well. His eyes look red and puffed up whenever I see him these days. Whenever I ask, he just says he got it under control," Lawyer Walker sounded genuinely worried for his nephew at that moment.

"I don’t think he is eating well as well. I asked him if he needed monetary help, but he refused my offer firmly. He is not acting like himself. As you might know, I don’t approve of most of his friends. You are the only one amongst his friends that I trust."

"I am really worried about him. But, I don’t want to overstep my bounds as well. Can you just drop by his place and see what is going on? I will not ask you to do this if I am not worried about him. Just check up on him and let me know if he is truly in trouble," Lawyer Walker almost pleaded with Rob.

"Sure, Mr. Walker," Rob replied automatically without even thinking much.

In the face of such a concerned request, he didn’t feel like shirking such a responsibility. Moreover, Brent was the first friend he made after arriving in this world. So, it wasn’t an issue for him.

"Thanks a lot, Rob. I owe you for this one. Just let me know if he is in some trouble and needs my help. I feel like he doesn’t want my help even if he is in over his head. Thank you, Rob. I am happy that he has a friend like you," Lawyer Walker said happily.

"No worries, Mr. Walker. I will check up on him and let you know," Rob replied earnestly.

"Good, good, carry on with your day, young man. Drop by my office sometime around," Lawyer Walker said cutting his call.

Rob took a deep breath and looked at Dacey with a complicated feeling on his face. As much as he wanted to spend more time with Dacey, he knew that he should check up on Brent first.

And it was getting late as well. It was better to cut this meeting with Dacey short and go to Brent’s place. While spending a little more time with Dacey wouldn’t change much, Rob felt that he wouldn’t be able to talk to her freely with Brent’s situation weighing on his mind.

"Let me guess, you need to go," Dacey said thinning her lips in displeasure.

"I am sorry," Rob said sheepishly. "An emergency came up. A friend of mine is in a bad state. His uncle asked me to check up on him."

"Seriously!?" Dacey asked in disbelief. "Rob, this is the second night in a row that you are cutting our time short."

"I know, but this is an emergency, Dacey," Rob said not knowing how to answer that question.

"Are we at least on for tomorrow?" Dacey asked a little disgruntled.

"Definitely," Rob said nodding hurriedly. "In fact, that is the reason I am heading there now. I don’t want anything to jeopardize our day out."

Rob tried to lay it on thick knowing that Dacey was a little upset by him leaving her two nights in a row.

"So, it isn’t an emergency?"

And it backfired spectacularly.

"Umm... look, my friend is in trouble. I need to check up on him. I could have gone tomorrow. But, I didn’t want to jeopardize our date. So, I am going over tonight to see how things are."

"So, it isn’t an emergency?" Dacey arched her eyebrows and once again asked the same question.

"I don’t know," Rob admitted. "But, his uncle was really worried about him."

Dacey snorted in reply to that.

"Whatever, just don’t stand me up tomorrow as well," Dacey grumbled and walked away.

Rob felt like slamming his head on a nearby wall. This day was turning out to be very bad for him. He could have just walked her to the taxi and left after that. Instead, he had to go and ruin yet another good thing in his life.

Rob gritted his teeth and hurried to catch up with her. Dacey didn’t comment on his presence as she rounded the corner. Rob didn’t know what to say as well. They walked to the spot where Dacey usually boarded taxi in silence. There was an intersection a few blocks away and it was the ideal spot to catch a taxi.

Just as they reached the intersection, there was a taxi waiting nearby. Dacey walked directly towards the taxi and enquired about its availability. Rob stood behind her and watched it happen without doing anything.

He didn’t know what to say to her. His attempt to make things smooth had backfired spectacularly and Rob was left wondering if it would have been better if he had kept his gob shut.

"Don’t forget our plans, tomorrow," Dacey said as she got in the taxi.

"I won’t, good night Dacey," Rob said closing the door behind her.

