Page 65 of The Golden Pecker


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He paused, grabbed a bag of Skittles that was already open beside him on the desk, and popped a couple in his mouth. He chewed, showing no sign of being in a hurry to resume his little speech.

“So! Unless the lawyers fucked up and gave you the wrong USB, the fact that you’re watching this means that things have played out in a very interesting way. I assume you both know by now that Landon tried to give the club and the hotel to Andi. And—”

I lunged forward, tapping the spacebar to pause the video. “Wait. They must have given us the wrong USB. He just said you gave me the club and the hotel.”

“Yeah,” Landon said. “This is the right USB.”

I blinked. “You wouldn’t do that, though. You said it yourself. Your mom is sick, and you don’t have the money to start your own club. Why would you just give everything to me?”

Landon didn’t answer right away. When he did speak, his voice was quiet. “I was angry for a long time, Andi. Angry that my dad was never that good at being a dad in the first place. Angry that he tried to pit us against our mom after the divorce. Angry that he took you and your sisters in and suddenly figured out how to be a decent human being. The club became some kind of symbol for me. Like if I could just take it over and do well, it’d somehow send a message to him. Maybe a final middle finger, or something.

“It’s going to sound ridiculous,” Landon continued. “But I actually was most angry when he died because I knew he’d robbed me of the chance to prove I didn’t need him. I wish it hadn’t taken me so long to realize none of that really mattered. So I don’t want it anymore. Any of it. I’ve got the education to get another job—one that’ll help me start to pay for mom’s treatments. I’ll be fine.”

It still felt like he was going to tell me this was all a bad joke any moment, but little by little, the truth was sinking in. The club and the hotel were mine, now. A minute ago, I’d been in financial trouble and on the verge of having to move out of the city entirely if I lost my room at the hotel. Now I was the owner of millions in real estate and a club that appeared to generate vast amounts of money every month.

It should’ve felt like a victory, especially after the way Landon had betrayed my trust. I was about to speak, but Landon unpaused the video and Grandpa Willy’s voice cut across the silence.

“I know you were probably wondering how in the hell I could’ve possibly been irresponsible enough to put your fate in Landon’s hands, Andi. But there was actually a second secret set of stipulations that only my lawyers knew about. This part is probably going to make both of you a little mad, but…” Grandpa stuck his tongue out and waggled his hands by his ears. “I’m dead, so tough shit. It never actually mattered if you did the items on the list. All that mattered was what Landon tried to claim from the lawyers. If he tried to take all of your inheritance, he would’ve got nothing. The club would’ve stayed in limbo and potentially gone to James or Grant, but I never intended for you to run the club, Andi. Putting you through a little sexual deviancy is one level of screwed up but asking you to take over the management of a BDSM club would’ve been a step too far, even for me. If Landon tried to split it with you—to keep the club and give you the hotel, for example, he’d get what he wanted.

“But the fact that you’re watching this video means neither of those things happened. And, to be honest, that’s why I’m assuming you’ll never watch this video. If Landon tried to leave you the hotel and the club, then I would have to admit I underestimated him.”

Grandpa sighed, folded his hands, and looked directly into the camera. “Landon. I know I made a royal mess of things between us. By the time I was willing to admit that, our relationship was already so far gone that I knew there was never going to be any chance of repairing the damage. The best I could hope for was to help you find something meaningful to work towards. I thought that was what I gave you with the club, and it was why I never paid you more than I did. If I’d given you the easy money, I worried you would’ve never cared enough to strive for something.

“But I worried you started striving more to take over the club for the wrong reasons—to piss me off or send me some kind of message instead of for your own sake. And that’s part of why I put you two together for this little list. I had a feeling Andi was exactly the right kind of stubborn to match your obstinance, Landon. If you’re watching this video, I can only assume I was right. You two are probably holding hands right now and smiling.”

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