2011: It's been ten years since the sky literally came crashing down around Yael Malkah and upended her world. Now she's returned to New York to visit her ailing grandmother. With no other family, it's up to her to take care of the family business...
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Monday morning rush hour forced traffic to a standstill and Yael tapped her foot on the floor of the cab impatiently. She eyed the bright coral sandals and smirked. Not quite corporate material, but she didn't care. She sighed as they sat through yet another red light and leaned her head against the seat. Meeting Haustin's kids on Saturday had been monumental, as well as emotionally exhausting, and despite the initial awkwardness, she considered it a success. Both Luna and Miles were bright, fun teenagers, yet they were broken, too. The whole time, they seemed to be waiting for their father to disappoint them, and she caught Haustin struggling with falling into the darkness more than once.
Once the cab finally made it to Malkah Enterprises, Yael stepped from the backseat and wound her way through the crowded sidewalk, smoothing the wrinkles from her dressy capris. She was halfway across the vast lobby when she caught sight of Casey outside, nose to nose in an intense argument, and her steps faltered. The combatant was an almost identical copy of Casey, except for the gray hair standing at haphazard angles. Although they shared the same tall athletic build, the older man seemed shrunken, hunched in on himself.
It must be Casey's father.
Ducking behind a marble column, she monitored them, trying not to snoop, but she hated the dejected expression Casey wore. No matter what he said, his father didn't seem to agree, gesturing wildly with his arms and pacing like a panther, tossing glares in the general direction of the building. Finally, he grabbed Casey by his suit jacket, yelling with such force, Yael saw spittle fly. Heart pounding in her chest, she readied herself to break up the fight, startled by her protectiveness, but Casey knocked the man's hands away and stalked inside.
Gauging the murderous glower on Casey's face, Yael decided to head him off before he passed through security. She trotted over and placed herself in his path.
"Come with me." She took him by the elbow and steered him to a quiet sitting area partly hidden by potted plants.
"I don't have time for this, Yael," he argued but sank into an upholstered bench beside her, his body stiff with tension.
"Well, you're going to make time. Take a minute to calm down." She watched him struggle internally for half a beat before he sucked in a deep breath and his shoulders slumped. "Was that your dad?"
"Charming man."
"Must run in the family."
He ignored her quip and exploded, "The man is impossible. He can't get his shit together and somehow it's my fault. He has no right to lay his crap at my feet and expect me to take care of it. I don't know him anymore!"
"Has he always been so," she searched for the word, "difficult?"
"No." He deflated, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. "Believe it or not, he was a great dad. I worked for him through high school and college doing construction. He started making a name for himself, increased the size of his crew to keep up with the expansion. You know how it is. To get better jobs, better equipment, you have to spend money. He mortgaged himself to the hilt, but he kept landing bigger projects." He sighed. "Then the market took a nosedive, putting him upside down on the loans. No one was building, and he got in trouble, lost his business and nearly the house."
