West of the Flints

CHAPTER 4

"Dad, you can't do this. I've worked side by side with you since my sophomore year in college. Now that you're retiring, you're giving me such ridiculous terms before I can emerge as the new CEO?" Caspian stood up from his seat and began pacing.

"That's my condition, and my word is final. It's either that or I appoint someone else from the board of trustees to take over as CEO, and the good thing is, Beckett is part of the board." Edward, Caspian's dad said with a tone of finality.

Caspian stopped pacing and had a bewildered look on his face.

"Why are you not laying out these terms for my brother, Beckett?"

"I know that you're still emotionally scarred from when your mother left us when you were 5. You've barely healed from that, but Beckett on the other hand has made peace with it and does not shy away from getting into healthy relationships." Edward paused and stared at Caspian.

"You managed to get into a relationship with Evie, and she left you for another man. Now, all you do is sleep around with women and dump them just so you don't get emotionally attached. I don't want that for you. No father wants to see his son toe the dark path” Edward said as he stood up from where he sat, walking over to Caspian and holding his shoulder.

“I see this as hatred. If you truly understand me like you say you do, you would let me run the company without a ridiculous clause slapped on my face. How could you be so wicked that you're willing to take the one thing I've had to fall back on” Caspian questioned as he shrugged Edward’s hand off his shoulder.

Edward walked back to his seat on the sofa and looked at Caspian, “Come, sit with me” he said, tapping the space beside him on the sofa.

Edward looked at Caspian as he sat down and told him, "When you get older, you'll understand that hate isn't just about you actively frustrating a person and wanting them to fail, but it's seeing someone walk the wrong road and saying nothing”.

He paused and looked at the family portrait of Edward, Caspian, Beckett, and Christine.

He turned to Caspian and asked,” What do you see when you look at this picture?”

“I see a perfect family ruined by a cheat that called herself my mother” Caspian answered, enraged by the sight of her, even though it was just a picture.

“Well, what I see is a perfect family with a support system who moved on from us. You may not have noticed but your mother is the reason I could go through the stress of the office and stay sane. She was my home I came back to every night and I wasn't hers. I wasn't available enough and I wasn't giving her the attention she needed.” Edward said, pausing as he had realized his mistake when it was too late.

“Why are you telling me this? Is this meant to be an excuse for her cheating on you and leaving us?” Caspian raged.

“I'm not making any excuses but I'm trying to make you see, the office world is hard to bear when you're at the top. You don't know who to trust. You get paranoid with the slightest happenings and all that is something I was able to go through because I had your mother to advise me, stand by me, and assure me of certain truths that kept me sane. So no, I don't hate you but I want you to have that too. I'm sorry, but my decision is final.” Edward said, with a grim look as he stood up and held the portrait, rubbing his fingers on the picture.

***

"Mr. Caspian? Mr. Caspian?? Mr. Caspian???" The lawyer called out to Caspian

Beckett shook Caspian's hand to draw him back to reality, as Caspian seemed to be lost in thought.

"Hmm, ye.. yes!!!" Caspian said as he was drawn out of his thoughts.

Caspian was reminiscing about the conversation he had with his father, Edward before Edward died.

"What were you saying?" Caspian asked as he didn't hear anything the lawyer said within the last 5 minutes.

"I was saying that Mr. Edward left the company in your hands, but to become the CEO, you'll have to get married within a year." The lawyer paused, waiting for Caspian to process the information he had just given.

"Already, the board of trustees is getting restless as there is no one sitting as the leader and CEO of Flint's industry. They're willing to vote you out and replace you with someone else. You have less than a month to get married." The lawyer continued.

"They can't do that." Caspian retorted.

"Oh, they can. It's either that or they pull out their shares from the company, which will send the company into a financial crisis. You have to make a decision as soon as possible." The lawyer added.

"As for Beckett, Mr Edward has left him in charge of the subsidiary companies, and the documents of ownership are ready for you to sign." The lawyer turned and was speaking to Beckett.

"Okay, I'll sign that as soon as we figure out how to handle the leadership of the Flint industry." Beckett finally said, then turned to Caspian.

"We can't let the company our father has built for years slip out of our hands.”

"Don't you think I know that already?" Caspian asked out of frustration.

"Then just agree to get married, so we can move on from this." Beckett finished

"You are talking like it is just simple to sleep, wake up, and get married to a random person, out of the blue. That's not how it works and you know that. I'm thinking of another way out, just give me some minutes." Caspian said as he stood up to pace around for some minutes.

Then he clicked his fingers and said, "I've got it. I'll just get into a marriage of convenience, secure ownership of the company, and get a divorce after one year."

Caspian stopped and looked at Beckett and the lawyer to gauge their reactions to his idea, but they didn't give away anything.

"Well?" Caspian asked, looking at them.

"That would work. I mean, there are always issues in a marriage, and getting a divorce isn't a crime, plus you would've fulfilled your father's wish and secured the company by then." The lawyer said after he thought the idea through.

"I'm not sure I agree, but the two of you seem to be in cahoots with it, so you can go through with it. I just hope you don't regret this decision in the end.

Caspian just scoffed at Beckett and said, “Oh what? Was I supposed to find someone, fall in love, and get married, all within one month?”

Beckett didn't say anything and proceeded to sign the papers he was supposed to sign, to gain ownership of the subsidiary companies.

Caspian instructed the lawyer, "Draw up a marriage contract for me with all your legal terms or whatever it is you do. Have it by my desk by tomorrow morning”.Get the papers ready!!!"