Part 1, Chapter 3.
Thanks again to my two reviewers! I'm sorry this chapter is so short. I'd like to make them all more complete when I have enough time.
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Vaughn Pearson marched down a long hallway of his house, heading determinedly for a particular door. Upon hearing hushed voices behind it, he forcefully twisted the knob and entered the room, not bothering to knock.
His father sat inside, speaking to an unfamiliar guest—a dark-haired, unexplainably peculiar-looking man who turned at the noise to face the imposing boy, analyzing him with cold blue eyes. The stranger appeared to be in his early forties, yet was dressed as if he were much older. Vaughn shivered slightly at the scrutinizing gaze, but boldly brushed past him, purposely ignoring his presence.
"Dad."
"Not now, Vaughn. I'm in the middle of something."
Vaughn straightened, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I know. I just talked to Mom. What's this all about?"
Victor met his son's questioning eyes for a brief moment before sighing. "Pearadyne Industries… is gone," he admitted quietly.
"What?"
"I'm afraid I can't salvage it. I am truly thankful most things are back to the way they should be, but it doesn't change the fact that I'm still… financially troubled. It's over."
"Well yeah, but Dad, I can—."
"No."
"You don't even know what I was going to say!"
"Yes, I do, and I won't allow it. It's too big a gamble."
"I can't believe this," Vaughn scoffed, his face rapidly becoming flushed. "You're kidding me, right? All those years you lied to me to get what you wanted, and now that I'm offering it, freely, you turn me down? What's wrong with you?"
"Son, you're being rude," Victor reprimanded, glancing uncomfortably at his associate. He lowered his voice. "It's just not enough, alright? Now, I have a good offer from another, well-respected company—."
"Seriously? You're just going to quit? What happened to you, Dad? Pearadyne used to mean everything to you. It was your life!"
"Things have changed… Your mother's back, Vaughn. We can be a family again."
"We always were, even when she was gone! But you never could see that."
The words stung. Victor opened his mouth to protest but an indignant Vaughn silenced him.
"You know, this totally figures. You finally get it, but now you're going to go and throw away all that you've done, even though it cost you everything. You almost destroyed yourself, Dad. All for Pearadyne."
"Don't worry, son," the previously silent, unidentified man spoke up. "Your dad will still have a part in Plynica."
The younger Pearson's eyes flicked sharply toward the odd visitor. "'Plynica?'"
"Mr. Broderick is vice-president of the company I'll be merging with," Victor explained.
"You mean 'surrendering to.' Hmph. Really, what about all your work?"
"What? Since when do you care about Pearadyne?"
"Since when do you care about what I think?" Vaughn tossed both men a dark glare and began to stalk out of the room, but paused in the doorway. "It was eighteen-and-a-half years you worked on this. Eighteen-and-a-half years of my life. So tell me— was it really worth it?" he asked in a bitter tone, staring furiously once again before quickly disappearing around the corner.
"Kids, huh?" Mr. Broderick chuckled nervously, watching him leave.
Victor rubbed his temples in frustration. "Yeah," he muttered. "I'm sorry about that. It's been… oh. Quite a month so far." He dropped his hand, lightly striking the table, and weakly extended his fingers. "Can I see the first proposition again?"