A Dinner with Casey Faith

San Diego, California
A Restaurant
After Autumn Effect 2

The dull drone of chatter. Dishes clattering. The scrapes of silverware across plates. A hot steak sits, untouched, on a plate in front of Chuck Matthews. It's been there for a few minutes now, but Chuck seems completely oblivious to the fact, his eyes locked on his phone, an amused smirk on his face. He no longer wears his wrestling gear. His black tights have been replaced with regular jeans, his wrestling boots for ordinary brown work boots, and an old, worn-out Chuck Matthews "Predictably Unpredictable" T-shirt from a past era, mostly hidden beneath a leather jacker. A thick bandage covers his left cheekbone, still slightly swollen from where he was struck just a few short hours ago. He seems....calm. Eerily calm, in fact.

Jessica Matthews: "What do you think?"

Chuck is suddenly aware of his sister's voice, speaking to him from across the table. She looks at him expectantly, waiting for an answer. Chuck blinks a few times, trying to think of what she's just said, only to realize: He's completely tuned her out for the past few minutes.

Chuck Matthews: "....I'm sorry, what?"

Jessica rolls her eyes.

Jessica Matthews: "Could you at least pretend to be listening?"

Chuck glances back up from his phone.

Chuck Matthews: "I'm just....checking some things. And....it's......"

He looks up with a smile, tucking his phone into the interior pocket of his jacket.

Chuck Matthews: "Done."

He looks down at the steak in front of him, a look of surprise, as though he's just now realized it's there. He pulls it closer to him.

Chuck Matthews: "What were you saying, then?"

Jessica shakes her head, in disbelief at her brother's bizarre behavior.

Jessica Matthews: "Christmas, Charlie."

Chuck Matthews: "Right. What about it?"

Jessica sighs.

Jessica Matthews: "I'd really like to host this year."

Chuck raises an eyebrow.

Chuck Matthews: "Why?"

Jessica Matthews: "Well, I mean...we never have it at my place. It's always Thanksgiving at Chris's, and then Christmas at yours."

Chuck Matthews: "I mean, Chris and I actually...you know. Own houses."

Jessica Matthews: "So I'm disqualified from hosting?"

Chuck Matthews: "No, I guess not. But that's a lot of people you're trying to cram into that little apartment of yours. And mom doesn't do well with the hills in San Fran."

Jessica Matthews: "Is she even able to come?"

Chuck nods.

Chuck Matthews: "Confirmed it when I went to see her last month."

Chuck feels his phone buzzing in his pocket. He pretends he doesn't hear it, but the look on Jessica's face tells him he's not fooling her for a second.

Jessica Matthews: "You might as well. I know you're bursting to check."

Chuck immediately pulls his phone from his pocket. Jessica sighs, watching Chuck's thumb racing across the screen, his eyes darting back and forth as he reads...something.

Jessica Matthews: "EXODUS stuff?"

Chuck shakes his head.

Chuck Matthews: "Nah."

Jessica Matthews: "What are you going to do about that?"

Chuck doesn't even bother looking up.

Chuck Matthews: "About EXODUS? Nothing."

Jessica Matthews: "What do you mean, 'nothing?'"

Chuck looks at her with a shrug.

Chuck Matthews: "I really don't know how else to explain that to you."

Jessica Matthews: "You're giving up?"

Chuck leans across the table, his expression suddenly serious.

Chuck Matthews: "They organized an entire plot and had to enlist the help of just about everyone there in order to pull it off. If that company means so damn much to them? Fuck it, they can have it."

Jessica Matthews: "So you're just going to walk away?"

Chuck Matthews: "That was the deal. I lose, I leave."

Jessica frowns.

Chuck Matthews: "I'm sorry, shouldn't you be happy about all this? That boyfriend of yours is probably sleeping well tonight, knowing he never has to take me out to save his precious EXODUS. Why not you?"

Jessica Matthews: "It's just...not like you."

Chuck Matthews: "Not like me?"

Jessica Matthews: "I just don't get it. I've never seen you give up on anything."

Chuck Matthews: "So you'd like me to come up with some way to weasel back into the company and go right back to trying to take it over. Is that what you're saying?"

Jessica Matthews: "No! I mean...I'm just worried about you."

Chuck Matthews: "What's to worry about?"

Jessica opens her mouth a few times, but no words come out. Chuck stares at her, trying to read her face. She seems saddened; not exactly the reaction Chuck expected. Jessica finally breaks the silence.

Jessica Matthews: "Do you remember the triangle game?"

Chuck Matthews: "The what?"

Jessica Matthews: "When you were six, mom bought you this stupid little peg game. Just a bunch of pegs in a wooden board. And the day she brought it home, you spent hours sitting at the kitchen table, trying to figure out how to solve it. Didn't matter how many mistakes you made. Didn't matter how many times you failed. You'd just laugh, put the pegs back in, and start over. For three hours. And when you finally figured it out, you were thrilled. And you never failed it again."

Chuck Matthews: "What's the point here?"

Jessica Matthews: "Charlie, you might be the smartest person I know. I don't think anyone will deny that. But I always thought your best quality was that refusal to quit. You've never just walked away, especially not from something you love. And you love this, don't you? You love the business, but you just seem....I don't know."

Chuck says nothing.

Jessica Matthews: "I'm not saying you should start marching into companies and trying to take them over...but these last few months, you looked like you were having...fun, you know? I think you're happiest when you're competing. I think you have a lot of love for this business, and I just don't think you should give it up."

