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BRIAN


After talking to Cole, we agreed to have Ted see if he could track the funds. Everything was put on hold until we knew how involved David was with what Michael was doing. That revelation came from Deb showing up at Ted’s door to tell him what Michael had told her. She told Ted to tell me that she now understood her defense of Michael was wrong. That comment really wasn't winning me over. It also didn't help when she showed up at Kinnetik, thinking that everything was forgiven. Which normally I did when it came to Deb and Michael. But there was no way for me to forgive the way she treated Justin when she didn’t respect his place in my life. She only did one thing I saw as right in the last week, she stayed away from dinner at Mel and Lindsay’s house. It allowed Cole and Jen to get to know Vic, the man who has always supported me.


It wasn’t until this morning in the parking lot at Kinnetik, that once again, Michael’s life couldn’t leave mine alone. David was waiting for me, and why he came to see me, I didn’t care or even want to discuss. I walked by him, but he followed me into the building, as if I was going to listen to him any more than I had in the past. He didn’t count on being blocked by Cynthia when I went into my office, not responding to him telling me we needed to talk. Then he barged right in as if I owed it to him to listen to him.


“We can talk through lawyers.” I tell him.


“I'm prepared to pay back all the money. It was my assistant who convinced Michael to do what they did. I had kept in touch with Michael, hoping he finally saw you for the asshole you are, not to get any sort of revenge.” He tells me.


“Why pay it back if you're innocent?” I ask.


“Brian, Michael made a mistake, but ruining my career isn't going to do anything. You take me to court and you'll end up showing it was your fault for not checking up on Michael’s recovery. And also my assistant’s, who thought up the whole thing. My lawyer said it will be easy enough to show Michael is easily led to make unfortunate decisions. Which is something every one of your friends would agree about,” He tells me.


“If that’s all you can come up with, then good luck keeping your practice. I'm sure my lawyer will bring up that Michael is an adult and responsible for his own decisions, regardless of how unfortunate those decisions are,” I tell him.


“My lawyer is one of the best, can you say the same?” He asks, acting superior.


“My partner’s grandfather seems to think he knows better lawyers, so we'll have to see,” I tell him, shrugging.


“Who would, some kid you're seeing know?” He asks, rolling his eyes.


“Did Michael not mention my partner to you?” I ask, just to be a dick to the condescending shithead.


“Just that you're robbing the cradle in search of your youth,” He smirks.


“That would be you, since you and Michael are actually more years apart than my partner and I. Ever heard of MacTaylor cars?” I ask.


“Of course I have, but what does that have to do with anything?” He asks.


“Do you know anything about the owners?” I ask, as Cynthia stands in my doorway.


“They are two trust fund heirs, who blew off convenient and started a business. One being Justin Cole Taylor and the other one being Leeland MacAllister. Neither needed to do anything, even though Justin’s grandfather, Cole Andrews would have loved for Justin to be involved in politics. Then there’s Leeland MacAllister’s father, who thought Leeland should become a lawyer like the rest of the family,” Cynthia fills in.


“I know who they are,” David tells me.


“Justin happens to be my partner. Cole Andrews is the one suggesting a lawyer to help me deal with ‘Michael of the unfortunate decisions’,” I tell him, enjoying the realization dawning on David.


“I offered to pay you back, why take this to court?” He asks, suddenly less sure than he was.


“My question is why are you worried, if you're innocent? All you have to do is prove you weren’t involved,” I tell him.


“My son believed Michael’s lies. Mostly because I painted you as the reason Michael left us. Hank loves Michael, and I didn’t want him to know the reason I told Michael to leave was because Michael got tired of the attention Hank was getting,” He tells me.


“I think I'm getting where this is headed, but go on,” I tell him.


“After Michael left and my ex wife decided she didn’t have time for Hank, my son started getting into trouble. He ended up wrecking a friend's car, and instead of letting him think he wasn’t responsible, I made him work to pay the money back. Which he agreed to do, and we set up an account the money was going into under both our names. When he finished paying the money back I planned to take us on vacation to celebrate him doing the right thing. Only, my assistant, who was also my bookkeeper, used that account to deposit the money from the bills and then withdraw it for themselves, giving my son a share for going to the bank and wiring the money to Michael after it came in. Everything they did involved my son, who thought it was your fault that Michael left him,” He tells me.


“Which he wouldn’t have thought if you had been honest and put the blame where it belonged, on your belief in Michael. So you're trying to pay your son’s way out of trouble, but you didn’t when he wrecked a car? Sorry, not buying the ‘saving my son story’, how about the truth? If not, then like I said, our lawyers can sort this out. Although the sob story about your son innocently being duped by Michael was touching,” I tell him, not believing one word.


“My assistant is my son. It was the job I gave him to pay back the money. He’s only sixteen and I don’t want his future ruined because I still wanted Michael in our lives,” He tells me through gritted teeth.


“The truth will set you free, or at least show your son his father isn’t any better at accepting responsibility for his unfortunate decisions. This conversation is over, and I would like you to leave before I call security to show you out,” I tell him.


