Chapter 2 – Scott
“What the hell is this, Scott?”
The paper on his desk was my resignation letter. After our last conversation on the phone, I wanted to see him face to face for this. I knew that he was going to be mad, and I wanted to be the one to tell him what else I’d done. It was time for me to make my stand against him, something that I should have done the first time he tried to dictate my life through the company.
“This is my resignation. If you’ve read it, it’s all in there rather clearly.”
His scowl was met with my smile, and that seemed to make him even more irritated with me. I didn’t care, though, not now. Now I had everything I needed. A few nights with Jesse had made me realize what was really important. It was time to get rid of everything that wasn’t.
“You’re quitting?”
Nodding my head, I watched his eyes scan the letter, never once really looking at me.
“I don’t know what to say, Scott. I thought that we had this all figured out.”
“You said that if I couldn’t do the job I should give it up.”
He told me that he hadn’t said that. Finally his blue eyes met mine, and there was that sadness that I’d seen before. “I meant that you needed to get your act straight. That young woman was messing with your focus. You just need to get it back.”
“Her name is Jesse, and she’s going to be my wife in a couple of weeks. There is an invitation to the wedding in there as well.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“I assure you that I am. I also took the liberty of buying out your interest in her company. She now owns it free and clear, as well as prepaid taxes for the next twenty years so there are no more mishaps.”
Jackson’s face started to get red, and I could tell then that I might have pushed it a bit too far. I should have stopped there, but I wasn’t able to.
“You went behind my back and bought the place?”
I told him that I had. I felt a small sense of guilt for a moment, like I’d turned my back on him, but I knew that I’d done what I had to do. I had to do it for Jesse, and in a way it was trying to make amends for my father’s evils. I’d spent a lot of my life doing that, it seemed, but maybe this time would be the last.
“I don’t even know who you are, anymore Scott. This isn’t something that you would have done before you met this woman. I knew that she wasn’t going to be good for you. I just had no idea how bad she was going to be for you. Now you want to marry her? She’ll suck you dry and there will be nothing left.”
“That may be so, father, but I did just fine without you and your money all of those years. You seem to forget that I was already rather successful when you started coming around again. I always figured that it was because you knew that I didn’t need you anymore.”
Jackson looked tired and distressed, but I wasn’t focused on that. I was still upset with him and what he’d tried to do. I didn’t know if I was ever going to be able to forgive him. It really was the last straw, and now that I’d said what I’d come to say, I was ready to leave. There had been so much that I’d wanted to say, but then again, it didn’t really matter. None of it did anymore.
“I just want you to be successful, and I know what kind of woman can help with that. I learned that lesson with your mother. I loved her. I really did, in my own way, but she was never one to push a man to be better. She was happy with things the way they were. She had no drive. Jesse doesn’t have any drive either, and you need that to keep you on track.”
I just shook my head. He really didn’t get it. I was irked with him bringing up Mom, but it was another issue that I was just going to let go. She’d made her peace with him long ago and told me to do the same, but I wasn’t as forgiving as she was.
“What you think of who I choose doesn’t matter. I’m going to marry Jesse, and if you want to come to the wedding, just keep your thoughts about her to yourself. She’ll be the mother of my children one day, and I’ll never treat her the way you treated Mom. You may have loved her in your own way, but you never saw how hard she struggled. You could have helped, but you were too worried about wasting your money.”
Jackson tried to respond, but I told him that I was done talking to him. I was already distancing myself from him. It was what I’d done before, and now I was only worried about what came next. My father was part of my past, and that was where he needed to stay.
“Son, I don’t want us to argue. There is…”
I stopped him with a raised hand and told him there was nothing else to say. I walked out of there and got a few things from my office. Nothing else was even worth taking. When I got to the elevator and watched the silver doors close, I thought I would be in a good mood, over the moon that I finally was leaving the place forever, but there was instead something akin to sadness. It was confusing. Although I knew that my father didn’t care one way or another, I found that I still did. That hadn’t changed.
Walking out, the change in me was negligible. It was rather a letdown compared to what I thought the experience would be. While I was sure that I would feel better tomorrow, when it had all sunk in, I still wasn’t happy with the conclusion. I’d said everything that I’d wanted to say to him, but there was no satisfaction in it, not like I’d expected.
Getting into the car, I just kind of sat there for a moment and took one last look at the place that was supposed to be my legacy. I was going to miss it after all. I hadn’t liked Jackson’s role and my place there, but I’d liked the work. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do now, but I knew I would find something else. I always did.
Driving away, my mind went to Jesse and I instantly started to feel better, my mood perking up. She was all that I needed now. I couldn’t wait for her to become my wife.