"Diane please.." Collins pleaded and implored me.
"Collins please" I mimicked him.
"Diane remember the baby? The baby we had. The baby we made. Please Diane I am begging you" he said in a desperate voice pleading for me to see reason.
"I am sorry my child does not have a father called Mr Collins J Dwight" I said firmly. I was getting sick of repeating myself.
How many times do I have to repeat myself?
"That is not true and you and I know it. I am the father I am the father of Juan David Jose Mario"
Okay. He clearly knew what he was talking about. He had done his investigation but I think he had hired an amateur.
"I think you're deluded" I laughed to myself.
"I assure you I am not. I am quite sane. I know this sounds odd and wrong coming so late after more than a decade but I am pleading for your understanding and your mercy. I am begging you in the name of God Diane"
"That's funny, I thought you didn't believe in God" I said in a mocking voice pretending to think to myself. Tina was nodding her head in mock agreement.
"You are not even taking this serious!" he yelled slamming his fist on the table.
I raised my perfectly shaped eyebrow at him in question, daring him to continue. Because one more outburst out of him and I would not bother to be polite. I will grab my stuff and leave. One more outburst Collins and I was out of here.
At this his father I suppose it is his father, saw the direction the conversation was heading to and placed a warning hand on his son's shoulder.
That calmed Collins down but only just. Then for the first time in my life the older Mr. Dwight started to speak.
"If I can say something Ms Diane" he said to me.
"If you must" I replied shrugging my shoulders. What could it hurt? I have come this far might as well get this over with.
"I can understand your resentment and your anger. It is highly warranted. I can only just imagine what you and your son have been through. And nothing, absolutely nothing I or anyone can say can excuse what my son and my family have done to you. I am so very very sorry. There is nothing that we can say that can make it better. But please, don't let your anger and rage get in the way of the life of your child, Juan David Mario. My grandson. He needs his father in his life. You are a great mother and I applaud you for all that you have accomplished and the life you have given him.
However, there are situations only a man can help with raising a boy. To this day I cherish the moments that I shared with my own boy, seeing him through his success and failures. I want the same relationship and blessings I had with him for him and his son. Iam begging you not to deny him. I am pleading with you, please don't punish your son by denying him a father" he finished his long speech.
"Thank you for your words, Mr. Dwight" I thanked the man sitting next to his son.
He nodded his head. And his son had a gleam of hope in his eyes.
"They really resonated from deep within me" I said with gratitude.
"Because I can honestly tell you that in all my years I have never heard so much crap spewed by one person" I finished with so much venom laced in my voice.
That certainly took them by surprise and they gasped at me like fishes in surprise. But I was not done yet.
"How dare you?! How dare any of you! You all have some nerve. Sitting here all high and mighty and talking about family and the wellbeing of my son when you, yes you Mr. Dwight was there the very day your own son denied his very own flesh and blood" I pointed accusingly at him.
At this point I was so glad that my voice was calm, had I been angry it would not be as effective. It was strong and each word resonated no betrayal of my emotion. I was just stating basic facts.
"You didn't stick up for him. You didn't care about your supposed grandson then. Some kind of father you are. You sat there as he denied and asked me to abort my own son, the very son that you are calling "grandson". What changed? Why now, why after over a decade will you want to know vour grandson now, huh? Don't bother answering, cause quite frankly I don't give a damn. But listen well and listen good, my son is not related to you. You are not his father. You are not his grandfather. He is not related to any person in these room nor will he ever be. Get that through your skull" I finished looking each and every single one of them in the eye to get my message across. I was dead serious.
The whole blace was silent. The Dwights looked at me in shock and pain and Timmons well quite frankly, I didn't have the damn or even the curiosity to read his expression.
"We can take this to court" Collins said quietly, in a defeated tone. Even I knew he was grasping at straws. But I really didn't have any mercy for the injured.
"Really? Come on Dwight you're a business man. I expected more from you . Well you can go ahead and take this to court.
But what judge in their right minds will award you custody?
Even joint custody? Remember the contract we signed? Well I'll refresh your memory, it's ironclad meaning not even you can break it. My child will never know you are the father and you will never be acknowledged. Just like you wanted"
"You can't do that" he argued.
"Really? You'll find that I can" I said shrugging my shoulders.
"You can't do that! She can't do that can she?" he cried.
"I am sorry Mr Dwight but I have to remind you that you do not have a child with my client. The document is ironclad"
"That is what we wanted to talk about. About that contract could we please forget about it and declare it null and void. I want to get to know my child" he demanded of me.
"No"
"Excuse me?" he asked in disbelief. Has he not been listening to me.
"I said no"
"What my client is trying to say is she will not be accepting the conditions" Tina chimed in.
"I heard her" he growled and barked at her.
"But Diane it is my child" he protested.
"Since when?" I asked him and it was comforting to see him flinch back.
"Diane please have mercy I beg of you" he pleaded.
"Funny, I said the same thing to you. Remember your answer?
No? Because I sure do. Oh and for your information the answer was no. Actually, your exact answers was "oh hell no".
"Diane when I said that I will take this to court I wasn't joking.
I don't want it to get it to that point but you are leaving me with no choice"
"Please go ahead Mr. Dwight, I would really like to see you try.
Though I should give you fair warning that no judge in their right mind will listen to you, the law is not on your side. We have a contract that can never be broken"
" I will take the chance" he said gravely.
"If that is what you wish. By the way I must tell you that if any judge decides to even take this to trial, for whatever reason, you will be opening the floodgates to problems and court dramas that will probably last for the rest of your life.
Because, by dismissing our contract agreement, it will only be proving to the whole world that the great business man Collins Dwight does not honor contracts and legal documents.
And trust me I will not keep quiet about it. I will create an impression that you should not be taken seriously. Take this to court Dwight and you will only be harming yourself. Wanna know why? I'll tell you, because I will personally see to it to help any man or woman and company you have ever had any business altercations with you to have the contract and the the law turned to their favor. That will also include any person you have ever sued, any hostile take overs, in fact any businesses you have ever done will be overturned to their favor not yours. I am sure that there are people who are just waiting to take you down. So if you think that it is worth risking your whole wealth and life to come after me, l'll be waiting" I said to him with a sweet smile.
When I finished every males eyes was on me, looking at me in shock and awe and fear. Nina just smiled at the room and chuckled.
"Well I couldn't have said it better myself"
Eric cleared his voice and started to speak again. "Oh what a joy." I said to my self rolling my eyes
"Diane listen to me. Collins has changed. If anything it was I who pushed him into it for unspeakable reasons. Please for
the sake of your son. As parents we must sacrifice our feelings for the betterment of our child"
"I wouldn't lecture about parenting Mr Timmons to me" I laughed at him with no humor in my voice.
"Diane what about your son your denying him a father?" he gasped at me.
"I can live with that. But enough about me, how about you?
You who denied him before he was even born?" | questioned him
"I was wrong. I was so wrong. Please forgive me" he pleaded pitifully. "Diane please"
"I forgive you, honest to God I do. But your still not getting near my kid.