Chuck says nothing, but stares down at the table, seemingly lost in thought.

Jessica Matthews: "I don't know, Charlie. I just think maybe you're making a mistake. You've found a lot of success in your business, but I think we both know that's not what you wanted to do."

Chuck nods, slowly.

Chuck Matthews: "It was never part of the plan."

Jessica Matthews: "You think too much. Maybe it's not always a bad thing to forget the plan. Maybe it's not a bad thing that your time in EXODUS turned out to be a waste-"

Chuck's eyes snap up to Jess's. He cocks his head to the side with a small smile.

Chuck Matthews: "Wait a second, now...who says it was a waste?"

Jessica Matthews: "You did. I mean...you spent all that time competing, and you don't really have anything to show for-....why are you smiling like that?"

She immediately spots the look on Chuck's face...that familiar spark that appeared whenever the gears were turning in his head. Jessica looks at him, studying his face. Chuck smirks, leaning back in his chair. Jessica knew that look anywhere.

Jessica Matthews: "Charlie....what did you do...?"

Chuck Matthews: "You follow the stock market, Jess?"

Jessica shakes her head.

Jessica Matthews: "....no, not really."

Chuck Matthews: "Here's all you need to know about the stock trade: If you own happen to know that a company's stock is about to crash, say...five percent? You cut your losses, you sell what you got, you make a bit of money."

Jess shakes her head. She has a feeling she knows where this is going. Chuck's smile grows.

Chuck Matthews: "Now, if it crashes THIRTY percent and you see it coming..."

Chuck slides his phone across the table, motioning to the screen. Jess narrows her eyes, but humors him, glancing down at the phone. She sputters for a minute, her eyes going wide.

Jessica Matthews: "Is this real?"

Chuck's smug smirk grows, somehow, even wider. Jessica shakes her head in disbelief.

Jessica Matthews: "That's....a LOT of zeroes."

She looks back to her brother.

Jessica Matthews: "How did you-"

Chuck Matthews: "You know, it's amazing how much you can scare investors with a bit of bad publicity. Publicity like, for instance, the company CEO...attacking fans...in front of live cameras....all over the internet...at a massively hyped event..."

He looks at her with a knowing wink.

Jessica Matthews: "You sold your piece of the company. You knew your stock was going to plummet after the show. You...bet against yourself?"

Chuck Matthews: "Nah. I just prepared for any possible scenario...even one where I was booted from EXODUS."

Jessica Matthews: "So...what, there's just a chunk of Matthews Enterprises floating around?"

Chuck Matthews: "A fair amount of it, yeah. Tomorrow, a large portion of that will come back to me...at a fraction of what I sold it for."

Jessica Matthews: "But...your company is worthless now, isn't it?"

Chuck Matthews: "Worthless? Nah. But it did take a pretty nasty bump. But it'll recover. It's just a manner of some very careful damage control. Eventually, it'll recover."

Jessica shakes her head.

Jessica Matthews: "And that's legal?"

Chuck Matthews: "Completely."

He pauses for a moment, his expression slowly growing more serious again.

Chuck Matthews: "You know...you might be right."

Jessica looks at him, confused.

Chuck Matthews: "I mean...money, I've got. You just saw the numbers, you KNOW I've got money. But you're right. Money was never a motive. It's never really been important to me."

Jessica Matthews: "You almost became a priest."

Chuck snorts.

Chuck Matthews: "Yeah, me being Vinnie Virtue over here."

Jessica Matthews: "You would have been good."

Chuck shakes his head.

Chuck Matthews: "Maybe...but we all have those forks in the road, and the longer you go down one path, the tougher it is to turn around and go back."

Jessica Matthews: "You regret the things you've done?"

Chuck pauses. The simple answer was 'No.' Truth was, everything he'd done had brought him one success after another. Ten years ago, he believed he would be a respected and loved member of a small community. The local pastor, not rich, not powerful, but loved by his people. Now? Now, he was about as far away from that vision as he could possibly get: More money than he knew what to do with. Power over countless people, employees of an ever-growing company...but while he did have a few close friends in the business, he was distrusted, and for good reason. He'd made an entire career getting by on quick wit, a flashy smile and an ability to speak to people. But...he'd chosen that. That was a decision he'd made when he backed out of the seminary. That was a conscientious decision, and he knew, years ago, that he would have to live with those consequences.

Chuck Matthews: "I think...the things I've done have shaped me into who I am. To regret them is to regret being Chuck Matthews."

Jessica sighs. Clearly, this was not the answer she was hoping for.

Jessica Matthews: "Charlie-"

Chuck Matthews: "But...maybe you're right. Maybe I'm starting to lose sight of what I love. Maybe I've shifted focus to things that I've never really cared about, and forgotten about the things that I have."

Jessica perks up, urging Chuck to keep with this line of thought.

Jessica Matthews: "So...?"

Chuck nods to himself.

Chuck Matthews: "So...maybe this isn't over just yet. Maybe my wrestling career still has some unfinished business."

Jessica Matthews: "So you're not walking away?"

Chuck smiles, defeated.

Chuck Matthews: "I guess I wouldn't be your brother if I did."

Jessica's expression couldn't be happier. Chuck cracks a small smile, seeing how excited she appears to be.

Chuck Matthews: "I just need to think..."