Stupid Boy: Senior Year - Winter 16

Chapter 16 -- Change is Good, Right?

Friday December 30

The plan for the day was to go to my company's office and get updated on how everything was going. Since the meeting was scheduled for first thing, I talked my grandma into going to Granny's West for breakfast. I'd spent the night in her guest room because my uncle had used my apartment.

Before I left, I called Chuck.

"Where are you? I'm supposed to pick you up this morning."

"I'm at my grandmother's farm. She'll be giving me a ride this morning to our office, and I'll be there most of the day. I need you to go to O'Hare and pick up Fritz, Halle, and Rita," I explained.

Halle had told me what flight they would be on. Chuck agreed but still gave me grief for slipping my leash. When they dropped me off at night, I was supposed to stay home. For the most part, I agreed with what they told me, but sometimes I just needed them not be breathing down my neck.

When we arrived at Granny's West, I found there was a crowd of unexpected guests. Bev and Jack Mass had come down from Chicago, and Frank Ingram and Kent Crain were in from LA. At another table was Brook with her mom and grandmother.

"Mind if we join you?" I asked Brook's mother, Ava.

At first, couldn't remember Brook's grandmother's name, which I was reminded was Grace Davenport. After we'd made introductions, I got up and walked around to say good morning to everyone. When I came back, I saw that they'd brought everyone a cinnamon roll.

"What brings you ladies out this fine morning?" I asked between mouthfuls of yummy goodness.

"We are special guests at your meeting today," Brook informed me.

Brook had taken an interest in my businesses. She'd come up with the idea of expanding our talent management, PR services, and investment management businesses into a combined wealth management offering. She'd introduced that to her grandmother, who had then become our first client. I hoped she would let us know what she thought today and how we could improve our offerings.

"I'm eager to hear how everything is going for you," I said to Grace.

"It's gone well. I'll save the details for the meeting," she said.

Ava told Grace that my grandmother was acting as the mayor of our town, and the three of them talked about what Grandma was doing. That gave Brook and me a chance to speak.

"Halle said she would be in today for your party."

"She and her mom are staying with us. She said you promised her ... stuff," she said cryptically so the big ears sitting next to us wouldn't hear.

"What 'stuff'?" Ava asked.

Brook had opened her big mouth, so I wasn't about to bail her out. She should have known that the three of them had 'mom ears' and would pick up on what she was saying to me. My girlfriend looked at me for help, and I put on my best little angel face.

"I think David called it bow-chicka-bow-wow," my grandmother said to toss me back into the middle of it.

"Hey!" I complained. "What's the Dawson Rule?"

"There is no 'Dawson Rule,'" Grandma Dawson shot back.

"Well ... there should be," I said as I glared at her like a put-out teen.

"Is this young man corrupting my granddaughter?" Grace asked with a mock scowl.

"Oh, Honey, don't get me started. My youngest was a little Casanova when he was David's age. From what I gather, my grandsons take after him."

Where was my mom when I needed her? Then again, I probably didn't want her involved in a conversation like this. I knew my dad and uncle would be no help.

"This one," Grace said, pointing at Ava, "caused most of these gray hairs."

"Mother," Ava warned.

"Oh, really? Do tell," Brook said, digging for dirt.

Brook and I got lucky because it turned into telling stories about my dad and uncle and Grace's kids. I smiled as both my girlfriend and I made mental notes of some of the trouble they got into. By the time we finished eating, I had figured I had a couple new 'get out of jail free' cards in my back pocket.

---

I groaned when Caryn handed me the agenda, and I saw that they had allotted three hours for the business overview. I was afraid this was three hours I would never get back. I knew in my gut that I should really be involved in all this, but I just couldn't seem to get excited about it. This was something that should be happening later in my life. Right now, I had too much going on, and a big chunk of the stuff in which I was involved had nothing to do with just being a kid in high school. This was a reminder that people relied on what I did and the money I earned, and that's an uncomfortable burden for a high schooler. If a lot of the people in the room hadn't been my family, I might have bailed.

I asked all of you here today not just to conduct a year-end review of the businesses but also because I've been approached with an unexpected offer. Just so you all know, Rob and I haven't discussed this with David. We didn't because he asked us not to bother him with the business," Caryn said, which caused some good-natured chuckles from everyone.

It sounded like I might have said that one too many times. Caryn could have her fun. Payback might be headed her way.

"That, and," she continued, "we just received this offer two days ago. The real reason was that we've been requested to allow the person making the offer make their pitch to David and the board directly. Rob suggested that we include everyone involved in the day-to-day management so they could hear this too."

That would explain why Kent had been asked to fly in. He effectively ran my talent management company with Frank's oversight. Frank was a managing partner of our PR firm, while Jack and Bev Mass ran the investment arm of our business.

