David: Mr. Calder, I... I had no idea you were already so familiar with Chloe's work!
Arthur: I personally reviewed her hiring folder last month, David. She was the top recruit in the entire Northeast region.
David: That is fantastic news! As her father, I couldn't be prouder of her accomplishments!
Arthur turned his head slowly, looking at David with a cold, sharp gaze that made David instantly stop smiling.
Arthur: Is that why you were screaming at her on stage five minutes ago?
David: That... that was just a small family misunderstanding! We were just emotional!
Arthur: I sat at table three, David. I heard you tell her that she was an embarrassment and that her college money was gone.
David: I was misinformed! I thought she was dropping out of school!
Arthur: A father who doesn't even know his own daughter graduated top of her class is not a man I trust with five million dollars of my capital fund.
David stumbled back a half-step, clutching his chest as if he had been physically struck.
David: Mr. Calder! Please! Don't let a personal family dispute affect our corporate real estate deal!
Arthur: Character matters in business, David. If you treat your own blood like trash until you realize she has value to other people, you have no integrity.
Eleanor: Mr. Calder, please! This is my daughter's wedding day! You can't ruin our family's future over a speech!
Arthur: Madam, your family's future was standing on that stage holding a microphone, and you threw her away for fancy flower arrangements.
Jessica stepped forward, her hands clenched into tight fists at her sides.
Jessica: Chloe, tell him to give Dad the loan! You're ruining my husband's career too!
Chloe: I don't control Mr. Calder's investment fund, Jessica. And I certainly don't owe any of you a favor.
David: Chloe! Please! Talk to him! Tell him I've always supported you!
Chloe: Supported me? When I needed three hundred dollars for my graduate school application fees, you told me to go get a job at a car wash.
David: I was trying to teach you independence!
Chloe: You taught me that I didn't need a father. And I learned that lesson very well.
Arthur opened the rear door of his sedan, gesturing gently toward the leather interior.
Arthur: Chloe, my driver can take you directly to the city office to finish your onboarding paperwork if you'd like to leave now.
Chloe: That sounds wonderful, Mr. Calder. Thank you.
Chloe pulled her dark blue dress around her legs and stepped into the air-conditioned backseat of the luxury sedan.
David rushed to the car window, frantically knocking on the glass with his gold signet ring.
David: Chloe! Open the window! Let me talk to you! Please!
Arthur pressed a button on the door panel, and the dark tinted window rolled down three inches.
David: Chloe, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry for everything I said! We can start over! We can have a family dinner tomorrow night at the country club!
Chloe: Save your money, Dad. You're going to need it when the bank calls about your real estate loan on Monday morning.
David: Chloe, don't do this to your family!
Chloe: You stopped being my family the moment you cut off my tuition and forgot my name.
She pressed the control button, rolling the dark window all the way up, completely blocking out her father's desperate face.
Arthur nodded to the driver, and the silver sedan glided smoothly down the mansion driveway, leaving David, Eleanor, and Jessica standing in the dusty afternoon heat.