Calvin's Industry

Chapter 2: Blood and Betrayal.

"Stand up and face me," Nathan commanded, but Ronald's legs were cold and wet.

He couldn't move.

"I don't repeat myself, Ronald."

After taking a deep breath, Ronald got to his feet and faced his father. While his body was shaking, Nathan opened his arms as if he was about to hug his son.

Then he straightened out the wrinkles on his suit and adjusted his necktie.

"You know what?" Nathan said in a voice that sounded too kind to be true.

"You're right. Young singers these days are too lazy; they don't want to work hard. They're so spoiled that not even Hollywood's best teams can fix them."

Ronald felt relieved. It seemed his father had finally understood how hard his job was.

The slap came without warning. Nathan's hand hit Ronald's face with a quick crack like a baseball bat.

Before he could think, a heavy blow came to his stomach, sending him crashing to his knees in pain.

"But here's what you're missing," Nathan said calmly as if he hadn't just beaten his own son.

"Your job isn't to work with lazy singers, but hungry ones with ambition. You know, the kind of people you find on the streets who wouldn't mind signing off ninety-five percent of all their future earnings just to get a deal. If you don't know that, then you have no business working in the role given to you."

Ronald's ears rang so loud that he could barely hear what his father was saying. Blood dripped from his lip down to his white shirt, leaving red stains too hard to ignore.

Not even his meddlesome mother could help him now.

This was Nathan's kingdom. He made the rules.

Everyone in the room knew that; everyone except Calvin.

He had seen enough. Calvin knew about Ronald's secret deals because he'd been tracking them for months.

From phone records to bank transfers and recorded conversations, Calvin had everything it took to destroy the young man completely. But watching Nathan beat up his own son made Calvin's stomach turn.

No betrayal deserved this kind of violence. And it was at that moment when Calvin made a loud crinkling sound that broke the silence.

Nathan looked at his son-in-law with a new frown on his face. Across the shiny table, sitting next to his daughter Abigail, was the man who wasn't affected by all the violence and intimidation.

Calvin Constantine was unwrapping another lollipop with the same attention he'd given the first one at the start of the meeting.

Then he put the strawberry candy in his mouth and dropped the wrapper on the table while everyone was looking. Right after that, Calvin leaned back and crossed his legs, looking more like a man relaxing on a couch in his living room than at a board meeting.

Now Nathan's anger was clearer than ever.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked.

"Eating candy," Calvin replied without pulling out the lollipop.

His words were clear with no sign of fear or intimidation.

"It's what people do whenever they're bored."

Everyone in the room could see Nathan's chest rise and fall as he took a deep breath.

"Do you know where you are right now?"

Calvin pulled the candy from his mouth and looked around the room like he'd just arrived for the first time. He pointed at different things in the room as he spoke.

"Let's see. I see a fancy round table with bloodstains you never cleaned off, expensive paintings that look like they came from a hotel lobby, and family members who should be feeling safe around you but are currently too scared to breathe."

Calvin carefully examined the lollipop like it was much more interesting than the person he was talking to.

"I'd say I'm at the most depressing family meeting."

Before Nathan could react, Calvin reached into his jacket so quickly that it seemed he was about to pull a weapon. What came out, however, was another lollipop; this one grape-flavored.

Then he held it out to Nathan with a friendly smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Do you want one? It might help you relax. You seem a little tense."

Most people in the room thought he was just being brave for show, possibly trying too hard to impress his wife. But hidden in his coat pocket was a small recording device that had been capturing everything for the last hour.

From every threat to every act of violence and admission of criminal behavior, the device was connected to his phone, which streamed the audio to a secure server in real time.

If something happened to Calvin today, the recording would be copied by his close friend Martin and sent to the FBI, the music industry press, and Nathan's biggest rivals in the music industry.