by S. E. Rose
Lee laughs, but not a “ha ha” laugh, more of a “fuck you, bitch” laugh. “Grandmother, you and I are going to talk, now,” he says and takes her by the arm.
“Lee, what are you doing?” his father asks.
“You should hear this too, Father,” he says.
Lee’s father now looks completely confused, as he should. He, along with his wife and daughter and Grant’s parents, all follow us.
Lee pulls his grandmother along into a small private dining room. Grant shuts the door behind us, and Lee drops the papers on a table.
“Care to explain this?” he asks his grandmother.
Eunice pulls her arm from Lee’s grasp and surveys the papers on the table. It takes her all of five seconds to surmise what is laid out before her. I can see the moment when realization dawns on her face. She is shocked at first, and then angry.
“Where did you get these?” she hisses.
“Your lawyer really ought to be more careful with your illegal documentation,” Lee says.
Eunice glares at him. “Your grandfather meant to change things, but the paperwork got waylaid when he was ill. I was merely clearing things up.”
“Try again,” Grant says to her.
She shoots a glare at Grant.
“Grandmother, we have emails. This was only brought to your attention after Grandfather died. You’ve been attempting to secure your fortune ever since. That’s what all of this is about now, isn’t it? The wedding, the mysterious need for us to sign new ‘inheritance’ papers, all of that is just part of your plan to take all the family fortune away. Well, except for that ten percent that my future wife was going to get. Oh, and extra for having a kid, which is not happening by the way,” Lee scoffs. Everyone’s eyes widen, as they all assumed, she was pregnant.
Grant claps Lee on the shoulder. “The game is up, Eunice. Checkmate,” Grant says.
Eunice’s face looks like she’s seen a ghost.
“I don’t know what you are talking about!” she retorts. Grant’s and Lee’s parents are now surveying all the documents.
Grant rolls his eyes and shoves the printed copies of the documents toward her. “Thankfully, my best friend here thought to bring her travel printer,” he says, motioning to Reagan.
“Oh, and I’m gay, by the way. Harrison and I are seeing each other,” he announces.
Now, everyone looks like they have seen a ghost.
“But…Reagan,” his mother starts.
“Is my best friend,” he says.
“But…you’ve been—”
Grant holds up his hand. “Using Reagan as a decoy for years because I was worried about losing my inheritance, losing my chance to start my own company! Yes, that is true,” he says dryly.
“Grant, what is the meaning of this?” his father says sternly.
“The meaning, dear father, is that your mother has illegally been running the family company and was about to have us sign over everything to her under fraudulent means. You and Uncle Bob already got your inheritance when your father died, so she didn’t need you to sign anything. Although your stakes in the family company would have been compromised. Furthermore, she was going to do all of this and give Maggie a cut of the money once they merged their companies and sold it to Felicia’s dad. You see Maggie’s family’s company is…how shall we put this…in need of some liquidation? So, by doing all this, Grandmother got her cut, Maggie got hers, and the companies were saved…specifically from the likes of us,” he says, grabbing a drink from a nearby side table and downing it.
Lee’s father looks at his mother. “Mother, is this true?” he asks.
“Of course not, it’s preposterous! Clearly, Lee and Grant have been misled by Reagan. She’s clearly a money-grubby whore who wants to take his share,” she says, tossing a hand in the air.
Grant laughs and everyone turns to look at him.
“Eunice, give it up. You just don’t know when to stop, do you? The charade is over. Your game is up! Accept defeat, and the small stipend we will extend as a mere courtesy and to show you just how above bar we truly are,” Grant says. He’s busy typing on his phone.
“Really, Grant, can’t you stay off your phone,” Reagan says with a sigh.
“I’m letting Beth know that she owns part of the company,” he says.
“Oh,” Reagan says. “Well, then do carry on.”
“Beth?” Grant says. “I’m putting you on speaker.”
“Tell her, Grandmother,” he says staring at his grandmother.
