Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 82767 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82767 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
“Dad,” Sean was saying. “You have seen the files, you know that this is bullshit!”
“This is not bullshit,” repeated Dad, turning to face him, and handing him over a folder.
Sean took it from him. “What is this?” he asked, flicking through it, and then glaring at me.
“He did this!” Sean said, but his voice betrayed his panic.
“There are digital copies,” I said. “With the date of retrieval. The game is up, Sean.”
“Why?” roared Dad, with an anger I hadn’t heard since my youth. “Why are you so intent on destroying one another? Sean! I never, ever thought I would see the day when I felt so ashamed of my own son. Nothing either of you have ever done comes close to this.”
“Dad, I can…”
“You can what? Explain? You can explain to me why you would have your own brother jailed for something he didn’t do?”
“It would never have come to that!” Sean argued. “We wouldn’t have pushed it that far…”
“We wouldn’t have had a choice. We aren’t in control of this now, Sean!” his voice raised further, and I wondered what the staff were thinking.
“Da,” I said, trying to calm him. “It is what it is. He wants this place, he can have it. I’m out.”
“Nobody’s out until I say so!” Dad said, calm now, but no less angry.
“That’s the problem, Da,” I said. “You aren’t in control of this situation, and you aren’t in control of me, either. I can walk away.”
He stood there looking at me, and I could see he knew I meant it.
“I did my best for you boys,” he said, sitting down heavily.
“I did my best!” Sean burst out. “I have worked every hour to make this business what it is. Are we forgetting that?”
“Nobody is forgetting that,” said Dad. “And it makes it all the more stupid that you threw it away.”
We sat there, the three of us, each mired down in our own thoughts, our own regrets, until Sean suddenly spoke, and this time, his voice had changed. Gone was the cocky confidence, replaced by something I recognized. He was afraid.
“What happens now?” Sean asked quietly.
“I’m going to leave this one to you two,” I said to them. “I’ve always resented being left out of your business discussions, but you know what? There is somewhere I would rather be.”
They didn’t try to stop me leaving, and I was glad. I knew that whatever they came up with, they knew the stakes. They could choose to do the right thing. They could choose between me or the business, and whichever they chose, I knew I was going to be okay. Sitting on the low wall across the road that separated the sidewalk from the green space beyond was Freya, her red-gold hair blowing in the breeze, her eyes serious. I made my way over to her, and she stood up and held out her hand to me.
Chapter 47
FREYA
I SCREAMED AND toppled over sideways, landing in the mud.
“I told you, hold on with your legs as well as your hands!” Keegan shouted, a little exasperated, pulling me out of the mud and paying rather too much attention to rubbing the mud off my ass.
“Horses hate me,” I moaned, offering my hand to the grumpy beast who turned away and huffily stuck its nose into Keegan’s shoulder.
“It’s your first try,” he laughed.
We had been at the farmstead for a week now, interrupted only by the frequent phone calls and emails from the city. While Mr. Callahan spent a chunk of his retirement fund on enough legal advice to make everything go away, the lawyers of Clover House and Dynasty Games tried to find a solution to what Keegan’s dad had called ‘our unfortunate economic consequences’ and what my father had called ‘our financial ruin.’ It hadn’t been until Keegan had arranged to get all our parents in one room that they had come up with a viable alternative to watching all their money disappear in legal costs.
Dynasty Games was to be compensated for their losses by taking over the game-related assets of Clover House. This left Clover House with a gap, and that was to be filled however Keegan saw fit, if he would only return to his post. I was surprised that he agreed – he seemed so happy at the farm, but as he explained, he wanted to use Clover House to do something positive, and this was the opportunity he needed. As for Sean, he was to be given his second chance, much as how Keegan had been in the past, but he was being sent to Dublin, where – much to his embarrassment and Keegan’s delight – he was to work under Mick.
“Don’t worry, I will make sure his rehabilitation goes as well as possible,” Mick assured us. “You know, just like he supported Keegan when he arrived at the Boston office.”