Page 7 of Right With You
“Holy crap.” Kenny’s eyes were wide.
I braced. At least they had heard of the business so I wouldn’t have to explain that much. It shouldn’t have surprised me. They’d both spent time working in Europe and would be familiar with the brands all sheltered under the business conglomerate. A world-famous haute couture designer. A world-renowned champagne label. Luxury brands all housed under one billion-dollar company my family had founded and still owned the largest piece of.
“Your family is… insanely rich,” Kenny said. “Sorry, that’s like, uncouth or something, but I literally grew up in a trailer over here, so forgive my poor breeding.” He stuck out his pinky and then knocked back the rest of his tea like it was a shot.
A chuckle slipped out, and relief hit me. He was joking, at least, and not storming out with betrayal etched onto his face.
“So… knowing you as Jean-Luc Doux?” he continued.
I winced. “Not entirely false. I legally changed my name before getting into the military, taking my paternal grandmother’s surname.”
“Uh, yeah, not like it was random or anything,” he added with a mock-scowl.
No, it wasn’t. It had been another jab at my grandfather, to honor her name and not his.
“Why tell us now?” Stone asked, no hidden meaning in his words that I could detect.
That wasn’t really his style, yet I’d been expecting far more upheaval than this.
“I didn’t want it to affect my relationships. Before I joined the Army, I did it on impulse to push my family away, a little tantrum twenty-year-old me thought would result in being effectively disowned. The name and prestige had no bearing on my life after that, and have only recently become an issue again.”
Thinking back on the time when my grandfather made clear I wasn’t welcome anywhere near him didn’t hurt anymore. It was simply a fact of my past. That it ever hurt was ridiculous considering I’d tried everything I could to get that exact response, like a spoiled child stomping his foot, and yet I hadn’t been immune.
I hadn’t minded that he’d held my trust and all the money in it at bay while I served in the military. He’d changed the conditions of the trust so it would be released at his leisure, essentially, and now that I was out, he’d added a new stipulation.
Marriage to someone he deemed worthy.
I wasn’t a money-grubbing man. I didn’t mind working for a living, and I didn’t need millions of dollars. That said, Saint Security was expanding, and it just so happened I had the capital to invest without needing an outside investor. Before, I’d never had any vision of what to do with the money, so it hadn’t mattered to me.
But now that I did, I wanted it. And my grandfather wanted me to marry someone I didn’t know to get it. There had to be a way to convince him to ease up on this superficial requirement.
“And now?” Stone asked, nudging the tray of lemon tarts my way.
I took one and kept my eyes on it as I explained. “Since getting out of the Army, I’ve been re-owned, apparently. I also suspect that when my sister insisted my family start speaking to me again, they listened. And now, my grandfather has informed me it’s time to get married, or the agreed-upon return of my trust is null and void. So, he chooses the bride, and I cooperate, period.”
They both perked up at this.
“Like, an arranged thing?” Kenny asked.
I chuckled mirthlessly. “Apparently. Which is ridiculous, because I’ve made it clear for years I have no interest in playing their games. I’m not the next CEO or family rep on the board or any of that. But I guess my joining the US military didn’t show them that clearly enough, and now he’s demanding I marry some woman he’s picked out.”
Impulsive though it was, my choice to enlist had brought me so many good things, these two men included. I wasn’t proud of how I’d behaved before or during that time of my life, but I’d been relieved to have a break from… everything.
Kenny reared back, and Stone’s brow creased. “And you said, ‘thanks but no thanks, Grandpappy Moneybags?’”
We all laughed at that, and I took a moment to eat the tart and appreciate my friend’s humor bringing lightness to something I could hardly stomach. Because I also needed to admit this next part.
“No. I, uh, I said no, I wasn’t going to do that… If I didn’t care about the trust, I could ignore it entirely. But it’s a lot of money, and I could do a lot with it.”
“Yeah, I mean, if it’s decent, you could be very comfortable,” Kenny reasoned, though still not understanding.
“It’s millions. And with it, I could invest heavily in Saint. All those blue sky plans Bruce and Wilder have been dreaming up? The adventure training camps and courses Doc’s developing? Tristan’s self-defense academy. Hell, even a more robust staff and bigger European presence, or a second location—I could fund it.”
They blinked back at me, the depth of the resource slowly sinking in.
“What aren’t you saying? Just say it. I can’t take this suspense!” Kenny pleaded, practically crawling out of his skin.
Stone’s gaze pinned me down, making clear he’d brook no further evasions either.
