Will forged on. “I guess in the end, it just requires a leap of faith. Ultimately, Charlie―and I know this sounds rich coming from me since I was the person who said you need a pre-nup―you need to decide if protecting your money is worth losing Jane.”
Charlie had just left when Will’s phone rang.
“Will!” Ana’s voice was shrill. “What’s going on? Mom is crying, and Dad is hiding in his office, and I’m kinda freakin’ out here. Who is this guy? Why’s he being such a jerk? Is he trying to get the shelter closed or something?”
Will sighed. “Money, it seems. He’s mentioned a few times that he is having cancer treatments and that they’re expensive, and oh, I just happen to have plenty of money! Of course, it’s not like I have millions lying around—it’s mostly invested in the company. Not that he cares. And I guess he knows we won’t give in to blackmail, so he figures he’ll publicly shame us into it.”
“Isn’t that just another kind of blackmail?” Ana asked.
“More like extortion, I guess. We pay up, he stops making crap up.”
They were both quiet for a few moments.
“I’m sorry about all of this,” Ana said. “On top of running the business . . . I wish I were old enough to be able to help.”
“You’re the perfect age as you are.” He meant it, too. She was in that perfect in-between stage of a child’s sweetness and a teenager’s greater maturity, but without the teenage hormones. Yet.
“Right. Anyway, in case you were worried, because I know you’re a worrier, I do believe you. That you don’t know this guy, I mean. Mom and Dad do, too. They’re just, you know, freaking out right now. Especially about the stuff with the shelter.”
“Thanks, Ana.”
She paused again.
“Do you think you could come over tonight?”
“I’ll do you one better. What flavor milkshake do you want?” Mom might not have gotten around to making dinner if she was so upset.
When he arrived at his parents’ house, he found that it was pretty much as Ana had described. Ana was doing homework in the kitchen, watching Mom anxiously. Mom was washing dishes very slowly and looking out the window. Dad was nowhere to be seen, so Will assumed he was still in his office.
“Hey, Mom,” he said, giving her a hug from behind.
“Oh, Will!” She turned to hug him back. “I’m so glad you came over!”
They sat down in the living room, Mom holding onto his hand.
Mom was livid. “This man is so utterly infuriating! I’ve given years of my life to that shelter. I started volunteering in the kitchen when I was fifteen, and we became major donors the year we married. To have it all called into question now is just . . . I don’t even have the words.”
“I know.”
“And you! You’ve never hidden your childhood. He never came to claim you or see you, never protested the adoption, nothing. And as soon as you become CEO and are in the news as your father’s heir, wham, he decides to come out of the woodwork and claim that he was there all along?”
“I don’t get it,” Ana piped up. “How did he even know? I mean, who hears about some guy becoming a CEO and then goes and looks up . . . what, their legal records? I don’t even know how this works. And then decides that nobody would be able to prove that he wasn’t there as a father, and so he lies to get Will to give him money? Isn’t there some way to prove that he’s not your father?”
She made a good point. A really good point. “I hadn’t thought of that. How he knew about me, that is. Maybe that’s evidence that he really is my biological father, or at least thinks that he is. Then he’d have known my mother, and maybe he checked on me to see how I was doing and discovered my name change. Or something.”
They were all stymied by the idea and sat in silence, thinking. Finally, Mom said, “Well, I’m going to bed. Ana, you’ve got school tomorrow.”
“All right, all right.” Ana leaned over to give Will a kiss before scurrying off to bed after Mom.
When Will went into his childhood bedroom, he was assaulted with memories. Despite all the years he’d lived in this house and all the visits he’d made back since he’d left for his own place, the strongest memory now was walking into the room for the first time.
Mr. Darcy had been so excited to show Will the shelf of books and the LEGOs. Mrs. Darcy had had the room decorated and ready for him. Will had loved the room from the very start, even if it had felt like a borrowed life for a while.