Megan handed everyone an organizational chart of all the businesses for reference. Then Grace Davenport stepped up to the front of the room, and Caryn introduced her. She took a moment to go over her credentials as the driving force behind many successful retail and home-goods brands. Grace had made their parent company one of the fastest-growing companies in the '90s. It had made Brook's family very wealthy.

If Grace had a proposal for me, I had to listen. This woman was a legend in the business world, even if she had recently relinquished control of her company to her management team.

What impressed me the most about her was that we'd just had breakfast and had a conversation that was far from what you would expect from the chairman of a huge corporation. She seemed comfortable being a normal person when she was with her daughter and granddaughter. When she took the front of a room, the business persona came forward.

"I know you have a full agenda planned for today, so I'll just get to the point. I think you've found a unique niche in the wealth management market. What I hate about most wealth management companies is that they cater to institutional clients like state employee retirement funds or large corporations. If you look at their list of clients, you'll see that big institutional clients account for the majority of their revenues.

"What you offer is much more personalized. It covers all aspects of financial management that wealthy people genuinely need, and not just people in the entertainment industry. Potentially, and in some cases actually, it also covers virtually all non-financial aspects of personal management as well, with personal and public relations services being the prime examples. I hadn't thought about the gaps in services I had until my granddaughter came to me with what you had to offer. I've been using the services for the past few months and find the business model intriguing.

"My hat is off to you all for taking your business to this point. What I'm going to propose is that we take this to a whole new level with my help. To be frank, I don't think David has the desire to take the reins and drive this business to its full potential right now. Maybe in ten or fifteen years, he will have the background and time to take this on, but not right now," she said and turned to me.

"This isn't meant as a slam on you personally, David," Grace said. "I understand why everyone partnered with you. You were their cash cow. In effect, you offered them an opportunity to work independently, with your father and Caryn acting as traffic cops and keeping everything balanced and in perspective.

"I'm going to be brutally honest with you. You, as the owner, have not been keeping an eye on things. Not that anyone has done anything wrong or taken advantage of you, but I know from experience that someone with your leadership skills would make a difference. You need someone to take that role to move the company to the next level.

"I also understand why you haven't been actively involved. You felt if you threw money at it and put the right people in charge that it would take care of itself. You have too much else occupying your time to run a successful company. To this point, you've been lucky, and from what I can see from the numbers that Caryn shared with me, it has grown faster than expected. That in and of itself will eventually catch other people's attention, and not necessarily in a good way. It won't be long before your business model is hijacked by someone who is better prepared to take advantage of it.

"Eventually, inattention on your part and the lack of a steady hand on the reins will almost certainly result in something bad happening. It will be something that you really don't want or like, and it will occur somewhere down the line, though perhaps not for years. As I said, I'm being blunt. But I've also seen it happen, and the effects, both personal and financial, can range from troubling, to significant, to severe, all the way up to devastating.

"Finally, rapid growth is good, but only if you know how to manage it. Too many times, a small company like yours can't keep up and maintain quality when it starts to take off. That is something I specialize in," she said.

I was a little offended she referred to us as a 'little' company. But when you looked at her parent companies' yearly revenues--in the range of multi-billions of dollars--we were little by comparison.

"What exactly are you proposing?" I asked.

She had Ava hand out folders.

"Currently, David A. Dawson Inc. is the parent company that is running everything, with ownership interests in Mass Investments and IDC Public Relations. It also owns 100% of Dawson Management. I understand that you are in negotiations to purchase an ownership interest in an insurance brokerage. What I would need is a fifty-one percent ownership position in all these companies."

Grace went on for about an hour explaining what it all would mean and what she projected over the next several years. What had my full interest were three things. The first was that Caryn, my dad, Frank Ingram, and Jack Mass all seemed to see the benefits to her proposal. If she pulled it off, we would all be in much better financial shape than anything we'd ever dreamed of when we started this venture.

The second item of interest was that David A. Dawson, Inc. would divest itself of any interest in the farms, restaurants, my mom's real estate company, and ownership of the strip mall. In exchange, the parent company would get 51% of Dawson Management. Grace explained those other pieces didn't fit the core business. She would help me set up a new management company to run those. She would then run David A. Dawson, Inc., and my new management company would be left with a minority interest plus those divested entities.

The final reason I was interested was precisely what she said: I didn't want to be involved in building a business empire right now. This would allow someone with the know-how to take the reins and relieve me of a lot of the worries that I'd kept shoving to the back of my mind. The problem had always been that those worries were still there, even if I didn't keep them in my conscious thoughts.

To be honest, I would still own what I really cared about: the farms, the restaurants, and my mom's real estate company. As to the rest, I would wind up being an interested investor.

We took a break, and I pulled Caryn, Dad and Mom, Uncle John, and Grandma Dawson together in a conference room. I guess I wasn't surprised when Brook and Scarlet joined us.

"I have a feeling this is a big deal, and I might not want to sell. If Grace sees the value in what we are doing, are we crazy to let it go?" I asked.

