CHAPTER NINETEEN

Laurent watched the man's throat work. He tucked his head into his chin, and when he raised it back up, his eyes were shining.

"I'm sorry. I'm so very sorry, son. That was a bad day for me, and I honestly …"

He burst into laughter. He couldn't help it. The harsh sound hurt his heart and his throat coming out, but at least his ears weren't listening to that crap again.

He gestured to himself, still laughing, "Oh, forgive my interruption. But I was certain my mind was playing tricks on me, right?"

The man swallowed. 

"Because I didn't just hear what sounded like sorry from you, right?" 

"Son,..."

"Don't you dare call me that, you good-for-nothing piece of shit," he made himself calm down. "You've got to understand, man," he started logically, "When a word is used too long and without regard to the meaning, it begins to sound like a trigger word."

"I'm …"

"No, no, no," he slammed his hand on the bed, "Stop saying that fucking word, or I will tear out your throat right now and damn the consequences."

The man's mouth stumbled to a halt, and he turned his back to him and started pacing the room, his breathing harsh.

"Now. Before we get this shitshow back on the road, I'm going to be nice to you" He wanted to smile, but his lips disagreed with that notion, instead curling down in a sneer.

"One question. You get one question. What would you like to know?"

He just stared at him, so he shrugged, "Alright, then," he drawled. 

"W. wait" Blackwell stuttered, and he turned back away from the direction of the table.

"Yes?"

"I wanted to ask, so what happened to the kid?"

He wanted to scream, but he shook his head in amazement instead, "You must really be a genius, huh. Or maybe it's because you're getting old. What do you think happened to the kid?"

The man sighed, and bowed his head again in regret, but it was the sign of the tears shimmering in his eyes that threatened to break him. He hurriedly turned back to the table, and brought his laptop closer to the bed.

"Now listen here, Mr. CEO. Time is ticking, and we don't have it on our side."

The elderly man's eyes clouded and a little fight came back to his eyes.

"What do you want?" he asked harshly. "You're not ready to listen to reason, and you clearly came here with an agenda in mind so why don't you skip the pleasantries and get straight to the point?

He huffed a breath of laughter, "Of course. Whatever you say sir," he gave a flourishing bow, "But are you sure you're ready to hear it?"

"Spit it out" he spat.

"Sure, why not. But I've got to ask again. Are you really the genius people insist you are on the internet?" He peered curiously at him. "Because the fact that you're still asking what I want is a real disappointment."

"So money, then?" the man scoffed, and he laughed.

"Of course that's what your mind will go to" he narrowed his eyes and got into the man's face, "I think you've got a eally short memory, though. Because of you, a young boy that was a light is gone, and you think I want money" he sighed and shook his head, "This is really disappointing. At least Rose would have figured it out by now"

He jerked in his prone position on the bed, "Leave my daughter out of this, you demon. Tell me what you want?" he shouted.

"Hush, it's too early. Don't you think?"

"Now, three guesses. Other than money or your daughter's fine ass, what else of worth do you have that I want"

He got the reaction he wanted at mentioning Rose's ass even though it pained him to do so, but the man was little more than a dying chicken. He couldn't even lift his arm to save his life"

"Just tell me, you bastard"

He smirked, "I did know my father, thank you very much. He was a pain in the ass but at least he tried his best" he lied. His Mom had turned the events of his brother's conception to a eulogy, but even when he asked she'd kept mute about his. He'd learned to stop asking.

"Fine. You want to kill me?"

"Nice try. But no, prison isn't all that it's cracked up to be"

"Fine, you don't want money and you don't want my life. Then what in blazes do you want?"

"Two guesses, but let me give you a hint," he said eagerly.

"It's one of the reasons why my brother died"

The man furrowed his brows, "Why he died? 

"Exactly"

The man sighed, "Look here, Laurent. Up until 15 minutes ago, I couldn't give two shit about your late brother, and now you want me to figure out how he died? How?"

He smiled. "It's simple, really. It's the major reason you were screaming at us that day"

The man's face finally slackened in realization and his jaw dropped.

"The company"

"Give it up for the man. He gets it at last"

Blackwell's lips curled down and he sneered at him as he said, "Oh, you poor thing. You should have asked for something you can get. Do you think it's that easy to get a company? And not just any company, my company?"

Laurent's smile was slow, growing in intensity until he was fairly sure he was radiating with it.

"What is it?"

He chuckled, "I just feel like we're yet again, not on the same page", still maintaining his smile he added, "Blackwell legacy is such a good idea. Young kids look up to the building, dreaming of when they'll also be able to get theirs. But me? I don't care. You see your company as a legacy, I see it as something I'd love to see crash down"

"You wouldn't," the man gasped, "Do you have any idea of all I had to do to get it to where it is today?"

"Well, I've got one. You sent a kid to his death" he pretended to remember something, "Oh, my bad. I was pretty sure I was forgetting something. Forgive my memory"

He turned on his laptop and turned it so it was facing the bed. Since Mr. Blackwell was on his back though, he couldn't just leave it at that.

"Okay. Another choice. Would you rather I moved your bed to a sitting position so you're no longer drooling,"

"Or," the man asked immediately.

He smiled, "Or you call your lawyers, the media, everyone, offer a public apology for the crime you committed and hand over 50% of the company to me"

The man stared at him incredulously, "You're kidding"

He smirked, "Pick one, old man"

"The bed," the man growled and he smiled in triumph. Of course, he was going to pick that. By

the end of their conversation, he was definitely going to be regretting that decision."