Page 66 of Brutal King

“These kids of yours,” Trent shouted at both my father and Mr. King. “Always looking for attention.”

I hardly recognized the man I’d been working with, the man I’d become attracted to, the man I’d almost given my virginity to.

“We have something to show you,” Kobe said to the patriarchs.

“This better be good,” the younger officer said. He looked at my father. “They called the station a while back and said they had proof of a crime.”

“They have nothing,” Trent said, sweat beading on his brow.

“Well,” Kobe said. He turned to the laptop he’d brought to the dining room. “Here’s nothing.”

He pressed play.

My father, Mr. King and the two officers stared at the screen in disbelief, then all turned their gazes to Trent.

“What do you have to say for yourself?” my father said as he slowly walked up to the man he’d handpicked for the managerial job.

“Busted chairs and broken dishes,” Mr. King added. “That’s bad enough, but to put my name to it? To deliberately start a rivalry between the Lee and the Kings?”

Trent’s face contorted into a grimace. “Admit it, King. You were thrilled that someone had had the nerve to do it, to do something to stop the Lee Family. Rivalry? You two have been rivals forever.”

Mr. King nodded. “Perhaps, but it has always been a clean fight. Nothing even remotely resembling this.”

“This rivalry, as it were, is between Mr. King and myself,” Dad said. “I don’t understand your part in this. Why? What possible reason could you have for trashing my Ginger?”

Trent looked at me with a hint of shame, but not nearly enough as the circumstances warranted. Anger; that was the emotion he carried most prominently.

He licked his lips and looked back to Mr. King. “The minute I heard that this restaurant was going to take part in a program with the almighty Errol King’s academy, I knew it was my chance to avenge my father.”

“Your father?” Kobe let out. “What the hell does your father have to do with this?”

Trent kept his eyes on Mr. King. “Your sniveling and back-stabbing brother-in-law, Bobby. My father worked for him back at his New York restaurant, and he was a damned good worker.”

“And who would your father be?” Mr. King said.

“Gregory Young. Name ring a bell?” he shot back.

“As a matter of fact, no. I can’t say that it does.”

“No. Of course it doesn’t. You people are all the same. You trample on the dreams of those around you without even realizing it. You destroy so many lives that you don’t even remember.”

“Refresh my memory, please.” Mr. King eyed Trent with cunning patience.

“He was fired by your brother-in-law, Bobby... Some shitty bogus accusation.”

Mr. King’s eyes lit up and he tapped his lips with his index finger. “Ah. Yes. I think I remember now. Your father thought of himself as quite the lady’s man.”

“The bastard made all that up just so he could get rid of my dad. My dad was a threat to him because he was a better chef, he had better ideas... Fuck, he outshined Bobby.”

“I’m afraid you are mistaken,” Mr. King said. “And there are three courageous young women who might tell you a thing or two about your father. And if that isn’t enough, there are a dozen more who came forward to tell their story but didn’t file charges.”

“The charges were all dropped anyways... lack of proof. The whole thing was a load of bullshit.”

“Tell that to the young woman who was cornered by your father. He tried to shove his tongue down her throat and his hand up her skirt. As the story goes, she kneed him rather hard.” A sardonic grin came to his lips. “Perhaps you could ask your father how his family jewels are doing?”

“Fuck you!” Trent shouted, spittle flying out of his mouth. “Because of you and your fucking fancy family, my father’s reputation was ruined with these bogus accusations of sexual harassment. Shit, he couldn’t even get a job as a short order cook. He had to go to Asia to finally find the respect he deserved. Only that was short-lived and when we came back to America, those false accusations still followed him around and he was forced into early retirement.”

Mr. King took a step closer to him, then gestured to the destroyed dining room. “And this was your solution?” He pointed to my father. “You destroyed his new establishment.”