14
“Are you serious? Dad really had this drawn up?” Jordan asked.
Charles nodded. “He did and it’s binding.”
“Does Mom know about this?” Dylan asked.
“I’m guessing not. Dad kept her out of the loop for pretty much anything business related,” Charles replied. “He didn’t want her to stress about things.” Like raising six boys wasn’t enough stress.
“I can’t believe this. I don’t know about anyone else, but if you have the contract ready, I’ll sign it,” Seth stated. “You have always put Lawson Steel first. This only proves, once again, you’re meant to be the CEO.”
“Agreed,” Ethan added. “Just sucks Dad put you in this situation.”
“Dad’s been trying to put a wedge between us our entire childhood,” Dylan said. “It seems now that he’s getting older, he’s trying to change.”
“He tried Dylan, but he didn’t succeed. We’re all sitting in this conference room right now,” Gareth said. “And I second Seth’s suggestion. Let’s sign it and let it be done.”
Charles looked across to Dylan. He was filled with anger. Was it because he felt forced to follow his brothers? That’s not what Charles wanted. If they didn’t sign willingly, then they shouldn’t sign at all.
He didn’t want to single any one of them out. That would cause another problem all together. “I don’t want anyone to feel as though they need to sign this. Dad wanted me to earn this on my own. There are no hard feelings if you don’t think I have.”
Gareth was the one who turned to Dylan. Dylan said, “Don’t look at me; that was years ago. I had my reasons for not wanting Charles to succeed. He was an arrogant ass. Or maybe I was. Okay, we both were, but that was over a long time ago. I don’t agree with what Dad did, but if it meant that we all had to sit down and talk this out, I’m glad he did it. I can’t remember the last time we all sat at a table together.”
“When Dad retired,” Jordan stated.
“And before that?” Seth asked.
Charles answered, “One holiday, I’m not even sure which one. Mom dragged us all home for dinner.”
“She was shocked when we all showed,” Gareth said. “Damn it. We all have our own lives, but this isn’t right.”
“No, it isn’t. But right now I’m not in the mood to see Dad. I’d probably tell him how wrong he was,” Jordan said.
“He didn’t mean any harm. His upbringing wasn’t like anything we’ve experienced. Dad didn’t come from a loving family. It was all based on one thing, making money. I’m not even sure if our grandfather knew anything else,” Charles told them.
“I can’t remember him,” Dylan said.
“Count yourself as lucky. For all the things Dad is not, we need to appreciate him for what he is. He did everything because he loves us. Even now with this contract, it was because he loves us all. Dad never had a favorite and this was his way of showing us that. Granted, I’d like to think there were options, but we all know he wasn’t that guy.” That’s why Maxwell was able to set him up all those years ago. Dad thought one way and never veered from it. Charles swore not to be that way. Listening to his brothers talk about him now, he wasn’t so sure he’d achieved that.
Dylan waved to Seth to slide the contract over to him. He pulled out a pen and signed on the dotted line. Then he held it up. “Who’s next?”
Gareth took it then Seth. Jordon followed suit. When it came to rest in front of Ethan he shook his head.
“I meant it, Ethan. You don’t need to sign it,” Charles said. That’s when he realized he wasn’t like his father. He could see the bigger picture and wasn’t pulling the strings on any of them.
Ethan turned to Charles and asked, “Before I sign this, I want to make sure this is the only thing you’ve been hiding from us.”
Charles glanced over to Gareth, then Dylan. It was time. Actually it was overdue. “There is something I want to discuss.”
“Dad?” Seth asked.
“Lawson Steel?” Jordan asked.
Dylan added, “Maxwell Grayson?”
Charles said, “All of the above. Hope no one had any place to be, because this is going to take a while.”
He opened his briefcase and pulled out the file on Maxwell. He knew this family tension actually started long before Maxwell Grayson. It went back to their grandfather and his abuse of their father. That wasn’t his story to tell. If anything it would only make them question their family history even more. So he decided to stay focused on what was necessary. Bringing Maxwell down.