Karl Gordon Is Back

Chapter 4: The Life He Left Behind.

Karl exhaled, he had expected his old man to end the call as soon as he heard his voice.

For a moment he was silent, unable to speak.

“What is this? A breathing competition?” Grandpa Maxwell scoffed. “Talk boy, I don't have all day.”

Karl chuckled, he had no idea how much he missed his old man until now.”im doing fine thanks for asking.”

Maxwell tuts, “If you ain't, you wouldn't be calling me, no?”

Karl sighed. “I lost.”

A beat of silence.

“Lost what?”

“Our bet.” Karl admitted. “Ypu were right.”

Maxwell exhaled on the other end, he didn't need to rob it in. He could tell his boy had gone through some serious eye opening.

“I'll have one of my drivers pick you up.”

“No.” Karl said, “I'll meet you at the office.”

Maxwell sighs, “Very well. I'm expecting you.”

~~~~

The role from the company down to the Maxwell Empire was all he needed to get his shit together.

Karl stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of Maxwell Holdings, hands clasped behind his back as he looked out at the city below. He had been here countless times before, yet it felt unfamiliar now, as though he were stepping into a place he had abandoned rather than one he belonged to.

The door behind him opened.

“You kept me waiting,” Maxwell said calmly.

Karl straightened. “I know. I’m sorry.”

A pause followed, long enough to feel intentional.

“You look like you've been ran over by a truck.” Maxwell replied. “Sit.”

Karl turned and did as he was told.

Maxwell Gordan sat behind his desk, grey hair neatly groomed with a pair of yellow shades on. It's been years since he left but Maxwell was still as weird as ever, the only man Karl knew to wear shades indoors.

Maxwell studied his grandson carefully.

“You look thinner,” he observed. “And tired.”

Karl nodded once. “I deserved it.”

That answer made Maxwell lift his brows slightly. “Did you come here to punish yourself, or to speak?”

Karl inhaled slowly before lifting his gaze.

“You were right,” he said plainly. “About Melody. About everything.”

Maxwell leaned back as a sigh escaped his lips. “ And you discovered how?”

“It's a long story,” he muttered, “I thought I could build something with her. I thought love was enough. I thought that if I gave more, sacrificed more, she would eventually value me.”

“And?” Maxwell asked.

“And now I see that I was wrong.”

Maxwell remained still. “What changed?”

Karl hesitated for the briefest moment before answering. “I realized that I was throwing away my future for someone who never respected me.”

“And I'm guessing that realization did not come cheap,” Maxwell noted.

“No,” Karl admitted. “It didn’t.”

Maxwell folded his hands together. “Are you still with her?”

“Not anymore.” His response was immediate. “I’m leaving her. And Caden. You were right about him too.”

It was almost like Maxwell had seen betrayal written on both their foreheads. He had told Karl not to disclose his background to either of them and see how they treat him. He was stupid to think their tolerance meant acceptance.

Maxwell nodded once. “Good.”

Karl clenched his jaw. “I want my inheritance back.”

Maxwell’s gaze sharpened.

“You gave it up of your own free will,” he reminded him. “I warned you. More than once.”

“I know.”

“And yet you still want it.”

“Yes.”

“Why?” Maxwell asked, a knowing smirk dancing on his lips. “So you can show her what she is missing?”

Karl shook his head slowly. “ No. I want to get my life back in order.”

That earned him Maxwell’s full attention. The old man nodded, “I won't tell you not to get even or give a speech about moral compass.” The old man shook his head.

He knew there was more to what Katl was letting on but he wasn't going to push it. The important thing was, his hair was back and that is all that matters.

“But your reasons for coming back…I am not quite convinced..”

“I walked away from what I had because I wanted to prove you wrong. All I did was make myself small. I let people step on me because I believed suffering was proof of love.”

Maxwell exhaled quietly. “And now?”

“Now I understand that power unused does not make you moral. It makes you vulnerable.”

Silence followed. Maxwell stood, his hands ticked into his pocket.

He walked toward the window, staring out the city and marking more than a hundred businesses that were tied to his name.

“When I lost both your parents in that accident, I promised to raise you right but I won't pamper you in the slightest. My joy is that you become a greater man than your father ever was.”

Maxwell nods. “I understand why you gave everything up for Melody. She seemed like a cause fighting for.” He turned back to Karl. “I'm glad you're back to your senses, boy..”

Maxwell opened a drawer and pulled out a slim black folder, setting it down in front of Karl.

“You will not receive everything immediately,” he said. “ You will have to prove to me that you still have a good head on your shoulders."

“I understand.”

“You will return to the board as an observer first. You will relearn the company. You will attend meetings. A lot has changed in the world of lobbyists, Karl.”

Karl nodded. “I understand.”

“You will also move.”

Maxwell slid a keycard across the desk.

“A penthouse. Riverside Tower. I bought it in your name. Hell, I buy penthouses in your name every year.” Maxwell chuckled, “It was my way of wishing you a happy birthday.”

Karl chuckled, for a man who pretends not to care, he sure cares a lot. Karl picked up the card slowly.

“And this,” Maxwell continued, pulling out a sleek black card and placing it beside the keycard. “Yours.”

Karl recognized it instantly, it was his black card from many years back. Maxwell had kept it well. Karl closed his fingers around the card.

“Thank you,” he said quietly.

Maxwell watched him for a long moment.

“You came back on your own,” he finally said. “That matters more than anything son. Welcome back, Karl Gordon.”

Karl lifted his gaze. “I won’t embarrass the family again.”

Maxwell gave a short nod. “ I know that now.”

Karl walked out of the office, the blackcurrant in hand and the keys to the penthouse in another.

Karl Gordan is back, Neon Heights city isn't ready just yet.