Chapter One #2
“Oh, hell, Ed. No. That’s not something I’ll be good at.
I’ll gladly do anything I can to help out.
Claude was like a big brother to me. Dad and I went through a rough patch when I was younger, and if I didn’t have Claude to discuss things with and give me advice, I’m not sure my father and I would be speaking today. ”
I stared at Bridges to see he was as sincere as anyone I’d ever met.
My father meant a lot to him, which was a comfort to me.
Bridges and my father had a special friendship that I envied.
I’d tried to go along when they went biking together but Dad always said, “Maybe next time.” There was never a next time, though as I got older, Dad and I would take biking trips, just the two of us.
As a kid who was just figuring out his sexuality, I’d stare at Bridges when he came around. If Dad had let me go on their bike rides, I’d probably have wrecked and done some serious damage to myself since I probably would have been staring at Bridges the whole time.
In my childish mind—though, still today when I thought about him—Bridges was the perfect man.
I compared every boy or man who came into my life against him.
Few made the cut as I weighed the attributes on every level, but then again, Bridges was a spectacular person I didn’t believe anyone could ever live up to.
Uncle Edmond smiled. “Sorry, Bridges, but Claude was sure you’d be more than fair and not carry the bias I have against them.” He pointed at CJ and Claudia.
It was no secret that Uncle Ed didn’t care for my father’s first wife or their offspring.
He was the legal counsel for Aames Investments, and as I’d heard him say more than once, CJ and Claudia were parasites when it came to working at the company.
Dead weight, as Uncle Edmond had called them, which didn’t piss off Dad the way I thought it would.
Dad had said it more than once to Mom. The wrath of Elise was more than he wanted to endure by firing his children. “What else are they going to do if they don’t work for Aames? They have no common sense at all.” After saying it, Dad would shake his head.
I took a breath. “So, can we get on with it?”
Uncle Edmond nodded. “This is the Last Will and Testament of Claude Raymond Aames.”
Everyone settled down, and my eyes fixed on Bridges as Uncle Edmond read the document. “I, Claude Raymond Aames...”
Uncle Ed read through the whole preamble of the will. And when he got to the part where the property was divided, I focused on Elise, CJ, and Claudia. They were like hungry wolves who’d stumbled upon an untended flock of sheep.
“To Claude Junior and Claudia, I leave the East Hampton estate to be shared equally between them. They enjoy the property, and I hope they bring their families to the beach for years to come.”
I glanced at Bridges to see no reaction from him at all. I could remember him coming to the beach house over the summers during his college years and post-graduation, though the pictures I’d seen on the walls of my parents’ homes confirmed he was already turning gray at nineteen.
I was too young to remember much about Bridges from back then.
He was twenty years older than me, as my father reminded me when I got starry-eyed staring at the photos in our family albums of Dad and Bridges on biking trips while I was growing up.
Bridges was still mighty fine. My crush on the man would last into perpetuity.
Uncle Edmond continued his recitation. “CJ and Claudia will keep their jobs at Aames Investments for one calendar year commencing after my death. If they haven’t proven their worth to the firm in that time, their jobs can be terminated without a severance package above their family trusts.
The two of them may remain on the Board of Directors for an additional three years. ”
The gasps from both of them were fucking music to my ears. They were both idiots, and I was sure CJ thought he would be named as Dad’s successor at Aames. I was thrilled that he wasn’t.
Uncle Ed went through certain personal affects—an old rifle, a Masonic ring, and a book he wanted CJ to have.
There was a broach, necklace, and a specific needlepoint pillow for Claudia.
Those items belonged to our grandparents, and they were important for Dad to give to my siblings.
There was nothing for me, but I didn’t care.
Dad’s parents died before I was born, and he spoke of them as if they were royalty. Based on the shit I’d researched about them and the slumlord business they ran in Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island, they were nothing to be proud of.
“To Elise, my former wife, I leave absolutely nothing. You sucked me dry when we got divorced, and that’s all I’m willing to give you.” Uncle Edmond smirked as he said it.
I turned, catching the outraged expression on Elise’s face. When CJ laughed, I glanced at Bridges to see him cover his mouth.
Uncle Edmond turned to me. “And to my son, Weston, I leave the possibility to create your own legacy.”
Uncle Edmond stared at me for a weighted moment, obviously waiting for any reaction. I was too stunned to say anything, so I shrugged. Uncle Edmond grinned and continued.
“West, I’ve tried to impart a sense of decency and responsibility in you as you grew up, but I’m afraid I may have failed you in some respects.
Your rebellious nature was much like my own when I was your age, and as I struggled to know how to help you, I finally understood the frustration my parents felt with me.
“They wanted the best for me, but I thought they were trying to keep me from enjoying my freedom. That’s probably how you felt with me a lot of the time, and I didn’t want that for you. This is why I’ve made the following decision.
“Son, I’m leaving Aames Investments to you—at the end of one year from the date of my death, with this caveat: You need to prove to the Board of Directors that you’re fit to run the company and continue to generate revenue for the business and our clients.