Will’s stomach rumbled. The macaroni and cheese, even topped off with a milkshake, hadn’t been enough. Without thinking about it, he went to the dresser and opened the top drawer to get food from his stash.
But his stash was gone. For a moment, his heart pounded and he had to fight to stay calm. There was plenty of food in the kitchen. He even had granola bars in the front pocket of the sweatshirt he’d left in the living room. He was fine.
He forced himself to take a deep breath. Panicking over his stash was ridiculous. He wasn’t a boy of twelve anymore. Heck, if he wanted to, he could go to a 24-hour McDonald’s any time he wanted!
Will made himself a burrito with some leftover fixings in the fridge, then immediately regretted it when he went to lay down. His stomach was unsettled enough already and having heavy food right before bed didn’t help.
He tossed and turned for an hour before he gave up and sat up to reread Around the World in 80 Days. It was his favorite, and he didn’t think he could ever read it too many times. Reading it gave him the same peace he’d once felt in the park long ago, with Lizzy. He tried not to think about Elizabeth, about what she must be thinking and feeling. Did he dare call her? His mind spun faster than a spin cycle for what seemed ages. Finally around three a.m., he was tired enough to sleep for a few hours.
October 2016
Two days later, Will got a phone call before his alarm had even gone off. Given how early he typically woke for work, it was unusual for somebody else to be calling him this early. He glanced at the screen, and the moment he saw it was Charlie, fear struck.
What could be wrong? It had to be something wrong. Charlie liked his sleep and never dragged himself into the office a minute before he had to―and often several minutes after he had to. He answered quickly.
“Will, hey, it’s me! Look, I was wondering if you could get to Kauffman’s for a tux fitting this evening at eight. I know it’s kind of last minute, but we only have two weeks! Oh, and do you think you’d be willing to come to the cake testing with us? I just really want another opinion on the cake. Jane likes lemon, but then she’s obsessed with lemon everything, and I don’t know if everybody would go for lemon. But I like chocolate, and she says not everybody likes chocolate! Can you believe that, some people not liking chocolate? So I thought maybe we should have different flavors for the different layers. Does that make sense? Will?”
Will blinked, his sleepy brain attempting to wend its way through the stream of consciousness that was Charlie on a roll. “Uh. Does this mean the wedding’s back on?”
“Oh! I guess I forgot that part! Sorry, we were up all night working it out. I’m functioning on about eight cups of coffee, and wow! Better not move my head too fast. Yeah, the wedding’s back on, and now we only have two weeks! Good thing we didn’t get around to canceling anything, right? Heh.”
“It’s back on!” Will exclaimed, jumping out of bed with excitement. “Really?”
“Really.”
“So . . . no pre-nup?”
Charlie laughed. “Well . . . actually, we’re going to have a pre-nup, but we compromised on what that means. The pre-nup is going to make divorcing more complicated and difficult than staying married. It requires marriage counseling before . . . I guess you probably don’t care about the particulars.”
Will wondered why he couldn’t have reached that conclusion before he went on and on about the cake.
“Oh, and I told Caroline off! It was scary. But also kind of exciting. She throws things when she’s angry, you know. G
lad I went to her place to talk to her instead of doing it at mine. I told her not to bother coming to the wedding if she couldn’t behave. Whoo boy, she didn’t like that.”
Will laughed. He couldn’t be happier for Charlie. He could only hope his good intentions would last where Caroline was concerned.
“But anyway, Jane and I figured it out, and we’re both happy. Maybe even happier than before, because we had to talk and talk, and I think we both know a lot more about each other than we did before. Our first fight was a big doozy, and I guess it took both of us by surprise, but we learned a lot from it. We’re going to go to premarital counseling and―”
“Charlie, that’s great,” Will interrupted. “But it’s really early. Can we talk over lunch?”
“Oh. Right. Lunch, yeah! Bye, Will.”
