Chapter Five
I step out when Ben has a small meltdown, saying I needed to use the bathroom. No one seems to notice, instead focusing on Ben’s reaction.
I’m already fully aware, both by his presence and the talk I had yesterday, that he’s been working with and even running dad’s business, for a while now. Dawn told me dad slowed down a lot recently, his illness making it hard for him to do such a manual job.
Ben stepped in and Dawn admitted it had done wonders for the company. He’d brought in new investors to help. They’d picked up some more clients they supplied to and the charter, taking tourists out on fishing trips, was doing well.
It is clear he is expecting to be gifted the company. In all honesty, I’d been glad. What the hell am I going to do with a fishing business? My intention would have been to sell it. I still have that chance now. Whoever these Day Away Fishing people are, sounds like they’re ready to buy.
If I do that, where does it leave Ben? So I get why he’s losing his shit in there. He will know exactly what I think about keeping the company or having any further ties to this town. And I’ve been more than ready to release everything.
Those stipulations dad made though… They ruin everything.
What on earth was he thinking doing that? It made more sense to give it to Ben, to let him take over and keep the business, maybe not in the family, but with the men he’d no doubt employed for years.
In the bathroom, I place my bag on the counter and quickly google Day Away Fishing. They are a huge national company with fleets of boats, a flashy website with smiling executives and tons of photos of people enjoying their charters. One thing they’re not is a commercial fishing business. It means it will wipe out everything my father built over his entire career, and a money grabbing tourist attraction will take its place. Everyone there will lose their jobs.
What a damn asshole. How could he do this? Not just to me, but Ben and his employees, too? Is this his way of forcing me back into Mystic? Not that it would work that way. I could easily allow Ben to do the running of the company and go back to New York.
Susan is a mystery too. She clearly meant something to him. She is an odd duck, but the kind that intrigues me. She has a kind face, a soft smile, and the small laugh she gave when she heard what dad left her made me believe she genuinely cared about my father. She also gave me a kind smile when she arrived. I’m sure she will want to talk to me, and I’m not wholly against the idea. Ben though… that is a different story.
He has not changed. Much. He hates me and the reaction to dad’s stipulations only proves that.
The door opens and the snooty receptionist sticks her head in. “They need you back in there,” she says with a sniff.
I roll my eyes and slip my phone into my purse, then follow her back into the conference room. Ben is still on his feet, Larry and Stephen watching him pace. The typist, Angela, I think her name is, is watching everything with wide eyes. Susan is reading a book. I eye her for a moment and am shocked to see it is one of mine. She glances up and winks at me. Everyone else turns to me when I come in.
“We can draw up papers to hand it all over to Ben,” I say, sitting back down and crossing my legs. I have some experience in dealing with lawyers and contracts.
“Afraid not,” Larry says. “It’s very clear what your father wanted.”
I look up at Ben. He’s staring out of the window, a frown on his face. In my absence, he’s clearly already been told this. I let my eyes roam his face, seeing how much he has changed since I last saw him. The thick beard suits him. It’s as dark as his hair and his eyes. I get the feeling he doesn’t wear a suit often, but he made the effort today, and it looks good on him. He fills out that jacket nicely. I can see the definition of his arms.
Crap, not important right now.
“Well, I’m more than happy for Ben to handle the day to day. I can be a silent partner. We can just catch up maybe twice a year to go over things?”
Larry shakes his head again.
“What? Why?”
“He’s stipulated that you need to be here at least fifty percent of the year.”
“I can’t do that. I have a life in New York.”
“You’re an author?”
“Don’t say that means I can work from anywhere,” I say angrily. “I have a life, family, and friends back in New York. I’m not just someone who writes books. I have a business.”
Larry pats his hands out in front of him, as though I’m overreacting or something.
“And what about my business, my family, and friends?” Ben asks quietly from the other side of the room. He is still standing by the window. “Are you going to let this stipulation end up with the company sold out from beneath us? ”
I look around at everyone. “How is this even legal?” I ask Larry after a moment. “We can’t challenge it?”
“You could, but it would be a lengthy process, and potentially cost a lot of money.”
I glance at Ben again. I already know that isn’t something he is going to want to do. It’s obvious this is unexpected. He must have believed my dad was giving him the whole company. It’s just like Acer George to pull something like this. The question is, what the hell did he hope to achieve?
“So, what do we do?” I ask, feeling somewhat bewildered by the whole thing.
“Well, there’s not much point in this meeting, is there?” Ben says, his fists clenched at his side. Everyone looks at him. “She’s not gonna stick around. That’s her MO after all.”
Ouch. I try to maintain eye contact, but the way he is looking at me, an enemy would be more desirable right now.
“So that’s that, right? This is so fucked,” he says as he grabs up the paperwork he left on the table. “Why don’t you just call me when you decide what is gonna happen to all the men and women who work at the company? I’ll be sure to pass on the news to them when you turn tail and run the fuck away.”
“Wait,” I hold my hands up. “Why are you yelling at me? Don’t put any of this on me. This is all down to my father. This is exactly the crap he would pull, and I don’t know why you’re even surprised.”
