One Step Closer(15)

“What the hell?” Anger rose up inside him and made Caleb’s chest feel like it was going to explode as heat rushed under the skin of his face like liquid fire. He tried to suck in a breath big enough to fill his lungs but they resisted. “Goddamn him!”

“If you want her to have anything going forward, you’ll have to assume control of Lux and operate it together, at a profit. Even if you both agree, you can’t give it to charity, outright, either. At least for the time being.”

“Five years, being that time?”

“Yes.”

“Then just let the board of directors run everything, until I can figure it out.”

“They’ll be involved, of course. They have a responsibility to the shareholders, but the shares you control puts you at the helm.”

“Fine. I’ll do a shitty job and they’ll have me removed. The end.”

“Then Wren gets nothing, Caleb. The shares will be stripped from both of you. Your mother would roll over in her grave if the company she and Edison built didn’t benefit you in some way. And your history with Wren is telling, Caleb. Edison knew you’d do this, solely to take care of her.”

The air left Caleb’s lungs and he shook his head in absent denial. Wren had a successful career and maybe she wouldn’t want to be straddled with the company and her estranged stepbrother for the next five years. Also, what about his own life? He had plans of his own.

“That bastard really hates me.” His heart started beating so fast he felt it would fly from his chest and Caleb rose to pace the room. He flushed, realizing he should have said it in the past tense. He hadn’t felt like that since his mother died, or since Wren left him the last time.

“No, he loved you, Caleb. Edison realized his mistakes and had many regrets; which he voiced to me on multiple occasions. Not the least of which was his decision to send you so far away for college. He knew he should have supported your desire to go to Colorado School of Mines so you could stay close to Wren. This is his attempt to give you a chance at the life you should have had with her. To make things right.”

He shook his head. “How? It’s too late , Jonathan! Even if it was all wrapped up in a nice little bow, she has a life of her own, and so do I. Don’t you get it? He’s still trying to control everything I do. He took my decisions about Wren away when he made me go to Boston and he can’t fix it all by dropping dead.”

When he was younger, Caleb had done just enough to make his father miserable, but not enough to f*ck up his own life. He knew his father would always get him out of petty larceny charges or bail his ass out when he boosted cars. Even if Edison had to pay out the ass to do it, he did it; and that had suited Caleb’s agenda just fine. He’d made an art out of causing trouble with the confidence his father’s intervention would mean he wouldn’t be convicted or even have a record. Maybe it was arrogant, sure, but it was just the way it was. Amazing what, and who, money could buy, Caleb thought; disgusted.

“You’re not a delinquent with a ruined future. Your dad did that, Caleb. Yes you lost your mother, yes your father was not the parent you deserved, but you did your part to make things worse. For God’s sake, take some responsibility for something! The man is dead.” Jonathan’s voice became thicker, and he cleared his throat.

Caleb’s face burned. It wasn’t like Jonathan to throw around criticisms or use that kind of tone when speaking to him, and maybe he was right, to a degree; but he’d be damned if he’d give credit for his success to his father’s manipulation.

“I did. I studied and graduated with honors. That was me taking responsibility so that bastard wouldn’t be able to control me for the rest of my life!” Caleb’s own voice rose and broke on a bitter laugh. “But look? He’s still yanking my chain.”

Caleb had always been interested in how things worked, and from the time he met Dex; and learned how to take shit apart and put it back together again; he’d wanted to be a mechanical engineer. He was fascinated by how things worked and he had dreams of designing custom motorcycles or cars.

Despite his teenage desire to make his father squirm, he’d been smart enough to realize that he’d never be free of Edison without a high school diploma, good grades, and decent test scores. College was his ticket out and away. He’d signed up for the SAT prep-classes, and applied to colleges with Jonesy’s help. It was working out great until his father intercepted an acceptance letter to one of the schools he’d applied to. A school that would let him follow his dreams, and stay close to Wren so he could continue to take care of her.

Caleb’s mind flashed to a long ago conversation when his father had insisted he attend MIT in Boston. It didn’t matter what Caleb had wanted or that he’d taken any initiative on his own, Edison thought he knew what was in his son’s best interest, but at the time he resented the hell out of it because he knew how his leaving would affect Wren.

Caleb could admit that his father may have had pure intentions now, but when he was eighteen his emotions ruled his thinking. He hated Edison for sending him away when Wren was so vulnerable and at that bitch, Veronica’s mercy. It felt like blackmail, and Wren didn’t understand, and he couldn’t tell her. She was only sixteen when he left and all she knew was that Caleb was the only person in the world who gave a damn about her.

Edison was planning to divorce Veronica, and Caleb couldn’t let that happen... he was terrified for her. At the time, he was smart enough to know Edison’s reasons for sending him away, but it hurt so damn bad; rationalizing everything offered little comfort. Caleb had only cried a couple of times in his life; when his mother had died, and then when he had to tell Wren he was leaving her behind. He couldn’t tell her he was doing it to protect her and ensure her safety; he couldn’t let her know that he was being blackmailed because of her.