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She didn’t come to these meals. I knew that grandpa extended the invitation each week, but she always managed to be too busy to attend. Since my father had passed away a decade ago, she’d put the wealth he accumulated to good use, throwing herself into philanthropic efforts that took up a lot of her time. Sometimes, she expected us to attend, too.
“Yeah, she’s at the ceremony today,” Hayden said around a mouthful of food. “She’s presenting this year’s scholarship at the school.”
I didn’t even know that she was at her alma mater. Unlike Hayden, I didn’t have a particularly close relationship with her. Or my father, when he was alive, although that was for different reasons.
“That’s great,” Grandpa said, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “She might not have been born a Reid, but all of her charity work certainly adds some respectability to our family name.”
I didn’t think we necessarily needed her for that, but I wasn’t going to argue with him. He’d always treated my mother like a daughter, even after my dad died. I knew she cared about him too. He was like the father she never had.
As the meal came to an end, I expected all of us to go into the living room to unwind as we usually did. But Grandpa’s hand on my arm stopped me from heading in that direction.
“Come into the study,” he said with a grave look on his face. “We need to talk.”
Dylan and Hayden paused for a moment, staring at us.
“This needs to be a private conversation,” Grandpa added.
Hayden shrugged at Dylan and the two of them went into the living room. I heard the TV turn on as I followed Grandpa into his study. Once I stepped inside, he closed the door behind me.
“You want a drink?” he asked, crossing to a cart of hard liquor against the wall.
“No, thanks.”
He took his time pouring himself a generous measure of whiskey while I sat in a brown leather chair. I’d always liked this study when I was a little kid, and not just because it had extra appeal as the one room that I wasn’t technically allowed to be in alone. The walls of the study were lined with shelves, and full of books. I always felt like there was a hidden world here in the pages of the books, especially the oldest ones, bound in leather and the most forbidden to be touched. I imagined adventure and mystery to be hiding here, if only I could find it.
Grandpa settled into the chair facing me, his drink in his hand. I took a moment to study him while I waited for him to speak. He’d lost weight recently, and I knew it was because the terrible headaches he’d been getting made him feel nauseous from the pain. But aside from that, there was no physical indication that he wasn’t well. He looked the same as always, with his grey hair side swept and his pinstriped suit free of wrinkles.
“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about my will,” Grandpa started.
I groaned and scrubbed my hand down my face. I didn’t want to do this. I wasn’t ready to know his final wishes.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said, putting my hands on my knees and standing. “I’ll be the executor, and I’ll make sure that whatever you put in there gets done. I don’t need to know in advance…”
“Sit down,” he ordered.
There was no denying him when he used that firm tone of voice. I planted my ass back in the chair and stared at him.
“You need to know something about my will. The way things stand right now, I’m not sure if I’m going to leave you the company.”
That comment was like being punched in the center of my chest. This was the last thing I ever expected.
“But…why?”
I’d been the CEO of KeenTech since my grandfather retired six years ago. I devoted my life to running the company, growing it to even greater financial success than ever before. As the oldest son, I always assumed that I’d inherit it one day.
“I need you to get married first,” he said, before taking a drink of his whiskey.
I blinked, trying to process his words. “Married?” I repeated, as if I’d heard him wrong.
Grandpa sighed. “It’s time for you to settle down, Logan. Believe it or not, there’s more to life than just work.”
He’s officially lost it.That was all I could think. Maybe the illness was affecting his ability to be rational.
“That’s insane,” I told him, hoping to get him to think clearly. This ultimatum was crazy.
“I know it’s difficult to understand, but I’ve done a lot of thinking about this over the last few months,” he said, his eyes bright and lucid at the moment. “When I’m gone, you’ll be the head of the family. Someone for your brothers to look up to…and I think it’s important that you set this example. And I want the family name to continue on. I know I won’t be around to see any grandkids, but if you’re married by the time I go, I can move on with hope that they’ll exist someday.”
“You can’t be serious,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief. “You want me to find someone to marry in the next couple of months?”
