Page 64 of Thrown

Dad looked like he was about to reply when he noticed the sudden crowd in the office and lost his train of thought. “What’s going on here?” he asked.

Toby stepped forward immediately. “You don’t need to sign any sort of deal with Willougby Entertainment, no matter what he’s telling you,” he said.

Duckworth shifted to grimace at Toby, like he’d brought a bad smell into the room with him. “What drivel are you spoutingnow?” he asked. “You don’t have the first idea what’s going on here.”

“I do,” Toby said, standing nearly directly in front of Duckworth. “You’re trying to convince good people that they have no choice but to sell out to you or doom will descend on them.”

Duckworth snorted a laugh. “What sort of dramatic thrillers have you been watching?” he asked, his lip curling a bit. “If you haven’t figured out by now that real life is not a film, then you’re even more of an imbecile than I thought.”

Toby didn’t flinch. He narrowed his eyes and said, “Let me guess. You’ve pulled a lot of strings to make the family feel as though they have no choice, and now you’ve low-balled the offer from before.”

“He’s lowered it to less than a hundred and seventy-five million,” Dad spoke up, clearly furious about the turn.

Robbie was horrified, but not at all surprised. He was more than a little impressed that Toby had anticipated the move.

“This estate isn’t worth even half that much,” Duckworth persisted, huffing and jerking his arms, like he was backed into a corner and getting ready to defend himself. He glanced at the older gentlemen, who all seemed extraordinarily interested in what was going on, then promptly ignored them as he went on with, “The work that needs to go into it to make it worth anything at all is astounding.”

“Then why pursue it in the first place?” Robbie argued. “If it’s so much work, why not give up your deal and go find another patch of land to ravage?”

Duckworth stared furiously at him, but only for a moment. Once that moment had passed, he turned his attention back to Dad.

“This is your last chance,” he said. “Sign the sale papers or by next week, you won’t have a financial leg to stand on to keep this place operational.”

“Not true,” Toby cut in, a cool smile making him look like the king of the world. “Hawthorne House has abundant resources and dozens of ways to generate income.”

“Ridiculous,” Duckworth dismissed him.

Toby barely registered the slight as he went on with, “Silver Productions is ready to sign a deal with Hawthorne House immediately. I’m sure they’ll have representatives out here to hash out a shooting schedule and to develop ideas for the future as soon as the dust settles on the contract.”

Duckworth did a double-take, staring at Toby like a disobedient dog who had gotten loose in the lounge and was tracking mud everywhere. “And what do you know about any of this? You’ve just been sacked from the only reputable company that would hire you.”

Fury shot through Robbie, and he clenched his fists. The only way Duckworth would know that already was if he’d had a hand in it. Of course, it’s what they’d expected all along, but having it confirmed was another thing entirely.

“Is there no end to your vengeance?” he demanded. “Why is this deal so important that you would try to ruin a man’s career on top of destroying a family’s legacy? If its money you want so badly, why don’t you find yourself another deal to broker?”

“It’s because his job is on the line,” Dad spoke up in a growl, eyes narrowed at Duckworth. Robbie and Toby both flinched to stare at him. “I found out a couple hours ago, shortly after the two of you left.”

“Found out what?” Toby asked.

Without taking his piercing stare off of Duckworth, Dad said, “I called Willoughby Entertainment directly to discuss thematter. It took a little finagling, but I was finally able to speak to this wanker’s superior.”

Duckworth gulped so hard he started coughing. His face went red and splotchy, and through his coughing he said, “You didn’t.”

“I did,” Dad said. “Turns out he’s on the spot after the last three deals he attempted to broker fell through. Not only that, I heard a delicious little bit of gossip about someone’s home on the verge of foreclosure due to lack of payments.”

“Oh, very poetic,” Benny said, resting on his cane. “He’s attempted to steal one person’s house so that he might save his own.”

The comment from the chorus snagged everyone’s attention for a moment. Dad in particular gaped at Benny, eyes wide, then broke into a smile.

“Benny Hollis?” he said looking as if the sun had burst through the clouds. “As I live and breathe.”

“Hello there, young Robert,” Benny greeted him in a salacious voice, wiggling his eyebrows. “Long time no see.”

“I should say,” Dad laughed, suddenly looking about forty years younger and, of all things, sheepish.

“Could we save the naughty reunions for later?” Robbie cut through the interaction that, frankly, he didn’t want any part of. He turned back to Duckworth. “Is it true that desperation is behind all of this?”

“Absolutely not,” Duckworth growled. His agitated stance and red face told a different story. “This is about business, not sentimentality. You have no choice but to sell out to Willoughby Entertainment.”

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