AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“And here I was thinking that the asshole gene that’s so strong in your father had skipped a generation and you took after your dear sweet mother. Seems like it’s been lying dormant, but it’s coming to the fore lately.”
He wasn’t too far from the truth with that accusation in many ways.
“Well you can’t argue with genetics, Grampsie, and even if you could, then nature vs. nurture comes into play, and I learned from the best. Or more accurately, worst.” It was true, Victor was the biggest asshole there was. “Anyway, I didn’t come here to talk about Kevin.”
“Then why exactly did you come here?”
“Does there have to be reason? Can’t a grandson hang out with his dear old Grampsie just because?” I smirked, knowing he wouldn’t buy it for a minute.
“Cut the crap, young man. I’m too old, and too ugly for you to pull the wool over my eyes—” He didn’t know the half of it. “—and I don’t have enough time left on the planet to waste it sitting around listening to bullshit. I don’t hear from you for months on end, especially since you started college, then suddenly it seems like every time I turn around, there’s your increasingly smug face.”
He really was pissed off with me, but until I’d sorted out the shit my father had put us all in there was nothing I could do, but wear it, and hope he didn’t still hate me too much when all was said and done.
“Okay, I wanted to ask you about chritonium.”
Chapter 18
Drew
Grampsie shifted in his seat, looking uncomfortable, and seemingly trying his best not to look me in the eye. I waited knowing he had to look up at some point.
Eventually, he pulled his gaze to mine, and I stared back into his dark gray eyes, so similar to my own. “Okay, son, what do you want to know.”
“Everything.”
“I’d need far more than one lunch to tell you that. Can you be more specific?”
“I want to know what you knew, and know about chritonium and how and why my father has been keeping a lid on the whole thing all these years.”
“Hmm… can I ask why?” He looked at me long and hard has he spoke.
“I can’t stop you from asking. Doesn’t mean I’ll answer.”
“Be careful, son. Your father is a ruthless and dangerous man, and not to be trifled with. Not even by his own son.” Ain’t that the truth.
“I’m aware. But the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, like I said before, so let me worry about dealing with Victor.”
“Okay, well just be careful, is all I’m saying. Your father will stop at nothing to further his interests. Nothing.”
“Noted. Now back to the main feature.”
“Maclean Enterprises was one of the first large manufacturers here to start using chritonium. It’s a synthetic polymer—basically a man-made binding agent—that was used at various stages of the production process across numerous products. When we first adopted it, we thought we’d struck gold. It was easier to produce and store than anything we’d used before, but miraculously, it was also more effective. But the icing on the cake was that it was cheaper—I’m not talking a little, either. It was literally a fraction of the cost of the existing alternatives. It pretty much revolutionized the way we took certain products to market.” I knew this from my internet research, but I didn’t interrupt—I wanted to hear it from the horse’s mouth.
“When we first came across it, little was known about all its properties, the risk factors in its production or any of those things, and like I said, we were one of the main manufacturers to be using it, while it was still being trialed and tested elsewhere. We also conducted our own tests, but these were mainly coming from the angle of how we could best put it to use in our products, and which products it was most suitable for, that kind of thing…”
He hesitated, and I waited again. There was no way I was letting him off the hook, so if I had to sit there for a couple of hours while he drip-fed me little bits of information one word at a time, then so be it.
“We started hearing murmurs in the industry about its deleterious effects twenty-something years ago, but nothing was confirmed. As time went on, the murmurings got stronger—chest complaints, lung problems, breathing irregularities. All associated with contact with chritonium in the manufacturing process—not once it was stabilized and incorporated into the final product. Because there was little to no risk to end consumers, it didn’t make news headlines, or anything. Still, it was big news in the industry.”
A pained look crossed his face, and he swallowed hard before continuing.
“At the same time we were hearing this information from around the industry, we started to see the effects for ourselves in our workers. Actually, that’s not true. We’d been seeing things for a while—increased amounts of sick leave taken by those working with chritonium, staff with lingering, hacking coughs, that kind of thing—but the honest truth was we’d been overlooking the signs, or downplaying their significance.”
Shit.
“In reality, I knew in my heart of hearts that something wasn’t right, but I put other people’s health and safety second to trying to keep the company afloat. We were already struggling at that stage, and I found a way to reason with myself that what I was doing was for the best for the future of the company, and the employment opportunities it provided, for so many people.”
Jesus, and here was I thinking that Grampsie was so, different from my father. Maybe I’d read him wrong all those years.
