by Kira Blakely
“It’s alright, Mom,” I tell her. “Let him speak.”
“This is unbelievable.” Billy shakes his head. “Why would I agree to letting Dash have his inheritance after being away and ignoring this family for so long?”
“Because he’s your brother,” my mother points out. “And he wasn’t exactly just wandering around, ignoring us. He was serving the country, saving lives.”
“So what? Are you proud of him now?” Billy runs a hand through his hair. “You said he broke your heart! He ruined an entire five-year plan based on the given that he was going to be CEO. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was one of the reasons Dad’s heart gave out.”
“Billy,” Mom scolds.
He shakes his head, leaving his chair and standing by the window. “What about Dad’s wishes, huh? Don’t they matter to you anymore now that he’s dead?”
“This was your Dad’s wish,” Mom reminds, sitting back before turning to Walter. “Read the addendum again, Walter.”
Walter clears his throat and reads out loud. “Should he come home alive and have a legal family to support at the time of my death or within three years of it, he shall have his inheritance.”
Billy continues to shake his head as he places his hands on his hips.
“Exactly. So why are we giving Dash money again?” He turns his back against the window. “Why are we transferring a third of Dad’s fortune to Dash when he doesn’t have a family?”
“Dash has a wife,” Mom answers, turning her body towards Billy. “You would know that if you attended the wedding.”
“And you don’t find that suspicious?” Billy approaches her, extending one arm. “You don’t find it suspicious that shortly after Dad’s will was read, along with that fucking addendum, Dash suddenly had a fiancée?”
“Janine and I have been carrying on a long-distance relationship for years,” I explain, breaking my silence as I place my hand on my lap. “Ever since I joined the Marines, in fact.”
“And what?” Billy turns to face me, hands back on his hips. “You suddenly decided to marry her after hearing Dad’s will?”
“I’d been planning on proposing to her,” I lie.
“Yet you acted so devastated when Dad’s will was read.” He walks over to me, placing his hands on the arm of my chair. “Did they teach you to be an actor in the Marines, too?”
“Oh, come on, Billy,” Mom says. “You’re not suggesting that your brother’s marriage is a sham.”
“That is exactly what I am suggesting.” He straightens up, touching his tie.
My mother gives him a puzzled look as she lifts her hand. “What? Do you think Dash just picked someone off the street and paid her to be his wife?”
I look away, pursing my lips.
“Because if you are, I won’t believe it,” my mother adds. “You should have met Janine. She’s a great woman, not the kind you’re thinking of.”
“I don’t care who she is,” Billy says. “I don’t trust any woman who spreads her legs for—”
“Careful.” I stand up. “You’re talking about my wife.”
Billy snorts, placing his hands in his pockets. “Fine. Let’s say she is really your wife and that your marriage is real.”
“It is,” my mother says.
Billy ignores her. “The addendum states that you need to have a family.” He steps forward, standing in front of me. “A wife isn’t a family, is she? Or did you put a baby in her already?”
My fists clench at my sides.
“Dash, stop.” My mother stands between Billy and me, pushing us apart. “Billy, that’s enough. You are brothers and grown men. This is not how brothers or grown men behave.”
Billy snorts but walks away. I sit down.
“Dash’s inheritance isn’t being transferred to him without conditions,” Walter says, placing a piece of paper on the coffee table. “He will get his inheritance but he will not be able to liquidate it until he has a child. And if he does not have one within two years, he will lose it.”
“I still don’t buy it,” Billy says as he leans against the wall. “I’m not agreeing to this.”
“You don’t have to,” my mother tells him, taking her seat. “You’re here at this meeting because this matter concerns family. It concerns you. But this is not a shareholders’ meeting. We are not holding a vote or needing your signature. You’re just being informed.”
The flicker of annoyance in Billy’s eyes turns to anger. “So you’re telling me that I might lose a third of my inheritance? You’re just telling me that?”
My mother nods. “Basically.”
“This is bullshit.” He beats his fist against the wall. “Billy!” Mom reprimands.
“Everyone relax,” I advise, stretching out my hands to both of them.
But Billy’s eyes seethe on me with hatred. “Whatever,” he snaps. He walks across the room, grabbing his briefcase before heading to the door. “I’m not wasting any more of my time over this fucking nonsense.”
“Billy!” My mother stands up and calls after him. He ignores her, leaving.
My mother sighs, throwing an apologetic glance in my direction. “He’s been like this since he took over the company.”
I raise an eyebrow. He has? “I’ll talk to him.”
She walks towards the door. As she passes in front of me, I grab her arm, stopping her.
“It’s okay, Mom,” I tell her. “I’ll talk to him.” For a moment, she hesitates, and then nods.
I let her arm go and run out of the room, catching up to Billy in the garden where he’s sitting on a bench under a tree, face buried in both hands.
At once, my heart goes out to my little brother.
Poor Billy. Has he been so miserable all this time that he lashes out at everyone around him?
“Hey,” I say softly as I approach.
He looks up and immediately, the corners of his lips turn down in a frown.
“What do you want?”
