Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 115198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 576(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 576(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
“If you didn’t think it was a good fit, you could have trained him to be a better one. You could have sent him elsewhere to gain the experience you thought he lacked. But you didn’t do that.”
“Because it makes sense for you to take over.”
“And I don’t want the job!”
“Because of the fucking Pisa nonsense?”
Pisa. The word sparks a memory: Ray and Liam shouting that word on the trail the day of their groomsmen fitting.
I feel the room go still, and everyone looks at Liam, who very slowly walks closer to his father and calmly says, “Because of a lot of things. But yes, Dad. Because of the Pisa nonsense.”
I glance around the room, looking for a clue as to what Pisa is. Everyone is pointedly looking somewhere else. Charlie lets out a frustrated growl that mirrors the confused aggravation building in my chest. “What is that?” she yells. “What is Pisa? Just tell me! I’ve been hearing about this stupid thing for years!”
“Not now, Charlie,” Ray says with seething quiet, his eyes never wavering from Liam.
“Why?” she says, standing in her beautiful wedding gown on what should be the most magical night of her life. Her new husband sits at her side, and I wonder if Kellan had any idea what he was getting into. Are all those houses and private islands worth it? “Why not right now?” she presses. “It feels like everything else is coming out tonight so why not—”
“NOT NOW, CHARLOTTE!” Ray roars, turning his eyes to her.
Charlie, bursting into tears, runs out of the tent. Kellan follows.
Liam sighs, wiping a hand over his mouth. “Well done, Dad.”
Ray’s jaw clenches, and he pulls a sharp breath in through his nose. “What’ll it be, Liam? The company and your inheritances, or your pride? I want you to think long and hard about what this could mean.”
All motion inside me stops. It’s the four-hundred-million-dollar question. I look around, wondering if anyone else caught his wording.
Inheritances.
But neither Jake nor Alex seems to have registered it. They simply watch Liam. So maybe they didn’t hear it? Is it possible they have no idea what Alex has done?
Just walk, I plead silently to Liam. Walk away from all of this. None of you need that money. And frankly, none of them deserve it.
With a sigh, Liam looks over at me. But before he can speak, Jake steps forward. “He’s married, Dad. That’s the rule. And look at them. No one can tell me they’re not in love.”
Alex shakes his head. “Maybe they’re just fucking.”
“Who’s fucking?” Blaire says, choosing this moment to return to the tent. Her timing really is impeccable.
Alex deflates, cupping his hand over his forehead. “Jesus Christ.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Jake says. “They’re married. Legally. I was a witness. In three months, it will be five years and the balance of the trust will officially be secured.”
Ray snaps his fingers. “Peter? Want to weigh in?”
The stranger I’d forgotten about pushes off the bar, stepping forward and clearing his throat. He slides one hand into his pocket like he’s addressing a jury, and immediately I know he must be a lawyer.
“The clause in the will stipulates that the grandchildren are required to enter into a marriage based on mutual admiration, respect, love, and devotion,” Peter says. “Your grandfather put that stipulation in because he wanted to encourage happy, secure marriages, which in turn would ensure a happy, secure company. A marriage in name only goes against the very core of what he wanted, and in my legal opinion would void the fulfillment of your trust.” He looks over at Liam. “Your current affections could be argued in court, of course, but it would be very easy to prove that you and Ms. Green have not been cohabitating or, indeed, very familiar at all until recently.”
Liam’s looks over at me and I try to tell him with my eyes: Walk away. This isn’t only up to you. Your father has a choice here, too. He doesn’t have to screw his children out of money his father left them.
“So I’ll ask you again, son,” Ray says, lifting his chin to the side, toward Jake and Alex. “What’ll it be? You or them?”
At this, Jake frowns, something landing wrong to his ear, and I know for certain that he doesn’t understand the full scope of what’s at stake here.
I hate everything about this moment so much that not even Liam’s giant hands over my mouth could have kept me from losing it. “Are you fucking kidding me?” I seethe at Ray and try to not cower as the room turns to gape at me. “Seriously, is this a joke? Am I part of a documentary about how the proletariat reacts in the presence of insanely rich assholes?” I look over at Alex, who gapes at me. “Yes, and fuck you specifically, Alex, you enormous shitstain. I know what proletariat means, and I know what fork to use. I googled it before I got here, you dick.”