"He makes a good point. My grandmother wouldn't have worked on this if there wasn't something in it for her. I'm actually a little surprised she didn't just start from scratch and do it herself," Brook shared.

"That was good. You should be in sales," my mom said. "She just subtly did a takeaway where she pointed out that her grandmother didn't need us."

"I wasn't trying to do that," Brook said. "I was just sharing what I know to help."

"Ignore my mom. She's just giving you a hard time while pointing out why that technique works. It makes me wonder what I'm missing out on if I do this," I explained to my girlfriend. "What do you think, Dad?"

"You'll still have a 9% ownership interest in the parent company. If the projections are even half of what she is proposing, 9% ten years in the future is worth more than 60% ownership of what we were projecting we'd have by that time in our wildest dreams. I also look at what she did by giving you back the other businesses as more than generous," Dad said.

"Also left to me were both the charities--which will need new management to run them--and David A. Dawson LLC," I said.

This was the limited liability company I ran all my acting and modeling income through.

"The only fly in the ointment, so to speak, is that she plans to move the company to Cincinnati, where she lives. I was surprised when she said that Ava would be moving there and help run the company," Scarlet added.

I wondered what that meant for Brook's parents. She wouldn't look at me, so my first thought was that whatever it meant wasn't necessarily that great for Brook on a personal level. It also made me wonder about Scarlet, Caryn, and Megan. Would they make the move? In particular, I wondered what it would mean for Scarlet. One of my goals was to spend more time with my kids, and if she moved, she would take Carol. I also worried about Ashley deciding to move with her. They were much closer to each other than they were to me. Frankly, with the news of the income from their trust funds being released to them, they didn't need me.

My uncle had been silent throughout this conversation, which surprised me. I turned to look at him and saw him sitting there with a sideways smile on his face as he observed me. I hated it when he did that. When I was exiled to the farm, and he helped turn my life around, I would catch him doing just that when he thought I was on the verge of making a breakthrough.

"Change is good, right?" he asked.

I wanted to roll my eyes at him. I'd heard those words before. It was when I was exasperated by his continued attempts to hammer home the point that I wanted to change my life but didn't want to admit it. What teen wants to do that with an authority figure pointing it out to them? I'd learned he knew me well enough to push my buttons and finally get me to move forward.

I took another moment to think before I committed. Our family had been running farms since my grandfather's younger days. I knew that Uncle John and my grandmother didn't need me to be involved in any of that. My mom took care of the real estate, and I could count on Mary Dole and Granny to run the two restaurants. I would have to find people to run the charities, but in the grand scheme of things, that wasn't all that big of a deal. Angie had been the only one who had needed an income, and I'd promised my brother I would find something else for her to do.

This would solve my biggest issue. I didn't want to run a business ... yet.

"Okay. Let's consider this," I said.

From the looks from everyone, it seemed I'd made the right decision.

"Can David come out to play?" Brook asked.

God, I loved her. The look on my mom's face was worth it. I would leave it to everyone else to figure out the details with Brook's grandmother.

---

We found Cassidy at the front door.

"Someone sent their security to Chicago this morning," she chastised me.

"Let's go to lunch," I suggested.

"Monical's?" Cassidy asked.

"If you want to," Brook said to tease me.

Of course, I wanted to.

Once we arrived and sat in a booth, I felt I was home. We ordered a Family Pleaser, which came with a family-size salad, a large pizza, and a pitcher of soda. Brook wanted pepperoni and Diet Coke. I was just happy we were here, so I didn't argue.

"What are you going to do with all your money?" Brook asked.

"What money?"

"Did you even read the offer?"

I hated to admit that I hadn't. This was probably why I wasn't cut out to run a company right now. I felt a little stupid when Brook pulled it out of the giant bag she called a purse. She flipped through to the last page and pointed.

"Why didn't she lead with this?" I asked.

They were offering me ten equal payments each year, starting as soon as I signed, and then a balloon payment in the last. The note said that with it structured this way, they could use the money to help build the business. Brook's grandmother guaranteed the loan in case the company wasn't able to fulfill it. The payments were, uh, substantial. I suddenly felt like one of those tech guys who had sold a start-up and retired before the age of thirty.

Cassidy had been reading it along with me.

"If I show this to my dad, he'll let you date me," she suggested.

"Hands off," Brook said as she shot her friend an affable scowl.

"If your mom moves to Cincinnati, what's your dad going to do?" I asked my girlfriend.

"He's staying here until I graduate high school and then they'll see. I just found out about it this morning," Brook said to explain why she hadn't told me about it.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"That my parents look like they're breaking up?" she asked.

"When you put it that way ..." I let hang and then took a deep breath. "They did say there was a chance, though."

"I guess. Mom said she looked at this as a way to find out what she really wanted. Dad said that things couldn't get much worse, but he was willing to give her the space and time to figure out what she wanted. My grandmother has always tried to get my mom to be more involved in her business. I think she looks at this startup as a way to pass her knowledge on to my mom," Brook explained.

