Ruthless Heir (Ruthless Billionaires #5)

Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Asher

Hunter leans over the pool table and lines up his shot. Luc and I watch him closely.

Hunter’s a real pro at pool. Always has been. We’re good, too, but not like him when he’s on a winning streak.

Tonight's game is a fierce one and Hunter near enough always wins when we play pool at his house. I sense tonight will be no different.

We gathered here to let off some steam.

The last five hours have been just like old times where the three of us would get lost in a game of pool and forget the world.

At times like these we’re just three guys hanging out. Brothers.

Hunter and I took Luc for a brother when he came to live with us after his parents died. So we’ve been close like this for the last twenty-one years.

After a tense day at work with my father, God knows I needed a break from reality that only Hunter and Luc could provide.

Although my father and I left the conversation the other night with a mutual agreement, his cold-shouldered, standoffish behavior today made me feel like the villain. I could only imagine he must have been pissed at me because of the scandal—which is pretty much under the rug now.

I’ve never had any problems with my father. I didn’t think I would start now after thirty years.

Hunter pulls the cue back and that effortless confidence which has earned him the nickname of the Wall Street Shark starts to solidify on his face. I can almost feel the shot coming before he makes it, the kind of move he’s always pulled off whether we’re in a high-stakes game or making millions on a risky trade.

The next sound we hear is the cue meeting the ball. It echoes through the hall as the cue ball shoots forward and connects with the striped eleven, sending it on a perfect trajectory toward the corner pocket.

The eleven drops with a satisfying thud and the cue ball keeps moving, gliding powerfully across the table like it’s got a mind of its own—just like Hunter.

He straightens with a satisfied smirk on his face and slicks his dark blond hair back, then he watches the rest of the scene play out with Luc and me.

Hunter doesn’t have to say anything. He knows the game belongs to him.

All we hear next is click, clack, clack, clack , as each ball makes its way across the table and down into the waiting pockets.

Seconds later all we’re looking at is the green felt on the table, cleared of all the balls.

Hunter wins again.

“Pay up, losers,” he chimes, snapping his fingers like he’s got a tune stuck in his head.

“Why do you always win when we play here?” Luc frowns, slapping down five hundred dollars on the table. He’s allowed his dark curls to grow out, so he looks like he did back in high school.

“I win because I’m good and you suck.”

“Are you kidding me? If there's one thing I’m supposed to be good at it’s anything that involves a ball and a stick.”

I can’t argue with Luc. He’s right. He’s an all-star NHL player and captain of the New York Hawks.

“Different game, different strokes, my man.” Hunter laughs, throwing a punch into Luc’s shoulder.

Luc rolls his eyes at him. I do, too. Sometimes my brother is too cocky for his own good. It’s fine, though. Every dog has their day.

I’m just bitter because I’m in a rut. I can’t escape the way I want to.

“What’s your excuse, little brother? Why did you suck more than usual tonight?”

I hate it when he calls me little like that, and Luc always smirks. I’m barely three years younger than the two of them.

“I’ve got too much shit on my mind.” I tap the side of my head and hand over my five hundred dollars.

Hunter counts the money like a bookie who’s just been paid. From the conquering smile spread across his face you wouldn’t think he’s one of the richest men in the world and CEO of a renowned global company.

His thing is he likes winning, whether it’s one dollar or a million. I swear he gets off on it. He’s the same with everything.

Last year the two of us had a bet that Luc and his wife, Autumn, would be pregnant by the end of the year. He lost to me because I knew they’d want to enjoy each other a little more before they had kids. Sure, it was only for a few more months, but I was right. It was Hunter and Luna who got pregnant first.

Marriage and babies have been all the talk for over a year, so I stick out like a moldy, gangrene thumb. I can’t even pretend to be interested in either topic because my family knows me too well.

“One more game?” Hunter beams, leaning against the table.

“Not me. I’m out. I’m taking Autumn to dinner.” Luc puts his stick back in the rack and throws us a proud smile over his shoulder. “She has a new craving for French food.”

“Really? Luna loves Mexican food even more.”

“Yeah, Autumn likes that, too.”

“Let’s go on a couple of double dates next week and try a couple of different places.”

“Perfect. Let’s do that.” Luc looks like it’s the best idea in the world.

And this is where I get lost. They double date all the time and their wives are best friends even though they came into the family with their own best friends.

Outside of these meetups and work meetings I hardly see them anymore. I’m sure that if Hunter and I didn’t work at the same place weeks would go by when I wouldn’t see him.

