Beauty and the billionaire

You know you can't mess this up," Gerald says beside me, and I turn to look at him.

He grits his teeth and says nothing under my admonishing gaze. Sometimes I wonder if he even has a heart and if anything within him is still alive for anyone else except me. I stare at him for a while longer until his eyes finally soften, and he sighs.

"I know I stepped out of line. Look, I miss him as well but there are things that we have to do, and we must not let sentimentality get in our way. I loved the old man but there are vultures, and guess who the vultures are looking at now. Yes, you guessed right. They are looking at you. You're the one they must uproot," he says to me through clenched teeth.

"Everything that you're saying is based on speculation and that is not what I deal in. That is not what a businessman worth his salt deals in, especially when we don't know what our grandfather decided. All of this won't even matter depending on what we hear today, and I would prefer it if you treated this with the respect that it deserves. He was our grandfather. Now, I can tolerate this cold-blooded madness from others but not from you. Do you understand?" I say to him.

I know that he wants to argue but he looks at me then he sucks his teeth. "Yeah, I understand," he says to me, and I nod at him. I adjust my tie and we start walking into the house.

I remember all the times when I ran across the staircase as a child, all the times when I sat on them and read novels and stories, books my grandfather would give to me.

He was the greatest man I had ever known, an icon whom I hope to live up to. There are times when I wonder what sort of life he lived and the obstacles he must have faced. But he had already told them to me and I carry them in my heart.

I suppose that I already know, as everyone does, what will be in store for me. This was not a part that I could fight. There was no one else there that could take over, no one had the patience to endure his tutelage and expectations.

While they might be seeing what he gave me as a reward, I see it as a burden I must carry, one that stretched to every member of the family. Anyone who does not see it that way is simply unfit to lead or play an active role in the family.

I enter the foyer with the grand rotating metalwork and the sculptures on the wall. I used to think that when I grew up, it would finally seem a bit less overwhelming but as I stand within it, I can see that is not so. The house is still as grand as I remember.

"Samuel," a voice calls to me, and I turn to see my grandmother, Anna, standing there with her arms wide open. I walk to her and hold her in a hug. She is a tiny woman but just being in her presence is enough to make the strongest men wilt. "By God, child, have you been starving?" She asks me. The truth is that I have actually put on a lot more muscle from working out, but my grandma Anna will always seem to think I have lost weight.

"I have been eating quite well, Gramma" I say to her, and she shakes her head. "Nonsense. What you need is homemade meals, you need good food and you need lots of it. Why, I hope that you will stay longer after the will reading so you can actually eat," she says to me. I smile and nod, knowing that there is nothing I can say that will change her mind.

"Hello, Gramma," Gerald says from behind me and she looks at him with loving eyes. "Gerald," she calls him, and he hugs her. He bends so she can kiss his forehead then she tugs at his beard. "What is this madness that has come over you young men these days? Leaving all that mane to hang to your chest," she says and laughs. I dip my head in respect as she turns to greet another family member.

I walk past them and into the living room. It is a massive affair with metalwork and paintings on the wall. There is a young man, a little younger than me, at the bar island and he smiles at me.

"Hello, Anthony. I didn't think that I'd see you here," I say to him, and he beams at me, genuinely pleased that I spoke to him.

"You remember my name," he says. "Why wouldn't I? You've been here since I can remember. We used to play in the woods together," I say to him and he grins then nods repeatedly.

"Ah, Anthony. What the hell, man? It's almost like your face hasn't even aged a day," Gerald says from behind me.

"What will you be having, Mr. Oliver?" Anthony says to Gerald. "Just some whiskey would be fine. That's all that's worth drinking these days," he says. "Water," I say before he asks me. Drinking liquor is one thing that does not interest me in the slightest. "I see the golden boy is here," a voice says behind me, and immediately, my muscles tense. I force them to relax then I turn to look at her. She is tall and curvy with blue eyes and graying hair.

Aunt Linda is my grandfather's lovechild—his third child overall—with a mistress he had when he was young, and her son is a successful lawyer named Brian.

"Hello, Aunt Linda. You're looking quite ravishing today. How have you been?" I ask her and she smiles. "Hmm, you must be overjoyed. All those years of servitude and bootlicking have finally paid off."

