14. Michelangelo

No matter how long I stared at the envelope, it wouldn’t change its contents. The last time my father presented me with one of these, I’d ruined my life. Intentionally. Then, it had been the gift of my own company. He was my partner and money man, but it was up to me to broker and sell art from around the world. My own work was included in our catalog of offerings. I’d hit the ground running, as they say, with my paintings interspersed with world-renowned masterpieces.

And what had I done with it? I’d immediately began forging lesser-known works that still would’ve fetched hundreds of thousands of dollars if they were authentic.

My goal had been to destroy Richard Emsworth’s pristine reputation in the art world. Little did I imagine the two people who would be hurt the most were my half sister and myself.

I’d once asked Tara where her father’s money had come from. At the time, she didn’t yet know I was her brother. It was her answer then that made me put off opening what I held in my hand.

I remembered her words as if they were spoken yesterday. “My dad’s wealth came from the Emsworth family trust, which stipulates that the eldest son of the current controlling eldest son be given half of everything upon their thirtieth birthday. The other half becomes theirs when their father dies.”

“What if there isn’t a son?”

She shrugged. “I think there always has been.”

“What about you?”

She shook her head. “The only way I’d have any control whatsoever would be if I had a son and my father passed away before he came of age. In that case, I’d sit on the board in his place.”

“This is bloody archaic.”

The extremity of my response had likely confused her since she had no idea I was the eldest son.

Based on Penelope’s demeanor, Tara had never mentioned the trust to her, so she had no idea the pile of shit I was about to step into.

Richard’s displeasure when he discovered I was working for K19 Security Solutions, and that it was a condition of my early release from prison, reaffirmed my suspicions as to what was coming. Because, along with the gift of billions came the expectation that I’d be groomed to take over.

“Would you do the honors?” I asked, handing Pen the envelope after acknowledging I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

“Are you sure?”

“We’ll still be sitting here staring at it come dawn if you don’t.”

Her brow furrowed. “Do you want me to read it to you?”

“It will serve to confirm my suspicions. So, peruse it yourself first.”

She pulled out the enclosures in a way that indicated she shared my trepidation.

“Holy fucking shit, Brand!” she exclaimed after several seconds.

“It’s about the Emsworth trust, yes?”

She nodded slowly and set both the letter and its receptacle on the table in front of us. “Half of everything is yours.”

“As you know, it comes at a price.”

She picked the letter up and kept reading. “You’re expected to report to the Emsworth building next Monday—a week from today.”

“Not happening.”

“Can you refuse something like this?” she asked.

“Of course I can.”

“Will you?”

That was the billion-dollar question, wasn’t it? I had no idea what would happen if I did. I knew better than to say it would go to Tara. For the time being, I could pray she was pregnant with a boy, which would mean I might be able to put Richard off for however many months it was until he was born. On the other hand, maybe she wouldn’t want any part of it, either.

“We could talk to my dad,” Pen offered, but then bit her lip. “Although we probably aren’t on speaking terms currently. What about Kade?”

“I need to speak to him regardless, just so he’s aware of the situation.”

I glanced over and found her studying me.

“What?” I asked.

“You’ve known about this for some time, which means you’ve also thought over how you’d feel if and when it happened.”

“You’re right.”

“Has your thinking changed?”

I shook my head. “When I saw Richard, I anticipated this was the reason he was here. I’m honestly stunned he didn’t want to do it in front of everyone.”

“You have a lot to think about. I can head to bed.”

“Are you asking if that’s what I want you to do?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t.” I scrubbed my face with my hand. “I know we need to talk about my misstep earlier.”

“We don’t.”

I sat upright and shifted my body so I was less likely to pull her into my arms the way I was longing to.

“What do you think I should do?”

Her eyes widened. “With the inheritance?”

“Yes.”

“I have no idea.”

“I’ll rephrase. What would you do?”

Penelope thought for several seconds before answering. “You won’t like my response.”

I smiled. “Try me.”

“I wouldn’t be so hasty. There’s a lot of good you could do with money like this, Brand. It doesn’t mean you have to become like your father. You could do things your way.”

I was intrigued by her suggestion. “Give me some examples.”

“To start with, you could do the kind of thing Doc did for you. There are countless statistics about how hard it is for people to make their way in the world after they’ve spent time in prison.”

