“I know who you are.”
Brian had just stepped into Kyle Manchester’s swanky office, located in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, when Kyle uttered those words. Brian clasped his leather folder holding his resume and his recommendations. Was this interview over before it began?
Kyle came around his desk to shake his hand. He looked up at Brian and squinted. “You look nothing like him.”
Brian straightened. His hand connected with his father’s for the first time. This moment was surreal and he wanted to savor it, but Kyle was already pulling his hand away. Brian released a breath he hadn’t realized he held. He had just shaken hands with his real father. He struggled to maintain his composure and appear indifferent, but he just shook hands with his real father. Brian observed the other man on the sly. He hoped to spot similarities between them.
Kyle lifted an eyebrow. “Are you all right?”
Brian swallowed. “I’m nervous to meet you.” Nervous was an understatement. His forehead perspired, and he wiped it with the back of his hand.
“Don’t be,” Kyle said, flashing a bright smile. “I put my pants on one leg at a time just like everyone else.”
Brian chuckled, but his laughter sounded forced. He had to relax. After Kyle pointed at a seat, Brian lowered himself into a chair, unable to take his eyes off the man responsible for his life. He rested his notepad on his lap.
“I know you’re Ryan Oakes’ son, but lucky for you, I’m not one to judge a man based on his genetics.”
Brian gave another awkward laugh. “That eases my mind more than you know.”
“However, I’m not against using genetics to win a case. A little nepotism can go a long way.”
Brian shifted in his chair. “What are you saying?”
“Let me be direct,” Kyle said. “I want you onboard with the knowledge that I’ll be using your—ah, how can I say this—connection to help in my case against your father.”
Kyle’s blunt admission made Brian’s unease grow. Though Brian had the same idea, to hear someone else mention it felt like betrayal. “I’m—I need…” His eloquent vocabulary failed him.
“I’m only messing with you,” Kyle said. “I wouldn’t expect you to betray your father.”
Brian’s eyes narrowed. His ‘father’ was a liar. “I believe if a man is guilty of a crime, he should pay. That’s what I love about the law and that’s why I changed my major. Again. The law is no respecter of persons. Like God.”
“Many don’t share that supposition, so I’m glad we’re in agreement on that issue,” Kyle said. “Although I don’t subscribe to the whole God jargon.” He waved a hand and adjusted his tie.
Kyle’s unnecessarily wordy. Like me. But unlike him, Brian believed in God. “God is not jargon to me. He’s a healer in many ways.”
“Pardon me if I don’t share the sentiment, especially when I’m writhing in pain from my psoriasis.”
Brian tried to control his shock, but he was sure it showed on his face. Psoriasis? His stomach clenched. He knew about that pain. If he had any doubts before about who his father was, he had none now. Brian had read up on psoriasis when he had first been diagnosed and knew it was about ten percent hereditary.
“I see I’ve managed to shock you,” Kyle said. “It’s not contagious.”
“I know,” he said. “I’ve been suffering for years.”
Kyle’s eyes widened. “Really? What do you do about it?”
“Pray.” Brian brushed his pants leg. “I’ve been going through a honeymoon phase. I haven’t had an outburst in some time.”
“You’ve got to tell me what you use because the pain can be relentless.”
“It’s the pain that put me on the path to prayer. The path to a new life with Christ. If you had told me last year I would be here today, I would’ve laughed you to scorn.”
“My pain put me on the path to success. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t fight through the pain.” Kyle jutted his chin toward Brian’s booted leg. “What happened there?”
“A few months back, I pushed a friend out of the way of an upcoming truck, and in the process…” Brian gestured to his leg before continuing. “I had a ruptured spleen, a collapsed lung, and all sorts of injuries. To sum it up, I could’ve died. I’ve had a miraculous and speedy recovery. This boot’s coming off in a week or two.” I could have died not knowing the man before me is my father.
Kyle watched him for several beats before leaning forward. “You pushed your friend out of the way of a truck?”
Brian nodded.
“Why?” Kyle asked.
Brian clasped his hands. “To save his life.”
“You almost lost yours.”
