Disclaimer: See chapter one

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"Mister West, so glad you could make it, and on such short notice." Lane greeted the often harsh man. Cold and judgmental, the man never impressed the counselor as the type to take too keen an interest in his daughters life. With a gesture, Lane motioned for the humorless man to head into his office.

"I just wish you'd have told me over the phone what my daughter did this time, and do you have proof?" The man asked, showing an expectation for yet another fight. He walked in, immediately noticing that the two of them weren't alone. "And given that Miss Dubois is here, I can only assume this will once again force me to raise my voice." His cold blue eyes locked on the other man. "That is, if you once again only have conjecture. Yes, my daughter is a handful, but without proof, she hasn't done anything wrong now, has she?"

"That's principal Dubois, and I wouldn't be the one sitting here if she'd done something wrong. Not any more" Helen corrected. "I'm delegating that to Mister dickers. Funny, it seems he's much better suited to dealing with those kinds of problems then I am."

"Then why am I here?" Mister West asked, never demanded. Not when he wanted to look in control. He had found dozens of ways of showing his displeasure, even his rage, without ever having to raise his voice once. He just ignored the implications of what the principal said and focused on the task at hand.

"Jade's graduating soon, and we were wondering, um…" Lane looked for an opening, some way to broach the subject. "Given her talents, she has so many options to help her pay for collage, so...She hasn't applied for many scholarships, and we were wondering why?"

"Oh, is that it?" The man wondered, eyes imperceptibly cooling. Jade's father wasn't the kind to openly lose his temper, but he was a fighter, who knew to stand for what he wanted, and never be pushed around. It was one of the many reasons his relationship with his overly emotional daughter was so complicated. He'd looked for years for strategies to make her a fighter, even as he fought against her dream. "I get why you'd think she needs the support, given how often her mother has had to look for less demanding accommodations. Truth is, I earn too much money." it wasn't a humble brag, because there was next to nothing humble about this man. "Her mother, that woman earns more then I do, but waists so much on frivolous things and her odd hobbies that it looked like they're poor. Fact is, Jade's very well taken care of. In fact,' He smirked, knowing he was about to change their perspective, "I was just talking with her cousin Drew about her part of the family trust fund."

"Your family has a trust fund?" Helen asked,

"Her mothers side does." Mister West confirmed. He felt the frustration that came from dealing with such slow thinkers, the kind he believed so often populated the entertainment business, or at least the business side. 'Not like that crazy teacher of hers she loves so much. He may be off, but at lest he's quick.' The man held back his smirk, focusing on helping the two there work towards the right question they'd need to ask to understand just what Jade had on her side. He wanted them now to know about the ace he'd held back just in case one day she proved she had a shot of making it in show business. "I've helped manage her part for years. Done a decent enough job, cause I was so sure she'd be like her mother, more or lass living on it while she and her man wasted time perusing a life in show business." He let them hear the pride in his voice at his accomplishment, hinting at even more to come. Then, he went on the offensive, his voice now neutral. "The odds are so against making it, you know, even if you have contacts in the business. I mean, what percentage of your students actually get professional work, enough to survive on?"

"We don't like to focus on those numbers." Lane waved the man off. Mister West felt sure the counselor was hiding his nervousness under that simple statement.

"I was under the impression you'd actually seen one of her plays." Helen said, apparently trying to divert the man from his planned attack. "Well Wishes?" She'd missed the point, he just wanted them off balance, and was happy to continue talking about his child.

"I did, and it gave me hope for the girl." Mister West let slip. Like so much in his life, it was deliberate, continuing to lead them towards his big reveal. "It's one of the reasons I've continued to miss her many later performances and productions."

"Wait, what now?" Helen asked, feeling lost.

"Before, it was out of a lack of support for her dreams." Mister West admitted. "And a lack of interest, because I mistook her for her mother, a sad mistake, let me assure you. Just because you're part of the Murray entertainment clan doesn't mean you can act. And yes, before yous say a word, she is related to that unpleasant woman, Melinda. Another one of her cousins."

"Wait, Drew Murray?" Lane asked, even as Helen almost swallowed her tongue. "As in producer, director, actress, and multiple award winner Drew Murray?"

"That's the one." Mister West confirmed. He was just as careful to hide the perverse joy he felt in their reaction to Jade's familial connections in Hollywood as he was the displeasure he'd felt when he was so sure her acting out had once again gotten him called into the counselors office. "She's very interested in Jade now, after I started sending links to my daughters various productions here at school. That stalker kid, the lanky nerd with the good family, he was nice enough to set them up for me so I could continue to miss my daughters plays." His eyes narrowed. "Jade isn't aware of her mothers side of the family, for good reasons. And of course, given their interest, I needed a method to keeping her creative juices flowing. If my ignoring her was what inspired her to write, then I would keep inspiring her. She'll have her trust fund, plus a bit more. See, I've been, with Drew's blessing, drawing a small amount out and investing it for her, to protect her. Jade may not make it, but I won't have to worry about her financially." He sighed.

As the two man sat there, in shock, he continued. "As you know, the Murray family, it's produced actors and singers and directors and producers for over a hundred and fifty years. Jade is seen as part of this new generations crop." The calculating man gave an exaggerated shrug. "My goal was to make sure it didn't destroy her like it almost did her mother. Did you know Jane was one of Drew drinking buddies, back when they were kids? And I'm talking about when they were ten, younger then should have access to either that kind of money, or that much alcohol. Jane has cleaned her act up, multiple times, but the family pressure, it's driven her to drink, drugs, cheating. That's what destroyed our marriage, not my steady and controlled management of the family. No, her affairs, the often egocentric men she dates or sleeps with, those are the things she latched onto, even as her cousin broke free and made her mark in that industry." He forced himself back into his seat, even if he'd only risen an inch in the moment of passion. "You can tell why I've been protecting my family from that hoard. Most of them, that side of the family, are never going to be anything other then trust fun fed drains on society. The smart one's look for other ways to make their mark on the world. The talented ones, however, that's what Drew and her relatives like her have been look for. They've been watching, looking to exploit those kids talents, just to keep the family legacy alive. Jade, she's talented. Before 'Well Wishes' I had no idea how talented she really was."

"I…." Lane tried, but for some reason, he had no idea what he could say to fix the problems Jade's family was in the thrall of. 'My god, is this man actually right? I mean, is he actually the responsible parent? And, and it sounds like he's in favor of Jade going into entertainment, so why is he so…'

"Her trust fund will more then pay for whatever school she chooses to go to, and she is going to school." The West patriarch said calmly. "And to answer the obvious question, I do plan on introducing her to her family, her mothers cousins, as soon as I feel she's ready for the responsibility that goes with that name."

Mister West shifted, an odd smile now on his face. "This brings up a point. As much as I like Beck, and feel he'd make most men a fine son in law, I realized he's more of an anchor on my daughters life then an asset. So, mister Alexander…"

"It's Lane." The guidance counselor interrupted, finding that was almost all he had to say.

"I hate the informality." Mister West griped. "It's like if I let my daughter call me Drake. No, my point is, you've seen her, looked at her tests. Odd as it sounds, I need to know, is it possible she might be a little gay, because I feel that annoying Latina who helped her with 'Well Wishes' would be a much more supportive spouse for my girl. Jade has such a masculine energy about her as is, and I think a little nurturing might be good for her." He smiled. "Just saying."

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Yet another look at Mister West.