“You don’t know your father,” Ben says. “You haven’t bothered to know him for years,” he came around the table, walking towards me. “Did you even know he had cancer, Elle?”
I stood my ground. I kept my head held up as I stared into his familiar eyes, but inside my heart broke. Because no, I didn’t know. I didn’t think me knowing would have changed the outcome. From what I’d gathered, the disease was far too progressed for treatment to work, but my money could have helped him, in the earlier stages maybe, or just keeping him more comfortable .
Shot fired, target acquired, everything shattered. And Ben knows it. For a moment, he pinches his lips together and there is a hint of remorse, but he tightens his jaw, glares at Larry, and walks out without another word.
“Elle, I’m sorry,” Larry says to me.
I hold up my hand. “We should end things here for now. We can meet again when things are less…. Volatile.”
“Yes. If that is what you want.” He shook his head regretfully. “Believe me,” he said in a quieter voice. “I tried to talk Acer out of this, but he was determined.”
Angela and Stephen left the room, probably embarrassed as hell about what they just witnessed. No matter what Larry said, it wouldn’t help make things better right now. I could barely think straight. Ben is so mad. I want to be mad right back at him, but in all honesty, I can see this from his side, and he has every right to be pissed.
“Do you know why your father might have done this?” he asks.
I gather my wits, pick up my purse, and look Larry right in the eye. “I have no idea. Please call me when you need to go through things, but I am hoping to leave for New York tomorrow.”
Larry nods sadly. There is no sign of Ben. The receptionist, who I do remember from school, gives me the evil eye, but what’s new? I’m going to be the Wicked Witch of the East before too long. She was a gossip in high school. I’m sure she’s worse now. And she no doubt heard every word Ben just screamed in that room.
“Elle?”
I turn to see Susan has followed me outside. I try to shake off some of the feelings from that meeting because she doesn’t deserve to be at the end of any discontent.
“I’m Susan. Sorry we didn’t get a proper introduction. That was some shit in there, huh?” she rocks back on her heels. “Typical Acer.”
“Sorry, how did you know my dad?”
“He was by boy toy,” she grins .
I am taken aback, but her smile is infectious.
“We were good friends ,” she clarifies. “Spent a lot of our spare time together but were happy to have our separate lives too. I’m pretty peeved about him leaving me that money, though. I told the old fool I didn’t want it.”
I frown at her. Beyond her friendly, open demeanor, I can see the sadness. Dad really meant something to her.
“Anyhoo, I just wanted to say hi. Ben will calm down and you will figure things out with him. Acer, Lord knows what he was thinking, although I may have some idea,” she taps her nose.
“What?”
“Go speak to him, honey.”
For a moment, I think she means speak to my dad. If the comment about him haunting her has any meaning. She looks the mystical type.
“He wanted you to talk to Ben.”
With that, she walks away. I stand on the sidewalk and watch her as she grabs an old bicycle, climbs up and rides away, waving at people as she does.
Eventually, I head to the car and drive away, not knowing what to do or where to go. I could call Dawn, try to figure things out with her, given she knows everyone and everything that goes on in town. But she has her kids to worry about and she’s about ready to give birth.
Also, we only reconnected yesterday after a decade. I can’t dump everything on her doorstep like that.
I can think of nothing worse than going back to the Inn to sit alone and stew over everything so instead, I head to the Williams Beach Park, which is just across the street from the Inn and a place I knew very well in my childhood. We used to come here as a family and my friends and I partied a lot here as I got older. I even spent my fair share of time with Ben down here.
The meeting went so spectacularly wrong. It isn’t like I hoped to reconnect with him, although from that cryptic comment Susan made, seems like dad had. I’d figured if we did bump into each other, it could be slightly awkward, but we’re both adults. What happened between us back then was so long ago, surely we could move past it?
Guess not.
I climb out of the car, leaving my purse on the floor in the footwell but grab my phone and sunglasses. The sun is warm, so I remove my blazer and kick off my heels once I hit the sand. I look out at the water, inhaling the sea air with the faint underlying scent of fish. It isn’t overpowering, nor gross, it is the scent of my childhood.
Mystic is nothing like New York. It took me a while to get used to the hustle and bustle of a big city, but now it’s kind of synonymous with who I am. Everything out here is so much slower, quieter. There are a few people on the beach, some kids playing at the small playground. Everyone is going about their business. I head passed the empty lifeguard tower, closer to the water’s edge.
Dropping the blazer, I spread it out and then sit down, drawing my legs up and wrapping my arms around them. I sit for a while, letting memories envelope me, some good, some bad, some pretty X rated, but I cut those off at the knee. Last thing I need is to be recalling my time here with Ben.
For whatever reason, he’s been blindsided today. Ben seemed so sure he was inheriting the business, which I would only welcome. It is one less thing for me to worry about, but my luck is never that good. And now I’ll have to deal with him.
Ben is nothing if not a stubborn jerk. He left thinking I’ve already decided to ruin his livelihood and all those people who work for dad’s business. Does he really think so little of me?
Question is, how will I get around what dad stipulated?
Moving back to Mystic is not an option for me.