11|Dad Isn't God

The next several weeks passed in a blur as Liam adjusted to his new role. He was constantly sitting in various meetings, attending numerous conferences in and out of the country and making sure his father received the best treatment.

His days began as early as 4:00 AM and some nights he'd only drag himself to bed after 2:00 AM. He was cranky and short-tempered, not surprising since he was running on two hours sleep at the very least.

In those first few weeks, he made a lot of enemies in and out of the company; as a result, his security detail had to be ramped up following anonymous death threats.

Liam found the endless army of guards annoying, but the board didn't want to take any chances, not when Anderson Logistics’ share prices took a beating following the news of his father's illness. He wasn't their best choice, but for now, he was the only Messiah who could safely wade them out of shit-creek.

He made a lot of shakeups internally. He disbanded the executive committee and brought in fresh blood, young people who had the vision and the balls to pioneer Anderson Logistics into a whole new era. The senior managers who'd held on to their positions because of their close relationship with his father and not based on real skill or talent were not pleased with his boldness.

He kept his cousins, Julian and Matthew, close, as his second in command. They had as much right to the company as he did. It was his first contentious decision, and it pitted him against his sisters. They thought he was reckless and stupid by giving the two brothers so much control.

But Liam was righting a wrong. "It's as much their company as it is ours. If Dad didn't push Uncle Sullivan out, they'd have a fair share."

His sisters disagreed.

"Uncle Sullivan was weak; he didn't have the balls to take this business forward!" Willow argued.

"Dad made the company what it is today," Holly said naively.

"Dad isn't God," Liam pointed out. "He didn't build the company all by himself. Other people gave their all. Julian and Matthew lost everything when Uncle Sully died. And we all know Dad killed him. He may not have given him the gun he used to blow his brains out. But he drove him into it."

"Stop it!" His sisters snapped at once, their eyes dark with murderous rage.

"Whose side are you on?" Willow demanded.

"I'm on the side of the truth. If Dad didn't sideline Uncle Sully, he wouldn't have been so depressed he thought his only way out was to take his own life."

"Must we talk about this right now?" Holly asked. "What good will dredging up the past do?"

"You don't have to acknowledge it, but I do," Liam said. "I cannot lead this company with a clear conscience if I don't fix what Dad did. We all know Julian and Matt have done way more for Anderson Logistics than any of us in this room, and if you both fail to see that, there's something morally warped with you!"

The argument carried on through dinner, only stopping when Lois sniffled in her seat.

"Enough, both of you," She said tearfully. "Liam is right. They are family and should never have been excluded."

"I will not give up my shares!" Holly dumped her fork on her plate and crossed her arms stubbornly.

"No one wants your fucking three percent!" Liam raged and laid down the law, pointing a stern finger at his little sister. "And your life of excessive spending is over. You will not be closing down stores for your private shopping sprees. Using the company's jet to go party in Ibiza is over. And that damn penthouse you never live in, you'd better use it soon, or I'll help you get rid of it."

"Mom!" It was Willow, though, who screamed at their mother to intervene.

"Listen to your brother–"

"But he can't make me live like a poor person!" Holly shouted.

Liam stood, went to the living room to grab his laptop from his messenger bag on the couch.

He was back in a flash and fired up the laptop. He brought up the family trust's financial statements and shoved the MacBook at his sisters.

"What am I looking at?" Willow had a bemused look on her face as her eyes scanned the screen.

"Yeah, what is this?" Holly chimed in.

He knew they wouldn't know how to read financial statements, let alone understand them. How could they when they didn't even know the price of toilet paper? Admittedly, up until a few weeks ago, he also didn't. But now that he sat in Julian's budget meetings, and he saw how much every little thing cost, from the coffee and tea their staff took for granted, to the printing paper they all seemed to love so much judging from the reams of reports perpetually stacked on his desk.

"What is this?" Willow shrieked again. For the oldest daughter, she sure acted like the baby sometimes.

"That," Liam clenched his jaw. "Is all of us swimming up shit-creek soon if your excessive spending doesn't stop!"

"Are we poor?" Holly asked, big fat tears welling up in her eyes. "Mom, do we have to move to a duplex now?"

Liam laughed bitterly. "Not yet, darlings. But I give it six months or so."

The news was so devastating to both, they ran out of the room crying about needing to take a nap.

Lois glared at him when they were alone. "Why would you lie to them like that? You know how they are."

It was wrong, but he wanted to frighten them a little. There's a lot of things he took for granted before he assumed the CEO's seat, things he never had to think or worry about, like the thousands of people who worked behind the scenes to make sure they continued to live their life of luxury. It wasn't fair to all those people; most would never even see a million Rands in their bank accounts. But they worked tirelessly and gave their all to the company.

"You have to tell them we're okay," Lois carried on.

"No!" Liam said. "Mom, I meant every word—no more company jets for private business. Overseas shopping trips have to stop too. If they want all those nice things, then they need to join the fold."

"But they love what they do. Your sisters will die if they have to give up their careers!"

"What about me?" Liam asked. He didn't regret his decision to step up. But he was still mourning the loss of his dreams.

"I know it was hard," Lois touched his shoulder.

Liam didn't think she understood. ‘Hard’ was failing an exam or getting a warning because you overslept and you were late for work.

What he went through almost killed him.

Liam would never tell a soul how he'd wept until he was all hollowed out when he had to withdraw from his team and end all his relationships with the sponsors. The heartbreak he felt when he hung his racing suit and put away his helmet for the last time was so profound, so deep; it was like someone had plunged a sword in his heart and sliced it to shreds.

"Darling, I'm sorry. I just want you all to be happy.”

He turned to his mom and sighed. "All I'm saying, they need to start earning their keep. And I see no reason why they should still be getting an allowance. They are both adults with full-time jobs. Their salaries should fund their lavish lifestyle."

Lois nodded and patted his hand. "I'm going to the hospital, are you coming with me?"

Liam shook his head. He'd already seen his father before reporting for the mandatory weekly dinner. He had to meet Julian and Matthew at Crush.