such a beauty and a mess

Past/Present

Drake wasn't early at all. In fact, Bright was sure the man came walking in those doors the very moment the clock struck six.
'How punctual,' Bright thought, raising a hand to be noticed.

"Vachirawit," Drake greeted, throwing a pack of cigarettes on the table and setting a small briefcase on the floor as he sat in a plush chair perpendicular to Bright's own, "I'm guessing there's no smoking in here."

"Sadly, no," Bright replied with a small grin.

"Do you smoke?"

"I used to. Haven't had one in quite a while," Bright explained.

"Probably for the best," Drake answered, turning keen eyes to the environment around them before they settled back on Bright, "Do you mind if I ask a personal question?"

"I don't mind if you ask, but an answer is not a certainty."

"Fair enough. How is your relationship with your father?" Drake asked.

Bright steeled himself.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, I'm assuming that a son who ruins the chance of his father getting millions of dollars is not on very good terms with him."

"..." Bright hesitated in replying before he sighed and leaned further back in the chair, "I already told you. He was using you to his advantage."

"And I'm glad you did tell me. Thanks to that, I found someone else to merge with," Drake spoke, reaching for the briefcase at his side and working on the latches.

"You sure these people don't have the same intentions my father did?" Bright asked warningly.

"Due to that incident, I practically ripped these guys apart to make sure there were no loopholes. I'm not a push-over," Drake replied, opening the case and turning it toward Bright. Bright stared down at the papers that littered the insides, the very top one being a colorful brochure of sorts.

"Why are you showing me this?"

"Go ahead and look through this stuff if you want. These papers tell you everything you'd need to know if you worked there."

"... again, why are you showing me this?" Bright prompted, not understanding the meaning behind it.

"Just in case you want a job there," Drake proposed, catching Bright off-guard, "Now, compared to where you are now, it's nothing. You'd be back as an underling, making much less money than you do now. But it is a solid company that you can build on."

Bright tentatively reached for the brochure with his eyebrows scrunched together tightly.

"... heh. Why would you just offer this to me out of the blue?" Bright asked accusingly.

"Because I don't meet many people like you in the business world. By merging with this company, I have the chance to rebuild my own. I'm starting out fresh. You are the kind of people I would like to employ, because I'm out for more than profit."

Bright stared at the glossy paper in his hand, flipping it in-between his fingers absentmindedly.

Then he threw it back in the briefcase and turned his body toward Drake, leaning forward so his elbows rested loosely on his knees.

"Since you feel the need to get personal with me, may I do the same?" Bright inquired, stern. He could tell the sudden change in subject surprised Drake, even though the man's expression hardly changed.

"... what would you like to know?"

"Are you happily married?" Bright asked simply.

Drake blinked.