“But I didn’t.” Brian maintained eye contact until Kyle’s gaze slithered away. He resisted a shudder. The man before him was…dark. Brian felt weighed down, suppressed just being in his presence. He couldn’t understand the feeling and wasn’t sure what it represented.
Kyle splayed his hands. “There’s no way I would’ve done that. My life is too important to me.”
What life? His father was a shell of a human being. A walking corpse. Brian clenched his jaw, no longer sure he wanted to do this internship.
I am with you, even when you are in the valley of the shadow of death.
Brian held onto the words whispered in his mind. He had to trust that God wouldn’t lead him anywhere he wasn’t meant to be. Brian eyed Kyle. Now he understood. God had a mission for him. He didn’t know if he was equipped to fight the darkness, but God’s Word said one could chase a thousand…or in this case, a legion. I need Your Holy Spirit, Lord.
“You got quiet on me,” Kyle said. “You think I’m selfish for what I said?”
Brian shook his head. “I know you’re selfish, but God thinks your life is important to Him.”
Kyle’s face transformed and his eyes glittered. He jumped to his feet and pointed an index finger at Brian. “Listen, Choir Boy, this is a religion free zone. You’re here to work with me and to learn as an apprentice, not to save me. I’m beyond saving.”
Brian raised an eyebrow. His father really believed that. What could have happened to Kyle to bring him to that place? Brian had come to destroy Ryan Oakes, but God seemed to have another plan. His heart thumped. He was a new believer and wasn’t confident in his spiritual abilities.
Just live.
I will. Brian relaxed. “I have no intention of foisting my faith on you,” he said. He did intend to be a good example of a follower of Christ.
Kyle sat back in his chair. He tapped his chin. “I like you. You’re direct. You remind me of myself in many ways.”
Brian didn’t welcome that compliment. He hoped he was nothing like Kyle. Did Kyle already know who he was? Did Kyle’s first words of greeting hold a double meaning? Brian tried to appear unaffected. “Thank you.”
Kyle rose and headed to the mini-bar and took out two glasses. “If you stick with me, you’re going to reach the pinnacle of your career as an attorney.” He reached for the pitcher and poured water into each glass and handed one to Brian. “I can take you to the top of the world. You can be iconic like Johnny Cochran, or,”—he smirked—“me.”
Brian felt chilled. Kyle’s words were an echo of when the devil promised Jesus the world. “No one can promise that,” he said. He took a sip of water. Pity it wasn’t tea.
Kyle’s shoulders shook with laughter. “Ease up, Choir Boy, I’m only messing with you. I bet you had a vision of me throwing you off the mountain or something for God to save you.”
Brian frowned. He disliked this man and didn’t like being called Choir Boy. Though consoled he had met his father, Brian had found his father wanting. It made his heart sad. Brian wanted to leave, but God stilled his feet.
Kyle tapped his shoulder and Brian froze.
“Surprised by that comeback?” Kyle laughed.
Brian wanted to deck the other man but instead counted to ten. Engaging in a physical altercation was not what God would expect from him. This was the weirdest interview of his life.
“I do know the Bible, Choir Boy. I have a photographic memory, and I probably can recite it better than you.”
“But can you live it?” Brian countered. “And my name is Brian.”
“Touché, Brian.” Kyle held out his hand. There was that soulless grin again. “You’re tenacious. You’ll take some molding, but I’m confident this will be a fruitful enterprise for both of us.”
Brian shook hands with the devil, a.k.a. his father. Ryan was a saint compared to Kyle. There was no way he could deliver Ryan over to the likes of Kyle Manchester. He wanted Ryan to pay but not under Kyle’s form of justice. What had his mother been thinking? He held back a snort. She hadn’t been thinking.
“We’ll begin next week,” Kyle said. “Welcome to my world.”
Brian departed feeling deflated. Meeting his father in person had rid Brian of any foolish sentiment of a warm and fuzzy ever after. “I don’t see it, God,” he whispered. “I don’t see what You want with him.”
You didn’t see what I wanted with you, either. Now, look at you.
Brian put on his sunglasses. He wouldn’t argue with God, but from Brian’s point of view, Kyle was a member of the walking dead. Kyle needed a couple whiffs from the Breath of Life, but he couldn’t see Kyle doing that, not even to save his life.