“Bye, Charlie,” he said. He shook his head at the phone after Charlie hung up, then laughed. He was glad it had worked out for them after all. But there was no way he was going to get coerced into doing cake tasting. Charlie was on his own there. Besides, Will didn’t particularly care for chocolate or lemon. Coconut was far superior.
AirVA sales were down, and they were fielding constant calls from concerned distributors and partners about what was going on. Every time things seemed likely to die down, Chris Younge went on another talk show or posted some video on YouTube.
He was a businessman, for Pete’s sake, not a movie star. And as far as scandals went, having been a foster kid with a different name, and―even if it had been true―having a bio dad that he’d left high and dry years ago . . . surely that was insignificant next to the latest reality show star’s public breakup or an A-lister’s trip to rehab? Did most of the people in Talbot even know who he was? Or care?
Nobody who had known about the shelter move had been concerned until Younge brought it up. And now half the city seemed to think they were trying to hide the homeless or something because of Younge’s ridiculous lie.
His father had issued a press statement, for all the good it had done. Okay, he had to admit that it had done some good. Most of the more reputable gossip sources―assuming there was such a thing as a reputable gossip source―had backed down at least a little. He still occasionally got blinded by camera flashes or had microphones shoved it his face, but it wasn’t every time he entered or left the building or everywhere he went anymore. There were advantages to being rich in the business world rather than entertainment, after all.
But that didn’t keep the Darcys or the shelter out of the news. Donations were down, they’d lost two major donors, and fewer people than ever before were using the space. It was two weeks before the intended move, and they’d been ready for everything―except this.
It hadn’t gotten any better in the two weeks since Younge’s announcement. It wasn’t going away anytime soon.
“Will,” Dad said, stepping into his office and closing the door behind him, “Susan said you have some time.”
Will nodded, puzzled, and moved around his desk to give Dad an arm as he walked slowly to the closest chair, leaning heavily on both Will and his cane.
Will sat across from him. His stomach rolled. This didn’t look good.
Dad didn’t meet Will’s eyes. Another bad sign. Finally, he gave a deep sigh and looked at Will.
“Son, this is really tough to say. First, let me make clear that I absolutely believe that you don’t know who this Chris Younge character is and that he had nothing to do with your upbringing. Your mother and I don’t doubt you on that. However, he certainly has found a lot of ways to wreak havoc in our lives. Furthermore . . .”
Dad took another deep breath, leaned back, and closed his eyes for a moment. Then he opened them again.
“Will, things haven’t been going well for AirVA. You’re on edge. It’s understandable, of course, but it’s still causing problems. I’ve asked a lot of you, expecting you to step in for me when I was injured, then expecting you to stay in this position even after I’ve mostly recovered. Maybe you were right that fifty-eight is too young to retire and it’s not fair to put all this on your shoulders. Your business education barely had the chance to percolate before I expected you to head an entire company.”
“I’ve been making mistakes,” Will muttered. Mistakes at a much higher rate than any time since his father had first been injured and he’d been thrust into the position. There was no point in denying it.
“It’s understandable,” Dad repeated. “But it’s also not good. And AirVA is having tough times, too, with the bad press, and then to have a CEO who has been, well, a bit distracted lately, and then there’s the shelter on top of that―it doesn’t look good.”
“So you want me to step down?” Will asked. He felt a rush of emotion, but he didn’t quite have a label for it.
Dad shook his head. “Not step down, exactly, but maybe . . . step away for a while. Richard could stand in as interim CEO if it’s just for a little while. Think of it as a bit of a vacation until things die down a bit.”
“Isn’t that just putting the burden on Richard?”
“I’ve already talked to Richard about it, and he’s agreed. He’s been out of school a year longer than you, so he’s been in the business for three years already. He’s been COO since you took on the CEO duties over a year ago, so he’s had as much experience as you had when you became acting CEO. He seemed up to the challenge.”
