CHAPTER 2 - THE READING OF THE RIOT ACT AND THE WILL

JUSTIN

“You had best apologise immediately, or I’ll get to slapping!” I growl as I advance.

“To hit her, you’ll have to hit me!” A man snarls.

“Fine!” I retort, and without looking, crack him across the face. “Apologise, you mouthy crapshit! Or does your dumbass knight in shabby armour get another slap?!”

“Stop it!” Is bellowed, then my head is jerked back and I’m looking into angry hazel eyes, him pulling my hair hard makes me lower my hand. “Don’t you ever call me a dumbass again, you got that?!” 

“She called my Mom a harlot. She was not a harlot!” I roar. 

“GENTLEMEN! You will stop brawling and step away from each other!” 

I can’t turn my head, but I know that voice, and my anger evaporates. 

“Uncle George!” The crapshit screeches. My ears almost start bleeding. “What is going on?!”

“Mr Kinney, kindly release my nephew. And, Justin, apologise for the slap.” Silence reigns as we glare at each other. “How about you do it together? Then we can get on with the process of reading my brother’s will.”

“Justin…” Emmett prompts. 

“My apologies, I…”

“You should be arrested, you hoodlum!” Again with shrieking. “Brian, let him go! Don’t sully yourself with the likes of him!” 

“The likes of me?!” I spit, trying to wriggle around to see her. “At least I was there for him! You abandoned him to follow your mother, who more than deserves the description of harlot than mine! At least she didn’t screw her way around the county set!”

“My mother was a saint! I bet yours went through the obituaries and thought, he seems a likely candidate!”

“It’s slapping time!” I bellow, and wrench myself out of his arms. The pain of my hair being ripped out is nothing compared to that in my heart. I don’t get more than a step before I’m hauled over to the other side of the room and pinned to the wall. “Let go of me!” I scream. “I’m going to…”

“Calm down.” He orders before looking over his shoulder. “Both of you. Lindsay, you will apologise for what you said.”

“I will not!” She snaps. 

“Yes you will!” Uncle George declares. “Or you will be thrown out of here, and can read what you receive via email when you get back to New York!” The seconds tick by, all the time, ‘Mr Kinney’ has not looked back at me or moved. “Thomas, please arrange for the car to be brought around for her, she’s…”

“I am sorry, but you’ve got to understand…”

“No! He was my father too!” I shout. “And you don’t fucking mean it. Anyone who follows up a statement like that with ‘but’ negates what they’ve just said! And…”

“When did she die?” His gentle voice makes me start to sob. “Fairly recent, huh?” I just nod into his chest as he eases his grip. “It’s okay, it’s going to be okay.” He soothes.

“It was a couple of months ago.” Emmett’s voice is close as he rubs my arm. “Let me get him cleaned up, we’ll be...”

“Take as long as you need.” Uncle George tells him.

“Come on, Baby…” I hear a snort from the vicinity of my sister. “...I’m not afraid to slap you either, madam!” Her indignant gasps has me squeezing his hand in thanks. “We won’t be too long.”

BRIAN

My cheek is still throbbing, however, my eye has stopped watering. He packs a powerful slap. Despite what just happened, his outrage reminds me of my new assistant, Daphne. This makes me smile. 

“Brian? Are you listening?!” Lindsay demands tearfully; I turn to face her, surprised that we are alone. “Care to explain why you defended him, instead of me, your best friend?!”

“Where’d everyone go?” I ask.

“Going to give succor to the baseborn creature, no doubt!” She snipes. “Well, why did you, and what is that in your hand?!”

“You insulted his mother, who you don’t know. And since George is here, your accusation is seemingly baseless and hair.”

 “Exactly, seemingly! My father was a rich man, and…”

“You don’t know his late mother, and…”

“For goodness sake, get rid of that!” She jabs at the hair then takes her sarna vritti breaths, which she got from the one yoga class she attended before she got bored. “Let’s not fight with each other. Are you alright?” She approaches with a bin, putting it at my feet. “For the hair.”

