"You, Brett, are delusional," Casimir seethed, flatting his hands to the surface of the table, "if you thought I would ever advocate for you. You don't deserve a second chance. I've seen more men like you than you can possibly imagine. Greedy, selfish, entitled. You didn't give him a second thought until you found out that he worked for me, and your first instinct was to threaten him. You disgust me. If I was in a position to tell Hutch what to do, I would tell him to get as far away from you as possible, and to give you as much of a thought as you have ever given to him. As for BarRoss, I don't give a damn about your little company or whatever game you're wanting to play with its stocks and shareholders and who's in charge. I've looked in to both BarRoss and Juisan, and neither are worth the time or effort it would take to bring them up to Cascel Tower standards. So, here's my advice, Brett, if you truly want a relationship with Hutch and a company worthy of becoming a part of Cascel Tower Corporation, quit Juisan and build your own from scratch. Become worthy of your own second chance, instead of relying on someone else to convince him that you're worth it. We're done here."
Casimir gave a faint nod, and Hutch promptly stood from the table and stepped out of his way. His heart felt as if it had been tied in a knot, and he couldn't get a grasp on what had just happened. After everything he'd done to get that point, he had just told Brett, in no uncertain terms, to fuck off and not come back. He was wide-eyed, as Casimir slid out and stood up before him, tossing his napkin back onto his plate.
"Enzo," Casimir stated as he made his way out into the hall where the waiter was waiting. "Clear the table. Mr. Barstow is finished."
Hutch had no idea how Brett had hoped their meeting was going to go, but highly suspected that this was not the outcome he was expecting.
Hutch followed silently behind Casimir as they left the restaurant and headed up to the penthouse. Neither had given Brett a chance to respond or even defend his position, as they had left him gobsmacked at the table.
Standing next to Casimir in the elevator, Hutch knew he was in a foul mood. He could see the rage in the corner of his eye, and recognized the way he was holding back his anger. Even when he admonished Brett at the table, he knew that Casimir was holding his tone by the sheer power of his will to avoid shouting and making a scene.
"That man is pathetic," Casimir snickered, pulling off his dinner jacket the moment he stepped off the elevator. "Did he really think I would have ever…" he growled, tossing his jacket onto the back of the sofa, before taking a deep breath to calm down. "Clearly, he missed the part where I said, deserved. If I could make it possible, I'd insure you would never have to see him again."
"If I could be so lucky," Hutch replied, moving up behind him. "At least now we know what all of this was about. And we both know, irregardless of what he claimed, that I had nothing to do with his overall goal."
"I wasn't certain if you had picked up on that," Casimir replied, rubbing his hand across his brow. "I'm so sorry Hutch. I shouldn't have asked you to be here. Or said what I said to him. Dammit! I just couldn't hold back. He has no idea who you are, or what we've been through together. He has no right to pretend that he does or that he could ever truly be your father!"
"Don't do that. Don't be sorry. He may only be out to use me, but hearing him acknowledge me, it was like having the glass that held all my childish desires, shatter. It was liberating. And besides, try not to forget that I do know what a real father's like. Ghan'dono showed me that," Hutch said, followed by a humph. "In an unconventional way, so did Barhalis, and you."
Casimir sighed and turned to look at him.
"Look, I know your family wouldn't love you the way they do if you were any other way. It's made it so much easier to see Brett for what he is. A selfish, greedy, narcissist, who only cares when he has to. He's nothing like you, Cas. He's so much worse. There is one thing though, that he said that stuck out to me," Hutch said, and as he turned to look at Casimir, the expression he wore had aged him, softened him around the edges.
"Oh," he replied, "what was it?"
"That comment he made about French fries and horseradish sauce. I've no idea what he was talking about. I've tried to remember, but I'm drawing a blank. I did spend an afternoon with him once. I must have been about six, maybe seven, and he did take me out," Hutch's eyes began to tear as he spoke as they made their way around the sofa and sat down, "he took me to a baseball game and bought me a hot dog, and a hat. I thought it was the greatest day ever. That he definitely was going to acknowledge me after that, but we never spent another day together. Only a couple of hours every now and again." Hutch wiped the tears from his eyes. "That hat, it used to hang in my room above my bed on the end of the curtain rod. I don't remember seeing it there after I came back. I've noticed other things too. Like when Ren told me about the people we were in school with, half of them were mysteries to me. Just like this tower. In my memories, it doesn't exist."
