Survival of the Richest @daddybnntt - Tumblr Blog

CALL ☎ DANIEL & JAMES

Daniel: "I am being honest! I... Does he seriously have a kid? Why would he lie to us about that?"

James: He had no choice but to believe his son; maybe Drew had really successfully hidden a baby from his entire family. "He does, apparently. He didn't want us to know, so I would appreciate it if you would continue to keep a professional relationship with him and not let him know that you're aware of this to get through the first few months of your start up. Get back to work." With that, he ended the phone call.

#call:dan #phone

CALL ☎ DANIEL & JAMES

Daniel: Daniel almost laughed at that question. Drew didn't have a kid... Not that he was aware of at least. "Why, did Maury Povich call?" He joked before correcting himself quickly. "He doesn't have a kid, dad. I have no idea what you're talking about."

James: Why did his children all have a terrible sense of humor? James wasn't sure where they obtained that. "Daniel, I need you to tell me now what you know about Drew and his child." He pushed further, knowing Daniel had to know SOMETHING.

#call:dan #phone

CALL ☎ DANIEL & JAMES

Daniel: Focusing on work after the strange morning he'd had was nearly impossible, but he managed to get through a couple of client calls before his father's name popped up on his caller ID. He sighed, mentally preparing himself to speak to his father, before he answered. "Hello, dad." He greeted him. "What's up?"

James: He didn't appreciate the casual greeting, but his focus was far from criticizing Daniel because out of all of his children, this was the one who would tell him something he wanted know if prompted. "How long have you known about Drew's child?" James was always straight to the point and now was no exception.

#call:dan #phone

CALL ☎ DANIEL & JAMES

James: After pacing back and forth for nearly an hour, James decided that he needed to search for answers about his grandchild- more specifically, how many lies were being kept from him and by who. He picked up his phone and sat on the balcony chair to dial Daniel's phone number.

#call:dan #phone

drewxbennett:

daddybnntt:

Well it wasn’t the lecture he had been expecting. That was something he supposed. Or more likely that was going to come later once he hadn’t caught his father off-guard. He supposed Ellie at least had handled it better. Apart from messing with Grindr… something he needed to thank her for. It was odd, he could almost see the cogs turn in his father’s brain as he realised just exactly what it was he was saying. He almost felt sorry for the man… almost. This was still the same man who had made him feel like shit his entire life. This was almost payback. “Always am” he replied making a mental note to get there for seven so he would actually be able to get some work done before all of this happened. “Or should I just remove all my stuff when I get there and save us all some time” that had always been his biggest fear about his family finding out. He couldn’t lose his career. Maybe it was family forced, but he worked as hard as he did because he did enjoy it.

James shook his head “If you’re quitting, that is your choice.” He pulled the strap of his suitcase over his shoulder. “In fact, why don’t you take the day off tomorrow? Daniel and I have some family business matters to attend to that won’t be requiring your attention.” And with that, he walked out of Drew’s place and into the night to find a hotel room.

#disappointment number 2

drewxbennett:

daddybnntt:

Ok, options. He could say it was some toy from his childhood, except all his toys were long since thrown out, and he hadn’t owned any like that. One of Ellie’s? Doubtful, he’d have seen it before. He could claim ignorance… or perhaps if he just looked at his father’s eyes long enough, the gaze would cause him to self-combust. All were bad options. Or he could just, give up. “It’s a doll dad. Surprise you’re a Grandfather” and he was dead.

Any semblance of a smug smile that James normally wore disappeared by his son’s words. Had it not been for the fact that it was Drew standing in front of him, he would have asked if it were a joke. It wasn’t though, and slowly things began to add up in his mind. Keeping his facial expression cool, he dropped the toy onto the couch. Drew had always worked for James and he had considered them fairly close, but his son had apparently done nothing but lie to him. No matter how many times Daniel had disappointed him, he had at least been honest. “I will be staying at a hotel for the night. Please be to work at 8 AM sharp so we can discuss the business.” He walked to the guest bedroom to grab his suitcase.

#disappointment number 2 #or is it number 1 now

drewxbennett:

daddybnntt:

Drew shrugged, trying not to start an argument. Better to stay as the compliant one, always better to be seen as that. “Of course, you know how close we all are” he replied, hoping that there was no obvious sound of bitterness in his voice. He had long since perfected the act, but it took a lot of conversation. He wasn’t even sure his family believed it. Drew hadn’t really been paying attention to what his father was doing. He only really looked over when he heard the question, and instantly felt his blood run cold. How was he meant to explain a doll? “That’s…” oh he had nothing, there was nothing he could say. It was like his brain had stopped working.

James raised an eyebrow, his eyes fixating on his son to evaluate whatever emotions were running through Drew at the moment. “It’s what, son?”