Dacey nodded and the taxi took off.

Rob winced as the taxi sped off into the distance. Letting out a huge breath, Rob decided to go and check on Brent and be done with it. He was a little irritated that his good time with Dacey had ended like this, but he realized that he could have handled this in a better way.

Regardless, there wasn’t much he could do currently about it. So, he turned and waited for another taxi to come by. After waiting for five minutes, another taxi passed by. Rob flagged it down and got in. The taxi soon sped off in the direction of Brent’s apartment.

*****

Brent’s apartment was a dud.

When Rob reached Brent’s apartment, he didn’t see any signs of light being on from the window. It was at that moment Rob realized that he didn’t even know where Brent was currently at.

For half a second, Rob contemplated calling him over the phone and enquiring about his location. But, he immediately ruled that out as it would be counterproductive to his intentions. Moreover, their last conversation hadn’t been civil by any standards.

Rob felt that it would be better to visit Brent in person and check out his situation. He had an idea about one more place where Brent could be possibly at. So, he decided to check it out as well and decide whether to call him or not after that.

He informed the driver to go to Brent’s office location. The driver grumbled a bit but went quiet after Rob promised him to pay extra. Soon, the taxi dropped him off at Brent’s office.

Rob could already see that there was some activity inside based on the light that was spilling out via the door crack. He hesitated a bit before the office as it was the last location he wanted to meet Brent in.

Their argument had stemmed from Brent’s management of his office and here he was dropping by his office to check up on him after that. If it was any other time, Rob wouldn’t have minded it, but this was their first meeting after their argument. Rob would have preferred it in a coffee shop, a bar, or even at Brent’s apartment over meeting here.

Grimacing a little, Rob steeled himself for some unwelcome reception and knocked on the door. There were some shuffling sounds heard from the inside and a bit of cusswords were thrown in as well.

After what felt like a long time, the door cracked open and Rob came face to face with Brent.

"You look like shit," Rob stated plainly taking a look at Brent’s disheveled form.

Brent had truly let himself go. He smelled bad. His hair was in disarray. His eyes were bloodshot. Dark circles under his eyes were even more prominent. Above all, there was a general air of despondency hanging over him.

Rob now understood why Mr. Walker was worried. This was far cry from the enthusiastic young man he had seen two weeks ago. Brent, at that time, had an air of naivety around him. He was full of life. The one who stood before him was a mere husk of what he was earlier.

Brent scowled seeing Rob at his doorstep. And Rob’s opening remarks didn’t improve his disposition as well.

"What are you doing here?" Brent asked bluntly.

"Your uncle called," Rob said looking at Brent from top to bottom in a clear way. "He was worried about you and asked me to check in on you. I have to say he had some damn good reason."

Rob didn’t beat around the bush. He knew that saying this outright might make Brent defensive. But, their problem had begun because of Rob keeping things from him. He felt like honesty would be a better approach at this juncture.

"I told him I am fine," Brent said in exasperation. "And what are you? His messenger dog?"

Rob raised his eyebrows at that rude response.

"I am your friend," Rob stated simply looking at Brent in his eyes.

Brent’s eyes widened a bit as if he didn’t expect such a response. His eyes darted around anxiously as he stood still not knowing what to do.

"Let me in, you asshole. I cut short my time with a beautiful woman to check in on you. The least you could do is let me in," Rob grumbled and put his hand on the door.

Brent looked at Rob for a moment and snorted. Without inviting Rob in, he turned around and walked inside. Rob took that as a good sign and pushed the door open. The moment he entered Rob was taken aback by the state of things inside the office.

The last time he had visited, this place hadn’t been this bad. While it hadn’t been pristine and clean like the offices in the future, the place looked at least inhabitable. Now though, the place was truly a mess.

"Wow, I have to say, I am not fond of your new décor," Rob commented sarcastically as he looked over the place with a critical eye.