"Are you going to do it? Are you going to sell your business?" Cassidy asked.

"I think I need to. I see Grace's point about me not wanting to be involved in running it and what the consequences could be. Someone like her could give it the vision and experience to do more. I could see from everyone else they were eager to accept it. I'm just not interested in giving it the attention it needs.

"One of my life goals is to learn to say 'no.' Learning that lesson is more than just saying the words. You have to know what you want to take on and be honest about what you don't. Kent came to me with the idea of the management company. I could see what he did for me, and could see the value of him spreading his wings and offering the services to others.

"Caryn pointed out that in business, you should look at different income streams and try to pull them together. It's sort of like my mom's real estate business. Listing and selling houses is her core business. She works with investors, so she took on doing rentals--another source of income. Rentals and some of her listings need lawn care, repairs, and the like. So, you can see why I accepted when Frank Ingram, with his PR firm, and Jack Mass, investments, wanted to partner with me," I explained.

"Is that why you helped Wolf get started in the lawn-care business?" Brook asked.

I gave her a little smile.

"That was me being lazy. My dad kept getting on me about yard work, and Wolf needed some money because his dad had been out of work for a while. He wouldn't take money from me when he wanted to go to a school dance, so I made him a deal. I might have mentioned to my mom that she should hire him for her needs," I admitted.

Both Cassidy and Brook smiled at me in a way that made me uncomfortable.

"You really are a good guy," Brook said.

"Not that good, I hope," I shot back and raised one eyebrow.

"She says you're good at not being good, too," Cassidy said.

"Really?" I asked with a huge grin.

"Now look what you've done," Brook pouted.

Cassidy jabbed me under the arm. I swear she had an uncanny ability to find just the right spot to cause the maximum amount of pain. If I hadn't seen Brook's smile when our little ninja brought reality crashing in around me, I might have been upset. In the back of my mind, it reminded me I needed to get back to the dojo where I could exact some revenge.

When our pizza arrived, I received a text. I flagged down our waitress.

"I need six, no, make that seven Family Pleasers to go," I ordered.

"What's up?" Brook asked.

"I'm supposed to bring back lunch. We have to talk about the sale, and also the money that I received from Southwest Central State," I explained.

My dad had set up a call with the lawyers to figure out what to do with that mess. If I hadn't been a teenage boy, the thought of dealing with the NCAA and FBI would have made me lose my appetite. Since I was one, I was able to wolf down several pieces of pizza while we waited for them to make our to-go order.

---

Megan and Scarlet came down to help carry in food. I popped into my mom's real estate company and dropped off the extra one for Ashley, who was covering the office.

"I can't eat all that," she said when she saw I had enough to feed four.

"Either share it or take it home," I reasoned.

There was no such thing as too much Monical's pizza. I hoped we would have leftovers from all the food I'd ordered. It was the perfect late-night snack or breakfast.

"When is your mom coming back?" she asked.

"I don't know," I admitted.

"Here, she has some calls she needs to return."

I took the pieces of paper she handed me.

"How are you doing?" I asked.

"Good. You should come over for dinner while you're in town. I know the boys would love to see you."

"Do you have tomorrow off?" I asked.

"Yeah, your mom is closing the office until Monday. You could come over for lunch."

"I would like that. I'd hoped to spend time with all the little ones today, but all this came up," I said, pointing to upstairs.

My original plan was to spring them from daycare and hang out with them. I also wanted to spend time with my niece and nephews. It was probably good that I hadn't because that many would have been a nightmare.

"Scarlet didn't say what was going on," Ashley said, fishing for information.

In a way, I was surprised that she hadn't, but it made Scarlet go up a notch in my estimation. It was good to know she wasn't talking about my business outside the office.

"I received an offer to sell part of my business. In fact, I need to get back upstairs."

"Thanks for the food. While I love Granny's, it's nice to have something different," she admitted.

Granny's West was right next door, and I was sure that when Ashley was 'on floor,' the term my mom used to describe when an agent was put in charge of the phones and walk-ins, it was handy.

---

After everyone demolished the pizzas--sadly, there would be no leftovers--the afternoon was spent figuring out the details. The hardest part turned out to be Frank and his partners in the PR company. They had to come to grips with selling off the controlling interest in their business. While Grace and Frank went into the conference room to get everyone from his firm on a call to work it out, I pulled Caryn, Megan, and Scarlet together with my dad.

"It looks like we're doing this," I started. "I just wanted to know where we go from here. Do you all stay, or do you plan to go to Cincinnati?"

"We'll set up a new parent company for all the businesses you're keeping. We'll run that out of this office," Dad said.

"I'll be leaving to work with Grace and Ava," Caryn said.

I nodded in understanding. The business opportunities for Caryn to learn and grow were beyond priceless.

"I'd like to ask Scarlet to take Caryn's place and have her run the day-to-day of your new company," Dad said.