Eunice huffs. “I am not talking to her. In fact, I am leaving. I don’t have to put up with this kind of treatment from the likes of you. My lawyers will be in touch,” she says and saunters off toward the door.
“Grant?” Beth’s voice breaks the silence. “Grant, what is going on? Was that Eunice?”
Grant sighs and takes the phone off speaker as he walks out of the room, clearly ready to tell his sister that she, in fact, owns a large portion of a major company.
Lee looks out the door to the windows beyond and grimaces. “I just can’t,” he says, and I clap him on the shoulder.
“We got this,” I tell him, and I quirk my head to Harrison who nods.
“Thanks, I owe you guys, like seriously owe you,” he says as he places a hand on my shoulder. I can’t stand the formality a second longer. I pull him into a hug, not a “bro hug” but a real one. He grips me hard, and I return the favor.
“We’ll sort this out. Go back to your room, get a drink, talk to your ex-fiancée, and then we’ll come to get you,” I say in his ear. He nods, let's go, and walks away. Oddly, he doesn’t look like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders but instead like a bird that just learned how to fly. I motion to Harrison to follow me out, so we can announce to the now gathered wedding party that there will be no wedding.
Reagan
I stand against the wall in stunned silence. I’m now alone with Lee’s sister, his parents, and Grant’s parents. The level of awkwardness just skyrocketed to epic proportions.
“So, you aren’t dating Grant then?” his mother asks. Clearly, her Stepford wife-self can’t wrap her head around the fact that her son just announced he’s gay.
“No, Mrs. Pierce, I am not,” I answer, folding and unfolding my hands anxiously behind my back.
Grant’s father sighs. “What a fucking disaster!” he mutters.
Lee’s father looks like he’s about to blow a gasket. “If you’ll excuse us, we need to attend to the guests,” he says.
“Bob, wait. We should talk,” Grant’s father says.
Lee’s father stops and turns. “Talk about what, Dave? The fact you have a gay son, the fact that my son is no longer getting married, the fact that our mother has been lying to us for years, or the fact that I don’t even know if we have any money? Which topic shall we ‘talk’ about first?” he snarls.
Grant’s father sighs and runs a hand through his hair.
“If you’ll excuse me, I should check on Grant,” I say as I hastily leave the room without waiting for a response from anyone.
Chapter 19
I find Grant staring out a window at the back of the restaurant. I walk up slowly beside him and place my arm through his, leaning my head on his shoulder.
“You OK?” I ask him.
“I…don’t know,” he states as he continues to stare out at the beach beyond us.
“That was…” I trail off not knowing what to say to my best friend. He just came out to his family, found out his grandmother isn’t just an evil old woman but was actually stealing the family fortune or at least trying to, and he just broke up his cousin’s wedding.
“Well, uh, the day can’t get much more…interesting,” I say.
Grant leans his head down on mine, and I place my other hand on his arm. He places his hand over it, and we stand there staring out in silence for a few minutes.
Eventually, he places a soft kiss on my head. “Thank you, Reagan. From the bottom of my heart,
thank you,” he says.
I look up, and I swear I see tears in his eyes.
I place a hand on his cheek. “You’re welcome, Grant. You know I would do anything for you. You’re my best friend, and I love you,” I say.
He laughs at that. “I love you, too. But let’s just move on from that heartfelt speech. OK?” he says.
I giggle. Grant and I seldom discuss our feelings and for a long awkward moment, neither of us knows what to say next, until Grant takes my hand and leads me out of the restaurant.
“Where are we going?” I ask him.
“You and I are going to go to the beach and have a proper friend day. I mean now that our schedules are cleared,” he announces.
I grin, and we walk hand in hand to our suite and change into our bathing suits. There’s not much more daylight left in the day, but damn it if we aren’t going to make the best of it.
“So, what did Beth say?” I ask him once we are settled in our cabana.
“She was as shocked as I was,” he says.
My phone buzzes and I look down. It’s my brother. I frown.
