CHAPTER 58: MISTAKES, I’VE MADE ONE HUGE, ENTITLEMENT TANTRUMS, and DID THAT REALLY JUST HAPPEN?

LINDSAY:

“Well, it’s been an exhausting day for you, Peterson, hasn’t it? But don’t worry, you have chow time as soon as you get out of your inglorious red suit there, and after that it’ll be an early lights out for you,” Officer Mills stated all too cheerfully, as if she was a fucking cruise director instead of the C.O. in this less than stellar establishment.

“I’m really not hungry,” I answer back.

“That’s not really my concern. You will be down in the mess hall whether you partake of the slop or not. But what you will NOT be able to do is write down in your little journal that we deliberately withheld food from you. Not on my watch!”

I gasp. “How do you know about my journal?! Have you been going through my things?!”

Mills stood there laughing at me, then tsked. “Peterson… Peterson… Peterson. Apparently, you forget where you are. This is NOT the no star no-tell motel you are used to meeting your johns in; THIS IS PRISON! We have scheduled cell checks to prevent any further illegal activity from occurring. Oft times, we don’t want people like you in here any longer than you have to be, so it behooves us to prevent that from happening. However, if you just simply must think of this place as a hotel, I would suggest you liken it to the more civilized version of the Raid Motel: You can check in, but you can’t check out. And it your case, it looks like you’ll be staying for a very long, long time.”

“I want my journal back! That’s private property!” I demand through gritted teeth and teary eyes. “You had no right!”

“Too bad, so sad, get over it. Your game is up, and nobody’s playing with you anymore. This is not a situation where you can take your ball and go home because you didn’t get your way. But then again, your way landed you a new home, didn’t it? Again, I’ll remind you that your own free will landed you here, so maybe there is justice in the world. Karma is a bitch, and its name is NOT Lindsay Peterson. All that dirt you did to others has come back to muddy you. Get that through your head and take your punishment like a grown woman, instead of singing the Entitlement Woe Blues! Now, I’ll be outside while you change back into your pumpkin, Cinderella-lite.”

She exited my cell, before coming back in. No doubt for one last parting shot. “By the way, the warden asked me to tell you that your case has been settled.”

“Settled? What do you mean ‘settled’?! I was not there to hear any verdict.”

“That’s right, you weren’t. But since you messed things up so bad with the other legal aid attorneys and one couldn’t be brought in from another county on such short notice, Mr. Fisher stood in your stead, in absentia. The judge ordered the money to be paid immediately to Amanda Auerbach, and since your power of attorney was present, there was no need to postpone the ruling. Once again, you lost, Peterson.”

My power of attorney? Oh fucking hell! MELANIE!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

MELANIE:

It’s a day later, and I STILL cannot believe the lengths that Samuel Auerbach went to protect me and all I hold dear. When I first arrived back at the temporary home I continue to share with Brian and Justin, I just sat in the quiet and thought about everything he said up there on the witness stand. He fixed it so that Mark wouldn’t even have to call Amanda, Cynthia, and me to tell what we knew of the situation; so thorough he was in his decimation of her character. But to find out that his continuing to fuck her was so that she would leave me alone, and ultimately give me the grounds to free myself from her… Well, my respect for him went up in notches that have no limit.

Brian and Justin had come in about an hour after I did, and they sat down with me after Brian had gone to put a thoroughly tuckered-out Gus, in his crib. He grabbed three beers for us as he came into the den where I had been staring out of the window. When I looked at him quizzically, he shrugged and said that I looked like I needed one. We all sat there, enjoying the comfortable silence between us, which if I’m honest, still amazes me to no end. Brian and Justin just sat there letting me process before asking me anything, and I was happy to let it happen. After awhile, I broke my silence…

“You guys look like you need to talk to me.”

“We do. But first, how did the case of literally loose lips go?” Brian asked me.

Justin laughed as I practically gasped out, “Brian!”

“What? They are, and I’m not talking about the ones on her face.” He scrunched up his face which somehow still looked almost normal. “I mean, seriously, Mel! How many times have you thought that a conch mallet has less craters than Lindsay’s twat?”

“Oh my God, Brian, stop it! I do NOT want to be thinking of this later on. And trust me, you don’t want me to either,” Justin said that last bit suggestively before remembering that I was in the room. “Sorry, Mel.”

“No worries, Baby. For whatever odd reason, I’m beginning to learn and appreciate the rather salacious humor of you both, especially now.  To answer your question, Brian, the Alienation of Affection trial went fine.”