“I just want to talk,” I tell him, placing my hands in my pockets.
He stands up, eyes narrowed at me. “There’s nothing to talk about. You already got what you wanted, didn’t you? Or did you want to rub it in my face?”
He begins to walk away so I grab his arm.
“I know you must hate me,” I hiss, “but I’m not your enemy. I have never been against you.”
“Really?” He wrenches his arm away from my grasp and turns around. “But you wanted to go off and play war, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t play shit.”
“That was your decision, Dash. It was all your decision! That’s why you’re so goddamn blessed! You’ve always done everything you wanted to do.”
I scratch my temple. “I told you that you didn’t have to take over the company.”
“I had no choice!” He places his hand on his chest. “Dad and Mom were already so upset with you leaving. How could I upset them more?”
I fall silent, looking away as I let my hand fall to my side. “Did you know, that one evening after you left, I saw Dad crying in his office?”
The revelation makes my eyes go wide.
“I’d never seen him cry before but he was,” Billy continues, looking at his palm. “And there was nothing I could do.”
His eyes soften, his lower lip trembling.
As I stare at him, I realize for the first time how my departure really affected him and a lump forms in my throat, my hands rolling into fists.
“Billy…”
He looks down at his feet, his shoulders shuddering. “You went away to find yourself but what you didn’t know was that we all got lost when you left us behind.”
My chest grows tight. I reach out to touch his shoulder but he steps back. I put my hand back in my pocket.
“I’m sorry, Billy.”
Billy shakes his head. “You ruined my life. Sorry doesn’t fix that.”
* * *
“I’m sorry about Billy,” Janine tells me as she sits beside me on the cou
ch, a cup of coffee in hand.
I say nothing, having already told her about the argument with Billy that took place at the mansion. I didn’t tell her about the meeting with the lawyer, of course, or the transfer. She doesn’t need to concern herself with this stuff.
I rest my head on the back of the couch, staring at the pristine, ivory ceiling.
All I wanted was to find a purpose, to feel a rush from living. I didn’t want to be a hero or anything and it definitely wasn’t my intention to be the prodigal son.
I run my hand through my hair, leaving it on the top of my head. How the fuck did all this happen?
“If I could go back in time, I would,” I tell Janine. “I wouldn’t leave. I wouldn’t join the Marines. I would stay and do what my father wanted, even if it was just so Billy could be happy. At least, one of us would have been.”
I sigh, leaning forward on my knees and clasping my hands. “Now, it’s too late.”
Janine places a hand on my arm. “It’s never too late.” I look at her.
“I may not have a brother but I know how much Billy means to you,” she says as she looks at my arm, her thumb moving against my skin. “If you really want to help him, you still can. You can’t take back lost time but you can help lost people find their way as long as there’s still time. And you have that. You have plenty.”
Slowly, she lifts her head, our eyes meeting. As I look into her amber eyes, I see the sadness in them but also the understanding, the hope. She gives me a weak smile.
I hold her hand, squeezing it.
At that moment, the phone on the kitchen counter rings.
I let go of Janine’s hand and pick it up. “Hello.” I press the phone to my ear. “Dash.” It’s my mother. “Are you alright?” “Yeah.” I lean on the counter. “Why?”
“Well, you left without saying goodbye just like your brother.”
I frown, slipping a hand inside my pocket. “Sorry.” “I didn’t get the chance to tell you something.” “What is it?”
“I want you to come to the company party this Friday,” she says.
I blink, my hands going still. A company party?
“It’s to launch the company’s new security system for yachts,” Mom explains. “Company executives are going to be there. Other businessmen are going to be there. Politicians. Reporters. You should be there. After all, you own one-third of the company now.”
“Not yet,” I remind, tapping the edge of the counter. “You will,” she insists. “Besides, this is a good chance for you to let the world know you’re home and to introduce your beautiful wife.”
I glance at Janine who’s left the couch, taking a sip from her cup of coffee as she leans on the wall a few feet across me, watching me.
“Don’t you want to know what’s going on with the family company?” my mother asks. “This is the perfect opportunity.”
I don’t answer, scratching my forehead. I am curious to learn more about the company, especially given my business plans. I’m just not sure if this is right. What if Billy gets even more mad at me?
Then again, I don’t think that’s possible. He already has the utmost contempt for me. In spite of that, though, I don’t think he’ll confront me in front of the media and a bunch of important people. He won’t make a scene.
Janine comes closer, probably sensing my confusion.
Looking at her, I remember her words.
She’s right. I can’t do something about the past but I can still do something. I haven’t been around but I am here now. It’s time to make my presence felt.
“Dash?”
I take a deep breath. “Alright, Mom.” “Really?”
Even from the other end of the line, I can hear the relief and excitement in her voice. I can imagine her getting off the couch, smiling.
I straighten up. “Yeah, we’ll be there.” “Good. I’ll see you then.”
The line goes dead and I put the phone back in its cradle, letting out a deep breath.
Janine stands beside me, touching my arm. “Are you okay?”
I nod.
“That was your mother?”
“Yeah. She wants us to go to a company party this Friday.”
