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“No old man, these are my workers. This is my company. This is my fucking office and what I say fucking goes. Either you tell me what the issue is or you can get out. If you choose to keep disturbing my workspace, I’ll have security escort you out.” I stare him down and when he smiles at me it does unnerve me slightly.
“Yeah? Are you going to make a big production of it too? Your paparazzi girlfriend going to be out there to get the first photo? Maybe you spin it that I’m senile or going out of my mind? Is that how you’re running this company now?”
Shit … he knows about Ella. “She’s not paparazzi.”
“Oh come on Percival, you can’t be that naive. You know better. She pulled the oldest fucking trick in the book on you and you fell for it like a horny teenager. Do you need help finding a woman, because I can set something up with one of the trustees’ daughters?” He steps out from around the desk and I roll my eyes in annoyance.
“No Dad, I don’t need any help finding a woman. I’ve done just fine on my own in that department” I calm myself down and try to find the right words to explain that Ella isn’t what he thinks she is. I plan on keeping her around for a long time and the last thing I want is for there to be tension between her and my father, because he has the wrong idea. “Ella isn’t going to do anything to hurt our reputation. I know that for a fact. That’s not the kind of reporter she is. Have you even looked at her past work? She’s really very talented. I even offered her a job here, but she refused because she wants to work her way up based on her own merit.”
“It doesn’t matter what type of reporter she used to be, have you seen what’s been going on over there at the tribune? It's becoming more and more of a shark tank. They only want the fresh meat and now that you’re available the woman smells blood in the water. She’s doing this to survive, and in order to survive over there she has to rip you down over here.”
I clench my jaw and look away. I know what he’s saying is logically sound. That’s how we’ve always thought about things, but I know Ella and I know she wouldn’t do that. It’s just not her way. Unfortunately, there’s no way to prove that to my father. He’s stuck in his ways.
“Why did you have her walking around here like she owned the place?”
“Who told you that she was here?” I don’t need a rat in my building. That’s just as bad as someone going to the paparazzi.
“Why does that matter? I know she was. What I don’t know is why she was here.” He crosses his arms over his chest and glares at me.
“I wanted her to get the full picture of how we run our company. Things aren’t like how they were when you were running things, Dad. Nowadays if you’re not in the news you’re not relevant. It’s only a matter of time before someone finds something out or makes something up to get us in the news. I’d rather someone I trust run a story about our true family legacy and not just what they think we’re about.” I stay as calm as I can in order to explain what I have her doing here.
“Why her? Why all of a sudden after all these years you chose her of all people to do this?” It’s like he knows something else and while I shouldn’t have to explain my ways to him I know he’s not going to stop digging until he has the truth.
“She managed to get a video of myself, Ian, and another unsavory gentleman. She was going to use it to concoct a story for the Nova Tribune if I didn’t give her the real story. She said she was stuck between a rock and a hard place. In order to keep myself and Ian off the front page looking like a bunch of druggies I agreed to this.” I grab the chair and drop down into it. I know by the redness of his face and the way his eyes have yet to close that he’s about to rip me a new one.
“Are you really this damn dumb! The woman tried to blackmail you and you have her walking around taking notes on exactly how we got our success. You honestly think that she’s not going to run back and sell this information to anyone that wants it? She’s playing you. She’s going to get all this information and then once she’s finished with this she’s still gonna post the damn video!” He tosses his hands up in the air like I should have seen this already.
“I know you don’t trust anyone, but I’m telling you that I trust her. No matter how the two of us met, or what she was willing to do in order to get her story. She’s honorable. Not everyone’s as big of an asshole as you seem to think they are. Speaking of asshole, don’t you even care how your other son is doing?” I squint my eyes at him and watch as his lip curls up in a sneer.
“I’ve tried to reach out to him, but he refuses to come see me. I don’t know what else I can do about the situation. He’s not making it easy for me to be in his life.”
“Why should he make it easy Dad? You denied him for so long and then once you did accept that he was your kid you made sure no one knew he existed. Why would he make it easy for you to be in his life after something like that? You should’ve tried harder.” I bite out at him.
“You don’t know what I should or could have done Percival, all you know is what you see on the outside.”
I stand and show him some text messages between Ian and I, how depressed and alone his words are, “How dare you say I don’t know. It’s been me trying to take care of the kid when everyone left him out to fight on his own. He’s losing. Your son’s heart stopped last night, we tried to call you, but you didn’t answer.”
My father gasps and takes a step back, his hand reaching out for the desk to steady him, “What … what do you mean? Is he all right?” All the anger from just a second ago is gone now from his tone. I don’t think I could ever say that my father doesn't love Ian even if he doesn’t know how to show it.
“This morning he was talking, but he’s got a long road ahead of him. Being the secret child is no way for him to fight this addiction. You have to support him. We have to be his family all the time, not just when the cameras aren’t watching.” All I want is for my father to say the right thing now. I want him to be the man I know he is. Of course, I’m starting to see more and more that I don’t always get what I want.
“You and I both know we can’t afford to do that. Our reputation is our most valuable asset. If someone were to find out that not only did I mess up, but had a child because of my error, we’d lose some of our most valuable clients. Then we’d be no more than just another one of the gossip rags. No, I can’t let my mistake destroy everything our family worked so hard to build.” He shakes his head and walks back around the desk to look at more paperwork.
I used to look up to this man, now I see he’s nothing more than a robot. Only concerned with what option will make him the most successful. What good is a legacy if it’s all bullshit?
19
percy
My father is gone beforeten, but he’s put everyone in a bad mood. He went through all the stories, even the ones that I pushed off. He had my executive assistant schedule meetings with people he thought I needed to speak with. He just came through here like a wrecking ball destroying everything that my workers and I had put in place.
It’s exhausting every time my father shows up. I would just call it a day and come back tomorrow hoping for a better start, but I’m waiting on Ella to show up. I didn’t realize how much I liked having her in my space until she was gone for an extended period of time.
She has a way of putting me and everyone else at ease without even trying. I’m going through a story that was supposed to run in the sports segment of our paper, but my father had nixed it. It’s a great story, but apparently reporting on what could turn into a full-blown strike of all NBA players isn’t newsworthy.
I hear the elevator open and with it, I hear laughter. Ella’s here.
“Oh, you know I’d never last more than ten minutes in those shoes.” She laughs with Christina before she knocks on my door and leans her head in. “Hey, can I come in?”
