Chapter Forty
Adam
By the time my father introduced my mother and me to the crowd, he and I had already stirred up the animosity that had been brewing since that fateful day in his office when he'd issued the ultimatum. Nothing had changed; he was still the stubborn, God-fearing dictator who wanted to control everything and everyone, and I was still the rebellious child who'd dare defy him by following my own path.
"Nice of you to grace us with your presence, Adam," my father muttered as he downed a Scotch and nodded at the bartender to pour him another.
"Gordon, you're giving a speech," my mother said as she shook her head at the bartender and moved the glass out of my father's reach.
"Dammit, Felice! I'm a grown man!" he yelled as she raised an eyebrow and signaled that he was dangerously close to crossing the line with her. He backed down, as he usually did, and directed his anger at me. "Where the hell have you been?"
"Why are you asking questions you already know the answer to, Father?" I shot back not bothering to hide my contempt.
"You are an ungrateful, little bastard," he said moving around my mother and pointing to the glass. The bartender poured him another finger of Scotch as my father turned and looked at me.
"And you're a drunk," I said staring back at him.
"Why you—" he growled as he lunged for me. I stepped back and watched as he stumbled a bit and then pulled himself up and straightened his jacket. His voice barely concealed his rage as he said, "You will stand up with us and present a united front this evening, then you will leave and never show your face in my presence again."
"Gordon!" my mother gasped. "We talked about this, and you know how I feel about your ultimatum."
"Fuck you, Felice," my father said as he knocked back his drink and looked at the two of us. "He's a pain in the ass, has been since birth. I'm sick and tired of his whining and his unwillingness to pull his weight in this family. There's no excuse for it. I'm treating him the same way I would treat a lazy employee: I'm cutting ties and cutting my losses."
"Gordon, he's our son," my mother said in a steely tone.
"I don't give a flying fuck if he's the King of England," my father said. "He's disloyal and he's a drain on my wallet. He's out. I'm done."
"Well, I'm not," my mother said with an icy stare. "I'm not writing my own son off, not like this. And certainly not because you are unable to temper your more basic impulses. You're a hard, cruel man, Gordon. I've put up with it for as long as I could because I knew what you were striving to achieve, but this is over the top. I won't have it."
"Disloyal bitch," my father spat. "You can get out, too."
My parents stood staring hatefully at one another as the event planner stepped in and told us that the guests were waiting. My father looked at both of us and said, "Play your parts tonight, and we'll all go our separate ways after it's over."
My mother grabbed my hand and squeezed tightly as she looked up at me with worried eyes.
"It's going to be okay, Mother," I whispered as I squeezed her hand and followed my father out to the waiting crowd. As he began his speech, I scanned the crowd wondering who'd been invited to witness this ostentatious display of wealth and power. I saw many of the people my father had worked with through the years, and others who I didn't recognize. I noticed Mike Killian, the man who was responsible for meeting all my father's IT needs as he'd acquired company after company, and to Mike's left was a beautiful, blonde woman in a dress unlike any I'd ever seen. She looked like a goddess encased in silver and jewels, and as I wondered where Mike had met her, she turned and I caught a glimpse of her face.
"...All of this wouldn't be possible without the love and support of my wife, Felice, and my son, Adam," my father was saying. I saw the look on Grace's face as she recognized me. Confusion followed shock. I tried to signal to her that I'd explain, but she'd already looked away.
"...Here's to the new foundation that will be laid as Mija and WalCo merge our resources and look toward the future," my father said as he raised the glass in his hand, then brought it to his lips and drank deeply from it.
"Victor would like to say a few words," my father said once the toast had been completed.
Victor Vasquez stepped up, shook my father's hand, and began speaking, "It's my honor and pleasure to be here with you tonight, and I am grateful to Gordon for all he's done to make me feel so at home in your lovely city. We are far from our home in Venezuela, but tonight, we are happy not only because Gordon and I are starting a new venture that will allow us to share resources and bring new technology to the people of Venezuela, but also because I am pleased to announce the engagement of my daughter, Veronica, to Gordon's son, Adam! Salud!"
Grace's head snapped up and she looked at me helplessly as a look of pain crossed her face. Then she leaned over and said something to Mike before picking up her skirt and briskly walking out of the room. I turned and looked at my mother and shook my head, but she was staring at my father in a way that told me she'd had enough, so I left the two of them to fight their own battle.
I quickly apologized to Veronica then shook Victor's hand and said, "Sorry, I can't marry your daughter. She deserves better than this family," as I gestured toward my parents who were now arguing in hushed voices.
The crowd watched the proceedings for a few moments until Victor tapped on his glass and said, "It appears we have a bit of a misunderstanding here. Please have another drink and enjoy the music and food as we sort it all out!"
I was half way out the door when Mike yelled across the room, "She said she was going to the ladies’ room!" I nodded and ran down the long, black, marble hallway until I got to the door of the ladies’ room. I tapped on it and called, "Grace?" as I pushed the door open just a crack.
"Grace, are you in here?" I asked as I woman emerged from the toilets and gasped. I let the door close a little as I said, "Sorry, I'm looking for someone. She's wearing a silver dress. Blonde hair. Very pretty. Have you seen her in there?"
"She was leaving when I came in," the woman said. "I think she was calling a cab."
I ran back to the elevator and repeatedly punched the down button as I muttered under my breath, "C'mon, hurry up!"
When I finally reached the ground floor, I ran through the lobby and out onto the sidewalk where I anxiously scanned the line of cars waiting to carry guests home.
"Are you looking for someone, sir?" the doorman asked as he held the door for an expensively dressed couple.
"A blonde woman in a silver dress," I said hopefully. "Have you seen her?"
"If it's the woman you're asking about, she got into a cab a few minutes ago," he said.
"Thanks," I nodded as I ran a hand through my hair and thought about what to do next. I had no idea where Grace lived, and I was pretty sure that, at this point, a phone call wasn't the best idea.
I knew I would be a persona non grata upstairs, so I went back up to my room to figure out how to fix the damage that had been done.