Laurent allowed himself a last look at the outline of Rose's prone body on the bed as he put on the second leg of his socks. He'd meant what he said. He really was sorry. It wasn't her fault that her father had dug his own grave, but she'd still bear part of the consequences. Fully dressed, he walked to the door and came to an abrupt stop. When all was said and done, this would probably be the last time he'd have the opportunity to face this version of Rose Blackwell. He stared back in regret. It has really been fun knowing her.
He stepped out of the room. 'Bye, my Rose', he whispered to himself.
The hotel was a little busier now than in the afternoon. Music blared from the direction of a room, and the night light illuminated figures tangled together outside. If he was lodging in a hotel with someone for the night, he'd like to think they'd both be cocooned inside their room by 12:30 am but apparently not. The parking lot was also busier and there were a lot more vehicles parked. Getting into his own car, he drove the short 5 minute distance back to the hospital.
Not wanting to attract attention, he steadily walked from the parking lot all the way to Blackwell's room. He wasn't stopped but he only exhaled fully when he'd closed the door behind him. He walked quietly to the chart at the foot of the bed and was pleased to see an update from 50 minutes ago. If he was calculating correctly, it meant he had roughly about 3 hours in the worst case scenario before the next nurse came. He engaged the lock behind him.
The room light had been dimmed, but he could still see the man clearly on the bed. His chest rose and fell steadily to the beep of the machine placed beside him. He'd done some research before he came, so the first thing he did was turn off the machine that was broadcasting the patient's heart rate for all to see. He didn't want the nurses rushing in before he was done. The man shifted a bit in his sleep but he slept on. There was also no tell-tale sign of a nurse coming in to find out, so he knew he was safe. For now.
Next, he set up his laptop on the table facing the bed and connected the flash. Then he arranged every evidence of indiscretion he'd been able to uncover in another page. That set up, he placed his phone to call a popular social media influencer he'd had the pleasure of working with once and a pen on the table. He smiled, already smelling success because there was no way anything could go wrong.
He walked closer to the bed and moved the chair closer. Then he sat down, crossed his legs and tapped the man gently. On his third attempt, his eyes finally opened with a little bit of clarity. He stared blearily from the bed before his eyes roamed round the room. When he didn't see Rose - most likely, his eyes finally cleared. Laurent crossed his arms as he watched the old man try to sit and pull off his mask simultaneously.
When he had exhausted himself with zero success, Laurent finally stood in his line of sight.
"The bed or the mask?" he asked softly.
Most likely thinking his only beloved daughter was in danger, he gestured impatiently to the mask. Laurent pulled it down to his chin.
"Rose, where's my daughter?" the man rasped as soon as the mask was off his face.
His hand still on the mask, Laurent pretended to consider it and look round the room. "Rose? She's not here. I left her sleeping in her hotel room"
The man breathed a sigh of relief, shutting his eyelids before they snapped open again with confusion, "What… What's going on?" the man finally asked, trying to raise himself up on the bed, "What's the time?"
Laurent only shrugged as he watched him struggle without success.
"Help an old man up, would you?" the man said softly, watching his face.
He uncrossed his arms and approached the head of the bed before he stopped, his arms less than a foot from the man's back, "And why would I do that?"
The man's brows furrowed as he stared at him, "I don't understand. Laurent?"
He shifted back, "You see, I asked you a question. The bed or the mask? You chose one and that's the extent of my generosity"
The man glanced around the room. His eyes filled with a mixture of questions and caution as he considered the set-up on the table.
"Mr. Ricco, what do you think you're doing? What's going on here?" his voice shook.
Laurent smiled widely with his eyes cold. When the man flinched, he backed off, moving the chair again to his side and sitting up.
"Why don't I ask the questions for now, Mr. Blackwell?"
"You bastard. If you've harmed a hair on my daughter's head, I will …"
"You'll do what. No offense, but you can barely drag yourself to a sitting position or reach for the bed lever, what do you think you can do for Rose in your condition" he sneered at him, "Now, as I was saying, why don't I ask the questions, Sir. You won't mind terribly, right?"
