Capítulo 16: Chapter 16
They made it to Canlis 20 minutes early. They made their way to the bar, Pearl had several admirers when she walked into the room and David kept his hand on her back the entire time. David seemed very protective of her and Pearl was admittedly enjoying it. It wasn't a creepy kind of protective. It was male. It was safe. He ordered himself a Highland Park neat and asked Pearl what she wanted to drink. "White wine?" Pearl said timidly. "The lady will have a Tesoro della Regina Pinot Grigio" Yes that, whatever that is, Pearl thought. The place was beautiful. Darkly lit with candles and really nice linen on the tables. They stood at a cocktail table and Pearl couldn't help herself "So where are you from David? Do you come from an affluent family? I don't mean to pry but I'm afraid to stand too close to you, I might wrinkle you. You know what wine to order and you just seem...really put together." David let out a deep laugh and completely avoided the question entirely. "I love this restaurant. Do you like Italian food, Pearl?"
"I do, who doesn't?" Pearl replied. A host came to them and told them their table was ready. They were escorted to a private section of the restaurant and were seated. There were like 15 pieces of silverware and Pearl felt a little out of place. Ok a lot out of place. A woman approached and David stood to greet her. "Hello Maggie. Maggie is the head of marketing at the Seattle office. This is Pearl, my head of community PR." "So nice to meet you" Pearl replied. Just as Maggie began to sit down, a older man approached. "What is he doing here, Maggie?" David asked, clearly upset. "David I thought you'd want him here. He's the owner of the new company and the reason for this merger. And he asked to be here."
"Fucking great" David said under his breath. "Who is that?" Pearl whispered to David.
"Pearl, this Thomas Powers. The owner of Trigon, the company we are merging with. And my father." Pearl was clearly confused, but played along. "Lovely to meet you, sir." "Likewise" Thomas Powers replied.
Dinner was stiff to say the least. Formal talk about numbers and plans for the merger. The conversation took a quick turn for the worse when Pearl became a topic. "I don't see why you can't be on board for what we need our Midwest PR department to do. You always have to be against me, David. You're just like your mother." "I'm not even going to humor that with a response. You have a lot of nerve bringing her into this, Thomas." David said. "And you have a lot of nerve bringing your little side piece hot piece of ass to a corporate meeting" His father said without caring in the slightest that Pearl was sitting right there. "Excuse m..." Pearl started to say and David cut her off. "How dare you speak to her that way. She is one of the brightest employees at our company and the most intelligent woman I've ever met. And she sure as hell has more class and character than youll ever have. I'm proud to bring her there and look forward to making you look like the idiot you are on Friday. Pearl, forgive my poor excuse of a father and human being. Let's go. Maggie, it was nice meeting with you. Good luck and see you Friday." And they left, but didn't go directly back to the room. David gave the cab driver an address and was silent the entire ride. Pearl knew better than to ask any questions. She was furious. Not just about what his father had said but what her actual purpose was there. Did he ask her to come along to be a filter between him and his father? Was she just there for show? Moral support? Well she sure as hell couldn't support him knowing nothing about the situation. She would get to the bottom of it and David was going to tell her everything. She had to let him cool off first.
They arrived at a building that stepped down into a dark lounge. There was a piano player and Pearl could smell cigar smoke as soon as they got near the entrance. It reminded her of her grandfather. They entered and found a booth in the corner. David ordered a scotch and Pearl asked for the same. She felt it was needed for what might be in store. They sat in silence for what felt like forever, listening to the piano player banging out something that sounded like jazz but she couldn't figure out what he was playing. "I'm so, so incredibly sorry about what happened. I had no idea he was coming to dinner. I knew, of course, he would be there Friday. He and his partners are merging with our company. It wasn't my idea. I hate it. I was told a month ago he was a part of this and I almost quit my job. I've spent most of my adult life avoiding him." David explained while slamming the scotch. He continued "I was born into an affluent family, you definitely called it. I can't stand that you did, but you are right. My father is a very wealthy man. My mother was too, she came into her marriage with money. Her father, my grandfather was an oil tycoon and made his money long before I was born. My mother died when I was 15. I had to stay with my father until I became an adult. He had already moved on and remarried a year later, to a woman 6 years older than I was. 6 years! Can you believe that?? I inherited the money from her death and received it at age 20. I moved out and haven't been back since. I went to college. Lived on my own. Made sure I worked hard for the jobs I got. I live simply and try not to use the money I inherited unless I need it. I don't want to be like him. I'm NOT like him." David said. Pearl wasn't sure if he was trying to convince her or himself that he was good person, but she at least appreciated his honesty.
"Look, it's ok. People are ugly sometimes and it's out of your control. Yes, it pissed me off but I don't blame you, ok? And I won't tell anyone about this. Your inheritance or your dad. It's safe with me. I'm sorry you had to go through that. I've never had much of relationship with my parents, either. And my ex husband was a horrible person and there were many times he behaved like that in front of people towards me. I can handle it. It's ok." Pearl told him, reaching out for his hand. He gave her a sad smile, thanked her and ordered another drink.
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