Ch 10: Peace Offering?
Ana and Christian were rescued by his father. They had learned of the situation at home between the two families. Christian assured Ana he'd hear her father's side of the story. Once they arrived home, they went straight to the diner.
Ana walked in first and saw her father on the phone. She yelled out to him as he hung up the phone and greeted his daughter with a tight hug. He tried to do the same with Christian, until he realized his son-in-law was hurt.
Rebecca came out too, seeing the newlyweds as she rushed to Christian hugging him first but gently kissing him on the cheek. She hugged her daughter-in-law.
"We were worried sick about you two, how are you?" Ray asked both of them. They told them they were fine, only Christian had a broken rib. The reunion however was cut short when Carrick walked in.
"Grey!" Ray shouted at Carrick. "Your not to take another step! This place is still ours. What are you doing here anyway?"
Christian walked in between his father-in-law and his dad.
"I asked my father to come here, Ray. I wanted to hear your side of the story of what happened." Christian answered.
"You asked him to come here?" Ray asked Christian. "You wanted him here?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I insisted."
Ana and Rebecca were standing next to each other. Ray was laughing to himself at that moment.
"I can't believe that anyone would buy anything you have to say, especially your son, here."
"It's not that way, Ray." Christian explained.
It was explained to Ray that Carrick told Christian the truth about what happened. He came clean to his son telling him why he did what he did.
"You know something, I can almost assure you that your father put his own spin on things."
"Ray, if you'd be quiet, maybe he could tell you what I told him."
"Right? The gospel according to Grey! I have a right to talk if I want to because this is still my place!"
"Dad," Ana said, quietly. "Please calm down."
"Ray, I came here to hear your side of the story. Now let's hear it." Christian replied.
Ray went on to explain that they found out Carrick was indeed Advantage Systems. He told Christian that they found out merely by accident. They traced the fact that they had a hub in Florida, but this wasn't found out until Ana and Christian had left for their honeymoon.
They continued to follow Carrick, only they ended up in an accident. Just before the car had exploded, Carrick got Rebecca out of the car. They were taken to the hospital and cared for. Only Carrick thought that once he "saved" Rebecca that she would be indebted to him and fall in his arms. And when that didn't happen, he decided to go full force with his project.
"Are you with me so far?" Ray asked.
Christian looked at his father then back at Ray. "Yeah, go on."
So Rebecca went off on Carrick, calling him on on his shit and the fact he was AS all along. So he got mad at her and started to proceed with trying to shut the diner down. He also explained that he and Rebecca went to the bank to get a loan so that they can catch up but low and behold carrick got to him first and the loan officer denied the loan.
"Isn't that right, Grey?" Ray asked Carrick to his face.
"You have the floor, Ray."
"So he bought the mortgage from the bank and plans on foreclosing on this place. Is that right?" Ray asked him.
"Can you stop it, dad?" Ana asked.
Ray looked back at his daughter saying, "Yeah, but he wants two-hundred and twenty-five dollars by the end of the month. So that affects my life, Elliot and Kate and the rest of the neighborhood. It's all being ruined because he wants Rebecca! If he tells you any different, then he's lying!"
Christian moved closer to Ana as they heard her father's side of the story.
"Admit it, Carrick. What I said was the truth."
Christian looked back at Ray. "He already has."
Ray looked back at Christian. "He did huh? All of what I just told you?"
Christian sighed. "Yes, all of it. The question is, where all do we go from here?"
XXXXXX
While all of this was going on, Ethan made a trip to Grey Enterprises office. It had been over five years since he was in there himself. Though he didn't want to be President at that time, he sort of missed it now.
Junior showed up as Ethan had called him to meet him there. He wondered how he was able to get in as Ethan told him he was a Grey. His friend wasn't sure about him being there after hours and he didn't want to get caught but Ethan assured him it was fine as Grace offered him a job in public relations.
"Really? Your Aunt gave you a job here? I find that hard to believe." Junior told him.
"Okay, fine. I don't work here."
"That's what I thought. You shouldn't be here and neither should I."
"You know why we are here. This is where it all started. I have been waiting and waiting for someone to crack."
"And what are the odds of that happening? None, zero."
"I know, trust me I know. But I know someone in the family set me up. I just have to find out who."
"And how are we going to do that? There is no we in this."
"Look, Junior, they took five years of my life away from me. I need to find out who and why they did it. I just have to figure which Grey did it. Now are you with me or not?" Ethan asked him.
"Okay, fine. Deal me in."
XXXXXXX
Back at the diner, Ray just told Christian his side of the story and it pretty well matched with Carrick's. Christian realized that his father did indeed tell the whole truth. However, Ray wasn't buying into his innocent act.