You will, in the interim, be responsible for taking care of your mother.
For one year, neither of you will get anything from the estate or your trust. It will be up to you to figure out how to live without my support until you, Weston, prove you’re worthy of being the CEO of Aames and your trust fund. ”
“If you decline, you’ll forfeit your trust and you will be penniless, as well as your mother. It’s time for you to make some decisions, son, and I do this with love.”
I suddenly couldn’t breathe. My lungs refused to expand, and I felt as though I was going to suffocate right there.
“Uh, Edmond, he’s having a panic attack. He’s hyperventilating. Get a bag,” Bridges said as he came over to my chair and knelt in front of me.
The gorgeous man took my hand and placed it on his massive chest. “Listen to me. Listen to my voice, West. Breathe with me. In...one, two, three, four. Out...one, two, three, four. Again.”
He breathed with me for a few moments while Uncle Edmond and my mother scurried around, trying to find a paper bag for me to breathe into.
Bridges’ gaze locked onto mine, and everything else melted away.
The steel band around my chest released and I was able to get a breath and calm down.
Finally, he said, “There. That’s better.
” His hand gently patted my chest as he stood and walked back to the window to lean against the sill.
My father had never hinted that one day I would be running Aames Investments. It was exponentially more than unexpected, but then again, I’d never fathomed that my father would die. Like a stupid kid, I thought he’d live forever.
Growing up, I never gave a shit about Aames Investments. Yes, at my father’s urging I got an MBA, which would give me the knowledge I’d need to run a company like Aames, but grad school was just something to do while I figured out my life.
Running a company like Aames Investments wasn’t anything I was interested in doing. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, and hell, shouldn’t I by now?
“Uncle Edmond, I can’t run Aames Investments. I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do with my life.” That was no shit.
I stood from the chair Uncle Ed had told me to give to Bridges earlier in the meeting. I was surprised I could stand on my own legs, which were shaking uncontrollably. I couldn’t fathom what the hell was expected of me.
Running Aames Investments? Who the hell would ever think I could do that?
For most of my life, I’d craved my father’s approval as the youngest of his three children. I definitely didn’t want him talking about me the way he spoke of my brother and sister behind their backs—worthless and stupid were his two favorite adjectives to describe them.
Unfortunately, I always knew I fell short in my father’s eyes in far too many ways.
After listening to Uncle Edmond read the will, I was convinced my father was setting me up for public humiliation to outdo all other humiliations.
The world would know of my failure at Aames Investments for centuries to come, and everyone would laugh when the tale of my mortification was told.
Dad’s challenge for me to prove myself to the Board of Directors? Make them believe I was worthy of running Aames Investments—a company I didn’t want to run in the first place—was absolutely a huge mistake. I mean, wtf was he thinking?
I needed to get the fuck out of Uncle Edmond’s office before I had another anxiety attack. I needed fresh air in the worst fucking way. Without asking if we were finished, I headed for the office door.
“Wait! Stick around, Weston.” Uncle Edmond was giving me the evil eye. He knew I was freaking out about Dad’s will and uncertain of what it all meant. I was sure he was going to try to talk me off the ledge, but that wasn’t what I wanted or needed.
“Bridges, will you stay for a bit? Please? I have another thing to discuss with you.” Uncle Edmond wasn’t an idiot after all. He could tell I was attracted to the guy and would stay if Bridges stayed.
Bridges nodded and Uncle Edmond turned to the rest of the occupants in the room. “Thank you for coming.”
I stood and hugged Mom, hating the idea that she had to go out of the office and be alone with Elise, CJ, and Claudia. She didn’t deserve the bullshit they’d hit her with if she was alone with them.
“Please don’t send Mom in with them.” I nodded my head toward my siblings and stared at Uncle Edmond.
Uncle Edmond smiled. “May, dear, go through that door into my private conference room. Jean will get you some tea, and we’ll join you in a few minutes.”
Mom kissed my forehead and walked out the door where Jean, Uncle Edmond’s assistant, met her. Once Mom had been shown out, I turned to Bridges, who was still leaning against the windowsill.
“Do you know what the hell this is all about? I mean, I don’t want to run Aames Investments. Why would Dad think I could run the business?”
Bridges and my uncle knew my father much better than me. Their opinions mattered to me.
Uncle Edmond gave me an unexpected smile. “Your father believed in you, West, whether you knew it or not. He would never have asked you to do anything he wasn’t confident you could do. Now, go check on your mother, and then we’ll sit down and talk this through.”
I left to check on Mom, glad to see she was enjoying a cup of tea and speaking with Jean.”
When I returned, Bridges stared at me before he turned to Uncle Ed. “I need to think about it. It’s a lot for me to worry about with everything else I have going on with Easton Cycles.”
Without waiting for Uncle Ed or me to say anything, Bridges walked out. Unfortunately, it felt as if he took a part of my heart with him.