“But you think I should convince my father to take the hit?” I asked. Because that’s kind of what I was thinking.
People assumed because we were rich it wouldn’t be a big deal if we lost a few million dollars. But it wasn’t just about losing money. It was about losing credibility. Investors were going to second-guess the company if they thought we couldn’t see a good move or a losing one. I didn’t have much to do with the business, but I knew the basics.
“I didn’t say that,” he said.
“You think I should invest my personal fortune?”
Again, it was another scenario I considered. But if I lost the deal for my family, I wasn’t sure if my dad would revoke my trust fund. Without it, I wouldn’t have the money to invest.
It felt like I was on a hamster wheel with no way off that didn’t end with me smacking my face against the ground.
He chuckled. “I can’t begin to imagine how wealthy you are.”
“Yeah, we’re more than comfortable,” I said as I held up my empty glass to get Marcy’s attention.
She returned and filled it.
“His too,” I said and gestured to Phineas’s almost empty glass.
“She’s never going to forgive me,” I said. That was the reality. I had played the mess out eighteen different ways and it always came down to that one problem.
“Maybe she won’t. But that’s not really the point, is it? The point is whether you’re going to keep being the kind of man who does what he’s told, or whether you’re finally going to figure out how to walk your own path.” Phineas drained his glass and signaled for another. “Grow up, lad. Or spend your days rotting away in places like this, drowning your regrets. Like me.”
The bartender scowled at his description of her establishment.
“No offense, Marcy,” Phineas added.
“None taken, you old bastard,” she replied, but there was affection in her voice.
I sat there nursing my whiskey, turning Phineas’s words over in my mind. He was right, and I hated that he was right. I’d been blaming my family and the circumstances. I had figured out a way to blame everything except my own choices.
But what the hell was I supposed to do now? Sylvie hated me. Her family was going to lose everything whether I went through with the deal or not. And my father was expecting me to close this acquisition by Christmas Eve or lose access to everything I’d ever known.
The smart thing would be to cut my losses, go back to New York, and move on with my life. Sylvie and Northwood would become just another chapter in my past. Another mistake I’d made along the way. Wouldn’t be my first and definitely wouldn’t be my last.
“So you say there’s oil under our feet right now?” Phineas asked.
“Yep. A lot.”
“Wonder why no one figured it out before.”
“They did but the town was booming and there was no way anyone was going to offer the kind of money it would take to get the land,” I said.
“Ah, vultures.”
“What?”
“You people have just been waiting for us to die off and then you could move in.”
I cringed because it was true. “Pretty much.”
“Well, it’s the way it’s always been and the way it will always be,” Phineas said. “Everything dies. Change is inevitable. Thislife we all get to have is all on borrowed time. Same with the land. Tomorrow it’s you people tearing shit up for oil. Then it will be investors coming in to build a golf course or some ugly hotel.”
I took another sip of whiskey and let his words sink in. Everything dies. Change is inevitable. It was a depressing way to look at things, but maybe he had a point. Maybe I was fighting against something that was always going to happen anyway.
“So you’re saying I should just accept that I’m going to mess up her life?” I asked.
“I’m saying you should figure out what kind of man you want to be in the middle of all this destruction.” Phineas turned to look at me directly. “You can be the guy who profits off other people’s misery, or you can be the guy who tries to make it right. Either way, that family is probably going to lose their land eventually. But how they lose it, that’s up to you.”