"What do you mean?" Gerald asks from behind me. "Ah, if it isn't the little cousin. Loyal as a dog, is he not?" Linda asks. Gerald starts to move but I look at him and he stops then grits his teeth. "See? Just like a dog," she says. I can feel Gerald's anger but that does not matter now. "I imagined that we would be on good terms as a family, but you have decided to insult my cousin and me. I will not tolerate that," I say to her, and she raises an eyebrow. "I imagine I shouldn't antagonize you at this time since who knows how things may fall out and you may actually be the heir. It would be a terrible thing to be on your bad side then," she says to me with bitterness so deep that I feel it from across the room. A smile crosses my lips.

My grandfather spoke to me about this, told me of all the people that would attack me, that still I should protect them, even if it was from themselves. They were family. "Have a good morning, Aunt Linda," I say to her then turn away and whip out my phone as I take my glass of water to the window.

She stands silently behind me for a while then she turns and leaves. "That is just one, coz," Gerald says to me and I nod with a deep sigh. "Well, that is what all this is about. We take it one day at a time. Oh, it seems grandfather's lawyer is here," I say to him and he smiles. Mrs. Atkins has been a family friend for as long as I can remember, closest to my grandmother.

The fierce intelligence around her eyes and the brisk manner of her person reminds me of all the conversations we have had together and her logical and systematical way of viewing everything. I know that greeting her would not result in a reply so I just dip my head as she walks past and a shadow of a smile crosses her lips.

Everyone sits down to listen to Atkins. There is tension in the room, so strong that I almost feel how palpable it is. "The will of Jeremiah Oliver," she says and I almost laugh. She says nothing before that, no flourishes, no words to prepare for what might happen then she starts speaking.

It is all mundane. It is all normal. Houses and money go to certain members of the family. His art collections, his cars, and things that are of no interest to me or most of the family. Gerald gets fifty million and a house in Italy. He grins at me. "Finally, all my shares and holdings in the Blue Whale company, my private mansion, and all of my books and personal effects will go to my grandson, Samuel Oliver," she says, and a hush falls across the room. I knew that this would happen, but the reality is still a little scary and humbling. I look at Atkins who gives me a flat stare. "He will, however, only be able to access all these after he has taken a wife. Until then, they will be withheld from him. He has three months to take a wife else everything will be given to charity," she finishes.

A part of me knew this would come but I am still greatly disturbed by it. What I didn't think he would do was put a timeline to it. This is insane. It is then that I remember a conversation between my grandfather and I on my twenty-third birthday where he mentioned the issue of marriage. I told him that it was not something I was considering.

He simply gave me a long look and then smiled. Was this his way of forcing my hand, four years later? I look at Gerald who still has a smile on his face, looking at me with a raised eyebrow. He seems to think this is a simple case and I let him think that until everyone begins to disperse, and I walk out of the room and to the balcony. "This is great," Gerald says to me as he comes to stand behind me. "What do you mean?" I ask him. I nearly snap at him, but I control my rage. "I mean that this is truly great. You just have to arrange a wedding and stuff, and maybe by next week, we'll have this over with," he says to me. "That would be great but there are two small problems, Gerald," I reply and he furrows his brows as he looks at me.

"The first is that I don't have any interest in marriage. I never had. And the second is this: where are you going to find a girl on such short notice?" I ask him and his face darkens as he looks at me, almost like he cannot believe what I am saying, but then again, I did not expect him to understand.

"What the hell are you even…look, I understand that you are a strange man with strange and weird principles, and maybe that is why you and Grandad got along so well, but I am telling you that now is not the time to be weird. We have to be precise and fast. That is what we need now. You can find a girl at a moment's notice—you can even arrange to divorce her after some time has elapsed. Please, cousin," he says to me.

I turn to face the wide garden and the greenery, the plant sculptures that littered the garden. "He knew. He knew that I did not want this. This was the one thing that we did not see eye to eye on and he is forcing my hand. I do not like it when my hands are forced," I reply.

"Look…" Gerald starts but he is interrupted.

"Hello, Samuel," Brian says to me. I look at him. He is a short, handsome man with jet-black hair and a strong chin. "You are quite a lucky man. If you need anything, then you can talk to me. Anything at all. I suppose there will be a wedding in the family soon," he says to me. His words carry double meanings as is the manner of all lawyers. I nod and say nothing else as he walks away. "Ass," Gerald hisses, and for once, I agree.