“Then why the long face?” Justin asked me. “You’re not still mourning what could have been, are you?”

“Nah, Baby. That ship has long sailed, and honestly, I’m happier now than I’ve been in the last ten years. I just didn’t know it. No, what has me puzzled and stymied is that my defense came at the hands of Samuel Auerbach.”

“The artist Lindsay was fucking?” Brian asked. “What the hell is that about? I would have thought he would have spent his time defending his screwing her in the first place.”

“Nope. In fact, he actually got up there and destroyed every defense we all know she would have had in her head to justify her actions. He told of what prompted him to pursue her at first, which was that Bi vibe she gives off, even while stating emphatically that she’s a lesbian. But then after he met me…”

“Wait a minute! He met you?” Justin gasped, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him with such a mixture of shock and anger on his face before. “Was that before or after he started fucking her dust mite infested muff?!”

“Jesus, Justin! Tell us how you really feel about Lindsay,” Brian said, wryly.

“There isn’t time enough in the universe for me to say what I really think and feel. So Mel, before or after?”

I swallowed hard at the sternness of his voice. All I could think of was the many times Brian warned me about what happened when Sunshine got stormy. I witnessed some of it when he went berserk in Michael’s former comic shop, and even more of it when Michael was foolish enough to take a swing at him. But just then, I worried about what he would do with both of his nemesis under lock and key within the criminal justice system. I pffted and waved my hand to show that I was unbothered by the situation as it was.

“I can’t be sure, but I think it was before they started having sex. I know that he was a gracious man… well as much as he could be, and that he was solicitous of me since I was mostly taking care of Gus so that Lindsay could flit around and show off for her guest. Anyway, he said that fucking Lindsay was a way for him to protect me from her conniving ways.”

“How the hell did that work?” Brian asked, and yeah, I could see why it would have confused him. Although I’d been learning just how unselfish Brian Kinney really was when it came to his friends and family, I knew that he would never really sacrifice himself for them… well not unless it was for Gus and Justin, which was hard to admit at first. But with each passing day, it becomes a little easier to do so for all of us.

“Strangely enough, she told Sam about her true plans regarding you, and of her disgruntlement that her machinations for Justin didn’t pan out the way she thought they would.”

“That sounds like a load of bullshit, but…” Brian shook his head. “Well, don’t keep us in suspense, Smelly Melly. What else happened?”

“Believe it or not, Brian, it isn’t bullshit in the slightest. It turns out, that Lindsay has been trying to trap you into having a kid and marrying her since college…”

“See, Brian! I TOLD YOU! I told you she was trying, and you giving her Gus was just the way into your pockets she needed!” Justin fistpumped into the air at being right. But when we both looked over at Brian, he looked as if he’d been shot. “Oh Brian, I’m… I apologize for making light of it. It’s just that every single time I tried to question her motives, or those of Dumbo, you would tell me to leave it alone. So yes, I feel vindicated, but I’m sorry that feeling is coming at your expense.”

“It’s alright, Sunshine. And yeah, I understand where you’re coming from. I’ve never made it easy on you to point out the fuckery of my so-called friends before. It’s just still a little hard to accept that all of this was going on right under my nose, for all these years, and I didn’t see it.”

“For what it’s worth, neither did I, Brian, and I was around them a lot, too." I reminded him. "We’re just guilty of seeing the best in the two people who really should have been born with warning signs. It doesn’t make us solely accountable that the cynical vibe by which we judge others, was broken in reference to Michael and Lindsay. Unconditional love, in and of itself, will do that.”

“But what happens when it turns to hate?”

“It hasn’t.” I shrugged. “We may hate their actions; maybe even who we’re just understanding them to be. But hating them because they were cunning and cowardly not to show their true selves to us and let us make an informed decision will change who we are as people. And I absolutely REFUSE to let them have that kind of power over me.”

“You don’t think they’ve had it and wielded it before?” He asked me, genuinely interested in the answer I would give him.

“No. What they had of us is what we gave them freely, which is not something they could have taken. Who we are, our survivor and overachieving mentalities, our abilities to shake the dust from our feet and move on from this, is something they don’t have the power to take away. Brian, you, Justin, and I have seen the worst of humanity in some form or another, and still we have managed not to let it rule our lives. In fact, it has, and continues to drive us to be the best version of ourselves. So how dare we let Michael, Lindsay, and the others believe they have?” I could see when Brian registered what it was I was saying. Then there was a gleam of battle in Justin’s eyes, and I have to say, it’s always a surprise and comfort to see that young man getting ready to fight back. “What are you thinking, Justin?”