Casimir pondered what he'd said for a moment before replying, "I suspect, it's because none of it did exist to you. You grew up in a timeline where I wasn't here. Ultimately, my return altered the course of history, for more than just you. And since you weren't here when those changes took place, you remained unaffected. I would have thought your memories would have been altered, like your appearance, to match this timeline, but apparently there are limitations to the cursed amulets powers after all."
Hutch groaned. "Why does that sound so concerning? Aside from you having to call that thing cursed."
Casimir sighed and set his chin into his hand. "I don't know. It's probably because it seems like something I should have known outright, or because it changes the perception we have of that STUPID amulet. Suddenly, it has a flaw. It's not all powerful. Instead, the fact that we know it has limitations is a good thing. The more we understand about it the greater the possibility that it won't all go sideways when we get it to work."
"Don't you mean if?"
"I was trying to be optimistic. Bring some enthusiasm back to the table, so I can stop imagining Brett's head on that platter. Tch," Casimir snickered, "in moments like these I do miss being a king."
Hutch began to chuckle. "I don't blame you. His head wearing a crown of roasted herbs with an apple in his mouth… sounds damn enthusiastic to me."
"Yes, until the reality of it never happening hits you. Then it's just the depressing thought that we'll have to destroy him another way. And I really hate this other way. It takes so bloody long and really lacks that satisfying ending. Especially since BarRoss is such an incredibly boring company."
"You want to destroy BarRoss?"
"Hutch," Casimir began, a devilish grin appearing on his face, "that man just tried to ruin you. If this was a normal situation, the implications that he made, that you were a thief that hadn't been caught, would have warranted me firing you on the spot, and he knows it. He knows that any other boss, would have seen all this as too much of a hassle to deal with. He took a shot to better understand how much I trust you, and now he knows that I won't let you go so easily. So, yes, I most certainly want to destroy the only thing that holds any real importance to him, just to show him how weak he truly is."
With Monday out of the way, Tuesday ended with a tutoring session, and Wednesday afterschool, saw Casimir taking Hutch to pick up Ren, and the three of them heading into the city. Casimir had been adamant about not letting Ren take his daughter to a dance without first making certain he was properly prepared. Thus, the afternoon started with new haircuts for all three, and was promptly followed by a trip to the tailors, where even Casimir took the time to have his measurements updated, although they remained unchanged from the time before. And regardless of the protests, Ren was given no choice and was forced to pick out all the necessary pieces to complete his ensemble, including a collared shirt, dress shoes, socks, and tie.
"I really don't know how to thank you, for any of this," Ren would remark, as the bags were stacked onto the counter while Casimir put his wallet away.
Turning to Ren, he laid his hand on his shoulder, and wore a gentle smile. "You can thank me by ensuring Clara enjoys her time with you. All of this, is my way of making certain that you enjoy yourself too. I never had the honor of meeting your father, but I hope he'd take no issue with me doing this in his stead, because I have a sneaking suspicion that he'd be doing the exact same thing if he could."
Casimir's sentiments appeared to strike Ren in the heart, and Hutch watched as he struggled to hold back the tears, as he smiled up at Casimir.
"I'd like to think so too." He wasn't quite successful as his final utterance caused one to escape down his cheek.
They would go to eat after that, scarfing down burgers and fries at one of the most popular diners in the city, and would return Ren home with his spoils, later that evening.
Thursday and Friday came and went in a blur, and when Saturday arrived, the air was a buzz with excitement.
For Hutch, the morning was filled with the usual chores, and that afternoon, he saw Celina and Clara off, as the ladies were heading into town to be pampered at the salon. An hour or so later, he and Casimir left for Ren's.
Hutch had never seen his friend so nervous before, and did what he could to ease his mind, but the reality of the situation had crashed down on him all at once. After a few words of encouragement, Casimir took the time to give them another lesson on tying a tie, before taking Stephanie up on her invitation to coffee, leaving Hutch to try and ease Ren's nerves.
"I still can't believe this is happening," Ren stressed, pacing circles into his bedroom floor. "I'm an absolutely mess! What was I thinking?"
"You were thinking, she'd be fun to spend time with," Hutch replied with a mischievous grin. "At least that's what you should be telling anyone who asks."
"Not helping!"
Hutch chuckled. "Ren, we both know why you asked her. She's beautiful. She also happens to be intelligent, kind, well versed in conversation. She reminds me, perhaps a bit too much, of Kahlala at times. She has that same warmth in her heart. And as nervous as you are now, Clara wouldn't have agreed to this, if she didn't want to get to know you better. You have nothing to worry about, regardless of what you are telling yourself."