"With your dad's help, she'll do fine. If you remember, I didn't have much more experience than Scarlet when you let me take the reins," Caryn said.

"Do you want to do it?" I asked Scarlet.

"Does it come with a raise?" she asked.

"David is big on titles and heaping on more responsibility. You also get to be on salary so he can work you more without paying you overtime," Caryn teased.

"Really? When have you worked even 40 hours in a week?" I shot back, earning me a glare from Caryn.

"If you want the job, we'll work it out," Dad assured Scarlet.

"Does this mean I get to stay? I don't really want to move," Megan said.

"God, yes. Without you, we would have to do the books, and I would quit," Scarlet confided.

I didn't blame her. I wouldn't want to do the books, either.

"Looks like it," I said. "Oh, and you have to hire Angie. I made a promise to my brother that I would employ her until they graduate from college."

"Good, you need to remove her from the charity," Caryn said.

"Not it," Dad and I said at the same time.

"Because you've been so good to me, I'll do it," Caryn offered.

"Do they act like this often?" Scarlet asked.

"You'll be fine. You'll even come to appreciate that they never take things too seriously," Caryn shared.

"I love working here. It's so much better than where I worked before," Megan admitted.

She'd worked for Tom Dole's law firm before coming here. They'd dubbed her 'The Mouse' because she was small, quiet, and wore glasses. Since she'd started working here, she'd come out of her shell and was a real asset.

"What do you see Angie doing?" Dad asked.

I was a little surprised when Caryn looked at Scarlet. I guess the transition had begun.

"Oh, me?" Scarlet asked, and Caryn nodded. "She can do what I've been doing. I know your mom also wanted to hire someone part-time. She planned for them to help make sure all the paperwork for each real estate transaction was done correctly and answer phones in the afternoon. That would free up her agents to actually be agents instead of covering the office."

"I take it Ashley has told you about that," I said.

Scarlet didn't know what to say, so my dad saved her.

"Your mom has complained about that for years, even before she owned her own brokerage. She hated that they used the agents as free office help. The only part that made it bearable was she got leads when she was on floor, and there were walk-ins."

"I was just giving Scarlet a hard time," I admitted.

"If you show good judgment, they'll let you run things. I've talked to my friends who graduated when I did. They're each sitting in a cubicle, wishing they could use their degrees even a tenth as much as I've been able to," Caryn told Scarlet.

"I'll do my best," she assured my dad and me.

I wasn't worried. Dad had held Caryn's hand until she was confident enough to take charge. Scarlet already showed that she was a source of good ideas. She was the one who pointed out we needed to buy into the insurance firm.

When we broke up our meeting, we saw that Frank and Grace had gotten off their call, and everyone looked happy.

"Have you decided if you want to accept my offer?" Grace asked.

"If Frank and Jack are on board, I say we move forward," I confirmed.

I could see everyone let out their collective breath. One of my advantageous traits was that I was able to decide on something without hesitation if I felt it was right.

"Can I make one suggestion?" I asked.

"David, you are a major shareholder. You can always ask me anything," Grace assured me.

"I think you need to add another line of business on the P. R. and image side. You need to offer image consultants or stylists," I suggested. "Full-service personal management or assistance should really be full service."

Both Frank and Kent looked at each other and nodded. Since I was also a model, I'd been lucky and was forced to wear my clients' clothes. Ford Models also made sure I knew how to do my hair and skin care. I'd seen several actors and extraordinarily wealthy people not look their best when participating in public events. I knew Frank's company had a few public-appearance types on speed dial. I thought this was something that could help with their client's image.

"That is something we should talk about," Frank said, agreeing with me.

"Why? Do you think I don't have fashion sense?" Grace teased.

I was about to make a smart comment when my mom dug her fingernails into my arm. It was probably a bad idea to tell her what I really thought. Grace saw what my mom did and frowned.

"We should talk," she decided.

"Better yet, I'll get you in touch with my friend Adrienne, and she can help you," I suggested. Best to stay out of it now that I'd thrown the grenade.

"She found dresses for Ava, Brook, and me for tomorrow night," Mom said to help ease any potential hurt feelings.

"When did that happen?" I asked.

I was more than a little worried my mom had called Adrienne. All I needed was them comparing notes.

"Lexi offered," Mom said. "That reminds me. The tuxes for Ian, your dad, and you should be here today."

I gave up. Lexi seemed to do everything for me. I should chalk it up as a win that she had turned into the world's best PA. Still, I was a little unsettled that she hadn't told me. It sounded like we would look good for the New Year's party Brook's family was throwing.

---

We all signed a letter of intent to sell the business. There were still many details to be worked out before the sale could go through. Stuff such as the makeup of the board of directors, all the way down to the logistics of converting the accounting systems for all the companies. All that stuff I left to Caryn, my dad, and everyone else. I was just happy to be out of it.

