Chapter 110: Personal Issues
- DEX -
It feels different walking into the office this morning. It should, I suppose. A lot has happened over the weekend, and I know my brother won’t be here. It’s such a huge relief—I didn’t realize how much just his presence was making me dread being here. I wonder if there is anyone else in the company who feels that way.
Even though I haven’t received details from Uncle Saul about what he is going to do with Lawson, I trust that it will be handled well. Uncle Saul is not one to fall through, but I also know he will handle this situation in a very sensitive way since Lawson is my brother. It’s not like he’s going to kill him. As convenient as that would be, I doubt my father would approve.
No, Lawson is being put in a very serious adult timeout, which could have been avoided if he had gotten actual timeouts as a child or received any kind of retribution for objectionable things he’s done throughout his adulthood. But since he has gotten away with virtually everything and even had my father going out of his way to sweep things under the rug for him, this is what needs to happen.
My brother doesn’t understand right from wrong—or if he does, he clearly doesn’t care or thinks it doesn’t apply to him. And that has to change. He isn’t going to prey on women anymore, and he’s never going to be in the same room with Raya ever again.
Now that I know what he’s actually like—now that he has terrified Raya and violated a sacred part of her by stealing and reading those journals and then making suggestive remarks about them or whatever the hell he dared to do in my own home to the woman I love—I’m going to make sure he has nothing to do with Mobius Media moving forward. Lawson is going to be resigning. That will remove any pressure on the board and on my father to officially remove him. Lawson is going to remove himself.
"Good morning, Mr. Alexander," Laurel says, her eyes wide when I walk in. She takes in my suit, eyes trailing all the way down to my shoes before they return to my face, and her mouth drops open.
"Good morning, Laurel."
"Good morning," she repeats in a daze, and after a few seconds of her quite opening staring at me, I clear my throat.
"Laurel, you looked like you had something to say. Are there any messages?" I ask, glaring into the distance and avoiding her stare.
I can’t explain how getting reactions like this over my appearance makes me feel. It’s irritating. It’s a distraction, and I can’t say I entirely understand it. If anyone knew how awkward and shy I was as a kid, they would see me as just me rather than however they see me when I come walking through the door.
In truth, this is part of the reason why I don’t like wearing suits or dressing too formally. Dressing down, choosing shirts that may have a slightly worn appearance, not taking myself too seriously when it comes to wardrobe... it keeps reactions like this to a minimum. And that’s what I prefer.
"Oh yes um... I’m so glad to see you, because Mr. Lawson called in," Laurel says, glancing down at her desk. "It was strange. He said he’s having car trouble and is going to see about someone who does repairs. I tried to insist that one of us could come get him and handle everything without him having to worry about it, but he got very upset with me. I’ve never heard him like that before. He told me not to worry about it and that you would handle everything while he was away. It was very unusual."
"It sounds like he may be having some personal issues," I tell her with my best impression of genuine concern. "Why don’t we honor his privacy and allow him to handle things himself? Lawson may just need some time. I will be here to take care of the company while he deals with his issues—whether they are car related or something else entirely."
"Oh, of course. Yes, that makes sense."
"Thank you Laurel."
Walking to my office, it’s hard to hide the smirk of satisfaction knowing that Lawson is now very much aware of the mistake he made coming anywhere near Raya. I hope he pisses himself today wondering if he’s going to get whacked by my family. He brought it on himself. He brought Luciano to the office, after all. I had a recent open invitation to my family’s house yesterday.
Shortly after I get settled, Jeremy knocks on my door and comes in. "Sorry about Saturday," he says.
"What about?"
"When you called, I didn’t realize we were supposed to be meeting."
"Oh, no worries. I wouldn’t have wanted to bother you at your kid’s game anyway. As far as I’m concerned, there was no reason for you to have to come in. You work hard while you’re here, and I know you are always prepared. You should have the weekend with your family."
"About that... it’s weird. Lawson said that we needed to have the pitch ready by today, but there’s no indication that it has actually moved up. Unless he was the only one who was made aware of the change, it seems it’s still scheduled for later this week," Jeremy frowns. "I got in extra early today to make sure everything was complete and ready to go, thinking that the client was going to be here right at eight. But no one else knows anything about it. And he hasn’t showed. Neither has Lawson."
I lean back in my chair and sigh deeply. How stupid is my brother? He fabricated this story without thinking it all the way through. That or he was planning on getting here and telling Jeremy that he made a mistake or that the client changed their plans yet again. And all of this was just to get me out of the house Saturday so he could talk to Raya like some obsessive, psychotic stalker. Just like her other stalker—the peeping tom.
"Are you okay?" Jeremy asks.
"Yeah." I force a smile. "I just think Lawson is having some personal issues that are interfering with work. This seems to be an obvious example. I’m sorry, Jeremy. Do you want to take the day off to spend with your family since you have already done at least a day’s work on Saturday?"
"Oh, um... no, I’m not trying to complain. This position is very important to me. I’m happy to be available whenever needed."
"Jeremy." My eyebrows shoot up. "I’m not offering you a day off because I think you are not a hard worker or not committed to the company. It’s quite the opposite. It’s the final days of summer. Why don’t you go spend time with your family?"
He stares at me, seemingly unsure as to whether or not this is a trick. "Are you sure?"
"Of course," I smile. "I will check in with your team myself, but since there are several days until pitch day, I think you should get a chance to relax. Thank you for coming in Saturday. I’m sure Lawson thanked you as well."
He scoffs and then catches himself. "I’m sorry. That sounded disrespectful."
"Lawson didn’t thank you for coming in?"
"No," he chuckles. "It was almost like I wasn’t even here. Lawson seemed very distracted the whole time, even when I was showcasing the work we had done so far, which was supposedly the reason for us meeting at all. I wasn’t sure what to make of it. It was one of the weirder experiences I’ve had here. Mr. Jansen was always very focused whenever we had a meeting, and I don’t recall ever coming in on a Saturday. If it would have been necessary, he would have at least acted invested."
"It won’t happen again," I assure him. "I apologize on behalf of my brother."
"No, you don’t need to apologize," he shakes his head. "I just..." he shrugs. "I just wasn’t sure what to make of it."
Once Jeremy leaves the office, my curiosity gets the best of me, and I venture into Lawson’s office through our adjoining door. Everyone is distracted with the morning work underway, and there isn’t a clear line of sight into his office with the half wall that is obscuring it from the remainder of the desks—at least not when I’m seated at his desk, opening drawers and searching for Raya’s journals in case he happened to bring them here and leave them. It’s a long shot, but I have to at least check.
It’s not a surprise that Lawson was distracted Saturday, but hearing it from Jeremy reignites the fury that I have kept a fairly tight cap on all weekend. Because I know what Lawson was thinking about. I know what was distracting him. It was thoughts of Raya, and it was probably also thoughts of the dreams in her journals that he told her he memorized.
Raya’s presence must have an even stronger calming effect on me than I realized, because now that I’m not with her and left to consider again the reality of what my brother did, that anger is back... rolling steadily in my veins. I’m itching to go find where Uncle Saul has taken Lawson so I can confront him myself.
Unfortunately, Raya’s journals aren’t in his desk. It looks like I will be finding a way into my brother’s apartment later. It shouldn’t be too hard. I’m the second son of Jansen Mobius. That alone has quite a bit of sway. I think it’s time I used it to my advantage.