I’m cool with it. It’s nice to see them so wrapped up in their wives and their lives, but I’m noticing it more now because I won’t have what they have. Definitely not if I’m forced to marry Portia Fairchild.

“See you guys later,” Luc says.

He leaves and Hunter points his cue at me. “Let’s grab a beer and talk.”

“Sure.”

We grab some beers and Cohiba cigars then head out to the terrace, into the cool night air.

We sit on the wicker chairs, light up and drink.

“Alright, talk to me.” Hunter takes a long drag on his cigar. “Obviously I know what’s going on but you seem extra stressed.”

“Because I am.” I pull in the woody smoke of the cigar and allow it to settle in my lungs for a few seconds before I exhale it. “Father is really pushing my buttons.”

“It’s because he likes things a certain way and his schedule is all messed up.”

“Because of me. I’m not married yet, not CFO yet, and he thinks I’m not taking this seriously enough.”

“I kind of expected this from you, to be honest. I mean the delay.”

That surprises me. “Did you?”

“Yes. Of course, you’d be delayed in finding a wife if you’ve been locked into a marriage contract all your life and you’ve just been freed from it.”

“I never planned it that way. It’s not like I’ve gone wild. And the first woman I hooked up with in months just happened to be the one to draw the wrong attention to me.”

“I didn’t expect you to go wild. But I thought you’d take the time to think—which is what you’ve done. I’m sure Father saw this coming, too. That’s why he’s acting the way he is.”

“That doesn’t exactly help me. And he’s made the situation worse with this shitty idea to marry Portia.”

Hunter frowns and bites the inside of his bottom lip. “That’s the part that worries me. That and his closeness with the Fairchilds.”

“Hunter, you’re CEO of the company. Can’t you talk to him?”

“I’ve already spoken to him but my power only lies with New York. Father still has the ruling decision over the company as a whole until he retires. I can tell you he’s not happy with either of us for our witch hunt , as he called it, of the Fairchilds.”

“It’s not a fucking witch hunt.”

“That’s how he sees it. And you know how he gets when he’s made up his mind about something.”

“I just don’t get why he’s so adamant. I’m pissed as fuck that I have to work with Nolan on the tech company.”

“Look Asher, take it from me. You have to focus on yourself. You have less than two weeks now to give Father a name. That’s a big deal.”

“I know, but something is up with Nigel and Nolan.”

“Asher, other than the email with your publicist we got nothing but your hunch.”

“I’m not some crazy person. Something just doesn’t sit well with me when it comes to them.”

“You checked them out. We even got Jericho to check them out and Knight did a full background investigation. Neither of them found anything.”

Jericho and Knight Grayson are friends we went to high school with. Jericho is a tech genius who went to MIT. He has a penchant for finding dirt on anyone. I have a few tech skills like that but am not as adept as him. The fact that the three of us found nothing says a lot. It also makes me look like a troublemaker.

“That doesn’t mean there’s nothing to find. And you can bet it was Nigel who suggested I marry Portia.”

“That totally crossed my mind.”

“Of course it crossed your mind. If she marries me the family gets a portion of Le Blanche Global.” That’s how it works. “We’d have her father and brother on the board, and as my fucking wife she’d have ownership rights of the company with me. When father retires that would extend to the entire empire. Please tell me you see the picture I’m painting, Hunter.”

“I see it.” His voice is quiet and reflective, the sound of deep contemplation.

“The fucked up thing about it is, I feel like my hands are tied behind my back.”

“And if you marry Portia, it’s for life.”

That sounds like a death sentence.

Our grandfather wanted us to have real marriages, so the first thing he set out to do was exclude all avenues where we could fake it until we made it. That means no exit clauses or any of those terms. I can’t even file a prenup and exclude her from my money because our marriage will be until death do us part.

Grandfather saw to that, too. If we got married and our wives died, to keep the position in the company we’d have a year to remarry. One year.

That old man fucked us up big time.

Things played out exactly like how he thought they would. He would have known that Luc would choose to play hockey and not be part of the company leadership. And I’m sure he also knew that Luc would be the first to get married.

Hunter was a given because he’s the leader of our pack. Everyone knew I’d be the one to struggle. Except I thought I’d be struggling for different reasons because I was supposed to be married to Priscilla De Rosa.

“Take your time and think and plan. You have a lot going on.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Also, don’t you have Harper St. John moving in with you on Saturday?”

Something pulls on my insides at the mention of Harper’s name. She hasn’t strayed from my mind. It was two nights ago that I agreed to help my best friend, and his sister has ridden my mind like the devil.