After that broke up, I was pulled into a conference call with my lawyers. We had to deal with the cash that had shown up. The regular brain trust was in the room, along with Bev Mass. Being the State's Attorney for Cook County, she'd been invaluable in discussions like this.

"Your dad filled me in on what's going on. I've asked Mr. Morris, Ms. Addison, and Tom Dole to join me on the call," Ms. Dixon, my chief lawyer, said. "Your dad said you had some concerns about reporting this. Could you tell us what you're thinking?"

"Ms. Addison has been helping us with the FBI and warned me not to volunteer information to them. She actually advised against sharing the videos of my meeting with the investigator from the NCAA, Mr. Chadwick. If we tell them about the cash, we get even deeper into this," I explained.

"Do you have any concrete proof where the money came from?" Ms. Addison asked.

"Not really," Dad said. "There was just a note that said 'Go Blue.'"

"There are also the GoFundMe donations," Megan added to remind everyone that it wasn't just cash.

"I'm sure the FBI could figure out where they came from," Ms. Addison informed us.

"Does it make any difference that the donations went to the charities and not me directly?" I asked.

"Charities that your sister-in-law and mother run," Mr. Morris reminded me.

"I take that as 'no, it doesn't make a difference, I'm screwed,'" I said.

"Exactly right, David," Ms. Dixon said. "I would strongly suggest that those two step down from the charities so there cannot be even the suspicion that they received a benefit from the money."

"That's not going to stop me from volunteering," Mom said.

"Good. I hope you do continue. I also hope the charities continue. There just can't be a direct link between them and David," Ms. Dixon explained.

"Can I still donate to them?" I asked.

"Yes, you can. Now, what are your other concerns?" Mr. Morris asked.

"That my friends might get pulled into this. Wolf Tams and Tim Foresee might catch the eye of the NCAA, so they have leverage over me," I said.

"Do they have a reason to?" Ms. Dixon asked.

"Are you asking, did they receive money?" I asked.

"That would be the one," Bev Mass said.

"When are you out of a job?" I asked.

"I'll take that as a 'yes,'" she said.

"I have no direct knowledge ..."

"Look at that, our boy is learning," Ms. Dixon said.

Bev Mass stared me down. I swear she was scarier than my mom.

"Look, I specifically asked them not to tell me," I said as I stared back.

"What do you suspect?" Bev asked.

"Based on their body language ... hell, yes," I admitted.

"Please tell me they haven't spent any of the money," Mr. Morris said.

"I told them not to," I said.

"The penalties vary, but just letting a coach or booster buy you lunch can be a problem. The only saving grace is none of you ever asked for money or knowingly accepted it. I would suggest we get out in front of this and self-report. I say that knowing Mr. Chadwick, he'll cause you problems," Mr. Morris advised.

"Will you represent them? I would hate for the NCAA to cause them problems because of me. I also know that the Tams aren't in a position to pay much," I said.

"Based on my research, even college athletes can accept services such as legal assistance from interested parties. So, yes, I can represent them if everyone is careful about the relationship."

"What about the FBI?" Dad asked.

"We need to take this to them. We also need to be honest about the fact that your sister-in-law took funds. I hope she paid it back," Ms. Addison said.

"The funds were replaced," Dad assured her.

"Who paid it?" Ms. Addison asked.

"I did," Mom admitted.

"That has to be fixed. She needs to make the restitution," Ms. Addison explained.

"Greg probably hasn't deposited all the money from his Christmas cards," I said when my mom and dad each had a worried look.

"I bet he hasn't," Dad agreed as he got what I was offering. "We'll make sure she gives us the money today."

Bev Mass rolled her eyes at us. It was probably good she'd be in private practice soon and not have the need to try to rake me over the coals for every little issue. She took that whole 'officer of the court' bit way too seriously for my taste. Well, I guess she would still be an officer of the court, but hopefully, she'd ease up a bit.

It was decided that Mr. Morris would use his contacts at the NCAA to let them know. The hope was they would see reason before it got back to Mr. Chadwick. Ms. Addison would call the FBI. Dad would talk to Wolf and Tim's parents and bring them into the loop.

For me, I was free for the rest of the day.

---

We came out of the conference room and found everyone brainstorming. Brook saw me and smiled. I could tell she was enjoying this, so I sent her a text to let her know I would have Cassidy take me to the daycare. It would be easier to see my kids there than to spring them. At least there I would have help when they went in ten different directions.

---

"Unca David! Unca David!" Mac and Kyle yelled when they saw me.

Nate was a blur as he ran to me and jumped when I bent down, confident his uncle would catch him.

"Uhf. You're getting big," I said as I hugged my nephew.

Kyle twirled around and pulled his pants down.

"Pony bit me," he announced to show his bruised butt.

"Kyle," one of the daycare workers scolded. "What did we say about taking your pants down?"

"That he's a Dawson?" I asked.

I think the poor girl was around kids too much because she turned about a hundred shades of red and fled.

