Chapter 9 - Declan
“Have you ever been on a boat, Callie?”
She looks up from her plate of waffles with a wide eyed expression.
“No. I don’t really go to the beach too often”, she admits with a mouth full of chewed waffles.
“How would you like to join me, then?”
She swallows what’s in her mouth but instead of answering my question, she asks me one. “You have a boat? Like… a boat boat. On the water.”
“Indeed I do. I was thinking about taking her out for a spin, it being a nice day and all.”
In actuality, I had no plans of sailing today. But after a fantastic night with Callie, she deserves to be treated. Especially since there’s no way we’ll be able to avoid talking about… everything. And I figure emotional talks are better done with a nice backdrop. Helps distract from the heaviness of it all.
“Before we do that, though”, Callie comments. “I think we should talk.”
I stammer, “I thought we could do that on the boat.”
“I just don’t know how much longer I can wait. I feel as though my chest is going to explode if we just keep going on with small talk and plans for dates. We really need to talk”, she insists.
“Let’s wait until we’re on the boat”, I tell her. “We’ll have no distractions. We’ll leave our phones in my car, it’ll just be you and me. We’ll talk about everything.”
Thankfully, she agrees to these terms and we set out for a beachside discussion of the past and future of our relationship.
It’s no question why Callie has been so hesitant on moving forward with our partnership since it seems every single time we spend time together, she either gets offended by something or finds something out about me that she prefers to have heard come from me, instead of some third party. And it’s true that I haven’t been all that truthful about myself to her. I figured that there would be some things she would find out just by reading the news or cracking open a Time magazine, but there is no reason I can’t be the one to inform her about the stuff most of the public knows about me. And some of the stuff they don’t. Like Miranda. I think the only way she’d have known about that would be by scouring TMZ for some time. Or by knowing Miranda, I suppose.
The sea winds hit our faces as soon as we step out of the car, tasting distinctively of salt. Since hiding out in my home for months, I haven’t had the opportunity to visit the beach. I miss it. Being back here and hearing the roar of the waves is something I wasn’t aware I needed in my life so desperately. As a child, my father often took me sailing and it cemented my love for the sea. I’ve been foolish to neglect it for so long.
“Which one’s yours”, Callie asks pointing at the many boats by the dock..
I follow her finger and see a familiar sight.
“Well, that big one, with three floors. That one used to be mine. The one we’ll be sailing on is uh…”
I have to squint to get a better look at the dock but soon find it. “That one there, with the red trimming.”
Callie seems a bit unimpressed. But she looks back at me with a smile.
“Let’s sail”, she proclaims happily.
As we walk down the dock, I notice Callie eyeing the superyacht I mentioned used to belong to me. Understandable, to say the least. A measly sailboat doesn’t compare to the luxury of a multi-level vessel that prioritizes relaxation above anything else.
“She’s a beauty, isn’t she?”
Callie seems a bit embarrassed to have been caught checking out the hard to miss vessel. “Uh, yeah, she’s… It’s a good boat. A bit too big for my taste, but then again, I’ve never even been on a boat so what do I know.”
I help her onto the sailboat as I undo the ropes tying us to the dock.
“Don’t worry, this baby isn’t without her perks”, I assure her.
Sailing out farther from land reminds me why I love the sea, especially when I look back and see the look on Callie’s face. Even though she’s not being waited on by servants aboard a yacht, she’s still enjoying every second of her time off land. Sharing moments like these are why I love being out here.
Callie looks back at me and closes her eyes for a moment, content with the experience we’re sharing. With that, I think it’s a good enough time to start our heartfelt discussion.
“I bet you’re wondering why it is that the superyacht no longer belongs to me”, I start.
“You said this sailboat wasn’t without its perks. I figure you thought the superyacht had too many extraneous features… or something”, she answers.
A cock my head to the side, noting that she has some good points. “Not exactly.” Taking a deep breath, I tell her the truth. “I sold the yacht… because I had to. I was losing money by the day, and if I had kept it, I’d have lost more. It was an unneeded expense.”
“Losing money. But I thought you were rich”, she mumbles.
“I’m still very well-off but… I lost a large part of my fortune in a… an admittedly stupid way. The person I used to date, Miranda. She… fucked me.”
Callie scoffs frustratedly. “She fucked you. You’ve said that before, you’ve said it I think each time we’ve seen each other. What do you mean she fucked you? How did she fuck you?”
“I’m a designer. I’ve made my millions working up the same ladder my dad worked up. Back when he was alive, he taught me how to use my brain in such a way that I’d never have to worry about money, because I’d always have something in my head that I could design and sell. That, and I inherited his millions. So, I was hired by a company that claims to be ‘paving the way to the future’. They’re interested in a space travel, better public transportation, energy efficient architecture, the quickest WiFi worldwide, and I was the big brain behind it all.”
She looks at me, surprised by my words. “Holy shit… How… Shouldn’t you be more famous?”
“I am. I honestly haven’t figured out how you don’t know more about me”, I tell her chuckling at how astounding it is for her not to know who I am.
Crossing her arms, Callie thinks hard. “I suppose I’m not too up to date with what’s going in the world. I sort of live inside my own little bubble. Heck, I only found out about Netflix last year. So you’re a rich brainiac Batman-type?”
“I don’t go around solving crimes or beating down muggers, but sure.”