#disappointment number 2

drewxbennett:

daddybnntt:

“Dad, you quite literally gave him me to help him. I would never have moved here by choice” or maybe he really just didn’t count for anything. Daniel definitely owed him a drink after this. He’d like to say any of this surprised him, but he had learnt at a young age that he was little more then the spare son. Not the best position to be in, but there was nothing he could do to change it, not anymore. “Of course there is. I learnt from the best, can’t win if you don’t know what you’re up against. Is it just the firm you’re judging?”

“I didn’t give him you.” The man scoffed in reply to that statement. Was his son not grateful for the opportunity to work in Chicago? “Don’t you like being here with your siblings?” He asked him with a raised eyebrow. “I suppose we’ll see if there’s more that needs evaluated tomorrow, won’t we?” He responded as he began to walk around the room. It wasn’t long before he spotted a small toy, a doll in a pink dress, and he leaned over to pick it up. “What is this?” He asked his son.

#disappointment number 2

drewxbennett:

daddybnntt:

“Of course” that’s all he was ever going to be used for, seeing what his siblings were up to. “Wouldn’t know, never saw the point in trying to. What results? You gave him a firm, as consequences go that is going against your argument” oh that was bad. Bitter as he was over that fact, he wasn’t meant to show it. Never show any emotion but compliance. “As well as can be expected. The building is a touch shabby. Shouldn’t take too long to build up reputation, the competition out here is… non-existent”.

“I don’t know why you’re under the assumption that I’ve given Daniel anything but the family name to tack onto his business. He mentioned to me that he was starting his own practice up here and I suggested that he should make it a branch of the family firm. Everything else has been all him.” James had always known that his children felt Daniel was the favorite but he didn’t understand why. He had offered them all equal opportunities. “Good to know there’s little competition. Daniel didn’t seem to interested in checking the other law firms out to find out. I will judge everything else tomorrow.”

#disappointment number 2

drewxbennett:

daddybnntt:

“I wish I knew. He has never done anything like that before though. Still, if he does run again, I will cover it” oh how easy it would be to throw his brother under the bus now. Point out there already was another woman, have all their father’s attention focused on that. Wasn’t as if he had never done that sort of thing before. “She’s a kid, we all rebelled back then. She was just a little… over the top about it. Faced with the real world, she’ll come home”.

“That’s why you’re here.” He said with a nod and a small smile. “Ruining your own life is not a rebellion, Andrew. I hope she comes to her senses before it’s too late but it’s doubtful. I would prefer she be here with Daniel so she can see the results of someone straying from their responsibilities.” He knew he could be a little hard on his children but it was the way he had always known things to be. “Now tell me, how are things really going with the firm?”

#disappointment number 2

caffeihnes-blog

#relevant

drewxbennett:

daddybnntt:

There was that feeling that he knew all too well. The one that despite everything he had done for his parents, he was never going to be good enough. He simply wasn’t Daniel… the same brother who had broken every rule, and still got handed a firm to run. It should hurt, but he had emotionally disconnected from his family a long time ago. Now he would play the part and smile, all the while waiting for the day he would finally be free of it. “So not a spy… just watching Daniel and Elizabeth and telling you anything important that they do?” he asked, even if he hadn’t. He still didn’t know why he hadn’t, he knew his siblings hated him, why change it. “Divorce, no divorce, he’s a good lawyer. Done nothing you’d need to worry about, and Elizabeth is fine… aside from breaking her phone but we dealt with it” and apparently he was going to lie. What was one more? Almost everything he had said to his father in the last ten years had been a lie after all.

“Daniel is a great lawyer but he’s a flight risk. How am I supposed to trust him not to run off when he goes through another break up or things don’t go his way?” As much as James wanted to trust his son, he just couldn’t after the debacle that was his divorce. Daniel had to prove himself. “As for Elizabeth.. She’s living off of your brother and doing God knows what to build her own future.” Elizabeth’s choices would never be understood by the man as he felt he had handed her life on a silver platter just to have it thrown back in his face.

#disappointment number 2

drewxbennett

If there was one thing that Drew had decided it was that his brother owed him, big time. Or at least something very strong and very alcoholic. He couldn’t really blame him he supposed, there wouldn’t have appeared to be any reason why their father staying with him would be a problem. However it had only been a few hours and he already had a headache. He had only left the room to handle a work call, one that he gone on longer then he expected. Smile and fake it, he had been doing it for ten years, he could keep doing it now. “So dad, I’m confused. Why send me here as a spy if you just plan on coming here anyway?”

@daddybnntt

daddybnntt

“I should have just stayed in a hotel room” James thought as he looked over Drew’s front room with a judgemental frown. He had originally asked to stay with Daniel because he wanted to snoop. His children were never open and honest about what was going on in their life, which was something he preferred when it came to anyone outside of the family but he felt he had the right to know everything. “You’re hardly a spy, Andrew.” He commented as he took a seat on the couch. “I’m not going to throw your brother to the wolves by himself. He may think he can handle it by himself but it doesn’t hurt to have his father’s watchful eye on things. You’re there to make sure he has that.” Okay, it was the same thing as spying for him but he didn’t appreciate the use of the word.