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Disclaimer: I do not own these characters.
Danny sat across the desk from Carmen, his thoughts distracted by Michelle, and the fact that he would be with her in twenty-four hours. His bags were already packed for his weekend trip, and Carmen still had no clue what was going. As far as she was concerned, Michelle had left him, and he was just distraught.
She was rattling on about some financial predictions for the summer, when Danny presented her a with a question she was not expecting.
"Don�t you think it�s about time we cut back on our transactions with Harrington Industries?" he asked.
Carmen was stunned. For the past two years Danny had hounded her day and night about ceasing the illegal activities. She had pacified him by knocking out the small operations, but so far, she�d kept his darts aimed away from Harrington Industries, which was their most profitable conglomeration, the majority of the profits coming from illegal transactions and shipments.
"Danny, we can�t just cut them out. That�s where the bulk of our yearly profit comes from."
"You think I don�t know that? You think I don�t know the ins and outs of this business like the back of my hand? Surely you don�t think I�m that stupid."
"Of course I don�t, Danny, it�s just that�" he cut her off before she could finish.
"Then surely you know, that I�m aware of just how much money this business makes, even without the Harrington income. We would not go bankrupt if we cut out those activities. We would not be in the poor house. Your lifestyle would not change, mother."
"It�s not that simple Danny, and you know that."
"I know that you�re going to make it that simple, mother. I know that you are going to stop standing in the way of making this family and this business respectable, or I will not be a part of it anymore. Do you understand me? I�ve been patient. I�ve operated on your timeline long enough. You�re going to get this done, or I�ll be gone." His thoughts went to Michelle, and the more he thought about her, the angrier he became. Carmen�s greed would not keep them apart. He meant what he said. If she didn�t legitimize the business, he would be gone.
Carmen could see that he was despondent. She wasn�t really sure how to respond to him. She knew he was grieving the loss of Michelle, so she tried to appeal to his grief. "Danny, I know that you are still very upset about Michelle leaving. I also know that your desire to legitimize the business was because of her. Now that she�s gone, why don�t you concentrate on your work."
Danny saw red. He could not believe what he was hearing. He wanted to strangle her, but restrained himself. He spoke calmly. "Michelle may have been the catalyst for me to legitimize the business, but you have to know that the desire to be a part of a respectable operation has been in me for a very long time. My father was taken from me because of this life, and I�m not going to let it continue for generations, don�t you get that? I never wanted this for myself, but I wasn�t strong enough to fight until Michelle came into my life. Just because she�s not here doesn�t meant that I want to jump back into this existence with both feet."
Carmen started to protest again, but Danny didn�t let her.
"I�ll give you until the end of July to get it done. That gives you almost four months. If you don�t have the illegal operations phased out by then, I will leave town, for good," he said, in a voice so calm and serious that a chill ran up Carmen�s spine. "Now, it�s late, and I�m leaving early in the morning for Chicago, so I�m going to get some sleep."
With that, Danny calmly left the study, leaving Carmen with her jaw gaping open. He walked upstairs to the bedroom he�d shared with Michelle. He hadn�t let the maid change the sheets since she left a few days ago. He could still smell her perfume on her pillow. Clutching that pillow was the only way he�d been able to rest the past few nights. Not that sleep was ever comforting, or even frequent, but holding her pillow close to him allowed him to let his thoughts wander to her. He promised her again, every night as he lay in their bed, that he would find a way to be with her, before the baby was born. He knew that leaving had been the hardest choice she�d ever made, but he also knew that she�d done it out of love for their child. And out of that same, deep love for her and their baby, he would make the hard choices necessary to secure their future together, as a family - the family they�d always dreamed of.