“I think it’s time to do a little housecleaning.”

Brian turned to him and asked, “What do you mean?”

“I mean we have a house in Palm Springs that we haven’t set foot in as of yet. I think it’s time for the three of us, and perhaps a few of our friends, to go there and decorate it… or should I say, redecorate?”

I laughed. “I love the way you think, Baby!”

“I’m glad, Mel, because I was thinking of taking some before and after shots. Oh, I need to call Emmett!” He got up from the sofa and ran for his cellphone on the counter. Dialing quickly, he began speaking eighty miles per second detailing his plan. I can’t lie and say that his enthusiasm wasn’t infectious.

“Ooooh, look what you did…” Brian tsked at me, shaking his head in a shame on your naughtiness fashion.

“What? What did I do?”

“You’ve just set the creative wheels of one of the greatest planner and strategist we’ve ever met to turning. Shame on you!”

“And this is a bad thing?”

“Not for us, but for Lindsay, and especially Michael, I think you’re going to hear the screeching and whining all the way in California. I suggest we stock up on earplugs.”

Even now as I sit at my desk, waiting for Cynthia, Daphne, and Christian to arrive, I can still hear our collective laughter. I find that we all do that more and more, especially without Lindsay and Michael around to continue sowing their seeds of discord and discontent. Being with Brian and Justin these past few weeks has let me know in so many ways just why Michael and Lindsay needed us all to be fighting. It wasn’t just because they liked drama and needed the attention to be constantly focused on them. It was because if any of us had gotten our heads out of our asses, we would have realized what they were doing and kicked their useless asses out of our lives much sooner. One, or all of us would have seen the head games they were playing. Justin did, but he was so young at the time, we couldn’t see the wisdom he exuded from night one. Now, it’s hard not to bask in it every single time he speaks. He’s still young, but he’s also very settled in who he is; something it took Brian and I until our late twenties to really feel. Whereas he used to second guess himself, he now just says whatever needs to be said, and then leaves us to ponder it at our own speed. Simply put, Justin is, and has always been, a grown man. People should really stop underestimating him.

“Ready?” Cynthia walks into my office.

“More than. Is Daphne…”

“She’s already there at the head of the table. I’m taking the other end, as Brian’s representative. The two open seats near Daphne are for you and Christian to sit in.”

I nod, understanding exactly what Cynthia is telling me. From what I know of Samuel Hobbs, he would try to run roughshod over the women in the office because of the antiquated and misogynistic belief that we should all be barefoot and pregnant. Taking the two power seats and then the others flanking Justin’s representative, Daphne, shows him that this is NOT his company, where he can dictate his demands and expect them to be followed through without question. When I think about it, it’s as if Brian and Justin will be in the room with us, and there is none more like them than the two women who act as their assistants.

“Jenean and Jennifer will be in the meeting as well,” I inform her.

“I understand Jenean, but why Jennifer?”

“She wants to watch the fall.” I smile wickedly.

We enter the conference room, and already the other women are waiting. I greet everyone, barely suppressing the urge to lick my lips at the way Janean is filling out her gray pantsuit today. She and I are taking baby steps towards a possible relationship, but she and I agreed that I need time. It’s not that I’m still pining for Lindsay. That ship has not only sailed, but sunk. It’s that the next relationship I enter, I want to be my last one. Now whether or not that’s with Janean is anyone’s guess, but in the meantime, she and I have the same goal in mind which is to work our asses off, and have fun doing it.

“What time is Hobbs, Sr. due here?” I ask, as Christian comes in and is directed to the seat near Daphne and across from Jennifer.

“He should have been here already,” Janean answers, her irritation clear.

“He’s playing a power game,” Daphne says. “For some reason, he believes that the longer he stalls, the more fearful Christian will be.”

“Well, he’s sorely mistaken,” the young man answers. I can’t help the small flinch as I look at him, but it’s lessened by the fact that he’s dyed his hair.

When Daphne asked him about it, he said that it was already tough enough for Justin and Brian having him around the office looking identical in the face to Chris, but he didn’t want to cause them any more discomfort than the situation already warrants. To his credit, he’s been a bonafide asset to the company since Justin decided to hire him. That alone sets him apart from his family in my eyes. Looking at my watch, I see that Hobbs is dangerously close to being twenty minutes behind our schedule, and I’m starting to lose my own cool behind it.

“Fine. This is the game he wants to play, huh?” I ask, rhetorically. “Then we’ll play. Janean, have the papers been drawn up?”