“So what happened? How’s Miranda involved in your fall from grace?”
“Very heavily, as a matter of fact”, I tell her. “I met her at some gala in Europe some years back. We fell in love quickly, or I did anyway. We spent almost every waking second together but as it turned out, it was only because she was trying to find a way to steal my riches. I don’t know why. She comes from a rich family. To this day, I have no idea why she’d do this to me.”
“How did she do it”, Callie asks placing her hand atop mine. “How did she steal your money?”
“It wasn’t just money she stole. It was my work laptop. The one that had all of my designs for the company I worked for. Once I told the company I worked for that I had lost the laptop, I was fired. Since some of the designs were commissioned and paid for ahead of time, they demanded their money back. They sicced their best lawyers on me and not only won their money back, but some of mine claiming that it was proper compensation for losing what could come out to millions of dollars in designs. But even after that, I wasn’t struggling financially. I was definitely not where I was before, but I was in a spot where I could recover. But Miranda managed to get more information from me than I thought was even in the laptop. She wired herself half of my riches to some offshore bank account and then left without a trace.”
As if she was holding her breath the entire time I was talking, Callie lets out a long sigh.
“That’s insane. Holy shit. But… I don’t understand. You didn’t back up your work? And why didn’t go to the police if you knew she had done it?”
“I didn’t know it was Miranda who stole my laptop until after the trial and until after she had stolen my money. She had been by my side the entire time, pretending to care, to be worried. She sat next to me at the trial. It was only after she stole my money that she disappeared. She didn’t return any of my calls. And I was defeated. I felt hopeless. I knew where I could find her, but I didn’t see the point in trying to chase her down and get the police involved. It was embarrassing enough knowing that the person I thought was the love of my life would ruin me so impactfully. I knew she must have thought up a million ways to keep herself out of jail”, I explain whilst trying not to let these painful memories get the best of me.
The pain tears through me once more. The months I spent secluding myself from the world did nothing to keep these memories from hurting me as much as they did the day they occurred. But I hold myself together for Callie.
“I can’t believe anybody would do that to somebody else. That’s so… evil is the only word I can think of. Cruel. Needlessly cruel. But you know, if you could figure out the account the money was wired to, maybe you could get the police--”
“No”, I say firmly. “I’m not going to pursue it any longer. She either turn herself in or die with her horrid deeds on her conscience.”
“Doesn’t sound like she has much of a conscience if she’d go and steal millions of dollars under the guise of being in love with someone. And I really don’t think she’s the type of person to go and turn herself in-- uh, from what you’ve told me about her. I mean, if she’s rolling around in millions of dollars, what incentive does she have to turn herself in?”
“Then she just gets away with it and that’s it. Look, I’ve thought about it long and hard. No matter what direction I tackle this from, she’ll have a way out. And it just doesn’t matter. Bad people get away with doing bad things all the time, that’s just how life is. C'est la vie, and all that. What I want to focus on is the future! NOT the past!”
I hope that I’m not coming off as too harsh, but it’s humiliating. I want Callie to know the truth. Everything. Hard as it may be for me to come to terms with.
“I’m sorry. I don’t… I’m sorry for raising my voice. I just feel as though Miranda ruined me. It’s not just about the money. I broke a promise to my father. He was getting long in the tooth and I pushed him to retire. He really didn’t want to for my sake, but I promised him that I’d be able to take care of myself. I insisted that he stop worrying about me, even on his deathbed. I promised that he wouldn’t have to worry about his son after his death. That’d I’d always have something to fall back on. That I’d never have to struggle for as long as I live. That I’d be able to raise a family without money problems. And… I lied. Because of one dumb mistake, I ended up lying to the most important person in my life on his deathbed.”
I feel Callie’s arms wrap around my midsection. They tighten, making my arms innately do the same around her body.
“Everyone makes mistakes, Declan. Even big ones. But it’s not like you lost your brain. Can’t you go back to the company with new designs?”
“Callie. This is going to sound condescending, but I really don’t mean for it to. You just don’t understand how these businesses work. Because of my fuckup, their stocks took a nosedive. They weren’t able to release any of the tech I had designed at the deadline they had publicly announced. There’s no way I’d be able to get back in good terms with them. Them or anybody else. My name’s been blacklisted. I’m like poison.”
Explaining all of this feels unexpectedly refreshing. I’ve held all of this inside of me for so long that getting it out into the open feels like a weight has been lifted from me.
“Miranda isn’t a part of my life now”, I announce. “She never will be again. I’m going to move forward and try to find a way to get my business up and running again. I’ve already cut back on unnecessary costs, and sold a few things. Now, I just need to find some business partners so I can start drawing up some designs again. And this time, I’ll be sure to back up my work in triplicate. And Callie… I want you to be there by my side.”
I look deep into her eyes before professing my desire to be with her. “I think we could work. I really think we could. I’m going to change my life for the better and I want you to be with me as I climb back up the ladder of success. Just don’t screw me over”, I joke.
Before agreeing, she quickly shifted her eyes as though she was hiding something but it must have been my imagination. She flops back on top of me and hugs me, agreeing to be by my side as I enter a new chapter in my life. One in which I create my success, one that’ll dwarf my father’s. One my father can be proud of.
I intend on keeping the promise I made to my father.