37
Dean
End of July 2018
D ean knew when his father summoned him into the office on his one day off in two weeks that it was important. July was a busy month, so he was surprised his dad even had time to summon him. He had already narrowed it down; it couldn’t have been about the wedding because his mother was dealing with that. It couldn’t have been about anything Dean could think of. His father knew the importance of days off, so it had to be an emergency.
“My son!” Anthony greeted him when he finally walked into his father’s office. “I’m sorry to call you in on your day off; you can take tomorrow as well, paid, of course.”
His father was in a good mood.
“What did you need, Dad?”
“Well, I have a… proposition for you,” Anthony said before he turned round in his chair, grabbed the bottle of whiskey he always kept on the desk behind him, and two glasses. He poured them both a drink silently and passed one to Dean across the desk. Dean took to the seat across from him.
“Go ahead,” Dean said as he took the drink and held it on his knee.
“Let’s just say that I know about this girl named Quinn,” Anthony told him. Dean immediately turned to stone as if his father were Medusa.
“Dad—”
“No, you don’t need to defend yourself, Dean. I know. It doesn’t matter how; it doesn’t matter how long. I understand before you apologise to me. Well, here is the thing. It’s been twenty-six years since this contract was made.” Anthony held up what looked to be the contract in his hand as if he was trying to prove it to him. “And while you know all there is to know about this, we both know Ella doesn’t, and therefore she’s been trying for five years now to get out of it. Now we finally have the date… it’s… well, it’s real, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Dean agreed.
He couldn’t predict what was going to come out of his mouth.
Was he going to be killed? No, that would be silly, Dean thought to himself. Anthony and Adrian needed Dean.
Should he tell Anthony all about this orphan boy he knew Ella had been shacking up with? Should he make a last-ditch attempt to deny everything?
He wasn’t sure, so he kept silent and downed his whiskey in one gulp, wincing at the burning sensation filling his mouth at this ungodly hour of the day.
“Dean, you are my son. My only son. My only surviving child. Now, we all know that your mother’s… indiscretion, and Adrian’s… interesting ways of dealing with that are in question with this contract. But… I want you to be honest with me, here,” his dad said. “Do you love this… Quinn woman?”
Dean wasn’t sure what to say. He didn’t know whether his honesty was going to be punished, or whether he was going to get something out of this. Anthony was never a man to be taken at his word. He was calculated, he could manipulate, and he loved to be in control. Dean knew that from, well, since he could remember. His whole life was about being brought up to take over his father’s position, to be a leader, to be respected.
Dean knew if he was honest about Quinn right at that moment, he would risk everything he worked for since he was born for a moment of honesty.
His truth was that he loved Ella, but he knew that she didn’t love him. He could deny that, tell his father that he wanted her, and the contract would still be on. He could tell him that he knew Ella was in love with someone else; risk Ella’s happiness for the slight chance Anthony might take pity in a mood like that. He could deny everything, or he could lie and say he loved Quinn.
But Anthony was in a rare, brilliant mood – the whiskey during the morning proved that, and the chipper nature which he oozed also proved that. In a sense, Dean knew if there was ever a time for him to be honest, it was that moment. If his mood soured, then at least he tried.
Dean knew in a mood like this, he could find a way to rip up that contract and free them both, all while securing his life assets.
Surely it was worth a try?
“Yes, Dad, I do,” Dean admitted quietly.
Anthony nodded as he poured them both another whisky. “Love is… a powerful emotion, son. I’m sure you’re aware of that. When Ella was born, we all wanted the two of you to grow up and love each other, so we pushed for you both to spend as much time together as possible. Your mother and Martha thought it would work – women for you, my boy. They think love is this romantic notion like they were in those Disney movies or something. Let me tell you, it isn’t.”
“I agree,” Dean told him, sipping the whisky this time.
“I knew pushing you two together would crash and burn. Ella was given too much freedom for my liking. Yes, they controlled her according to this contract, but her mother was too soft. They should have told her earlier; they should have sent her to private school. That girl needed discipline, Dean. Now, look at her – demanding an education. I gave in because I thought it would give her that discipline. We’ve yet to see if it worked!”
Dean kept silent; this was not the time to tell him about Ella and Matthew, not whilst his father was in this good mood. Anthony was never one to go on long spiels of informalities like he was doing, and Dean knew not to interrupt his good mood. The last time he was in a mood like this, he gave every single employee a ‘cash bonus’ of a thousand pounds each. He remembered how one of their female admins kissed Dean on the cheek and told him through her tears that she would pay off half of the debts she had with that and get her kids much needed new clothes. Dean had got the woman’s address the same afternoon and sent her kids some gift cards and left a check for ten grand on her desk the next day to pay off the rest of the debts and get herself something nice.
From that day on, Dean vowed to get to know all of their employees; something his dad never really considered important.
“My point to this conversation is this: could you see yourself marrying this Quinn girl if the contract wasn’t a thing?” Anthony asked.
Dean raised his eyebrows. He knew exactly where this was going: Dean predicted Anthony could see that Ella wasn’t worth the trouble anymore. If Dean sacrificed himself here to say he loved Quinn, they could be free.
It would be a sure-fire way to prove himself to Ella, but he would lose her forever to Matthew.
It was still worth the lie.
Dean exaggerated the truth. “Dad, I was planning on asking her to marry me before you told me about Ella. I never stopped loving her.”
“Dean… my son. I am the one in charge of this contract. I can change the terms at any time, I can rip it up, or I could make things move quicker if I want to. Now, I am only going to offer you this once. It’s up to you what you want to do, and there is no right or wrong choice.”
Dean wasn’t sure what was about to come out of his father’s mouth by way of terms and conditions, but if he knew his father, then he knew it wasn’t going to be an easy choice, whatever it was.
“You can forget the contract, forever. I will rip it up, and free you. You can marry Quinn. Ella can do… whatever she wants to do. Her father can keep his job, they can keep the lifestyle they have. No repercussions. Every secret will stay secret,” Anthony told him.
Dean sighed in disbelief. Anthony really was in a good mood. This contract was his life. So, for him to offer to rip it up because his only son was in love? Well, something good must have happened.
“What do I have to do for that?” Dean asked. He knew it would come at a price; everything always did with his father.
“You give up your job here, your entitlement to the company. You give up your fortune from me, everything. You go out there as if you were any old man in the world. You graft your way in the world, in exchange for your freedom,” Anthony decided.
Dean downed the rest of the whisky. So, he had to give up his money, his status… for the chance to free both him and Ella?
“You can keep the house and the car. Both are in your name anyhow. I wouldn’t leave you homeless, son,” Anthony added. “I’ll give you a week to decide. Off you go.”
Dean nodded; the meeting was officially over. His father had nothing else to add. Dean didn’t either; he didn’t know what to say anyway.
His money was important to him. Matthew was important to Ella.
But money and the company? To effectively disown himself from his entitlement, his family. Dean knew it wasn’t a simple choice to make.