(for Daniel)
Jan. 18th, 2016 09:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jamesthornJames returned to the disorganized mess of paperwork on his desk following lunch and a staff meeting with his supervisor, only to find that his office phone was lit up with voicemail messages and so was his cellphone. He had missed call after call, several text messages, and even emails urging him to go to Thornton Estate now. Something was wrong.
He figured their father was summoning them, but all the phone calls was strange. He informed the office assistant he was headed out for the rest of the afternoon and drove out to the edge of town where Thornton Estate sat primly on its acres of manicured lawn, surrounded by tall trees and flanked by the ocean. Despite the fact that he never came home unless forced, James had a fondness for this place. It reminded him of his mother.
There was a confusing deluge of staff and family lawyers gathered in the foyer when he walked inside, and he was quickly ushered into the family library, behind closed doors where his father's most notable assistant, Phillip, broke the news to him in a business-like voice.
William Thornton had a heart attack shortly after breakfast, and he didn't make it.
Their father was dead.
He figured their father was summoning them, but all the phone calls was strange. He informed the office assistant he was headed out for the rest of the afternoon and drove out to the edge of town where Thornton Estate sat primly on its acres of manicured lawn, surrounded by tall trees and flanked by the ocean. Despite the fact that he never came home unless forced, James had a fondness for this place. It reminded him of his mother.
There was a confusing deluge of staff and family lawyers gathered in the foyer when he walked inside, and he was quickly ushered into the family library, behind closed doors where his father's most notable assistant, Phillip, broke the news to him in a business-like voice.
William Thornton had a heart attack shortly after breakfast, and he didn't make it.
Their father was dead.
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Date: 2016-01-19 03:05 pm (UTC)James watched Phillip leave the room and then glanced up once the room was empty. He stood and headed straight for the bar and poured two glasses of their father's bourbon. He held out the crystal glass.
"There was already an army of lawyers here before I arrived. I suspect things will be messy regarding the money," he told Daniel, taking a long sip.
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Date: 2016-01-19 03:13 pm (UTC)"Aren't they always when money's concerned?" Daniel said, taking the glass and knocking back half of it in one swallow. Their father would be-...would have been mad if he'd seen him wasting good bourbon like that but that thought only made him do it again, a little more shallow this time, but still wasteful. Some things never died and apparently Daniels barefaced defiance of his father was one of them. "So the vultures were circling before he was even cold. I guess we know which ones to watch out for." He said.
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Date: 2016-01-19 03:24 pm (UTC)Money did complicate matters. William often used it as a way to hold influence over them, and to a point it worked, until they'd all managed to move out of the house. But it'd be a lie to say the trust funds didn't help. Now there would be a large inheritance to split amongst themselves, assuming William didn't leave everything to some untouchable entity just to spite them.
James wasn't sure which he even preferred.
"It's the four of us, Daniel. Those are the family lawyers, but they are loyal to William. But most of the arrangements have been left in his will, according to Phillip," he said, swallowing down another sip. "For the...funeral, I mean. There's little for us to decide."
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Date: 2016-01-19 03:31 pm (UTC)"Good. I don't want to have to deal with that." Daniel said honestly. "Philip and the others can handle the arrangements. It'll keep them busy while we decide between us if we want someone new to handle the rest of it. I do. Like you said: they're fathers people and now he's gone, they're out for themselves."
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Date: 2016-01-19 03:39 pm (UTC)"I don't think it's that simple. What do any of us know about the family's holdings? About his business?" James asked looked at his brother with a sad smile. "I can count on one hand the amount of times I've spoke to him in the past year, and certainly none of those were about his money."
Most of the conversations were disappointment with James' romantic entanglements. But since he and Davin had already broken up the last time they spoke William had to settle for poking at his career choice instead.
"Maybe it doesn't matter. It's his money. Do you really want it?"
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Date: 2016-01-19 03:50 pm (UTC)James had a point. Demetri probably knew more about the family business than all of them, but father wouldn't have shared it all with him. He probably wouldn't have shared it with anyone, if Daniel was honest.
He sighed. "Honestly, if it was just his money, no. But the trusts were partly Moms doing. She wanted us to be comfortable and given that father made us decidedly uncomfortable, maybe we kinda deserve it."
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Date: 2016-01-19 09:31 pm (UTC)It's the mention of their mother that made James wince. Their mother's funeral had been difficult. William had been devastated, grieved and at times even drunk for the days before and weeks after. James had kept as strong a face as possible for his brothers and sister. They were young and confused. He was too. It didn't help that William just grew even more distant and cold in the years to follow. Nothing was the same after that...
He sighed again. "Maybe you're right. She wouldn't want us to be pushed out of here," he said. He meant the Estate. It was their home. And she would want them all taken care of as best as possible, to live how they wished.
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Date: 2016-01-19 10:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-19 10:27 pm (UTC)James walked over to Daniel and patted him on the shoulder, giving him a somber smile. This hadn't been how he intended to spend the day. "Let's just get through the next couple days with the press and the funeral, and we'll go from there..."
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Date: 2016-01-19 10:37 pm (UTC)Daniel nodded and gave his brother a half smile. "I have to be polite to the press, right?"
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Date: 2016-01-20 01:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-20 10:42 am (UTC)"I can't promise June will be. You know what she's like." Daniel said, huffing a laugh.
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Date: 2016-01-20 12:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-20 12:28 pm (UTC)"I resent the implication." Daniel said, falling back on a mild form of their usual bickering. It was comforting in a way he hadn't realised he'd needed. "And besides, you know Demetri is the proper face of the family. June and I are tabloid faces at best."
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Date: 2016-01-23 02:17 pm (UTC)Chuckling, James reached out to pull Daniel into a hug. Between the funeral and everything else, it was going to be a long few weeks. He hadn't expected to hear this news today, but he was glad that he had his siblings around to make it a little less harrowing. He released him, patting him on the shoulder. "Well, I suppose we can't hide in here any longer. Phillip is probably pacing by the door," he said.
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Date: 2016-01-24 01:10 pm (UTC)Nodding Daniel took a breath. "Fine. Lets do the family image thing." He said, putting on his 'dealing-with-family-business' face. "But after this we're getting pizza delivered to the house and drinking at least a bottle of fathers best."