"He not p'sosed to show 'is butt," Mac told me.

"Dude, I'm not kissing that to make it better," I warned him.

"Silly," Mac said and then giggled.

I helped him pull his pants back up and gave him a hug. I was sure I would experience similar exhibitions with my horde in training. Mac took my hand to show me the babies. They kept the smaller kids in a separate room so the older ones didn't accidentally kill one of them.

"There's my girl," I said when I saw Carol in a cute pink dress.

Instead of picking them all up, I sat down on the floor so they could crawl to me. Little David was holding onto the edge of a little table, and he did his cute drunken walk to me. One little girl, who I didn't know, grasped the back of my shirt so she could stand up, and suddenly had a handful of hair.

"A little help," I called.

I had Carol in my lap with Little David sitting between my legs, so I couldn't get to her. A daycare worker, the one I'd embarrassed, came and saved me.

Coby crawled up and pushed Carol over so he could claim my lap.

"I hate to tell you this, but someday you'll like girls," I explained to my son.

Since I hadn't made a big deal about it, Carol took it in stride and joined Coby on my lap. With all her brothers, she would have to be tough to hold her own. But hey, she was a Dawson. I could see her ruling them all at some point.

I spent a couple of hours playing with my kids and the other little ones until it was nap time. Then I went out to the main room, only to find Kyle and Mac sleeping. Nate wanted to be held, so I spent some time talking to him. I'm not quite sure what all he told me, but he was happy to have an interested listener. He finally wound down, and I put him down for his nap.

This was what made it all worthwhile. You didn't realize how special children were until you had one of your own. Or five.

I sent a text to Cassidy so she would come pick me up.

---

I wasn't particularly amused when Cassidy pulled into the parking lot with a police car behind her with its lights flashing.

"License and registration," I heard him order when he reached her window.

"Hey," I said with my best smile.

For a second, I thought he was going to draw down on me, but then he recognized me.

"My wife made me go to your movie. I ended up really enjoying it," he said as he walked around the front of the car to shake my hand.

"That's my car, and she's my security. What did she do?" I asked.

"Security? She looks awfully young."

"Don't let that fool you. She could take both of us without a problem," I assured him.

"I clocked her doing 45 in a 35. I was probably going to give her a warning," he admitted.

"Do me a favor and tell her she can't drive this car anymore. It's too much for a little girl like her," I suggested.

"What do I get out of it?"

"How about I take a picture with you so you can tell the story?" I suggested.

"Deal."

Cassidy wasn't happy when she had to hand me the keys back. I would give them back to her once we got home, but it was my car, and I wanted to drive it. She was even more unhappy when I made her take our picture. She was ready to kill me when I smoked the tires as I left the parking lot, and she saw the police officer laughing.

"Hey, settle down. I got you out of a ticket," I reminded her.

She pouted like my three-year-old niece until I took her to Dairy Queen and bought her a cone. Ice cream made everything better, even if it was the middle of winter.

---

Funny how handing a girl a set of car keys can make her happy.

I walked in the back door with Cassidy. Today, Melanie had made oatmeal raisin cookies.

"I want to hang out with you all the time. We never have anything good at my house," Cassidy shared.

Yesterday she'd had cherry-walnut bars at my grandma's. I agreed, we'd made out the last two days. Life was good until Melanie pulled up a chair with a concerned look on her face. I had a sinking feeling karma was about to bite me in the butt.

"I need to tell you something," she said.

"We can call Fritz if there's a dead hooker, and you just gave him homemade cookies. So, unless you lost one of the boys or his dog, you're golden," Cassidy assured her.

"Dead hookers?" Melanie asked as her eyebrows went into her hairline.

"Let's just say we have contingencies in place and leave it at that," I said mysteriously.

"Oookay. Well, over Christmas, I spent some time with friends. They wanted to know what it was like working for you. Well, I'd had a few drinks and shared some stuff I know I'm not supposed to. One of my friends has contacts in Chicago, and she suggested that I share what I'd heard with someone she knows. She works for _The Chicago Reader_," Melanie said.

When I was in Chicago, I happened to pick up a copy of the paper. It was published weekly and had an alternative bent to it. The newspaper was where you would go to find out what was going on entertainment-wise that weekend. They were geared towards the young, single crowd that liked to party. Some of the personal ads were hilarious.

"And ..." I prodded.

"They want to pay me for information about you."

"I'm not sure these cookies are that good," Cassidy observed.

"How much are they willing to pay?" I asked.

She told me, and it wasn't a lot, but it would make a difference for her.

"If you run it by my publicist first, I'm fine with it," I said.

She let out a breath and then looked confused.

"I thought you were going to fire me," she admitted.

"David knows that they'll write about him, anyway. If Frank is fine with the story, and you get paid, it's a win for him. At least this way, his people get a say in what you 'leak,'" Cassidy explained.

Someone had been paying attention.

"What she said."

