Chapter 33 Out in the Open
Emily followed Sylvia into the next room, which was Byron’s home office, and closed the door behind her. She didn’t completely trust Sylvia, but at least she knew the woman was desperate to help her son in any way.
“It’s his depression,” Sylvia said. Now that she didn’t have to put on a brave act in front of Byron, the worry came through on her beautiful if slightly wrinkled face.
“How often does that kind of thing happen?” Emily asked.
“Not very, but when it does, it’s hard to get him out of it,” Sylvia said, “Look, Emily, maybe I came across as a little too overbearing before, but I was wrong about you. You’re not as stupid as you seem.”
“Thanks,” Emily said, rolling her eyes. Since murdering Sylvia would probably be illegal and not win her any points with Byron, she decided that at least verbal fighting tactics such as sarcasm were permitted. “I’ll be sure to get those words engraved on a plaque.”
“Don’t get cheeky with me,” Sylvia said, putting her hands on her hips, “If you had just done what I told you and not played games, Byron wouldn’t be in this state.”
“I am not taking the blame for this,” Emily said, shaking a finger in the air, “I told him he needed counseling. And if you called me in here to waste my time with accusations, then I’m leaving.”
She walked to the door, but Sylvia called after her.
“Wait!”
Emily sighed and turned around.
“You’ve stuck around so far when many other women ran away,” Sylvia said, “Maybe I can trust you to stand with Byron.”
Emily thought this was probably a sincere overture, even if Sylvia’s methods were a little underhanded. “Can I trust you to do what’s best for him, not sneaking behind his back?” she asked in response.
“You can see he’s in no state to make decisions,” Sylvia gestured towards the living room. “I’m going to do what’s best, for Byron and for the company.”
“Still,” Emily said softly but with conviction, “I want everything to be out in the open.”
“What if he doesn’t agree to my plan?” Sylvia folded her arms on her chest.
“He will,” Emily said. She wasn’t quite sure why she felt so confident, but if it was a good plan, then Byron was bound to agree.
“Okay, but if he doesn’t, I’m blaming you,” Sylvia concluded.
“Fine,” Emily said testily. “So what’s the plan anyway?”
“We need to restore Tempicum’s reputation,” Sylvia said, “The company is closely associate with Byron’s name, and even though the scam has been brought to light, it’s still casting a shadow on all our enterprises. What we need is to turn things around in a positive way, to create a different feeling around Byron and his companies, much like you did when you wrote the article to counter Christine’s.”
“Okay, I’m with you so far...” Emily said.
A few minutes later they emerged from the room to find Byron lying back on the couch with his eyes closed.
“Are you awake, dear?” Sylvia asked. “We need you to greenlight a proposal.”
Byron opened his eyes, frowning. “What on earth are you on about, mom?”
“Emily and I will organize a little gathering. It’s going to put a more positive spin on the company and collect donations for depression research and awareness. The only thing is we’d like you to go public with your condition.”
“I’m not going to any gatherings,” he said, “I hate people.”
Emily turned to Sylvia, trying to think of a way around his stubbornness. “Maybe he doesn’t have to be there?”
“He’s never going to agree to any of this,” Sylvia said, “What’s the point?”
Emily leaned down to bring her face closer to his. “Byron, it will mean announcing to the world that you have depression. It would pull everyone’s attention away from the scam, and I think it would be good for you too. You need to accept your condition in order to deal with it.”
“I don’t care if you announce that I have syphilis and the plague,” Byron said, “The company is doomed anyway.”
Sylvia let out a frustrated breath. “He’s not in his right mind.”
“See? I told you he’d agree,” Emily said with a satisfied smile. “Okay, we should ask him again when he’s not so drunk.”