“Owen?” I answer.
“Charges are being filed,” he states.
“Wait, what?” I say, sitting up.
“Eunice is being charged with fraud along with her attorney who was just escorted from our building by the police,” Owen says in a hushed voice.
“Seriously?” I ask.
“Seriously,” he answers.
Grant gives me a quizzical look.
I put my hand over the phone’s microphone. “Your grandmother is going to be arrested,” I whisper, looking around to make sure no one is hearing what I say.
Grant’s eyes widen.
“When?” he asks.
“I’m assuming when she gets Stateside,” I say to him.
He groans and lies back down.
“Owen, can I call you later? Grant and I are trying to…debrief,” I say.
“Yeah, sure. I just wanted to make sure Grant and his family knew,” he says.
“I appreciate that,” I tell him, and we disconnect.
Grant sighs. “This week has not gone as I thought it would,” he mutters.
“No shit, Sherlock,” I say to him.
He rolls his eyes and laughs. Pretty soon tears are streaming down his face from his laughter, and I can’t help but follow his lead. We are getting some looks from fellow beachgoers, but we don’t give a shit. We just laugh and laugh until we’re lying on our sides staring at one another.
“Love ya, Reag,” he says as he reaches out and takes my hand. “I mean it. I know I can be a real ass sometimes, but I love you as much as I love Beth.”
I smile at him. “I know. Back at ya, bestie,” I say with a grin. “But haven’t we already established our undying love for one another.”
He laughs. “Yeah, I suppose this is well-charted territory now,” he replies as he rolls onto his back and looks up at the sky. “I’m sorry we haven’t spent more time together on this trip. I really do wish we’d had more G-Man and Reag hangout time.”
“Me too,” I reply. We’re silent for a long minute, just smiling at each other. I squeeze his hand and he squeezes back. We don’t need any more words.
“You still want to go on that sunset cruise tomorrow night?” I ask him.
“Sure, why not? I mean it’s our last day here, we might as well enjoy it,” he points out.
“I just was wondering if everyone would be up for it. I mean, this is all a lot to swallow,” I say.
“That’s what she said,” he retorts with a smirk.
I roll my eyes for the eleven hundredth time this week.
I fall back in my lounge chair and stare up at the blue sky. I must doze off because I wake to a hand caressing my thigh. I jump and open my eyes.
“Just me,” Zach says.
“Jesus, you scared the shit out of me,” I say.
“Sorry. I wasn’t going to wake you, but you’re getting pink,” he says as he presses a finger to my leg. I look down and groan.
I glance over and see that Grant is no longer in his chair.
Zach motions toward the water and I find Harrison and Grant floating comfortably on little rafts. The sky is now darkening with twilight and it’s quiet around us.
“A lot of help he is,” I scoff. I look back at Zach. “How’s Lee?”
Zach shrugs. “As well as can be expected,” he says. “How’s Grant?”
I shrug. “Same. Grant tends to bottle things up, so we haven’t really talked about it. I think he just wanted a break from the drama for a bit,” I explain.
“Understandable,” Zach replies.
I pull my knees up and place my head on them, wrapping my arms around them so I’m a small ball on the chair. I look out at Grant. He looks…happy.
“What?” Zach says, following my gaze.
I shake my head. “I just hope the end of Grant’s charade makes his life easier,” I admit.
Zach puts a hand on my leg. “Well, it can’t make it any more complicated, that’s for sure,” he says with a small laugh.
“I suppose not,” I agree.
“What about Maggie?” I ask him.
He smirks. “Well, Maggie seemed to take it quite well,” he says.
I frown, confused.
Zach pushes my chin so that my head turns. I look in the distance and my mouth falls open.
“Holy. Fucking. Shit. Please tell me I am hallucinating,” I say.
“Nope,” Zach replies.