"Can I tell them that you have a contingency plan for dead hookers?" she asked.

"If you can get Frank to agree, then go for it," I said, and then I had a thought. "You might want to run it by my mom, too, while you're at it."

That gave Melanie pause. I probably should have thought this through because knowing my mom, she might provide Melanie stories to tell about me. Mom might even be able to get my lousy perm picture from Tami. I was sure they would love to see my middle school photo when I was an overweight nerd with curly hair. I think we did the perm wrong because it basically made my hair frizzy.

---

I'd gone to my apartment with Duke and found Satan's Spawn sprawled out on the couch. My aunt and uncle were staying for the big party tomorrow night. I heard the door open, and my aunt talking to my uncle. When they reached the head of the stairs, they saw me.

"Big day today," Aunt Bonnie said.

"Yeah, I sold my business and got myself in deeper with the NCAA and FBI. I guess that balanced out," I said with good humor.

"How does that make you feel?" Uncle John asked.

I swear he couldn't help himself. I looked at my aunt, and she turned around and went downstairs, and left us alone. It seemed like we were going to have a talk.

"My PA said something that might apply: 'Pride. Fear. Guilt. Pick a number.' I guess I'm feeling all of those."

"I understand that you would be proud of what you've built. Why would you feel fear or guilt?" he asked.

"I worry about what this will mean to everyone. I think they're looking at the dollar signs and are glossing over what this will mean to them down the road. They've gone from running things pretty much how they wanted to now working for Grace."

"Are you afraid Grace will fail?" Uncle John asked.

"I have no doubt that she will succeed. Grace understands what it takes to take something national. She has the connections to make it happen and will avoid all the pitfalls that occur when building a business as quickly as she plans. I just worry that the current people in place will be left behind."

"Like who?" he asked.

"Caryn, for one. Can you honestly see Grace allowing her to be the COO of her new enterprise? She was Devin's executive assistant, who later became my personal assistant. Then I put her in charge of the day-to-day operations of my company," I explained.

"That's pretty insightful. If you saw Caryn as not being able to do something bigger, why did you let her run your company?" he asked.

"She had everyone to support her. Think about who really ran the day-to-day at each of the companies. You, my grandmother, my mom, Granny and Mary. Jack Mass and Frank ran both his company and my management company."

"For someone who didn't want anything to do with his business, you seem to have thought this through. How did you figure all this out?"

"You and Dad," I said with a smile.

"Oh, my, it is getting deep in here," Uncle John worried.

"What did you tell me about leadership?" I asked and waited.

I watched him think about it for a minute, and then he got it.

"That you could get more done if you trusted others to do their part. That you had to learn to delegate," Uncle John said.

"I just figured the right people were in place, and I could let them do their jobs. Your mom told me that I should find ways to make my money actually do something, not just park it in some investment portfolio. I took from that that I needed to either invest in businesses or build them. By doing that, people are fulfilling their dreams while putting a roof over their heads. Anyone can see that.

"I also know that I don't have the knowledge to run a business. Since I knew I was going to be more of a detriment than help, it made me want to pull back and let the people who know what they're doing take charge. I also really didn't want to spend the time. I would rather hang out with my friends, play ball, and enjoy my senior year," I admitted.

"That's why you're in LA doing a J-drama and a movie," he pointed out.

"Please. I may want to just be a kid, but I'm not stupid. I now have other responsibilities that need taking care of."

"If I remember right, this all started because you wanted to take care of people," he pointed out.

He was right. At the time I took my first modeling job, I was looking for a part-time job to help the family. Then we found out about my mom's cancer, and we'd lost her insurance. It did seem like the more money I made, the more responsibility I took on. Not only for my own family but all the ones who worked at the companies I partly owned.

I received a text from Halle. She was here, and Brook wanted us all to go to dinner.

"I have to go," I announced.

"Would it be okay if I invited myself and your aunt out with you after your friends leave? I would like to spend some time with you, and we can talk about what you do next. I've talked to your mom and dad, and they shared your concerns about how to make everything work."

"I'd like that. I have a lot of ideas but no firm plan."

Uncle John shook his head.

"I don't believe that for a moment. I think people underestimate you. You surprised me just now with how you looked at your businesses. Now that you've explained it, I can see why you wanted to take a step back. From what your dad told me, I thought you just wanted to goof off and push the responsibility onto him and Caryn. I see now that you had the right people in place. I think something we need to work on is you communicating stuff like that better," he shared.

Yeah, I could see that.

"Well, I'm off to be a kid," I announced as I stood up.

Uncle John shocked me when he pulled me into a fierce hug.

"Have I told you lately how proud I am of you?" he asked.

"I love you too," I admitted and pulled him back into a hug.

"I think we sometimes forget to share that part with each other. Never doubt how much you mean to me."

"You keep that up, and my girlfriend will accuse me of crying."

"We wouldn't want that. Go have fun," he said.

---