Page 5 of Flawless Foundations

"Call in sick. You want to quit anyway. This dinner will help you with your career problem, so think of it as an interview of sorts." He pushes away from the table. "Come now, Becca, I've got a conference call in thirty." He starts unbuttoning his shirt as he walks away from the table and down the hall to his master bedroom.

Uh, what the hell just happened?

Chapter 4

Levi

Idon't even bother with scanning the rest of the fully stocked bar in front of me. I pour a whiskey neat and shoot it down. I pour another two fingers’ worth, contemplating how quickly I'll finish this one.

"Damn, man. Take it easy there." I hear Jake say as he walks up next to me at the bar. I chuckle in response and take a sip. "I don't know why, but I was expecting there to be a bartender, not DIY style." He scans the bar top. I look toward him, blinking my eyes slowly, confused at his words.

He shrugs. "Don't look at me like that, I've never been here before, I didn't know what to expect." I shake my head but smirk. He's so dense sometimes.

"Don't get me wrong, this way is better, I can drink as much as I need to survive this shindig without anyone judging me." He reaches for the bottle of Jack Daniels.

"Trust me, if there was a hired bartender tonight, they'd be passing judgment on both of us." I lean down and pop open one of the built-in mini fridges that is stocked with sodas. Next to me, Jake grunts and grabs a Coke.

"Why are you shooting the hard stuff tonight? Shouldn't I be the one in the hot seat? I mean, hell, Kitty pretended I wasn't even here when she greeted us." He goes about making his own drink.

"Don't know if you've realized this, but I'm not the favorite anymore." He snorts into his drink.

"Well, one of us has to be." A light, humorous voice rings behind us, and I turn to face my little sister. Emmy stretches up on her toes and gives me a kiss on the cheek. Then she steps up to Jake and snags his freshly made Jack and Coke.

He groans and goes to work making another.

"I promise you, Levi, you will always be the favorite. Even if Dad is mad at you right now, you work for him. You do his bidding." I raise my eyebrow at that. "Okay, okay, you occasionally do his bidding. Point is, you follow the King rules. Me, not so much."

She has a point but still doesn't mean I like it. Just as I start to defend myself, the sound of a bell rings to announce dinner. I hang my head and start for the dining room table at the far end of the room. Behind me I hear, "A fucking bell, Emmy? A fucking bell?" I smile at his astonishment; Emmy giggles and shushes him as they follow.

Dinner was nearly impossible to get through, but almost forty minutes later, our father is requesting our presence in the parlor. This, I suspect, is when he will announce that he's retiring.

I grudgingly push out of my chair and take a moment to grab another whiskey. I make eye contact with Jake across the table, and the pleading in his eyes tells me to make him one.

Minutes later, after taking my time, I make my way into the parlor. Kitty is perched on a chair I know is uncomfortable as shit. Dad is standing, facing the floor-to-ceiling windows, staring out into the darkened sky. Emmy and Jake are sitting in one of the love seats. Emmy looks like she's ready to bolt; Jake slings a protective arm around her. I hand him his drink and stalk over to the adjacent couch.

"Emmy, wouldn't your friend be more comfortable waiting in the dining room?" Kitty's smooth, passive-aggressive tone is like nails on a chalkboard. I slide my gaze to the love seat, and I fight a smile when I see Jake wiggle deeper into the couch, getting comfortable.

"His name is Jake, and no, he's fine where he is. Thanks for asking though," Emmy snips right back and I snort into my glass. I steal a glance at Kitty and her lips are pinched, but her head is held high. I'll never deny that my step-mother is a snooty bitch. She doesn't have a maternal bone in her body, at least not toward Emmy and me.

My father clears his throat. Signaling the end to whatever volley Kitty was going to throwback.

"I've requested your presence tonight to talk to you about something very serious." He turns to us and walks over to stand behind the chair Kitty is sitting in. Suddenly, a pang of anxiety shoots through me when I realize that maybe this is something much worse. Maybe he's sick or someone in the family has passed away.

"I've decided to retire at year’s end. As you know, I've been eying this transition for a while, but it's time," he states, nearly sounding detached.

"Are you sick?" Emmy beats me to my own question.

"No, thankfully. But I promised Kitty that after I turned 60, I would lighten my workload. I have over the past two years, but I'm ready to just take up a seat at the head of the board. The day-to-day, I'm ready to pass on." I suck in a breath at his revelation.

"Emmy, please, I've played along with your rebellion and straight out disrespect to our family for long enough. You need to come work for King Cosmetics. Take what is rightfully yours. You can have any position you want, though I would prefer if you moved into the Chief of Marketing role." My skin craws, knowing that the current Chief of Marketing wouldn't appreciate the offer. Pursing my lips, I look to Emmy. I don't know how she does it, but she remains calm and collected. Jake, on the other hand, his expression is tight and his knuckles are turning white around his glass.

"While I'm truly grateful for the offer, I'm quite happy with my job at Envirogal. I know you don't understand this, but I'm not rebelling, and I'm truly sorry that you feel that I'm disrespecting this family. But I'm not interested in working for King Cosmetics." Damn. Her ability to stay true to herself is inspiring. At times growing up, I would feel only annoyance. I didn't understand her reasons for not wanting to follow the rules. But now, after the past year of really looking at where I am in life, and those around me, I can say, without a doubt, that I'm damn proud of her.

If Joseph King ever showed any emotion other than stoic neutralism and disappointment, I would say that right now he might be borderline sad. But his expression hardens. "Very well, you are dismissed."

His words, they feel so final. My eyebrows dip as I take in the tension in the room. I cut my eyes to the love seat, and I can tell Emmy feels it too. Her back is ramrod straight and stares our father down. Jake mirrors her position but a glare rests upon his face.

"I have matters to discuss with Levi. Please, Kitty, will you see Emmy and Jake out?" He gives his second dismissal. Kitty stands and motions for them to stand up. They do, and as they walk past me, Emmy looks only straight ahead, but Jake looks down at me and mouths, good luck.

---