“I have them right here,” she tells me as she hands them over.

Perusing them quickly, I look at Christian, and hand them to him. “Is this the truth of the matter?”

He smiles. “Yeah, it is, and now we all know what this meeting is about, don’t we?”

The commotion at the front desk catches my attention before I answer him. “Well, I can hear that our guest has arrived.” I move towards the door, but Jennifer stops me.

“I’ve taken the liberty to arrange for Frank to bring him back here, and then to stand guard outside the door, Mel. Besides, the element of surprise is always best in this situation. Oh, and there is one more person on his way, but he didn’t want to get here too early. I texted him to let him know that the bastard son of a hundred men has arrived. Why don’t you take your seat next to Christian?”

I smile at her, knowing that while we are playing front and center, she has been busy behind the scenes. I can see just where Justin gets his genius from. It also helps that Jennifer outranks Hobbs within the Country Club set- a fact that Hobbs, Sr. might have forgotten, but with her presence here, he will be quickly reminded. As I settle into my seat, the door opens to let in the asshole of the hour.

To say that he is unimpressive would quite possibly be the understatement of the year. Portly, balding, with an air of self-importance, just makes me want to body slam him so I can watch him bounce. But, I’m here in my professional capacity so while I may dream of slam dunking his ass, I’ll settle for kicking it out of Kinnetik’s offices and Christian’s life for good. As his beady eyes take in the conference room table, I can tell that he is trying to will each one of us, especially Cynthia and Daphne, to get up from their seats instead of taking the two in the middle of the table the way Michael, Lindsay, and Debbie had to do the last time we had this sort of round table discussion. I can tell the moment when he realizes that all of his intimidation tactics were for naught and he finally sits his rusty, dusty, roly-poly-oly-ass down into the seat. The young man who enters behind him, almost causes me to gasp, but it’s the narrowed eyes of Jennifer that has me concerned the most.

“We were expecting to meet with the heads of Kinnetik in regards to letting my son, Christian, out of his contract posthaste,” Samuel starts. “You there, little Chanders. I want a cup of black coffee now.”

Daphne appears unfazed by the request, nor is she moving. “I’m sure on your way, you must have passed about twenty-three Starbucks and five Dunkin Donuts. If you wanted coffee, you should have gotten it there since you are already late. As for meeting with the heads of Kinnetik, you are, in a sense. Brian and Justin felt that your appearance here wasn’t important enough to warrant canceling multi-billion dollar meetings. So as some of the shareholders in this one-of-many business ventures, you’re meeting with us.”

“I do not appreciate your insolence, young lady!”

“And I do not appreciate your breath! There are mints in the center of the table, please for all our sakes, have one.” She waved her hands in front of her nose, and it took everything within each of us not to laugh. She can be just as impish as Justin.

“Christian, is this what you do? You hide behind women?!” Both Hobbs, Sr. and Christopher snicker at the insult. Looking at the two of them, one can see exactly how Christopher will age in the future. He’s already starting to run to fat.

I stay Christian’s answer when he bristled. “Not, exactly,” I answer. “But as his attorney, I have advised him to keep his words, both with and to you, down to a minimum. He’s only to address you directly during the succinct points of this meeting. So before we go any further, I want to know the meaning of bringing Christopher here.”

“His name is Mr. Hobbs to you, Ms…”

“Marcus. Melanie Marcus. And as far as I’m concerned, respect is due to a dog but not the gutless puppy you consider your son and heir. Although, that’s not quite right either, is it?”

“What the hell do you mean by that? Of course Christian and Christopher are my sons. They are twins!” he yells, but for the first time since entering the conference room, he looks a little less self-assured. “Christian, tell her!”

“I won’t, because it wouldn’t be true. You really shouldn’t lie to your doctor or lawyer,” he says, and then looks directly at his brother. “Grandfather made him raise us, since Clara was barren, but I’m still older which means that Hobbs Construction is MINE, and always has been. Isn’t that right, Samuel?”