The man's eyes were filled with fear now. He didn't know what exactly was happening, but the threat on Rose was a delicious topping. If the machine was still on, he had no doubt that he'd be seeing evidence of the man's heart racing.
The man nodded, and he smiled in approval.
"Good idea. Now I'm going to start with a story. No interruptions, please" he cocked his head and the man nodded again, even though his jaws were clenched.
"Oh, and by the way, you shouldn't try to scream, Okay? You have no idea of what you will see on that screen, capisce?"
The man nodded again. Good.
"My story, huh. Do pay attention, I'd hate to repeat myself" He took a deep breath as he forced himself to remember.
"Once upon a time, there was a whore" he smiled at his confused look, "Well, this whore didn't exactly get paid with money, she was rather content with the company of a man. One day, this whore met a man in a strip bar…" his lips twitched in a smile again, though this one was a little more genuine, "You'll forgive the lack of details, I'm not really a fan of stories"
The man's eyes remained on his and he nodded, "Let's not get carried away. The man looked like someone that was rich and lonely, and that was part of what caught her attention. She approached the man, bought him a couple of drinks and played listening ear to his sob story where he mentioned how he'd lost his wife, blah, blah, blah…"
The man shifted on the bed, his eyes widening in horror. So he could tell where this was going. "At the end of that night, the both of them walked out together, stole some kisses under the moonlight and ended their tryst in a hotel room." he chuckled, "I don't really like to think of what happened next, given the fact that that whore happened to be my mother"
"You're lying. That happened just over 10 years ago. You're too old to be the result of that night"
He laughed out loud at that. "Oh, did I mention that I was the result, that's ridiculous. Of course I wasn't, I was home alone that night"
"Then, what the fuck is the meaning of this"
He got in his face, "I've been too nice, right?" he threatened. "Because I clearly remember an agreement where it was decided that I ask the questions"
The man's mouth clamped shut, but his eyes were bitter.
He forced himself to take a deep breath. "About seven years after that night, the whore who hadn't cleaned up her ways approached this man in his office with her young son, claiming something about how she needed money for their child's health" He leaned closer to the man, "Do you know what the man did?"
He recoiled, so Laurent stood back up. He clearly remembered that day, his eyes were brimming with fear already. "Of course you do. You're the man in this story, aren't you. This man kicked both of them out and called security on them, screaming something about thieves trying to take his legacy for themselves"
He took another deep breath and continued softly, "Apparently, this young boy misunderstood because the following day, he made his way back there, this time with pictures of proof. He assumed the man knew that his mother would use the money for other reasons, and gratefully thanked the man for his wisdom"
He shook his head with a harsh laugh and a dramatic wave of his hand, "And the rest is history"
Laurent watched the man's throat work. He tucked his head into his chin, and when he raised it back up, his eyes were shining.
"I'm sorry. I'm so very sorry, son. That was a bad day for me, and I honestly …"
He burst into laughter. He couldn't help it. The harsh sound hurt his heart and his throat coming out, but at least his ears weren't listening to that crap again.
He gestured to himself, still laughing, "Oh, forgive my interruption. But I was certain my mind was playing tricks on me, right?"
The man swallowed.
"Because I didn't just hear what sounded like sorry from you, right?"
"Son,..."
"Don't you dare call me that, you good-for-nothing piece of shit," he made himself calm down. "You've got to understand, man," he started logically, "When a word is used too long and without regard to the meaning, it begins to sound like a trigger word."
"I'm …"
"No, no, no," he slammed his hand on the bed, "Stop saying that fucking word, or I will tear out your throat right now and damn the consequences."
The man's mouth stumbled to a halt, and he turned his back to him and started pacing the room, his breathing harsh.
"Now. Before we get this shitshow back on the road, I'm going to be nice to you" He wanted to smile, but his lips disagreed with that notion, instead curling down in a sneer.
"One question. You get one question. What would you like to know?"
He just stared at him, so he shrugged, "Alright, then," he drawled.
"W. wait" Blackwell stuttered, and he turned back away from the direction of the table.
"Yes?"
"I wanted to ask, so what happened to the kid?"
