"If this is your way of asking me for a favor--" I start to say.
"I don't ask for favors," Dad says. "You either do this for yourself or you don't do it at all. Because don't forget that once they throw me in prison, they will freeze all of our assets, they will sell all of our homes and you and your brother will be left completely penniless. Besides, the fact that all of our employees and all of the pension funds that have invested in the company will lose everything. But no pressure, you do what's right for you."
6
Aurora
I leave my father's hospital room completely brokenhearted. When I first went in there, I thought that we could connect in a way that we haven't for a long time.
I thought that we would speak some truths and really learn about each other.
Perhaps, what has disappointed me most is that I have gotten exactly what I wanted.
I found out who my real father is and that he is not someone that I wanted to know.
Now I have to make a decision.
Despite who he is or who my mother is, there are other considerations. Tate Media is a big company, a conglomerate, where lots of people work whose lives and livelihoods depend on its existence.
If I say no to this deal, then they will all lose their jobs. Unlike them, I don't have a family to support and I can deal with working a crappy job for some time.
What about all these other people who have devoted their lives to my parents' company? What happens to them?
Again, I wish that I could have Henry in my life to talk to. And if not him then at least a close friend or anyone that I could trust.
I have my mother and Ellis, of course, along with a whole bunch of other friends who are just as disconnected from who I am.
No, I need to make this decision on my own.
Later that evening, Franklin knocks on my door. I have invited him here for a talk. He comes in with a smile and a casual swagger, the kind that girls find irresistible.
I hate to admit it but he isn't particularly harsh on the eyes, so things could be worse.
"What am I doing here, Aurora?" he asks.
I find myself on my back foot right from the beginning. Instead of answering him right away, I turn my attention to the coffee that I had allegedly invited him in for.
"Do you take cream or sugar?" I ask.
"Both," he says and plops down on the couch.
He spreads himself out, draping his arms over the back, with his legs open wide. He's not the type to take up as little space as possible. He wants me to know that he is feeling comfortable and relaxed.
I make myself a black coffee and serve his cup on a tray with cream and sugar. I take a seat in the chair next to the couch. The cup feels nice against my cold skin, warming me from the outside in.
I take another long pause before opening my mouth to speak.
"I wanted to talk to you about the parameters of the deal," I say slowly but with great assurance.
I may be trembling on the inside, but I am nothing but cool and collected on the outside.
"What deal?"
"It has come to my attention that you are interested in marrying me. Is that true?"
"Yes, I am," he says, looking straight into my eyes.
"And you are interested in buying Tate Media?"
"Yes, I am."
"Is there any way that you would consider making an offer on the company that doesn't include me?"
"No, not at this point."
"Why is that?"
Franklin adjusts himself slightly but doesn't take up any less room.
"I need a wife and I think you would make a good one," he says with a smile, bringing the cup to his mouth.
"Why is that?"
"I like you."
"You don't know anything about me."
"I know what I know. I see what I see."
He has been cryptic on purpose. He knows nothing about me. Right?
"So, what exactly are the parameters of this deal?" I come back to my initial question.
"I don't know what you mean," he says.
"Well, what will I have to do? How do you see all of this playing out?"
"How do I see all of this playing out?" he asks, putting his cup on the table and leaning closer to me.
"I made your father a very generous offer for Tate Media. He takes it and all of his troubles go away, with the investors, with the investigators."
"Are you going to pay them off?" I ask.
"In so many words, you could say that. I'm going to pay the investors everything that he owes them and then some and they will make the case against him go away."
"What do you want in return for all of this generosity?"
"You. I want you by my side."
I shake my head. He leans over to me and says, "You're smart, much smarter than your parents give you credit for. I need a strong woman to keep me in line, and to help me grow Tate Media into what we both know it can be."
"And what is that exactly?"
"With OMS ruling the online world and capturing 60% of the millennials and generation Z, and Tate media controlling the traditional television market, we would be unstoppable."
"I know what Tate can offer you," I say. "Credibility, being the number one thing. What I don't understand is why you can't just make an offer to my parents that doesn't include me?"
"I'm not really sure," Franklin says, leaning back again, bending his leg and placing his ankle on his knee. "But the more that you resist, and the more of these little interactions that we have, the more certain I am that this is the right decision for me. You know all the ins and outs of the company –"
"That's not true," I interrupt him. "I don't know anything about it. I've worked there as an intern for one summer and then couldn't get out of there fast enough."
"And why is that?" he asks.
"Because of my parents. They were controlling and micromanaging every single moment of my life."
"Yes, I've dealt with some of that myself at OMS, so I know what you mean."
He is trying to connect with me, become my friend.
For now, I let him in.
If I want to play this game, and if I want to win, I need to know as much about him as he knows about me.
"How can you be so certain that the prosecutor will drop the case against my father?" I ask.
"He won't have any more witnesses after we pay back all of their allegedly stolen funds and give them a little bit off the top."
"That's illegal."
"Most things that get things done are illegal, Aurora. I thought you would know that by now."
I furrow my brow. I hate the way that he talks to me as if I am a little child. What’s even more frustrating is that he both doesn't take me seriously and gives me too much credit.
"Do you have another plan in case that one doesn't work out?" I ask. "Prosecutors don't tend to like to drop cases, especially big ones that have been splashed all around the tabloids."
"Why don't you leave that to me?" he suggests.
"No, I can't. I'm here to hammer out all of the details about our arrangement. If I were to go through with this wedding and marry you, I need to know what I would get from my end."