“It’s the same colour as yours...no, actually it’s lighter.”

“Mine is natural!” She seethes. I decide now is not the time to say that I know that’s not true after she tried to get Daphne to book her hair appointment on her first day in the office. She sent her off, saying she ‘doesn’t work for her and until such time as the edict that she is her personal lackey is written in the blood of her ancestors by her bossman, she sorts her own shit out’. “Will you please throw it away, it looks creepy and dirty!” She rattles the bin at me for emphasis.

It may be her grating tone or her previous vile behaviour, but instead I take out my handkerchief and carefully put the hair inside. Her jaw drops, but before she can say anything the door opens, bringing in George.

“We’re ready now.” He advises as he takes a seat, followed by everyone else. “I’ve asked Kelly to bring in some brandy and whisky, I think it will be needed.”

I hold out Lindsay's chair for her, and she sinks slowly into it. The room falls silent as papers are sorted out, and the screen at the end of the room is switched on. She immediately starts to weep when Ronald appears. I go to hand her my other handkerchief, but she waves it away with a sour expression and a dirty look. 

“I’m sorry it has come to this.” Ronald begins. “I wanted you to meet before I died. I have to admit that I was surprised when your Mother approached me, especially since I had a vasectomy after Nancy left...”

“Vasectomy!” Lindsay crows turning to George, who pauses the video. “There’s the proof! With his own words he…”

“For fuck sake, can that trap of yours! Justin is Ronald’s son!” Ted snarls. “Now listen to what your late father and my dear friend has to say! George, hit play!” 

“...and I was convinced that she was lying, but I couldn’t take the chance that she wasn’t and agreed to the donation. So, as well as having my kidney, you have my heart, son. Lindsay, I know this is going to come as a shock, but I’ve been trying to tell you this for years. However, as is your want, you never answered my many attempts to contact you. I’m hurt and saddened that it has taken my death to get you here.” I’m not the only one unimpressed by this development. “So, to turn to the reason you’ve finally pitched up, as Emmett would say…”

“Can you pause it, please?” Ted asks. “I’ve just realised that we’ve not introduced the other members of Justin’s entourage…I would caution against a comment, Lindsay!” Her mouth resets itself to pinched with impotent fury, much to my amusement. “The gentleman in the burgundy suit is Emmett, the distinguished one is his boss, Sidney Bloom, and the extra one is Michael, he’s Justin’s friend.” The look on Michael’s face matches Lindsay, wonder what’s going on there? George’s smile makes me roll my lips in, because they look like tantruming twins! “Please continue. I don’t think there’s much left, it’s just the bequests, correct?”

“Yes, he thought it was best to go with a swift and to the point approach.” George replies before looking coldly at Lindsay. “Before you ask, Ted knows because he was there during most of the recording.”

“I see.” Is her terse response.

“Oh, you will.” He retorts as he restarts the video.

“So, I shall be brief. I have three bequests. The first one is to Brian Kinney. I’ve also taken the liberty of having this sent to you, although I suspect you are present, to be the stalwart in the face of her distress of my demise. I leave you $1 million dollars. I shall give you a moment to get over your shock.” I can feel my jaw swinging. “To explain, you have been a lifeline for Lindsay, and I know that you would not accept the money whilst I was alive. Now you can’t deny me in death. And there is a clause to this, you can’t plough it into Kinnetic. You have to spend it on yourself. Note yourself, nobody else. Ted will help you with that, by which I mean he will require receipts, etc, and anything that he deems business or not-for-you he will send you an amount to cover it, so that you spend it on yourself as requested!”  His adjustment of his tie brings tears to my eyes, it was something I always remember about him. “Now I come to you, Lindsay. As promised, I leave you the shares in the business. Like Brian, you will have to work with Ted. He knows the business inside and out, so look to him to ensure that it continues to run profitably and smoothly. As for a cash settlement, I leave to you in death what you gave me in life: Nothing. Not a damn cent. The rest of my estate, the remaining and controlling shares in the business, I leave to my son, Justin Taylor.”