A fierce anger rushed through Will’s veins. Dad had talked to Richard first? His cousin had probably been eager to agree. He might be one of Will’s best friends, but they’d be competitive since they were kids. He doubted it took much to get Richard to step up.
Dad went on, “He’ll take over for two weeks, and then we’ll reevaluate and see where things are. Just consider it a much-needed vacation. If, after two weeks, you’re ready to take the position back without letting all this get to you, then you’ll have the job back.”
Will nodded mutely, but he could barely hold it together until Dad left the room. He was grateful for his private bathroom more than usual today. Washing his face with cold water didn’t help, though.
He’d failed. Failed his father, failed the company, and everybody around him could tell. He’d always been a private person and never liked to be the center of attention. It had been hard enough to be in the limelight as a CEO of a major corporation―he couldn’t imagine what it must be like for CEOs of companies like Amazon or Facebook―much less being the focus of such public accusations.
Now, not only was Dad’s company taking a hit, but even his parents’ beloved shelter was in peril.
Fine, he’d take his forced vacation. He didn’t know what he’d do with himself without Elizabeth, though. He kept starting texts to her and deleting them before hitting send. He didn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry” didn’t seem quite enough. But what else was there? He’d thought it best to apologize in person. He’d even tried going to the apartment, but Jane had told him, not meeting his eyes, that it wasn’t a good time.
Will missed her desperately. He hadn’t realized how lost he’d been until she re-entered his life. How was he supposed to do this without her?
One more splash of cold water on his face, then Will left the safety of the bathroom and went to tell Susan that he was leaving for the day. For the week. For weeks, maybe.
Richard was at Susan’s desk waiting for him.
“Will, I’m—”
“Don’t even pretend to be sorry,” Will snapped bitterly. “You’re the CEO now.”
“It wasn’t my idea.” Richard’s voice grew louder. “Your father asked me, I said yes. Don’t blame me for this, Will.”
“What are we blaming Richard for?”
Both men turned in surprise to see Charlotte approaching.
Charlotte frowned as she looked from Richard to Will. She said lightly, “You weren’t in your office, so I came looking. Are we still going to lunch?”
“Will here seems to think that I want to be CEO,” Richard spat. “Like I want
to give up my entire life to keep his dad’s company running. Unlike you, Will, I actually like having time off and a life outside of work.”
Will took in a quick breath that was almost a sob. “I know,” he muttered. “I know. I’m sorry, Richard.”
Richard slapped him hard on the back. “Damn straight you are. Look, don’t get too down about it. I have no intention of staying in the position a second longer than I need to.” He sighed. “Bingley and I have been looking into what we can. We’ve got your back, Will. We always have.”
“I know.” Will traded a fist bump with his cousin.
“All right,” Charlotte said brightly, “now that we’ve got that taken care of . . . you ready for lunch? Because I am standing here starving to death while the two of you beat your chests. Will, you’re coming with us. You like Chipotle, right?”
Will nodded, but he couldn’t help noticing that Richard looked a bit nonplussed at his addition to the lunch invitation. Should he decline?
Charlotte made the decision for him when she slid her arms through each of theirs and marched them down the hallway towards the elevator. “Seriously, guys, either we eat now or you’re going to have to pick me up when I faint from hunger.”
Will laughed mechanically, but inwardly he rolled his eyes. She didn’t know the meaning of true hunger. He could only be grateful that it was an increasingly distant memory.
Wedding
October 2016
Jane and Charlie’s upcoming wedding had become a bright spot in Will’s life, one hopeful thing to look forward to in the midst of the mess his life had become.
It had been absolutely crazy getting everything ready for the wedding in two weeks. Fortunately, the caterer and the venue were still booked. But there were still a million small decisions to be made on things Will was sure nobody would notice except the bride and groom. These details required a great flurry of calls and emails. Elizabeth, he had heard, was tasked with making the wedding favors. He was rather glad to get out of that one.
A Good Name: A Modern Pride and Prejudice Variation Page 21