Christopher jumped out of his seat, thinking to advance on Christian, but the presence of Frank stopped that. “What the fuck are you talking about?! And don’t you DARE disrespect Dad! I ought to…”

“What? You plan to attack me from behind the way you did Justin? Is that why you’re here? And for the record, it’s true, Chris. Grandfather had gotten his mistress pregnant, and then Clara went crying to him when she found out she couldn’t have children, scared of the ass you consider your father divorcing her. So grandfather found a way to keep his family together, while also keeping himself out of hot water publicly. However, the reason Father was passed over to inherit Hobbs Construction is because of what he did to me. Grandfather is the one who supported me financially… still does. And it’s why he’s still alive, isn’t it, Samuel? Because if he died, even at your hands, the company would STILL come to me. And there isn’t a fucking thing you can do about it. So that said, and with Grandfather’s blessing, I have taken the liberty of having your things removed from the premises of building, and construction sites downtown and in the office in Harrisburg. Yours, too, Christopher. I will allow you to keep living in the family home, after all, we must keep up appearances. However, unlike Grandfather, you will pay me to keep doing so. But as for you, Chris, I want you out! Not now, but RIGHT now, as in immediately, today, within the hour if at all possible.”

“You can’t do this!”

“Let me assure you, he can, will, and is doing,” Cynthia says. “Also, be advised that Brian and Justin have been made aware of this meeting, but as soon as you leave, a restraining order for the occupants, building, and any other property the Taylor-Kinneys own will be in place.”

“The same applies to my client, Christian Hobbs,” I add.

He looks over to the corner where Jennifer is sitting. He asks, “And you condone this?! I knew that Craig should have…”

“Finish that statement, and I promise that he and I will be sharing a cell, Hobbs,” Jennifer snarled, and I swear all of us sat frozen hearing that sound come from her. It’s not often that she presents herself as anything but the wellbred lady she is, except when it comes to Brian, Justin, and Molly. She moderated her tone, just as quickly. “As for my son, he’s his own man, unlike your future clone sitting next to you. You’ve certainly raised Christopher to be in your own image, so at least you’ll have company when you’re bottom-feeding.”

The door opens again, and a well dressed man comes into the room, heading straight for Jennifer. I can’t help but wonder who he is, but the way she smiles at him, let’s me know that they are very well acquainted. “Sorry, I’m late, Jenn. Traffic was an absolute nightmare getting here.”

“That’s alright, dear. Everyone, this is my brother, Charles Alwin.”

“Wait! The Charles?” I gasp, and yes, it’s now that I can see the family resemblance. In fact, he looks like a taller version of Justin, but with Brian’s build. Amazing that!

“Yes, Mel. This is the man who Lindsay first tried her tricks on. But we’ll get to that in a little while. First, I believe that Charles has something to say to Samuel.”

“I do. Samuel, and Christopher Hobbs, it gives me great pleasure to tell you that your memberships have been revoked.”

“WHAT?!” They both yell at the same time. “What the hell is going on today?!” Samuel complains loudly.

“Well that’s pretty simple and straightforward actually. I have been looking for a way to do this since your idiot sitting next to you decided to hit my nephew in the head with a baseball bat. I finally did, after speaking with the D.A. The nice gentlemen behind you will of course explain further, but to summarize: Christopher, you are going to jail. As in NOW, IMMEDIATELY where your ungrateful, spiteful, underachieving, sexually-confused ass should have been two years ago…”

“They can’t try me for hitting that faggot in the head again!” He laughs. “Have you forgotten about Double Jeopardy?”

“Ah, I see you have been hanging around your ignorant father and his cronies too long, eh? Well let me assure you that both of you will be arrested for the same charge which is Conspiracy to Commit Murder. You may thank your asinine co-conspirator, Michael Novotny for that bit of information, and the Asshole Extraordinaire named Craig Taylor for paying you fifteen grand which you will never spend. The same goes for you, Samuel, although I think I should be thanking Christian since he gave the police permission to search the offices here in Pittsburgh, and in Harrisburg before giving the order to have your shit cleaned out.”

“You...you…” Samuel stutters, even while Christian smiles.

“That’s right. I did. I hope that the mind-prison you kept me locked in will now be a discomfort to you. Karma truly is a bitch. I’ll see you both at your respective trials. Oh and don’t drop the soap, although, I suspect you’ll BOTH like it. Get them out of here.”

As the men are escorted out by Carl Horvath and Joanne Carver, Janean says, “Damn!”

“What?” I ask.

“I wonder if they remembered to add to Hobbs, Sr.’s Miranda rights about the tax evasion, extortion, and bribing a court official charges.”

Charles and Jennifer laugh. “Oh they know,” she says. “Where do you think Brian and Justin are this morning except meeting with Leo Brown.”

“And that’s important, why?”

“Because Vance’s ex-wife is his niece… and she just happens to be my best friend. She’s told the police everything she knows, and more," Jenn confirms, gleefully.

Well I’ll be damned!