LINDSAY

I stare at the black screen, the only sound is the whir of the doors closing to hide it. I blink a few times, then shake my head. I must have misheard. “Pardon.” I croak slowly turning to Uncle George. “He’s left me…”

“The shares in the business, which were your birthright. And that’s it.” 

“He, that costermonger, gets everything?!” 

“Coster...Lindsay that is enough!” Uncle George shouts. “Get out! Brian, take her back to the hotel whilst she has an inheritance to be ungrateful for! I mean it, if she’s not out in the next ten seconds, I…”

“Nobody is going anywhere!” Thomas bellows. “Katy! Now would be good!” He barks into the intercom. 

“I was coming, there's no need to shout!” Katy states as she comes through the door. “Who gets it first?”

“Justin.” Thomas orders. “Then Lindsay. Would you like a drink, Mr Kinney?”

“Uh, yes, um call me Brian, please.”

“What can I pour for you, Brian” Katy is almost in his lap. I glower at her, but she doesn’t notice, nor do I appreciate her ass in my face! “I believe that you prefer Beam? You and Justin have that in common; so Ronald got you both the entire Hakushu range from Suntory. This, however, is the Jim Beam Black Extra Aged.”  

“And I believe we were to be served first!” I snipe, jabbing her hip. She over exaggerates the effect of this, and, judging by Ted reaching for a handkerchief, spills the drink. “Now look what you’ve done!” 

“That was your fault!” Ted scurries to assist in the clean up. “Emmett, can you get Brian to the bathroom? That is silk, it is going to stain.”

“Come with me, handsome.” Emmett is by his side in a flash and manhandling him out of his seat. “We won’t be long!”

BATHROOM  - A MINUTE LATER

EMMETT

He’s just standing there letting me undo his tie. He’s in shock. “I wish it could’ve been under better circumstances.” 

“Huh?” At least he’s speaking..and now he’s blinking. “Oh, oh yes, nice to meet you. I...um, why?”

“Ronald had his reasons for doing everything.” I explain as I examine the tie, then start to sponge it down. “He…”

“Gave him a kidney when?” He asks.

“When he was thirteen, he’s twenty seven now.”

“Fourteen years? He's known about him for this long? What happened? Why did he need it?”

“Hereditary condition from his mother’s side. Born with one kidney, it’s called…”

“Renal agenesis, it started to fail, I take it?”

“Yes and yes. Beautiful and smart. I know, time and place…” I smile in the face of his incredulity. “...but I speak as I find.” 

“Well thank you.” He blushes adorably. “I think it’s fine now.” He reaches for his tie, but I pull it back. “What?”

“I heard her shriek. Did you throw it?” My heart skips his beat as he breaks into a grin; reaching into his pocket he hands me his handkerchief. “Thought not. Nobody with hair like yours would do that.”

“We should get back.” He declares. “I need my tie for that.”

“You don’t, but it affords me a dressing opportunity that I would like to take.” I chuckle and put his tie back on.

“I’m...I’m not gay.”

“Okay. A pity, but okay.” I smile and he heads back to the conference room. 

CONFERENCE ROOM - A MINUTE LATER

MICHAEL

“Where are we now?” Emmett asks as he takes his seat.

“They’ve just been explaining the inheritance.” I tell him excitedly. “Justin’s a millionaire many times over, and…”

“Not yet he’s not! I shall take him to every court in the land until…”

“Have fun wasting your time. You know your father and his thoroughness.” Thomas declares, and I can’t help my delight, I can’t believe I’m going to marry a millionaire and a hot one at that! “And then there’s the other clause relating to Justin.”

“What’s that?” Emmett pours himself, Justin and Sidney another drink, but not me. I scowl and help myself...once he finishes reading the label and taking a picture! “Oh, this is sexy sliding down!” 