“And?” Janine’s eyebrows go up. I touch her cheek. “I said yes.”
12
Janine
It’s my wedding day nightmare all over again.
As I sit in the backseat of the limo, my fingers nervously fidgeting with the pendant of my necklace and my gaze out the window, I can’t help but think that this is another mistake.
The wedding may have been a necessary mistake but this one isn’t. I could have easily just come up with an excuse and stayed at home. And I should have. Because this time, it won’t just be Dash’s Mom’s friends. There are corporate executives, senators, journalists. Oh, and the corporate executives’ wives with their scrutinizing gazes. What if I mess up in front of them all?
“Hey.” Dash reaches for my hand.
I look at him, his cheek propped on his elbow, and like before, my breath is stolen by how amazing he looks in his expensive suit, which makes his shoulders look broader, the piano key combination of deep black and the pristine white making the bluish gray of his eyes pop out. His hair is neatly combed and tamed by a smooth layer of gel, his chin immaculately shaven, his bow tie perfectly in place.
I just know he’ll turn heads tonight. Unfortunately, that’s not good news for me.
“I would really rather be going home,” I tell him, entwining my fingers with his.
“And deprive everyone of seeing you in that sensational gown?”
His gaze sweeps over my emerald green dress, starting from its halter neckline to the sparkling sash around its waist and down the slit of the flowing skirt. Then his eyes rest on my cleavage, my breasts peeking from the front cut of my gown.
It’s not my choice but Dash’s mother insisted I wear it, and, since she bought it for me, I couldn’t refuse.
Dash frowns, touching the side of his temple. “On second thought, maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to not have other people look at you.”
I smooth my hand over the front of my gown, suddenly conscious. “They’ll be looking at you, not at me.”
“Ah, yes.” He places his hand on his knee, tapping it. “Dash Siegel. The prodigal son, returning.”
“And war hero,” I add.
He scoffs. “I’m no hero to these people.” “But you are to me,” I blurt out.
Dash smiles, taking my hand again. “You really know just what to say, don’t you?”
I grin.
“You’re my new best friend.”
I pause at those words. Is that what we are now? Best friends? With benefits, I guess, since we’ve been spending a lot of time together in bed these past few weeks. And in the living room. And in the kitchen.
The particular memory of Dash pounding into me from behind while I’m bent over the kitchen counter makes me blush and I look away.
“Maybe I know what to say to you but not to me.” I look out the window at a skyscraper, its windows lit to the very top. “I’m deathly scared.”
“You don’t have to be.”
I look at our hands still joined together then at him. “Do we really have to do this?”
“I think it will help make everything more believable,” Dash says, rubbing my hand. “Which is good because Billy is already doubting it.”
Of course. This is all still just an act.
“Don’t worry.” He squeezes my hand. “I’m sure every- thing will be alright. Who knows? You might even have fun.”
* * *
Fun.
I pause at the top of the carpeted stairs to look at the ballroom below, my heart pounding in my chest.
Already, there are a lot of people in the ballroom that has been designed to look like it’s on some island, potted palm trees scattered throughout, a golden water fountain with pebbles in the middle of the room, and tapestries designed like sails hanging fro
m the ceiling in between the crystal chandeliers. There are women in flowing designer gowns and sparkling jewels and men in suits like the one Dash has on, though none of them can quite carry it like he can. I can see some of them posing for a camera, the flash going off.
Nope. This isn’t my idea of fun at all.
Still, there’s no turning back now and so I take a deep breath, gripping Dash’s arm just a little tighter as we descend the stairs into the abyss.
His mother meets us at the bottom, dressed in a strap- less, royal blue gown with large diamonds around her neck.
“So glad you could make it, Dash,” she says, gripping his shoulders and giving him a kiss on the cheek.
He smiles. “Thank you for the invitation.”
“And you, my dear…” Mrs. Siegel turns to me, eyes glistening with approval. “I knew that dress would look divine on you.”
“Thank you,” I tell her, glancing at it.
“Now, come with me.” She takes Dash’s other arm. “There are a few people I want you to meet.”
Few is an understatement.
Mrs. Siegel introduces Dash to one guest after another, pride written all over her face and her voice heavy with excitement. Dash introduces me in turn, each time to the same responses – kind words from the male guest and raised eyebrows and upturned noses from the woman on his arm. I simply smile.
After a while, I get tired of smiling, though, and standing, and pretending to be interested in people I don’t know or conversations I don’t really follow – it’s the same thing that happened at our wedding reception, except that time, Dash and I could excuse ourselves. This time, we can’t.
Well, he can’t.
I excuse myself, going to the refreshments table for a glass of champagne and then finding an empty wicker lounge chair to sit on. I’d lie down on it if I could.
“Are you alright, dear?” Mrs. Siegel sits beside me. “You look a little pale.”
“I’m fine,” I assure her. “I just needed a break.”
“I know.” She takes a sip from her own glass of champagne. “I was getting bored myself. But then I’ve heard all they’ve had to say before and Dash hasn’t. Look at him. He’s so interested and they love him.”