Page 1 of Gary

Chapter 1

The room was dark and reeked of disinfectant and Lysol. It took away the elegance and luxury, which appeared to his jaded eyes to be a little ragged around the edges. The thick ruby red drapes were drawn tight at the windows, not allowing any sliver of fading sunlight through the tiny space.

He approached the bed somewhat cautiously, as if afraid to disturb the still form propped up on the pillows.

“Are you afraid I am contagious?” The voice boomed out at him and made him jump reflexively. Grant Moretti might be ailing, but his voice was still strong.

“I thought you were sleeping.” Gary moved more leisurely towards the bed. Ignoring the plush chair conveniently placed at the side of it, he stood a few inches away, startled by the appearance of a man who had dominated his life as well as others for years.

His father had aged significantly since the last time he had seen him. Always a handsome man, his face was now lined, no doubt by the pain of his illness, and his incisive gray eyes had dulled.

“I am going to be sleeping for a very long time.” He tried to ease up on the pillows and fell back down, his breathing labored. “Water.”

Reaching for the carafe on the table, Gary poured some water in the glass and guided it to his lips. Taking the glass, his father took a few small sips and handed it back to him.

“Sit. I am not going to strain my damn neck, looking up at you.”

Dropping into the chair, Gary continued to stare at him.

“I bet you didn’t expect to be summoned back to my death bed.” A raspy laugh accompanied the words and ended up in a coughing fit. “Part of the damn illness. It’s been a long time.”

Gary wanted to say not long enough but refrained from speaking his mind. They had not parted in good terms, hell, their last words to each other had been damaging with him saying he would never be back.

“It has. How long do you have?”

“You mean that son of a bitch did not fill you in?” He coughed again and waited for his chest to settle before resuming. “I would have thought that my dear brother would have filled you in.”

“He did. But he wanted me to hear the rest from you.” Gary’s gray eyes, the same shade as the old man’s glinted. “And he is on your side.”

“Is he?” A grimace of pain crossed his face as he took a deep breath. “You always had more in common with him than with me. I could almost believe you are his son.” His smile was grim.

“At one point I thought you were. He was in love with your mother, you know. All three of us brothers were, but I was theone she chose. A decision she regretted right after.” He shrugged as if it was of no concern. “But that is beside the point. You are home.”

“Yeah.” For how long, he had not decided yet. He wanted nothing to do with the company and as his uncle had reminded him, he was the sole heir to a corrupt empire.

“You staying?” As if reading his mind, his father shot the question at him.

“I don’t know yet.”

Gray eyes glowered. “You have a role to play.”

“I already told you that I do not want to have anything to do with Moretti Enterprise. It’s a goddamned cesspool.”

Instead of being angry, the old man laughed harshly. “It appears that living in Italy has been instrumental in you growing a pair.”

“I had a pair before I left, I just wasn’t allowed to use them.”

Grant laughed again, amusement making his face appeared less haggard. “It’s good to see you. We have not been on the same page…”

“We have not been in the same library.”

“Be that as it may, you are the CEO of the entire company and it’s up to you to set things right.”

Gary stared at him in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“Water.”

Gary handed him the glass and waited until he had finished drinking before putting it down on the bedside table.

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