“Emmett!” Ted laughs. I do wish he, like Sidney, would stop encouraging his behaviour. “But to answer your question. Justin has to remain single for the next five years.”

What is this crap now?!! 

“Why?!” Justin gasps. “Not that I’ve got a problem with it, but it seems a strange clause to put in.”

Not that he has a problem with it?!!

“He never gave his reasons.” Ted replies, then looks at his watch. “Look, it’s been a long day, why don’t we reconvene this tomorrow?”

“What for? Will his betrayal and my consequent destitution change overnight?!” Lindsay cries as she snatches up her bag. “Brian! Take me away from here!” She doesn’t even wait for him as she storms out.

“As you can imagine, she’s very distressed. What time would be best to meet up tomorrow, Thomas?” Brian asks as he stands, gathering what she left behind. 

“Say around 1100, do you think she would be more rational and able to listen to the rest by then.”

“No.” He and Justin say at the same time, then they both laugh.

“And after such short interaction too!” Brian snickers, then sighs. “Well, I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”  He pauses at the door. “Actually, are there any good bars around here? There’s times I just need…”

“Say no more!” Ted exclaims. “Give me your details and I’ll text you. I know just the place.” I roll my eyes at his enthusiasm, as if a man looking like Brian would want to associate with him; but to my surprise, he hands him his card. “I’ll text you in a couple of hours. Do you have anything other than your suit?”

“What’s wrong with my suit?” He looks down at himself, whilst I think Ted is being rude considering the garb he normally wears.

“Nothing at all. Where we’re meeting, a suit will stand out a bit.” Ted replies; whilst Brian nods in agreement. “Jeans perhaps?”

“Yeah, that I have. Later.” He waves as he closes the door.

EMMETT

“Tedmeister what are you up to?”

“Nothing, Ems, nothing at all.” He smiles. 

“So we’re done here for now?” Justin asks, rubbing his forehead.

“That’s it, with me, you’re one tired Baby aren’t you? Let’s get you back to the hotel for a nap.”

“Emmett, he’s not a child, he can nap when he wants, not when you order it!” Michael fumes, I almost swallow my tongue trying to not use it as a lash across his face. 

“Actually, he’s right. I'm tired and it’s been very traumatic and shocking for me. I’m being guided by Ems.” I hide my smirk as once again, I’ve bested the no mark idiot, then I remember something. Taking out Brian’s handkerchief I give it to Justin. “What’s this?”

“Your hair.” I laugh. “He thought you might want to get it reattached.” Justin giggles as he puts it in his pocket. “Come on, you, let’s get me into bed!”

“Oh, don’t tempt me. Mind you, I’d like a go at that man, but he’s not...”

“He is gay, Emmett. On this I’m never wrong!” Michael crows. “He’s just not interested in you!” 

And the tongue is about to be unleashed! “Realised is what I was going to say Michael, you’d do well not to interrupt me in the future, you twallock.”

“Twallock? You’re on form today,  Ems!” Sidney beams. “But why a twallock?”

“He acts like a twat and has a face like a bollock; ergo twallock.”

“Michael, please don’t cause a scene now, let’s do it in the car.” Justin orders before walking out, it’s when I see his grin that I know I’m not in any trouble. We follow him out in silence, well as silent as a steaming Michael can be!

THREE MINUTES LATER

GEORGE

I turn to Ted who is twirling the card in his hand. “What happens next?”

“Vic and Debs.” Ted grins. “Oh, and I think Ben and Drew. Ronald did like Drew for Ems.”

I shake my head and chuckle. “Who’d have thought he would be the Yenta of the Gay World!”

“Indeed. Michael is not going to be happy!” Thomas laughs as he tops up our glasses.

“Tough shit, there’s no way that twallock is marrying my nephew!” I take a deep sip. “And she’s not marrying Brian either!”