AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Peyton. I’m doing relatively well.” I keep my tone professional. It’s safe to say that we’re not really the closest, but we're forced to work together a lot in this film studio. We’re both Camdens, but I happen to be in a higher position than he is. He's older than I am, so I suppose he thinks he deserves this post. But hey, I'm the son who was groomed and educated in managing a company like this. Whether or not he still feels the strain is unknown to me, and frankly, I couldn't care less.
“Is there something I can help you with?” I inquire as I start to become annoyed. I’m really starting to not like the extremely wide grin on his face. He’s never this chirpy in my presence.
Peyton simply waves me off with his hand. “Oh, come on, Leo, you’re so formal! Live a little! Can’t I just have a chat with my favorite cousin?”
Mm. That’s when I feel that something really is up. He’s never said a single word of small talk to me in about fifteen years. Every time we talk, it’s only business.
“Then what would you like to chat about?” I ask carefully, leaning back in my chair and touching my fingertips of my hands to each other. My eyes squint at him a bit.
He simply leans back more casually on my couch, making himself very comfortable.
“Oh, I don’t know. We can talk about the weather. Maybe some sports things? Are you a fan of sports, Leo? Or we can talk about the countless hot actresses that come in and out of this studio, like goddamn!” With each example he lists, Peyton’s energy begins to rise, and it would overwhelm anyone, but I’m keeping a firm foot on the ground as I try to prepare myself for whatever trick is up his sleeve. Then there it is. His expression suddenly changes into something… mischievous. Almost vexatious, if I’m being honest. “Or… maybe we can talk about your father’s will?”
I was expecting a lot of things. I was expecting him to ask for another budget increase for the comedy film he was producing. I was expecting him to propose a new film that he wants to work on. Heck, I was even expecting him to ask for the helicopter to take one of these "hot actresses" to my beach house in Malibu for the weekend. I was not expecting him to bringthatup.
My eyebrows pull together, quite perplexed.
“What about my father’s will?”
Peyton simply chuckles, amused with himself. “Oh, poor little Leo. Always has his nose in his work that he forgot the last thing his father asked of him,” he says, and that immediately sets my blood to boil, but I keep it under wraps. I’m not about to fall for his taunts. Not when he’s obviously up to something.
“Your birthday’s coming up at the end of summer, is it not, cuz? How old will you be by then?”
“Thirty-six…” My words get choked up now that I’ve fully realized where Peyton was going with this. My jaw drops, and my eyes widen when I remember a very important clause in my father’s will.
“That’s right, Leo,” Peyton confirms, standing up from the couch as his chirpy voice suddenly transforms into a vindictive one. “As stated in your father’s will, your ownership of Camden Studios will be forfeited when you fail to get married on or before the age of thirty-six. Time is ticking.” He says the last bit with a sing-song voice to emphasize that I'm totally fucked.
My world is rocked… because he’s absolutely right. I have been so engrossed in making sure the movies we produce are of top quality to preserve my father’s legacy that I completely overlooked that part of his will. I don’t even fully understand why my father would add that condition. If I could ask him now, I would be desperate to know, but…
“And if I recall, Leo, you haven’t been in a proper relationship for a while now, am I correct?” Peyton brings up, and I seethe through my teeth as he continues to taunt me.
“Why are you telling me all of this?” I ask, even though I know exactly why he’s doing this to me. I know all too well, but maybe I can get him to have the guts to say it out loud to my face.
However, my snarky cousin simply shrugs, but the mischievous smile doesn’t escape his lips. “You're right. I could have just let this lapse and have you deal with the consequences. Let's just say I’m just trying to be a good cousin by reminding you, Leo,” Peyton replies.
If I didn’t have any form of willpower, I would have kicked him out then and there, but I’m bigger than that. I can play his little games. I’ve been doing it for years, and there’s no way I’m allowing myself to lose now.
In an instant, my face drops the irritation and reverts back to my usual seriousness.
“Well, you’re very kind in doing so. I’m sure you’re excited to receive the wedding invitation in your mail, I assume?” I say, taking him completely aback by my sudden bombshell. “You’ll love it. We hired the best caterers and even got the most beautiful private island off the coast.” Peyton’s even more shocked when I start giving him details, selling this lie I’m telling him as convincingly as I can. I'm impressive, making me think some of the acting I've been watching has started rubbing off on me.
“W-Why, of course, I am! It’s just that… it’s the first time I’m hearing of this,” Peyton replies, absolutely dumbfounded at my supposed revelation.
I feign shock, keeping up my mind games. “Oh, I’m sorry! I’ve just been so busy at work that I keep forgetting to tell you.” The mock surprise in my voice seems to be working as he’s slowly nodding toward me, probably processing this new information. “Well, I hope this clears everything up for you, big cousin,” I add. I want to finish this situation, get him out of the room so I can actually figure out what I’m going to do about not losing my ownership of my father’s film studio.
Peyton slowly gets up, his head still seemingly reeling. He slowly walks to the elevator, and I’m praying to any god out there that he walks faster so I can get him out of my hair. Unfortunately, my prayers aren’t answered as he turns back around.
“One more question,” he comes back, finger raised in the air inquisitively. “Who’s the lucky lady to finally tie you down, Leo?”
Shit.
Out of slight nervousness, I start fidgeting at the end of my tie.
“Oh, well, uh,” I stammer, which I know is out of character for me, but Peyton doesn’t seem to notice that it happened. I clear my throat, trying to stall as I think about what I will answer. “Well, she’s very… ambitious and driven. Some traits that I think we share in common. She’s absolutely beautiful, and I can’t wait to see her in her wedding dress. She’s been keeping me in the dark on what it looks like, if you can believe it,” I go on and on, though I can clearly see Peyton’s growing impatience, but I’m literally blanking right now on who I’m going to tell him. If I say that it’s a secret, it will make it extremely unbelievable, but if I say a random woman’s name, it will complicate this even further.
As I scour my brain for an answer, the elevator dings and opens for the third time in the past hour, and I see my –
“Bride! There’s my bride!” I announce to Peyton before I can stop myself, and Isa stands there frozen, completely confused by what I had just said.