I focus on what is happening in front of me in complete and total shock. I’m watching two women clearly enjoying each other’s company, and not in a best friend way unless you are a best friend with benefits. And those two women are Felicia and Maggie. They look about two seconds away from making out with each other. The flirting is so obvious, I want to grab popcorn and wait to see who makes the first move.
Just then, I hear Grant’s voice behind me.
“No. Fucking. Way.”
I turn and see that he also sees the shitshow transpiring in front of us. I look back to make sure I really did see what I thought I just saw.
“But…I…when…” I am at a loss for words.
“After Lee talked to her, she went sort of…crazy. Felicia went to comfort her, and Harrison and I found them flirting with each other in a lounge area,” Zach says.
“Now that, I did not see coming,” Grant admits as Harrison puts an arm around him.
“That makes two of us. I knew Felicia swung both ways, but I never suspected that,” Harrison concurs.
“Shit, that makes three of us,” I say.
“Make that four,” Zach adds.
“So, we all know that this is just Maggie gold-digging, right?” Harrison remarks.
We all turn and look at him.
“Oh, come on. Seriously? Look, Maggie still needs to save her company. Felicia has been known to swing both ways for ages. So, in Maggie’s panicked state, she did the most obvious thing. She just threw herself at her bestie. You know, her bestie that happens to be the daughter of one of the richest men in the world,” Harrison explains.
“Well, shit. I didn’t think the bitch had it in her,” Grant says.
“If she’s willing to stoop that low, then those two deserve each other,” I quip.
“Agreed,” Zach says as we all turn back to stare at them. They are oblivious to us as they make out in a pool under a fake waterfall.
Harrison’s phone buzzes and he looks down. He types furiously for a moment and then looks back up at us.
“Lee needs a night out. Who’s in?” he asks.
We all nod. “Let’s grab dinner and hit the club,” Grant suggests.
And just like that, we are all walking back to our rooms to change.
Chapter 20
“Thank God for those masks last time,” Harrison says with a grin as we enter the club after dinner.
I laugh. “Please, for the love of God, do not get that wasted tonight. B
ecause if you do, you are on your own, dude. I am not going to carry your asses back to the hotel room,” I say to him.
He at least has the smarts to look a little sheepish.
“Drinks?” Grant asks us. We all nod, and he heads off to the bar.
About five minutes later, Harrison, Zach, and I grab an empty table. As we sit, Lee plops down in an empty chair.
“Hey,” Harrison says hesitantly.
Grant sets a tray of drinks down on the table, and Lee picks up the nearest one and downs it.
Zach pushes the tray toward him and nods at Grant to get us more. Grant rolls his eyes and walks back to the bar.
“So,” Harrison starts, clearing his throat.
Lee holds up his hand. “No…nope. We are not going to discuss what happened today. We are going to party like motherfucking rock stars tonight and wake up in a pile of our own vomit tomorrow. We shall be left wondering if the events of today actually happened or if we dreamed them,” he says as he downs a second drink.
Harrison places a hand on Lee’s arm. “Fine, but we are making you drink water after every third drink. Trust me when I say, you don’t want to have to visit the emergency room while here on vacation. Comprendé?” he states rather than asks.
“Fine,” Lee mutters and downs his third drink. I get up and find Grant at the bar and grab a bunch of bottled waters.
By the time we get back to the table, Lee is on glass number four of whatever Grant brought earlier. I place a water in his hand, and he downs it too.
He stands and holds up a hand to me. I nod and follow him on the dance floor. If I can help in a small way, even just by a dance, damn it, I’m doing it.
Lee turns out to be a great dancer and five songs later we are laughing and having fun on the dance floor. I turn and see Zach watching us intently. I smile at him and nod, and he nods back but doesn’t smile. I turn around and shake my head as Lee pulls me in close and dips me back. I giggle as my head falls back, and then I almost fall down as I see Felicia and Maggie making out in a booth in the back of the club, albeit, they are upside down from my current position, but they are definitely locking lips. I do my best to ignore it but then I find myself falling to the floor. I look up and see that Lee too has spotted them.