Chapter 4

Ben woke up at his usual time of six am and slipped out of the bed, leaving Lily to sleep in. After a quick shower, he slipped on his clothes from last night and carried his shoes, tie and suit jacket out to the main sitting room. His dad was also up and dressed in his clothes minus his jacket. He was reading the paper and looked up when Ben walked into the room.

"So, good night?" his dad asked.

"Very," Ben grinned.

"Amanda woke me up during the night feeling amorous after investigating some uninhibited sounds from your room," his dad continued. "She said that Lily seemed to be enjoying herself immensely."

"Unless she's a great actress, she did seem to enjoy herself," Ben stated.

"Good, it's important that you make sure your partner is well taken care of," the elder Stone told him. "Now comes the hard part, letting her leave."

"I assume I won't be able to see her again if I read you right," Ben responded.

"Most likely not," his dad answered.

"I admit to being disappointed, but you both warned me before we started," Ben said after thinking about it. "I had a great time with her and I think we could connect but I know she's older than me. I don't know by how much but I'm sure she doesn't need a teenager hanging around her. I'll remember this night for a long time but I won't make a scene."

"Then mission accomplished," his dad said. "Use what you've learned from Lily to build up your confidence with the girls at school and know you have what it takes to make them happy when they're ready. Trust me, they'll see a change in you and be interested in what's changed with you. Just play it like the man you are and you'll do fine."

"I'll do my best," Ben replied.

"Ok, breakfast will be here soon and then we'll go home for a quick change of clothes and then head into the office," his dad informed him after looking at his watch."

"Shall I wake up Lily?" he asked.

"You can try, but if she wants to sleep in that's fine as well," his father replied. "Amanda likes to sleep in so she'll explain to Lily why we left."

As his dad suspected, Lily barely stirred when Ben tried to wake her and just rolled over and went back to sleep. Ben just shook his head when his dad shot up an eyebrow.

There was a soft knock on the door and Ben let in the waiter, holding the door to let him wheel in the cart. His dad signed the bill to the room and slipped the man a twenty. The two Stone men quickly ate two of the meals and left the other two to be heated up when the ladies got up. Both Ben and his dad wrote short notes to their respective partners before leaving the room.

"Now it's time for you to get a girl on your own," his dad said as they rode down to the main floor in the elevator. "It's going to be much harder to read a teenage girl with all the peer pressure and insecurities they have. Just trust that you will know what to do if/when the girl consents to be more than friends."

"I won't get lucky again for a couple of years then," Ben said dryly.

His dad laughed as the doors opened. He handed the valet his ticket when they left by the lobby doors.

"Grab a ten from your wallet to give to the valet when he gets out," his father advised. "Always tip well, they will remember and give you good service from now on."

Ben handed the ten to the driver before getting into the driver's seat. The drive home was uneventful but he did have to concentrate as traffic got busy.

"Ok, I signed you up for driving lessons starting Tuesday after school," his dad informed him on the way home. "It's through CAA so you just have to walk to the office on West Lawrence. It's an hour each weekday from three to four plus a couple hours each Saturday for a month. If you pass that, you only have to wait eight months to take the G1 driving test and then you can drive by yourself. Sound good?"

"Yeah, thanks dad, I appreciate all you've done for me this week, the car, dinner, the lessons and the night with Lily," Ben replied.

"You're welcome Ben," he said as they pulled up to their house. "We'll talk more on the way into the office and while we're there."

"Ok," Ben agreed as they walked to the front door.

They split up, with his dad going to his bedroom on the main floor while Ben took the stairs up to his. After a quick shave and brushing of the fangs, he got into new underwear and then the second suit he bought on Wednesday. He attempted to tie his tie and did a decent job of it. He grabbed his wallet, keys and phone and went back down to meet his dad.

"Nice suit," his father commented. "We're going to have to get you a few more along with some dress pants and shirts."

"I need more than two suits?" Ben asked as they left by the front door.

"We'll discuss it on the way," his dad replied, getting into driver's side.

Once they were back on Yonge Street heading downtown, his dad continued his explanation.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I'm taking more of an interest in you now," Ben's dad said.

"I was surprised by your extra attention this week," Ben admitted.

"First of all, you just turned sixteen and that makes you a man in the Stone family eyes," his dad said. "It's a big deal and I wanted you to enjoy it."

"I appreciate that," Ben responded.

"Secondly, part of your inheritance from your grandparents came due yesterday," his dad informed him. "You get a hundred thousand a year for the next five years, paid in monthly installments. You also are allowed access to their condo in Miami for the Christmas and March break holidays. It will be turned over to you when you're twenty-one as well."

"Wow, I never knew anything like that was set up," Ben said.

"It was set up to be kept a secret so you could live a normal life," his dad told him. "Now, just because you have money, doesn't mean you get to turn into an ass at school or around town. I'll take the car away and ground your butt if I hear even one word that you're changed, do you understand?"