“True.”

“You could do what the patriarch of another family worth billions did and give it all away. Or however much you wanted to.”

“There are properties that would eventually be mine.”

“It doesn’t mean you have to live in them. I live here because it’s close to the gallery and it reminds me of my grandmother. Well, and the gardens. Who would choose otherwise, right?”

I smiled. “Right.”

“The same with the Butterfly Cottage. When my parents pass away, I’ll most likely inherit their properties—at least my mom’s. I guarantee you I won’t ever want to live in either of her homes. As far as my dad is concerned, he may disinherit me in favor of his next wife, or the one after that, and so on. Anyway, what I’m saying is maybe you should educate yourself on exactly what this entails and what kind of power over the estate you would eventually have before you close your mind to it.”

My mobile rang. “It’s Doc, err, Kade.”

“I know who you mean. You should answer.”

She shifted to get up, but I put my hand on her arm. “This may concern you as well.” I hit the accept button on the screen. “Hey, Doc.”

“Brand, sorry to call so late, but I wanted you to know I decided to stick around for a couple more days.”

“Oh?”

“If it’s all right with you and Penelope, I’d like to push up the meeting with Sundance and Flick so I can be there. Also, shortly after we left, I received a call from your father.”

“Bloody hell,” I said out loud without intending to. “My apologies.”

“Before I say anything more, are you aware of the reason for his call?”

“I am.”

“Good. I figured you’d be. We need to discuss the implications of what he and I spoke about.”

“I have no intention of altering my plans,” I assured him.

“I didn’t anticipate you would. Would you and Penelope be available to meet tomorrow morning?”

“Meeting with Doc tomorrow morning?” I asked.

“Of course,” she responded.

“Good,” he said, overhearing her. “Zero nine hundred work?”

“Ask if he wants to meet here,” she offered.

“I was going to make the suggestion myself. Tell her I said thanks. See you then.”

“My apologies. I should’ve put the call on speaker, to begin with.”

“It’s okay. I could hear him. So, um…”

“Ready to talk about the kiss?”

She shook her head and laughed. “I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready. I mean, I will, eventually. I was going to ask if the meeting is impacted in any way by the letter.”

“My plan is to proceed as if I hadn’t received it.” I motioned to where it once again sat on the table in front of us. “Earlier, Richard mentioned my job with K19. He asked if it was what I really wanted to do. I walked away without answering him, but it is what I want to do.”

“I’m glad. I mean, I would’ve understood if you didn’t. Except you said you did, so?—”

I put my fingertip on her lips. “There’s something I want to do more, except I’m not allowing myself to until we talk about it.”

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Okay. We can talk.”

“When you proposed we be friends only, at least for now, you hesitated to respond when I asked if we could kiss.”

“I remember.”

“Do you still feel the same way now as you did then?”

“It was only yesterday.”

“I’m aware, but that isn’t an answer.”

“What I want to do right now is call the whole thing off and ask you to move your things from the fifth floor to the fourth.”

“But?”

“You know my history.”

I took her hand and held it between mine. “You end the relationship before the other person has the chance.”

“I don’t want to this time. I want us to be together like you said you wanted. Forever.”

“But you’re afraid that, as soon as you let your guard down, I’ll be the one who leaves.”

“Yes.”

“Putting the brakes on a sexual relationship with me is your way of protecting yourself from getting hurt.”

“I’m serious when I say you could’ve had this conversation with yourself since you already know how I feel.” She pulled her hand away and rested against the sofa.

“I have, Butterfly, which is why I’m willing to do whatever you want me to do. My birthday wish?—”

“Don’t tell me.” She put her hands over her ears. “Then it won’t come true, and I really want it to.”

“So, I’ll remain on the fifth floor until further notice.”

Her nose scrunched. “Can you please move to the third?”

I cocked my head. “Sure. Is there a reason?”

“When I told Tara where you were sleeping, she made a face. I don’t want her to think I’m forcing you to stay in the least nice part of the house.”

“I see. Well, to begin, I’ll be delighted to sleep wherever you’d like me to. Next, I suggest we consider that wherever that is, is none of my sister’s business.”

“Agreed.”

I wriggled my eyebrows. “Shall we kiss on it?”