"Well bravo, Carrick finally told the truth after all this time." Ray chimed in.
"I'm finished lying to my son. I realized, I needed to come clean with him and I did."
"That may be true, but that doesn't excuse what you did was wrong. You do see that don't you, Christian?"
He turned to his father-in-law saying, "My father set this all on motion because of how he felt for Rebecca. He was angry and hurt."
"He didn't say that the other night," Ray told Christian.
"He's saying it now."
"Yeah, only because he's going to win."
Christian realized they were all on a rough predicament. He was hoping they could all come up with some kind of compromise. Ray didn't like that idea as he knew someone would have to pay at some price. Christian explained it wasn't just about his father's money, that there was investors involved with the project.
Ray realized that if Carrick didn't go through with this, financially, Carrick could lose a lot of money. Ana and Rebecca stood on the sidelines as they watched Christian and Ray try to come to some kind of agreement.
"I understand you're angry with him," Christian replied.
"I hope you do," Ray replied. "Look, this isn't just about me. It's about the whole neighborhood, people could lose their homes…"
"Can't we just put that aside for a second?" Christian asked.
"Are you kidding me? No, I just can't put that aside."
"Look, Ray, you have been put in an advantage here. My father gave you a good offer, four times than what this diner was worth," he started saying, however, Ana was coming up beside her father. "Just listen to me for a second...please...if you took the money, you could buy another diner. One across the highway even, not to mention, Kate and Elliot have been wanting to renovate their house for a long time. The money could be used towards that and you could send Marina to college."
Ana asked her husband, "Are you saying that my father should accept this offer just to make peace?"
Christian looked back at his wife. "That's exactly what I'm saying."
Ana confronted her husband saying, "Are you really telling my father to take they money?"
"I'm trying to come up with a practical solution here." Christian replied, solemnly.
"I can't believe you're even saying this," she replied back, not liking this at all. This wasn't the man she fell in love with.
"I'm saying this to end the battle between our families and we could get on with our lives."
"Ana, this isn't about me anymore. It's about the fact we can do good for the community. Think of the growth it would provide," Carrick said to her.
"That is a bunch of crock, Carrick!" Rebecca yelled as she faced him. "Where is the low income housing and the community center?" she asked him.
"No where," Ray chimed in.
"This isn't about anything but you, Carrick," Rebecca told him.
Carrick began to tell his son while they were waiting for word on him and Ana, Rebecca had went through his study as the mansion. She claimed she did it to find out exactly what he was up to. He told all of them what Rebecca found was old plans, that he had new plans all drawn up. He began to explain that the plans he had would create more housing and jobs within the community.
"Yeah right!" Ray yelled back.
"Ray, I'm looking into the big picture here, not just your small diner," Carrick told him.
That was it. Ana had enough of her father-in-law putting her family down.
"Wait just a minute, this diner may be small but it was started by my grandfather, just like Grey Enterprises. You wouldn't be so nonchalant if we were talking about taking that away."
"Ana, this is hardly the same thing." Carrick told her.
"Like hell it isn't!" she yelled to him. "This is exactly the same thing!" Everyone in the diner agreed and cheered her on as she continued. "It was my families blood and sweat that built this place. They kept this diner going for three generations so that the community would have a place to go. This diner is a place where families can come and share a meal and they could share a piece of their lives with us. This is where Mrs. Popoff came when her son died. She knew if she came here she would find friends here that cared."
Christian stood on the sidelines watching his wife talk to his father. On one hand we was proud of his wife for standing up to him. But the other part of him was caught in the middle of this.
"And when the fire broke out and destroyed homes, this is where they came to get a meal, even when they couldn't pay for it. They came here because they knew that no matter what, my father would love on them. Now matter how rich or poor, my father would give them a shirt off his back if he had too. This is where Smitty comes where he can get a bowl of soup and put it on his tab that he's had for years. He will never be able to pay that back, because he can barely survive on the social security he has. But my family knows that, but they are still the loving and generous people in the community that the neighborhood had come to rely on. That is our life." Everyone else in the diner clapped and cheered.
"Do you have any concept of what I'm saying here? Maybe my family isn't the sharp business people that your family are, but this diner as far as we concerned is worth a heck of alot more than your company! A heck of alot more!" Ana shouted.
"Right on!" Everyone cheered. Christian came up behind his wife as she continued her rant.
"This diner is ours and we're not giving it up. This isn't just a building to us. It's about the people who come in here and shared their lives with us. I don't care if it fits into your plan, we are here and we're not giving it up!"
