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“Oh, no. We’re in this together. If your name goes through the dirt, so does the family name.” Toni stood up, his cane in one hand.
“I’ve got it under control,” Zack assured, his voice stern. He loved his grandfather but sometimes he felt Toni pushed too hard to keep tabs on the boys.
“Under control? Under control?” Toni’s face grew red. “You can’t even seem to control the zipper on your pants, Zack.”
“Ouch,” Carl said in Zack’s place.
“What did you just say?” Zack asked, incredulous. His grandfather was known to be a bold man all his life, one who spoke the truth even if it shot out of his mouth like a speeding bullet and woe to whoever was the intended target. But this? This took the prize. His ears must have deceived him because they were buzzing.
“I think I’d better leave,” Pamela said, turning the color of the red dress she had on. She turned to leave but then paused at the door and spun around to face them again. “Oh, um…Toni, the writer will be here soon to get set up for the documentary production.” Pamela reminded him, “She’s the one you hired to work on the vineyard clip with Zack for the National Wine Awards. Her name is Blue.”
“Thank you, Pamela,” Toni said, his voice brusque.
“Blue?” Zack responded in shock. “Not that reporter who tripped up and secretly recorded you speaking with Lucas about an arranged marriage?”
“Yes, that’s the one,” Toni confirmed, waving dismissively.
“And why?” Zack’s lips were pinched in anger.
“She’s an excellent writer and I told her it would be fine to work on the special feature story and documentary about the family business in the winery industry with a profile on your commitment to community. You realize that this segment will be featured at the Awards Ceremony so it is crucial that we don’t screw it up. And later, she could do a book on the family.”
“Don’t you think she’s done enough damage to the family?”
“I heard her side of the story, Zack, and I am satisfied that it wasn’t her fault. She was set up by the boyfriend as a joke. He also worked at the station. Besides, she no longer works there.”
Zack shook his head and chuckled. “I’m not working with her. I can handle my own publicity.”
Toni shook his head, his eyebrows creased with fury. “Back to the subject at hand.” Toni’s voice was firm as he made a point to switch the subject back to the reason they had all convened at Romero Manor.
“Back in my day,” Toni continued with his verbal lashing against Zack, “men were perfect gentlemen and we didn’t feel the need to…record such things as you’ve done with this Selina woman. What were you recording your business with her for? Educational purposes?”
“Granddad,” Carl interjected.
Zack silenced his brother with a raised hand and spoke. “That. Is. Not. Fair.” His tone was cool as a jazz musician.
“Not fair?” The old man breathed in deeply and sat back down with an unreadable expression on his face as if he was searching for the right words. “Zack, I’m very sorry to have to be harsh with you…and your brothers but…this is not easy for me.”
Emotion rose in Toni’s voice. “I love you boys very much. You’ve been through so much in your lives, from the time I discovered your father was my son and you boys were living out of his car after he lost his job. I was so happy to rear you as my own. But life is not easy in the so-called real world. There are people who would take pleasure in tearing you down because of your success and everything that you’ve worked so hard to achieve. You've seen it yourself. The press isn’t interested in the good things you do to help society, they just love a juicy scandal. They love to see you fall and fail so that their lives look more liveable. They are happy to see successful people hurt.”
“Don’t they think we have our own suffering? They want to have what I have?” Zack shot back, arching a brow, maintaining his emotion.
“They can walk a mile in my shoes then.” Zack’s deep voice sharpened with a matter-of-fact tone. “Let them eat expired canned food as a child because their father lost his job and their home and had mouths to feed. Let them take the pleasure of being ridiculed at school because their clothes were ill-fitted because your folks couldn’t afford to buy clothes or cut your hair. Because that’s the path we took to get where we are.” Zack was making a mockery of the situation. His subtle sarcasm was usurping the conversation. His blood was hot. Fire burned in his veins. How dare they? Whoever they were.
