Discretionary Redemption

Warren

I fucked up.

Well and truly.

And I didn’t know how to fix it, which wasn’t like me, I knew how to fix issues, it was a simple call, pull of strings, words whispered to the right people and everything I needed to be done would be.

But with Heron, there were no strings to pull, the irony of her being a seamstress was not lost on me.

I stood a moment, the cold night air mocking me as I gripped tightly on the drink between my fingers. The smooth crystal glass, warping my features as I stared down at it. Not able to stomach the liquid for the first time.

But why did it matter, Heron was right, I could find anyone, anyone to take the ring that was slipped carefully into my top pocket. Anyone and I would be done with this trivial task my father had set.

But he had set it knowing that I could not just put the ring on just anyone, he would know if they looked at me with just the promise of money, of fame of fortune.

That’s why you need her.

And that was the only reason.

I sighed setting the glass down.

“Who fucked you over?” the gruff voice of my brother Corren pierced through the veranda.

“Father,” I responded bitterly.

“What’s new,” he swiped the drink from the table and downed it quickly.

“What’d he do to you?” I laughed as Corren only ever remembered he had a brother when there was something wrong.

“Can’t I just visit my baby brother,” I scowled at him.

“I’m not an infant,”

“You are to me,” his laugh was low. The moonlight cast a shadow across his face, cutting it deeply, the high arch of his cheekbones a whisper of mother, but his eyes were always hers, I had the dull blue of my father, but he had her green eyes, the ones that sparked with joy every time she was with us. That was the only difference between her and Corren’s eyes, there was no spark in his, not since she was gone.

“There’s a five year difference between us,”

“Five years, and fifteen million in net worth,” he did it to get on my nerves, the only time when Corren was not the picture of reservation was when he was with me.

“Father wants the best for you,” he suddenly spoke, the spectre of an older brother settling over him.

“He wants you to marry someone I hear,” it was likely that father had told him that.

“He says I’m too reckless,” I mumbled, “But I haven’t done anything to jeopardise the business,” I justified.

“Waking up in strange places with no memories other than the fact that you got hammered is not something a future CEO does.”

“Future,” I scoffed, “I have my own company you know.”

“And how is that going, your profits were down last year.”

“But 2% which is fine because we were in a recession.”

“When aren’t we in a recession?”

“You’re changing the subject, father said something to you too, didn’t he. Something that’s going to stop you in some way.”

“Someone like me,” his voice was dangerously low, “Cannot be stopped.”

“He didn’t ask you to marry someone did he, because Lord have pity on that poor woman. To be married to you, I-“ he shoved me slightly and my laughter cracked through the sky.

“I don’t need to get married. I don’t need to prove I am stable enough to assume a role as Chief Executive Officer. I have nothing to prove-“

“And let me guess, I have everything to prove.”

“It’s good that you pay attention Warren,” he remarked and I felt like showing him how much attention I was paying to his facial structure by rearranging it.

“You need to settle down. I need to-“

“Let me guess, be an actual person, with hopes and dreams that aren’t a damn bottom line.”

“When have you ever not cared about the bottom line-“

“Have you seen our properties? The ones we were put in charge of by Dad? They’re fucking terrible.”

Corren stalled a moment, eyes searching mine with that blank, sterile look of his, “They meet the legal requirements do they not?”

I sighed heavily, bracing my arms against the wood of the banister before me, “Yes. But they aren’t liveable.”

“And what has brought this on?” he questioned brow raised.

“Maybe I finally learnt some human decency,” I let out a bitter breath, “Maybe that’s what father wants from us truly. To look and feel like he did before all this wealth. We don’t know that life. And to think Dad put us in charge of this and all we have done to his company is put it to shit.”

Corren was silent.

“His real-estate company used to care. And we fucked that up, for profit.”

“What address,” he finally asked.

But I didn’t’ answer, the last thing I needed was my brother to interact with Heron.

“All of them, all of the ones under our jurisdiction.”