Brent turned and scowled at him. Rob raised his hands in surrender and gestured to keep his mouth shut. Brent scoffed at him and started cleaning up the place. Rob didn’t wait around, he too started pitching in.

The duo worked in silence for some time before Rob broke it with a question.

"By the way, where are the others? I have never seen this place so deserted," Rob asked curiously.

"Wouldn’t you like to know?" Brent sneered causing Rob to raise an eyebrow in confusion. "They left."

"Left?"

"Yes."

Brent didn’t explain much. He was curt with his answer. Rob figured that it was a sensitive topic and probably one of the reasons Brent was like this now.

"Everyone?" Rob asked in surprise.

"Not everyone, Byron and Peter are still there. But, the others left," Brent answered pausing in his cleaning.

Brent’s voice almost broke at the end. Rob felt his sympathy for Brent rise a bit. He didn’t like seeing Brent like this. In his mind, Brent was a jovial fellow who loved to mess around. Rob almost saw Brent as a kid who hadn’t yet grown up. To see him like this, didn’t sit well with Rob.

Knowing that the conversation was probably a heavy one, Rob didn’t ask anything else. He worked alongside Brent in silence as they cleaned up the place and made it look at least presentable for a visitor.

"I think you should clean up a little as well," Rob said once they were done. Brent scowled in response. "I am going to get us some pizza and beer. You go get yourself cleaned up."

Rob stated nonchalantly and started walking out without waiting for Brent’s response. Brent watched him go for a short moment before sighing. He smelled himself and found his body odor unbearable. Looking around for a moment, Brent decided to go do what Rob suggested.

*****

"So, what happened?" Rob asked sipping his beer.

He was currently seated on the ground opposite Brent. Open pizza boxes occupied the area between them along with a carton of beer. Brent had a beer in his hand and a pizza slice in the other.

Hearing Rob’s question Brent paused in his actions and looked downcast. Rob felt that Brent had lost something important in his life. He had a faraway look as if he was thinking about some painful memory.

"After our fight..." Brent began slowly and paused a little. Rob didn’t interrupt, he let Brent tell his story and patiently waited him out.

"You know, I was angry at you," Brent admitted shaking his head. "I was angry that you would invest in IndiSoft and not in me. And when you questioned my dreams, I felt like you have betrayed me," Brent said taking a large gulp from his beer.

"I was angry at you. After the fight, I wanted nothing to do with you after that. I even blew up in front of my uncle when he asked about you. But, after a day..."

Brent scowled as if he didn’t want to remember what he was recalling.

"After a day, my temper cooled down, and I started thinking about what you said. Strangely enough, your words were similar to my uncle’s. I am not talking about what you both discussed. I am talking about the content of the message you were trying to get me to realize."

"You both wanted to know whether I am serious about this computer stuff or I was just playing around. You wanted to know if I had any plans regarding this company of mine."

"That is when I realized that you both wanted me to do well. Both of you wanted me to stop messing around and take things seriously. Don’t say otherwise, I was only messing around until that point. I had no clear goal. All I had was my dreams and ambitions, but no actual plan."

Brent smiled sardonically as he bit a piece of his pizza slice.

"When I thought about it after I cooled down, I realized that I didn’t have any proper answers to your questions. I realized that you were right in calling us out and not investing in our stupid company. It is what that was. That company was stupid. It had no clear goal or any profit model. It was just a bunch of dudes getting together and fiddling with computers."

"And I understood why you wouldn’t invest in such a thing. I felt that your actions made sense. You wanted to increase your money. Investing in us is not a viable monetary solution. So, I couldn’t fault you for not putting your hard-earned money into my company."

"But, I was also angry. The fact that I couldn’t answer you back only made my anger grow. I wanted to prove you wrong. I wanted to finish something and shove it in your face. I was determined to do something. But, that is when things hit a snag," Brent said trailing off.

"What happened?" Rob asked in genuine curiosity.

*****

A/N: Hey folks!

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