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“Well, Collins, I think you can agree that this is a private family and business matter. Young lady, you can see yourself out.” Harry gestures to the door, continuing his power play.
She doesn’t deserve this attitude. “No, she is with me, and I have asked for her to be here.”
“Did you get married and didn’t tell me?” Harry’s snarky question tugs at my lips.
I am refraining from smiling as best I can. As much fun as it would be to tease this situation, I am no liar and I need to make a point. “No, not married. Not yet, at least. But her name is a part of this firm. She also has a vested interest in the firm and should also see what her money is doing.”
“She does?” Harry gawks offensively toward Collins.
I glance at her from the corner of my eye to see how she’s responding to this interaction. Power plays are a chess game. It’s a bluff, and she isn’t on any of the documents. I just need my father to back the fuck up. Her name will be a part of this firm when she marries me, but that is just talk at this time.
“Fine.” He raises his head at me, accepting that minor defeat. “Now, about the clients you stole. They must have failed to read the entire contract between them and my firm. If they leave before the contracted time, they will owe us millions. Did you tell them that when you snaked them from under me?”
“We didn’t take any clients from you. We didn’t even give notice to anyone when we left. They came and found us,” Mr. Withers corrects him.
“Did you forget I wrote the contracts they signed? Did you fail to remember that simple fact? Section twenty-nine, paragraph five, Line seven, states that they may withdraw the contract anytime if the firm cannot uphold the terms stated forth. You violated these clients’ contracts the moment you changed my documents. You were not an assigned lawyer or person in my cases. The moment you told me you changed the documents for my case, I went back a little further. Turns out you’ve been doing this for a while now. I’ve caught a few in the past and turned a blind eye as you were my father and my boss,” I inform him.
“I am still your father. Watch your tongue.” He sweats.
“Were, you were my father. You lost that title when you attempted to sell me out last year. Why do you think I jumped at the opportunity to leave New York?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I had been looking for a way to leave the firm. The Lansing case where they were to buy out a business and liquidate it and the employees. I developed a plan to save the business, and before I could present the idea, you told both companies my plan. Causing Marcus to take over the deal because Lansing felt that my head wasn’t in the game. I could have made them three times the money, saving that building, and you told them I wasn’t prepared.” I go on with my list. “And the company that was being bought told their employees that we were working to save everything. They showed up one day and had no clue they lost their jobs.”
“That is not why they hired us. You went in and decided what was better for them. Why couldn’t you just do what you were told?” Harry yells.
“Because it was the right thing to do! I’ve let it go on far too long. I’ve been blinded by this cut-throat profession by money. Money that brought me nothing!” I take a breath, trying to calm myself. “By the way, the deal for the property here that I was against the motion. They have also pulled from your firm and have hired us. The deal is dead in the water, and they have moved to a well-suited area where it is welcomed. Just as I suggested.”
I watch my father falter in stature. His realization of his actions is finally catching up to him.
“I gave you everything on a golden platter and you just turn your back on it? I built you a life of luxury.”
“You gave me a false sense of pride. I worked hard to be top of my class. The reason I was at the top of the firm was because of my hard work. And what did all of that bring me? Not a goddamn thing.”
“I can’t condone any of this. Especially with that tramp that sits next to you. You want to fall in line with the lower class, so be it. You are cut off from your inheritance.” He makes his threat.
His words fuel the fire that has been burning under my skin. His words breathe the truth of his feelings. I am finally seeing the man everyone spoke about. His temper, his slick ass tongue, the vindictive and calculated words.
“Talk about my future wife that way again, and I’ll be sure to hit you hard at your bottom line. Since that matters most to you. I can have the IRS and FBI come in and see how your funds are being handled. Does insider trading sound familiar to you?”
There it is, the fear I was looking for. He was always on top of the clients and their deals, but he was a horrible lawyer. Money became a more important object.
“As far as my inheritance, I cashed that in and donated to several nonprofit organizations. What I’m doing here is all funded by what I have saved or sold off back in New York. I have cut myself off from you for good.” I dig the knife in deeper.
Sputtering words of displeasure, he finally stomps out of the office. He’s yanking his phone out of his pocket, tapping furiously at the screen. I get a sick sense of satisfaction watching him in fight and flight mode. Damn, it feels good finally having leverage in my life.
“Holy shit, that was brilliant.” Massey lets out a breath.
“Thanks, Massey, and thank you, Mr. Withers, for the information. I promise if anything comes up, I’m the one they will look at.”
“They won’t look at us anymore, but I appreciate the gesture. Massey, let’s head home and have dinner with Lawson. I believe there is a lot to tell him,” Mr. Withers states.
“Collins, before you say anything, your name is not on anything,” I blurt.
She lets off an enormous sigh. “Oh, thank God! Christ, I almost had a heart attack. I don’t remember signing anything.”
Massey lets out a hearty laugh, and makes the whole room giggle with her. “Wow! Well played Victor.”
