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They were served within seconds but it wasn’t a very busy diner.
“What are you having?” the waitress asked.
They both ordered burgers with extra fries.
Pru tucked her hair behind her ear and he was caught by how beautiful she looked. “This is a nice place.”
“I guess.” He glanced around, not really paying attention to the diner.
“Are you going to tell me what all of this is about?” she asked.
“Fine. Fine. It’s a little hard to wrap your head around.”
“Try me.”
“You remember my dad?” he asked.
“Yeah, it’s kind of hard not to. I seem to recall he didn’t have a whole lot of nice things to say to me.” She shrugged.
“I’m so sorry about that.”
“It’s not your fault and you shouldn’t, you know, be worried about him.”
“You don’t have to defend him to me.”
“This is all a little out of my comfort zone.”
He took hold of her hands. “He’s not my dad,” he said.
“What? But isn’t that the whole point of you being you?”
“I know. My dad can’t have kids. I only found it out recently. He’s firing blanks.”
“Firing blanks? You mean he can’t have kids?”
“None. Not one. I’m not his son.”
“But, wait. You look so much alike. How can this be possible? Are you sure they’re not lying to you? This could be another of their tricks.”
“They’re not lying.”
“How do you know?”
“My dad is, in fact, my brother. My grandfather slept with my mother as he knew without a doubt he was not firing blanks.”
Drake waited for his words to sink in and when they did, the look of shock on her face was priceless.
“Wow,” she said.
“Yeah.”
“What does this mean?”
“I don’t know. I was hoping you could tell me.”
“I don’t understand. How can I tell you anything? I don’t have a clue what this all means.”
They stopped talking as the waitress placed their food in front of them.
Pru said thank you to the woman and Drake immediately did the same. There were times he forgot about simple manners.
“What are you thinking right now?” Drake asked.
“I don’t know. How are you feeling? I mean, that’s a lot to take in for anyone. How are you handling it? Are you even handling it at all?”
Drake loved her concern, craved it even. He’d been without anyone caring for a very long time.
Neither of them reached for their food. He wasn’t hungry, not yet.
“I don’t know how to handle it, in all honesty. I mean, I know my parents weren’t the best kind of role models, you know? They were shady as fuck, but I don’t know what to think of what they’re doing now. I mean, how am I supposed to deal with this shit?” He sat back, staring at his food that was now going cold.
“What do you want to do?”
“I honestly don’t fucking know. What am I supposed to do?”
“I don’t understand. If you don’t know what to do, why did you bring me here?”
He looked across the table at her. He smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I don’t know. I guess I hoped that … you’d be able to find something that meant we could use it against them.”
“Oh,” she said.
“Yeah, I’m not a good kid. Never have been.”
“Drake, you’re far from a kid.” She rubbed at her temples.
“Can you do anything with the information I’ve given you? Anything at all?”
“I’m trying to figure it out. I’m not a genius. I mean, what is it you’re hoping to achieve?” she asked.
He picked up a fry, stuck it in his mouth, and chewed on it. “Finding some way for us to be together. Don’t you see that?”
She released a breath but didn’t eat any food. “I don’t know how finding out your dad is your brother and not really your dad is going to work. By law, he’s the one in charge of the company, unless something happens to him. But wouldn’t it go to your mom?”
“No, it has to go to the male line. It’s in the will.”
“But if he gives it to her in the will, wouldn’t that change the entire will?”
Drake sat back. “No, he can’t do that.”
“Why?”
“There are terms and conditions when it comes to passing the business and the entire wealth onto a woman.”
“Am I going to be pissed when I hear them?”
“I don’t know. Do you want to hear them?”
“May as well.” She finally picked up a fry and started to eat it.
“Okay, the only way any of the fortune or inheritance could be passed onto a woman was if the only child they had was a female. They have to keep on trying to get a son, a male heir.”
“Wow, your family is very sexist. Why don’t they want women to have the inheritance? Do they not think a woman can handle a good company?”
“They can’t keep the name.”
“Huh?”
“When men and women marry. The title changes.”
