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“Yes. They were our biggest competitors back then. And the truth is, I’d probably still be there if you hadn’t called to tell me Dad was sick.”
“You know he asked me to do that, don’t you?”
“Yes. I guessed as much when he told me he wanted me to come back to TBA. He didn’t ask you to call me out of sentiment, because he wanted to reconcile with his son. He needed me to come back and run the company for him. I think even he realized there was no-one inside the organization who was capable, and he didn’t want to bring in fresh blood at that level. I was his only option.”
Drew shakes his head. “I didn’t realize. I thought it was a genuine olive branch.”
“From Dad? You’re kidding, right? If he hadn’t needed me to take charge of things at TBA, he’d never have bothered to contact me again.”
“If you knew all that, and you hated him so much, why did you agree? You could’ve said ‘no’.”
“I know. And don’t think it didn’t cross my mind to walk right out of his hospital room and leave him to it.”
“Then why didn’t you?”
“Two reasons…”
“Which are?”
“At the time, he hadn’t taken the company public. He didn’t tell me he intended to, either. As far as I was aware, that was our inheritance. I wanted to protect it. For all of us. You, me, and Ella.”
He raises his eyebrows, smiling at me. “What’s the other reason?”
“To prove him wrong.”
“How?”
“He made it very clear he’d be watching, just to make sure I didn’t screw up. He didn’t trust me in the slightest. I understood that, even if I knew nothing of his plans for the business, and his intention of hog-tying me with a board of directors and shareholders. Back then, I thought I could make an enormous success of things in his absence, and show him he’d misjudged me… again.”
“I guess you never got the chance, did you? No-one could have known he’d be dead within four months.”
“You think? You think he didn’t know how aggressive his cancer was?”
He frowns. “Of course not.”
“I think he did. If he’d believed he was going to survive, he’d never have signed the business away. He’d have kept it in private hands, so he could take it over again when he got better.”
“So, you think he knew he was dying?”
“Yes. It’s the only thing that makes sense. He knew he’d never get back behind his desk again. He put me in charge, and then almost immediately took steps to ensure I had to work with at least one hand tied behind my back at all times. I often used to imagine him lying in hospital, laughing at me.”
“But you’ve made a success of it,” he reasons.
“No, I haven’t. I’ve tinkered around the edges, but I’ve achieved nothing… other than to lose a few clients.”
“Will you stop putting yourself down?” he says, raising his voice, and I sit back, staring at him. “You need to get out more… to get a life outside of work. Hell… you need to get laid once in a while.”
“Get laid?”
“Yes. Surely you can remember what you used to be like before you met Sadie?”
“Of course I can remember. I’m just not sure I wanna be that guy anymore.”
Drew laughs, shaking his head. “Are you kidding me? You don’t wanna be the guy who had a different woman on his arm every night?”
“Not every night. I wasn’t quite that bad.” At least, not most of the time.
“Maybe not, but the principle stands. You know what they say about all work and no play…”