"Of course, I don't really need the money anyway, so I'll probably just bank it," Ben assured his dad.

"You don't need to save it up, you'll get the rest of your inheritance when you're twenty-one," his dad said. "Besides it's deposited into your bank every first of the month. Just don't tell anyone you got money or you'll see gold diggers come out of the woodwork. If I were you, I'd find a girl before word gets out you have a Camaro."

"I'll see what I can do," Ben responded.

His dad was quiet for a couple minutes as traffic got congested on the busy street.

"I know we haven't talked much about Stone Incorporated, but since your Grandfather died, I've been swamped taking care of various aspects of the business that only the Stone men handle," his father continued. "Now that you're sixteen and considered a man, you get to join me at our company. There will be lots to learn about what we do. Most of it is handled by the various divisions and the upper management of the corporation and Veronica will be in charge of helping you learn what they do. The other portion that is of a more secret nature, I'll have to teach you. So, you'll be interning at the company on Wednesday afternoons after your driving lessons and all day Saturday."

"Alright, I should still be able to handle homework without any issues," Ben agreed. "If you're not in town, I'm going to have to take the bus or a cab."

"Use a cab, and keep track of your expenses," his dad instructed.

"Ok," Ben responded.

"I'll explain more once we're there," his father told him. "Ok, next on the agenda is the fact that I'm going to be away starting on Monday as I have to fly to Europe for a couple of weeks. Holly and Veronica will be your contacts at the office and Holly can get a hold of me if needed. Do you have any issues with that?"

"No, I should be fine," Ben replied before he grinned and said, "Any chance of getting Lily's number if I get lonely?"

His dad laughed and shook his head before replying, "Find a girlfriend if you get lonely enough."

"Darn," Ben said. "Anything else I need to know about?"

"Veronica will have a couple Company credit cards for you to use when you're out and about," his dad answered. "The rest we'll talk about later."

"Ok, thanks," Ben said.

His dad turned on Wellington and pulled into a parking garage underneath a high rise building. He used a keycard to get past the gate and then used it again to enter a small, cordoned off area. They parked in one of four spots that said Stone Inc.

"You and I have reserved stops here as do Holly and Veronica," his dad told him as they got out. "Veronica will have your keycard."

"This must cost a fortune to reserve parking under a bank's headquarters," Ben said.

"I'll explain later," his dad responded. "We keep our business to ourselves as much as possible and we don't talk about it in public."

"Oh, sorry," Ben apologized.

"No problem, you'll be enlightened soon," he dad told him with a smile. "Now, take a note of that door in the corner without making it obvious."

Ben glanced over to the dark corner and barely made out that there was a door. It was painted in the same colour as the cement wall and had no handles or hinges or any other way to open it.

"Got it," Ben said quietly.

"Good, now let's head over to our office," his father replied and led the way up to street level.

They turned left on Wellington Street and walked to the intersection at Yonge. Stone Inc. headquarters was on the north east corner in a four storey old stone building, built in the eighteen seventies. It had been the headquarters for nine generations of Stone men, now including Ben. After crossing Yonge, they passed the entrance to the Irish Pub on the main floor and entered the discreet Stone Inc. entrance further along Wellington. A stunning young woman sat behind a large desk with a phone and computer. There was a waiting area nearby with elegant chairs and tables. Farther along the wall, a large man in a tailored suit stood beside an elevator. At the far end, a set of doors led to the stairs.

"Good morning Mr. Stone," the woman greeted the elder Stone as she stood before turning to Ben, "and a good morning to you, Mr. Stone. I hear that you will be joining us on an occasional basis. We've been looking forward to you arrival."

"Good morning Miss Jones," Sam Stone replied.

"Good morning Miss Jones, thank you for the welcome," Ben added.

"Please don't hesitate to ask if you need any assistance at all," Miss Jones told him with a big smile. "I'm at extension 100 and please call me Vicky."

"It's nice to meet you Vicky and I'll be sure to call if I need anything," Ben replied with a smile before following his dad to the elevators.

"Good morning, Mr. Stones," the man said in a deep voice.

"Good morning Felix, how are Carol and little Amy?" Ben's dad asked as Felix hit the up button for the elevators.

"Very well, thank you," Felix replied. "They both send their thanks for the birthday gifts."

"It was my pleasure, Felix, you have a wonderful family there," Sam told him. "Felix, Ben will be joining Stone Inc. as an intern, probably Wednesday afternoons and Saturdays to start. Keep an eye out while he's here if you don't mind."

"That goes without saying, Mr. Stone," Felix responded before looking at Ben. "Anyone bothers you, let me know and I'll take care of it at once, Mr. Stone."

"Thank you Felix, I can see you look very capable of handling just about anything," Ben replied. "I'm hoping your services in that regard won't be needed."

"A boring day is a very good day for me, Mr. Stone," Felix replied with a slight grin.

The elder Stone gave Felix a grin as the Stone men entered the elevator and hit the button for the fourth floor.