DEB


All week I tried to figure out a way to get Brian to talk to me. When I told Carl about the whole mess, he told me I should be glad the worst that happened was everyone treating me like leper. He left, telling me he would be busy for the next couple of days. I hadn’t heard from him, but decided not to push because I knew it he wouldn’t be any more receptive than Brian right now. I was busy musing about all the mistakes I’d made when David walked in and asked me if we could talk.


“I need to know where Michael is. He hasn’t answered my calls,” He tells me.


“I haven’t talked to him since he told me what he did. He isn’t answering me either. I would think he was at his place. Did he tell you what he did?” I ask him.


“He never called me back after I talked to you. He did call Hank, which is how I found out everything,” He tells me.


“Why would you ask Hank?” I ask, confused.


“Michael didn’t tell you? Hank is my assistant, who will end up in as much trouble as Michael and lose any chance to go to college if Brian takes this to court. I tried to get Brian to see that it would be better for everyone if the money was just replaced, but he doesn’t seem to care that my son’s life is going to be affected,” He tells me.


“Brian isn’t going to listen to me, if that’s what you came to me for,” I tell him.


“I’m trying to figure out how to keep Michael and Hank out of trouble,” He tells me.


“If you want to do the right thing then let them deal with what they caused. I’ve spent Michael’s whole life making the same mistake you're trying to make,” I tell him, getting up and going back to work.   


BRIAN


I didn’t want Michael to once again have someone giving him a get out of jail free card, but this would also screw up this kid’s life. I didn’t know Hank, but I knew Michael had a way of making you think he cared about you while he screwed you over.


I kept playing back the conversation with David, and saw where he kept putting the blame on the assistant, then finally admitting the assistant was his son. It didn’t make sense if he was trying to help his son, to start off by putting the majority of the blame on him, unless he was hoping it would get me to not take this further.


I got home to see Justin’s family in the living room. I kissed him, telling everyone I had work to do. Cole told everyone he needed to talk to me and followed me to my office.


“You look like you need to talk.” Cole tells me.


“David Cameron showed up at my office. He tried to pay the money back to avoid going to court,” I tell him.


“Why would he want to do that? If it was a plan his assistant and Michael came up with without his knowledge, we can keep it from hurting his practice. I don’t believe in ruining someone who didn’t do anything to deserve it,” Cole tells me.


“He tried to make it sound like he is trying to protect his son, and his practice,” I tell him.


“What did his son have to do with it?” He asks.


“His son is the assistant, and only sixteen years old. I’m just trying to figure out why David lied, then finally told me the truth,” I tell him.


“Explain to me why it bothers you, other than it being a child who was involved,” He tells me.


“David started out practically putting all the blame on his assistant. At first I thought it was to protect Michael. After he grudgingly told me the assistant was his son, it made the offer of money sound like saving his kid. It felt like he was hoping it would get me to accept the money, because otherwise I was going to hurt Hank’s chances later in life,” I tell him.


“You’re worried about Hank?” He asks me.


“He’s a kid who trusted in his father for the truth, and saw Michael as someone who loved him. I can see why he might have helped Michael when his father told him I was the reason Michael left, and not that Michael left because he hated that Hank took David’s attention from Michael.” I tell him.


“Being a teenager doesn’t excuse him anymore than it does Michael. At sixteen a child knows right from wrong. When he helped Michael, he knew what they were doing could not only get him and Michael in trouble, but also his father. Why was he working for his father?” He asks.


“To pay back his father for wrecking a friend’s car, is what David told me. I still don’t think I’ve gotten the entire truth. Why give me a story where his assistant was the mastermind, then tell me the assistant was the son? I’m sure we would have found that out anyway as the case progressed,” I tell him.


“He was hoping you’d take the money. If you think about it, he put the blame on his son, not Michael. He knows you're a father and was likely hoping that that would get you to back down. If his assistant had been an adult, he didn’t have a way of playing on your sympathy as a father. I could be wrong, but if I wanted to protect my son, Michael would have been cast as the mastermind, NOT my child. In using his son, it changes the target to a confused kid. He probably thought it would get you to walk away to spare him from any negative effect this could have, not only to his practice, but in people finding out it was his son. I question where his son learned to do it. Could it be something David had been doing all along and the son used it to help Michael?” He asks.


“He said the son funneled the money through a joint account with David,” I tell him.


“Putting David in the middle because the account was in his name. Brian tell me, do you have an account set up for Gus?” He asks.


“Mel, Lindsay, and I do, we started it so we could contribute to Gus future. Why?” I ask.


“Do you put money into it and never check on the account?” He asks.


“Ted monitors the account, but we each get a statement every month,” I tell him.


“Which, if David is an account holder, he would get and most likely look at. Shouldn’t he have noticed deposits and withdrawals that shouldn’t have been there if the account was being used to keep the money his son was paying back to him? David would have also known when his son would deposit the money, since he was paying him. If he didn’t see it as irregular, the deposits and withdrawals, maybe because it wasn’t only used by them for that reason,” He tells me.


“Like he was pulling the same thing on other people, and wouldn’t want that account looked at because of what else could be found,” I tell him.

 

“It makes him wanting you to take the money make more sense than being blinded by love for Michael. He could be trying to save himself, above all else,” He tells me.

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