Christian was trying to get her attention. "Ana...please…"
"No, Christian. You cannot go along with this," she told her husband. "You can't side with your father," she gritted out.
He looked back at his wife. Christian felt so torn, he wanted to make his father happy and his wife happy too. He was stuck in the middle.
XXXXXXX
Ethan was very busy at Grey Enterprises looking through files and such but was coming up empty. He was looking for a key to open a file cabinet with a lock. He came across it and got into the drawer. He pulled out a file with his name on it.
"Junior, I think I found something here," he told him looking.
He came up behind his friend, looking over his shoulder. "Oh wow!"
"Do you see this? It's all newspaper clippings and they're all about me. My brother has been keeping close tabs on me, the question is why."
XXXXXXX
Back at the diner, everyone had father around and rallied with the Steeles as they fought for the diner. Ana had just gotten through telling Carrick, that they were fighting for the diner and the neighborhood as well. Christian tried to get her attention but she told him that he couldn't side with his father.
"Ana, I'm not taking sides here," he told her.
"It sounds like you already have," she replied.
"That's not true," he argued back.
"You want my father to do what your father wants and you think it's okay if he sells the family business. I call that taking sides."
"Ana please let me explain…" Carrick started saying but was cut off.
"Carrick, stay out of this!" Rebecca told him, as she watched her new stepdaughter-in-law talk to her husband.
"Ana, I'm well aware what this diner means to you and your whole family." Christian told her.
"If you are going to include family you better include the whole community," Ray chimed in. Christian turned towards Ray. " They care about this place too as if it were their own."
"Well, then, why didn't I think of this before. I have the perfect solution to everyone's problem."
Christian got his checkbook out and started writing an amount of it. He wanted the Steeles to be free and clear of his father so that they could start over again. Christian handed over the check to Ray.
"Take this please, Ray. It's really the best solution for everyone."
Ray replied saying, "There is a few less zeros than your father offered."
"Its enough to end this war between us so we can move forward," Christian said to him.
"The full amount, mortgage paid," Rebecca said to her husband.
"I don't know what to say…" Ray said to his son-in-law.
"You don't have to thank me. We're family now and I consider you family."
"No thank you. Take it back I don't want it." Ray told him giving him back the check. Christian was confused on what just happened. He was doing this to keep the peace between the two families. Carrick started spouting off about the fact that Ray turned down Christian's offer.
"Now do you see what I'm up against. Is this the kind of man you can make peace with?"
"Ray, please...I'm begging you to take the money," Christian pleaded. "It will pay off the debt and everything will be fine."
"I'm afraid you don't see what is going on here. If I take this then the diner is saved."
"Isn't that what you wanted?" Carrick asked.
"But what about the rest of the community?" Ray asked back.
"It's not just about us, Christian," Ana told her husband.
"If you handed me a check for everyone here then you have a deal."
Carrick couldn't believe what was happening. He thought Ray was out of his mind not taking the money. But Ray said it wasn't the money Carrick wanted, it was Rebecca. The fact that he couldn't have her was driving him crazy! He knew that if had married someone else, Carrick wouldn't have done this. The two men got into a verbal spar over Rebecca as Christian sat down in the booth while watching two grown men go at it!
Christian sat in the booth as he looked over at Ana and then back at the check he had written out. He really just wanted all of this to be over so they could enjoy being married. Carrick began to tell Ray that yes it all started because of Rebecca but now it was very personal. He told Ray that his project would save the community.
"How can you say that, Carrick," Ana replied. "What about all these people here. They will lose their homes and be displaced."
"You know darn well, Ray, that this neighborhood needs this project to be done. It's the only way if you wouldn't let your pride get into the way."
"Who do you think you are talking to?" Ray asked him. "I know how you work and operate. When your money talks everybody else walks. We're talking about a double helping of greed here with a side helping of lust for another man's wife."
"You're really over the top now!" Carrick shouted back.
"No, he's right!" Rebecca stated back. "That's just who you are, a very vindictive man and you know it."
"You know if it looks like a duck and smells like a duck…"
"Will you stop ganging up on my father!" Christian shouted, getting everyone's attention.
Ana walked up to him saying, "So you're going to defend him now?"
Christian hated this. He looked back at his wife saying, "Oh...please...don't" he sighed. "If I don't miss my guess, I'm supposed to be on my honeymoon right now. I really don't think we have time for this," he said to Ana and everyone else in the diner. He grabbed his wife's hand as he said, "If you will excuse us." The couple walked out of the diner together.
A/N: Yikes! Looks like things are heating up between the two families! Just how will Christian and Ana handle this?
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