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Post by Everett Quinn on Nov 24, 2015 17:09:08 GMT
Just because you have to do something, doesn't mean you enjoy it. Everett Quinn knew that much. And he knew that even though getting his mother out of New York City and away from his father was something he had to do - for her sake - it left him there and in the open for Eliot Quinn to set his sights on. Having grown up under the same roof as the older man, Everett knew that he was wading into murky waters and realized that, knowing Eliot the way he did, his only option was to get everyone he cared about out of harm's way as well. So, in a way, he knew he was isolating himself too - from the most important people in his life. Some of them, though, were more stubborn than others.
It was odd for him to think, as he gave his name to the receptionist and asked if he could please speak with Adam Tyler, that his own father and his father before him had walked the halls of this office - their name on the signage as one of the main partners. He knew that the fact that he'd lost the firm had always been a sore spot for Eliot. Good, he thought to himself as he took a seat and waited for Adam to have a free moment to see him.
"Mr. Quinn?"
Everett cringed. "Everett, please," he corrected.
"Mr. Tyler can see you now," the young woman informed him, gesturing for him to follow her to the office.
Stepping inside, he shifted a bit uncomfortably before offering Ellie's father his hand. "Mr. Tyler," he greeted him. "Thanks for taking the time to see me. I'm sorry for just dropping in like this, I'm sure you're really busy."
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Post by Adam Tyler on Nov 25, 2015 16:12:17 GMT
Surprise didn't seem to really encompass what Adam had felt when the receptionist had informed him that Everett Quinn was here to see him. As much as he was sure that he and Riley wanted to give the young man the benefit of the doubt when it came to his friendship with their youngest daughter, it was hard to see past their own history with Everett's father. It was difficult to think that the same man who had been present for much of his time with Riley in law school was the same man who had stopped at nothing to ruin their careers, relationship, and lives. Adam had to admit, however, that he hoped that Eliot's son had turned out to be much different - for Ellie's sake.
Ellie had always been the one he had been the most likely to be uncertain of. She was unpredictable in terms of what she wanted to so, who she wanted to be, and the people she wanted around her. And while he had been concerned over Morgan's friendship and at one time, growing relationship with Brody Finn, he had known that his concerns were shallow and perhaps unnecessary. In this circumstance, he wasn't sure if his concerns over Ellie and Everett's friendship were necessary or not.
Though he supposed there was only one way to find out. The younger man entered his office and Adam tried not to assume anything off the bat, instead opting to remain neutral until he was given a reason to change his mind. Shaking his hand in greeting he motioned for him to take a seat. "What can I do for you?"
Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
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Post by Everett Quinn on Nov 25, 2015 22:32:46 GMT
Everett sat down and took a breath. "First of all, I wanted to thank you. I know that you and Mrs. Tyler...well, I know the kind of person that Eliot is and you both have every reason to not want me near your daughter - or to tell her what kind of person I might have been brought up to be," he admitted. And of course, Everett knew nearly everything his father had done to ruin lives of people in New York City. What Eliot didn't brag about or lament his failure to accomplish his endgame, Everett had found out on his own. He was no stranger to what a bastard his own father was and in all honesty, from the way that Eliot talked about people like the Tylers and the Finns, Everett had been surprised to grow up and realize that everyone's parents didn't talk about his own the same way.
Pausing for a beat, he glanced away and blew out a breath. "And it's because you know exactly what kind of man he is that I need you to tell Ellie that she can't see me anymore. I mean, that's basically what I'm going to tell her but she's - man, is she stubborn," he nodded, a brief smile flashing across his features. One of the things he liked so much about Ellie was how headstrong and independent she could be. But it didn't change the circumstances of his situation. "Anyway, I thought if I push her away, she'll still try to be...Ellie. So it might help if you could tell her it's a bad idea."
Frowning, Everett shifted in his chair. "I know it's a weird thing to ask."
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Post by Adam Tyler on Nov 30, 2015 2:19:54 GMT
Adam frowned. It wasn't the sort of favor he would have expected. Actually, he wasn't sure what he expected. Legal advice maybe, advice on avoiding his father potentially, but not help in keeping Ellie away from him. As far as he could tell, their friendship had been something that they both took an interest in. At the very least, from the way that Ellie had been spending her time with the young man sitting in front of him and her new best friend Kensi, he had thought that the last thing that Ellie would want would be him to tell her that she couldn't see her friends anymore.
"As much as I would love to keep Ellie off of Eliot's radar, I'm not sure I understand why you want her to stay away from you now. If it's just about her being friends with you, isn't it too late for that?" He asked, not convinced that it was just about keeping Ellie away from whatever damage Eliot could cause.
Besides, like Everett had pointed out, Ellie's stubbornness would be a challenge in keeping her away from anything she really wanted. It was a trait, he admitted, that ran rampant on all sides of the Tyler household.
