8
“I know I handle the contracts Ethan, but this is not the type of business we’re in,” Seth stated.
“It’s just a formality.” Ethan knew the Potters would never take his money, so he had to do something.
“A legal and binding one,” Seth reminded him. “I’m not even sure why anyone would agree to sign a document to put a lien on the property when there isn’t actually one. Would you care to enlighten me on it a bit more?”
“There’s this company that wants their property.”
“It’s the Potters decision if they want to sell or not. There’s no need for you to go to these lengths,” Seth stated.
“This company has the money to make it happen.”
He heard Seth sigh. “And you’re willing to stick your neck out to prevent it? Why is that?”
“They’re good people Seth. They’ve been…good to me when I needed them.”
“So you feel like you owe them. Then give them the money they need to battle this out themselves,” Seth suggested.
“That’s not the Potters. They won’t be prepared for how ugly this can get.” I will be. “The only way for the Potters not to be forced to sell, is for a lien to be put on the property so anyone interested, would need to deal with me.” It sounded very easy to Ethan. He’d never do anything to hurt the Potters, and once the threat was over and Ralph Sommers realized he wasn’t going to win, the lien would be dismissed.
“I understand what you’re saying, but you’re going up against a company, not an individual, correct?” he asked.
“Yes,” Ethan replied. Even though it was owned by Ralph, he’d be using the company for backing.
“Then you would need the lien to be just as powerful,” Seth said.
“You mean put it under Lawson Steel?”
“It’s your best defense in order to discourage another company. However, I’m not sure you’re going to get the backing from everyone on this.”
“You just said it’s my best bet.”
“I did, but you’re not giving any facts for us to make our decision. We as a company would need to fight this, not just you. Which means we should all know why we’re fighting,” Seth stated.
If this conversation was taking place in person, Seth might regret those words. “A bit hypocritical don’t you think? I mean look what happened with Sheen. No one seems to know the details about what went down. Well maybe Dean Henderson does, but I mean no one in our family. And when I ask, do you know what I get?” Ethan snarled, “I’m told to trust you. So how about you, showing me some of the same fucking trust right now.”
Ethan hadn’t meant for this call to go down that road. Hell, it was something he never wanted to say. Maybe it needed to be said, because all this dancing around the truth only built walls. Covering up things is what had gotten their ancestors in the mess they were in.
Damn it. Now I’m trying to do exactly what I didn’t like done to me.
“Seth, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“No. I’m the one who is sorry. I was so busy trying to keep things quiet, that I forgot that you guys have my back. What happened with Sheen started off…personal. But working with Sal, I found it wasn’t going to be as easy as showing up and beating his ass.”
“What do you mean by personal? Was it an attack on the company?” Ethan asked.
“No. It was how he treated Charlene. The way he looked at her, made me want to rip his throat out,” Seth snarled.
He wasn’t used to hearing his brother quite so…pissed. Seth never lost his cool. Guess we all have our breaking point. Messing with Charlene is his. Ethan actually felt better knowing it wasn’t over something stupid, at least not in Ethan’s eyes. Others may view it differently. Just like they would my request.
But there was still a missing piece. A question he needed answered. “What did the Hendersons have to do with it?” he asked.
“Sal found a connection between Sheen and Bennett Stone. It was long before Stone married their sister Zoey. But to ensure Sheen didn’t try to retaliate for us refusing to do business with his criminal ass, Bennett Stone and Sal decided to…handle it.”
“When you say ‘handle it’, what exactly does that mean?” Ethan asked.
“The truth, I don’t know. And before you ask, the Hendersons don’t either. Sal is hired to protect this family. Let’s just say he earned his money and more. And the less we know about what was said, probably the better.”