He wanted to scream, but he shook his head in amazement instead, "You must really be a genius, huh. Or maybe it's because you're getting old. What do you think happened to the kid?"
The man sighed, and bowed his head again in regret, but it was the sign of the tears shimmering in his eyes that threatened to break him. He hurriedly turned back to the table, and brought his laptop closer to the bed.
"Now listen here, Mr. CEO. Time is ticking, and we don't have it on our side."
The elderly man's eyes clouded and a little fight came back to his eyes.
"What do you want?" he asked harshly. "You're not ready to listen to reason, and you clearly came here with an agenda in mind so why don't you skip the pleasantries and get straight to the point?
He huffed a breath of laughter, "Of course. Whatever you say sir," he gave a flourishing bow, "But are you sure you're ready to hear it?"
"Spit it out" he spat.
"Sure, why not. But I've got to ask again. Are you really the genius people insist you are on the internet?" He peered curiously at him. "Because the fact that you're still asking what I want is a real disappointment."
"So money, then?" the man scoffed, and he laughed.
"Of course that's what your mind will go to" he narrowed his eyes and got into the man's face, "I think you've got a eally short memory, though. Because of you, a young boy that was a light is gone, and you think I want money" he sighed and shook his head, "This is really disappointing. At least Rose would have figured it out by now"
He jerked in his prone position on the bed, "Leave my daughter out of this, you demon. Tell me what you want?" he shouted.
"Hush, it's too early. Don't you think?"
"Now, three guesses. Other than money or your daughter's fine ass, what else of worth do you have that I want"
He got the reaction he wanted at mentioning Rose's ass even though it pained him to do so, but the man was little more than a dying chicken. He couldn't even lift his arm to save his life"
"Just tell me, you bastard"
He smirked, "I did know my father, thank you very much. He was a pain in the ass but at least he tried his best" he lied. His Mom had turned the events of his brother's conception to a eulogy, but even when he asked she'd kept mute about his. He'd learned to stop asking.
"Fine. You want to kill me?"
"Nice try. But no, prison isn't all that it's cracked up to be"
"Fine, you don't want money and you don't want my life. Then what in blazes do you want?"
"Two guesses, but let me give you a hint," he said eagerly.
"It's one of the reasons why my brother died"
The man furrowed his brows, "Why he died?
"Exactly"
The man sighed, "Look here, Laurent. Up until 15 minutes ago, I couldn't give two shit about your late brother, and now you want me to figure out how he died? How?"
He smiled. "It's simple, really. It's the major reason you were screaming at us that day"
The man's face finally slackened in realization and his jaw dropped.
"The company"
"Give it up for the man. He gets it at last"
Blackwell's lips curled down and he sneered at him as he said, "Oh, you poor thing. You should have asked for something you can get. Do you think it's that easy to get a company? And not just any company, my company?"
Laurent's smile was slow, growing in intensity until he was fairly sure he was radiating with it.
"What is it?"
He chuckled, "I just feel like we're yet again, not on the same page", still maintaining his smile he added, "Blackwell legacy is such a good idea. Young kids look up to the building, dreaming of when they'll also be able to get theirs. But me? I don't care. You see your company as a legacy, I see it as something I'd love to see crash down"
"You wouldn't," the man gasped, "Do you have any idea of all I had to do to get it to where it is today?"
"Well, I've got one. You sent a kid to his death" he pretended to remember something, "Oh, my bad. I was pretty sure I was forgetting something. Forgive my memory"
He turned on his laptop and turned it so it was facing the bed. Since Mr. Blackwell was on his back though, he couldn't just leave it at that.
"Okay. Another choice. Would you rather I moved your bed to a sitting position so you're no longer drooling,"
"Or," the man asked immediately.
He smiled, "Or you call your lawyers, the media, everyone, offer a public apology for the crime you committed and hand over 50% of the company to me"
The man stared at him incredulously, "You're kidding"
He smirked, "Pick one, old man"
"The bed," the man growled and he smiled in triumph. Of course, he was going to pick that. By
the end of their conversation, he was definitely going to be regretting that decision."
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