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Post by Everett Quinn on Nov 30, 2015 18:16:24 GMT
Everett sighed, knowing that it was a strange request to make, especially without any sort of explanation. “The one thing that Eliot and I have in common is that we both wish no one had ever found out about me. He would have never married my mom, I could have just been a check that he signed once a year and never thought twice about.” Looking down, he frowned. “But instead my mother has lived for over seventeen years with a man who views us both as inconveniences and never once let us forget it. I fought back a lot, she didn’t. She drinks and takes pills. When I went away the year after high school instead of falling in line and going to school for pre-law he took it out on her. He has convinced her that she is nothing.”
“So he’s going away in a few weeks – for ‘business,’ and I am packing up her things and sending her to Sierra Tuscan to get some help. I took the money out in cash, made all of the arrangements, he won’t know where she is and when she’s doing better, I’ll find her a divorce attorney and keep her away from him. And as much as he hates us both, he won’t like that she’s gone – bad for appearances, you know?”
Everett sat back and cleared his throat, “So Eliot will come at me, with nowhere else to focus his attention. And I can deal with that, I’ve thought about it and I’m okay with dealing with it. But I want to get everyone that I care about as far away from me as possible because he will just view them as a way to get to me. It’s like a sadistic chess game with him, I’m sure you know that almost as well as I do. So I don't think either of us want Ellie anywhere near me when he decides I'm the only person he has left to tear down.”
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Post by Adam Tyler on Dec 1, 2015 1:54:19 GMT
Adam frowned as he realized that he had never given Everett's situation the benefit of the doubt. He had always just assumed that anyone related to Eliot would have taken after him in some way shape or form, whether it was through physical traits or those tied to his personality, but it was sounding more and more like Everett had fought very hard to make sure that the latter never came true. And truthfully, he had never given much thought to the boy's mother either, and what a life with someone like Eliot could do to an otherwise healthy and happy person. He wanted to apologize to Everett for what he had gone through, what his mother had gone through, and what he was sure was going to continue as the older Quinn continued to try and assert his dominance.
For years, Adam had struggled to identify why it was that his former friend had done, and apparently continued to do, the things that he did. It had been heartbreaking to see the way that Eliot had mercilessly gone after Riley at what had once been the peak of her career. As she continued to strive toward her goal of saving the world, Everett's father had always been there to tear her back down. And when a relationship had formed between her and Adam, it only seemed to make Eliot want to tear them apart even more, dragging his now wife's estranged mother to their engagement party. It had seemed like there would never be a time in which they weren't facing some sort of torment, but over time it began to fade further and further away. The harsh reality now was that the torment had probably just been turned on Everett and his mother instead.
Nodding his understanding, Adam sighed. He felt badly for Everett, but he also found him liking the young man more than he would have cared to admit. For being a Quinn, the apple couldn't have fallen farther from the tree. "Okay," he agreed. "I'll tell Ellie that she can't see you anymore, but if she's anything like her sister she's not going to take it well so if you really want her to stay away, then you need to tell her too." Even without having said anything, he knew his daughter well enough to know that it wasn't going to be enough to try and keep her from him on his own. Despite the fact that he was sure Riley would be more than happy to keep Ellie away from him as well, his children's stubbornness had made the last seventeen years an experience unlike any he had faced before. As much as Morgan took after her mother, Adam could sometimes see a version of his high school self in Ellie, too. Sometimes, he had to admit, that scared him more than anything else. Ellie was the one that he was cautious of sneaking out to meet her friends and engaging in relationships with the boys in her class in ways that he didn't want to think of. In actuality, it wasn't that he hadn't had to face those same situations with Morgan, it just seemed different somehow.
"So," he knew before he said it that he was fixating, but outside of Brody Finn, he had never encountered a young man who seemed to truly care for one of his daughters. "This is just because you care for Ellie? As her friend?"
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Post by Everett Quinn on Dec 1, 2015 23:32:11 GMT
Everett let out a breath of relief when Adam agreed to help. He nodded in understanding. “I’m going to tell her to stay away. Maybe between the two of us, it will stick. Or I don’t know – you can make something awful up about me. Whatever works, I just don’t want her involved.”
When Adam asked about how Everett felt about Ellie, his brow furrowed and he looked down. “I care about Ellie a lot,” he nodded. “She’s smart and funny and kind and…” he trailed off and looked up at the man across from him. “But if you’re asking if this is a situation unique to Ellie – I don’t have very many friends, but I’ll be telling Kensi Cavanaugh to stay away from me too.” Taking a breath, Everett shook his head. “Anyway, I don’t want to take up much more of your time I just wanted to – really just to let you know Eliot might rear his ugly head sometime soon and let you know that I want to be the only target he has in front of him.” He nodded, “And to thank you, for letting me be Ellie’s friend. And to apologize for anything my family might have done to yours.”
Standing up, he smoothed his hand through his hair nervously before reaching out to shake Adam’s hand.
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