Game On by Cheryl Douglas Page A

get through this conversation. “That depends.
What’re you havin’?”
    “What do you care? It’s free food, isn’t
it?”
    “That’s true. All right, count me in.” He
reached for the crystal decanter containing his father’s favorite fifteen
year-old scotch and poured a generous amount into each glass. Setting one on
Luc’s desk, he said, “I take it Mom’s not around?”
    “No, she just went to the grocery store.
We’re gonna throw some steaks on the grill for dinner.”
    “Good. There are some things I wanna talk
to you about before she gets back.”
    Luc kicked his cowboy boots up on the
polished mahogany desktop and leaned back in his chair, bringing the glass to
his lips. “I’m listenin’.”
    “You knew Trey was retirin’. Why the hell
didn’t you tell us so we could’ve prepared ourselves? With everything Ev’s been
goin’ through lately, this news hit him hard.”
    “Trey told me as a friend. I have nothin’
to do with Titan anymore, remember?”
    “Yeah, but we’re your sons,” Ryan said,
setting his glass down on Luc’s desk. “Shouldn’t that count for somethin’?”
    Luc looked at him a long time before he
responded. “It’s not my job to try and make things easier for you boys. Nobody
was around to pave the way for me when I was buildin’ that company.”
    Ryan sighed. “Are we back to that again?”
    “Listen,” Luc said, pointing at him. “I
handed a successful company over to you and your brother. What you choose to do
with it is up to you.”
    “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
    “You and Evan told me a while back that you
needed me to step aside so you could run the company the way you wanted to. I
agreed. You can’t have it both ways, kid.”
    “So you didn’t tell us about Trey because
you wanted to watch us stumble? That’s real nice, Dad.”
    Luc laughed. “Son, I can guarantee you’re
gonna fall flat on your ass more than once, but you guys are smart enough to
pick yourselves up and keep movin’ forward.”
    “I know you think Evan is, but…” It hurt to
acknowledge the truth. Their father had always thought Evan was smarter and
more capable than Ryan. Ryan often used humor and sarcasm to mask the sting,
and he’d often rebelled, to try and prove to his father that his low opinion of
him didn’t matter. But it did, more than he was willing to admit.
    “You always frustrated the hell out of me,”
Luc said, leaning forward and clasping his hands on the desk in front of him.
“Guys like me and your brother always have to work our asses off to be half as
good as you are without even tryin’.”
    “What’re you talkin’ about?” Ryan had never
heard his father acknowledge that he was good at anything.
    “Everything came easy to you. School,
sports, girls, and you took it all for granted. You were lazy, and I hated
that. I always tried to push you to be better because I saw so much potential
in you.”
    “Gee thanks. What’re you sayin’? I turned
out to be a big disappointment?”
    Luc shook his head. “No, I’m not sayin’
that at all.” He glanced at a framed family picture on his desk. “You were
nothin’ like me, and I hated that.”
    “Thank God for small favors,” Ryan
muttered, smiling when his father scowled at him.
    “See, that’s another thing,” Luc said,
pointing at him. “Why do you do that?”
    Ryan shifted in his seat again, not because
he was physically uncomfortable this time. He knew his father intended to put
him on the spot and demand answers he couldn’t give. “Do what?”
    “Why do you deflect that way? Why is
everything a big joke to you?”
    “Not everything’s a joke, but you can’t
take life so seriously all the time. If I did that, I’d end up like Evan: alone
and miserable.”
    “Last time I checked, you were alone.” Luc
held his hand up. “And I’m not talkin’ about those transients in mini-skirts
that wander in and out of your life.”
    “Ouch, that’s harsh,” Ryan