Superman: Dawnbreaker (DC Icons #4)(16)
“Not even close,” he answered. “I was just thinking about how crowded this place is. Every single table is taken.”
Bryan laughed. “Good. It’s a little irritating watching every guy follow her around at school like a little puppy dog.”
“Exactly,” Clark said. He set down his menu and attempted to change the subject. “So, Lex cancels on you a lot?”
“He had some kind of emergency conference call he had to take. I don’t know. Honestly, that guy’s always wheeling and dealing, looking for a new way to take over the world.”
Clark studied Bryan, thinking back to Lana’s tutorial on how she thought Clark should approach this dinner. Now that it was just him and Bryan, though, the dynamic seemed different. So he simply went with his gut. “He doesn’t live here, does he?”
“Lex?” Bryan laughed out loud. “That’s a good one. No, Lex would never live in a place like Smallville. No offense.” Bryan leaned in closer. “To be honest, he got into a little trouble back in Metropolis. Nothing major, I don’t think. But his dad thought he should stay out of the city until stuff blew over. And he suggested our place.” Bryan leaned back. “Our dads went to college together.”
Clark was surprised how much Bryan was telling him. At school he mostly kept to himself. People assumed he was super private because of who his dad was. Clark pressed on. “Is he working for you guys while he’s here?”
“Lex doesn’t work for my dad, no. But neither do I.” Bryan picked up his menu, then immediately set it back down. “I’m not like my brother, who’s being groomed to take over at some point.”
“What about that scientist guy who was with you?”
“Dr. Wesley? My dad would never hire him.” Bryan looked around, making sure no one else was within earshot. “He’s pretty creepy. Before coming to Smallville, he spent a couple years in prison.”
This revelation surprised Clark. “For what?”
“I guess he had ties to some pretty shady mobsters back in Metropolis. They funded everything he did.” Bryan shook his head and picked up his menu again. “Anyway, he has his own company. Corey’s the one who insists on bringing him onto certain side projects. He has to do it on his own dime, though, because my dad would be pissed if he knew they were collaborating.”
The conversation was flowing, and Clark felt like he was learning a ton of information about Lex and the Mankins Corporation. But it was time to focus on Bryan. “So, why don’t you work for your dad? I mean, now that you’re back from Metropolis—”
“Look, Clark,” Bryan said, cutting him off, “I need to be up-front about something.”
“I’m prying too much,” Clark told him. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not that.” Bryan folded his arms and leaned back into the plush padding of the booth. “It’s just…when it comes to my dad’s company—”
Bryan was interrupted by a food server, who stepped up to their table and asked, “You two ready to order?”
Clark looked up at the woman with mild disappointment. He’d been hoping they were in Gloria’s station. They both ordered steak with fries. And Bryan asked for a cherry cola. The server wrote these things down and said, “I’ll get this started for you right away.”
“Anyway, where was I?” Bryan said after the woman had left. “Oh, right. The family business.”
Clark felt bad and waved him off. “If it’s too personal—”
“No, let me get this out,” Bryan interrupted. He stared at Clark for several seconds, his deep-set eyes filled with something that seemed oddly familiar to Clark. Loneliness, maybe? Confusion? “My dad’s company…Honestly, it has nothing to do with me. That’s his thing. My brother’s always been desperate to be a part of it. But I’m, like, my own person, you know? I want to do my thing.”
Clark nodded. But this seemed like wishful thinking. The Mankins Corporation had made Bryan’s dad rich and powerful. And Clark was sure the company’s success directly affected every part of Bryan’s life. It had to.
“Here’s the thing.” Bryan scooted forward in his seat a little and leaned his elbows on the table. “We don’t get to choose where we’re born, right? Or when we’re born. Or what family we’re born into. It all just sort of happens to us. And because of that, people shouldn’t judge us for it, good or bad. I mean, Smallville really respects my dad’s company, all the charity work he does and the advancements he’s made in farming. And I’m genuinely proud of the good it’s doing in this community. It’d be real easy for me to just jump on that wagon and ride the family name. But I wanna make my own path, find my own success. Does that make sense?”
“It really does.” Clark knew his mom and dad would love for him to take over the family farm one day. And he believed farming was an honorable path in life. But was it his path?
Bryan got a strange, faraway look in his eyes. “It’s weird, Clark. Sometimes I feel…I don’t even know. It’s like I’m a foreigner in my own house. You probably wouldn’t understand. Your family seems great.”
“They are,” Clark said. “But I still get what you’re saying.”