“Don’t remind me. Harper is the epitome of trouble. I’ve never met anyone like her. I don’t have time to babysit her or the capacity for her shenanigans.”

“I don’t think you have to babysit her.”

“Hunter, she ended up in jail for torching a man’s car.”

“Maybe so but she's a woman now.”

“No kidding.”

Hunter gives me a curious stare. “Does she still not remember what happened between you before the accident?”

He was the only person I told the truth. “No. And I haven’t been around her on a one-on-one level in years. I wouldn’t know what I’d do if she remembered. It will certainly make things even more awkward than they already are between us. I still feel guilty about her accident.”

“You know that wasn’t your fault. Come on, Asher, what was the alternative? Turn her down or…” He looks at me like he’s waiting for me to finish the rest of the sentence.

“Fuck her.”

“Exactly.”

“It’s not that simple.” I shake my head.

“But it is. You were trying to do the right thing by not touching her. She was barely legal and you were twenty-six. You can’t blame yourself for an accident that followed because you were doing the honorable thing.”

“Hunter, you’d blame yourself too.”

“Yes, I would but there has to be a line of reasoning. I’m sure you know that.”

“I know.”

“Is that really what you’re worried about?” Hunter gives me a narrowed gaze and his previous curiosity returns full force. “The past ?”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Nothing. Just remember she’s not a child anymore and you don’t have to do everything to please your best friend when it comes to his sister.”

“Hunter… please. Now is not the time to be taunting me.”

“I’m just saying.”

“I know what you’re saying.” He’s always thought I had a thing for Harper and won’t acknowledge it. I’ll never give him the pleasure of knowing he was right. “She’s Josh’s little sister and he trusts me to take care of her. That’s all I’ll be doing.”

That’s all I need to do. Nothing more.

“Okay, okay. I’m sure you’ll figure it out. So what’s the plan for everything else? I kind of need to know.”

I breathe out a ragged sigh. “I’m going to go through the list of potential wives you gave me one more time then start dating.”

I’ve had that list for nearly two months. There are twenty women on there with a full profile and pictures to match. When I got it all I did was flip through then file it away. At the time I thought I’d make my own arrangements. I also thought I had all the time in the world.

“Luna and I compiled a good list of potential women we knew you’d like. Layla helped too.”

“I know.”

Layla is Luna’s sister. She became my assistant at Le Blanche Global a few months ago after my previous assistant retired. At the moment Layla probably the only person there who keeps me sane.

We have a similar personality. I think it also helps that she’s in the same age group as me. My previous assistant was great but she worked for my father first and was so prim and proper it was difficult to get her to see things my way.

She certainly wouldn’t have put a list of potential wives together for me.

Knowing Layla helped with the selection makes me feel more at ease. It means there may be one or two women that I can actually choose from.

“I’ll get Layla to sort out my schedule so I can meet everyone on the list next week.” I nod. “I need a couple of choices by next Sunday then I’ll take the last two days to select one girl.”

“Good plan. I think you should focus on that. You no longer have time on your side.”

“Don’t I know it.”

The problem is time was never on my side. It’s always screwed with me.

The sounds of hearty feminine laughter fills the air, then Luna and Layla walk out onto the terrace. They’ve just come back from yoga.

The two look like twins even though Luna is younger. She also has waist-length black hair while Layla has a trendy bob.

Luna’s belly looks bigger than when I saw her just last week, but she makes pregnancy look good. She’s nearly seven months. It’s strange to think that in a few more months the baby will be here. The first baby in the family. My parents are gonna go wild.

The excitement is even more heightened because Hunter and Luna decided they didn’t want to know the gender until the baby is born. I could never do that. I’d be too anxious and it would make me crazy.

Hunter instantly puts out his cigar and I do the same.

The rules are no smoke of any kind near his wife and unborn child.

“Now my night is complete.” Hunter beams, standing so he can give Luna a quick hug and kiss.

“Mine too. We just came out to say hi.” Luna smiles then she looks at me. “Hey Asher.”

“Hey there.” I nod at Luna and Layla. “How was class?”

“Absolutely fantastic.”

“That’s great.”

“You have death-row-prisoner worried face, boss man.” Layla frowns. “I hope that’s not to do with work.”

“I’ll fill you in tomorrow.”

“Oh Lord, that doesn’t sound good. Maybe I should be sick tomorrow.”

“Don’t you dare.” I chuckle.

She rolls her eyes at me and cocks her head toward Luna. “I need ice cream.”

“Oh yes that sounds great.”

“I got ten different flavors delivered earlier,” Hunter announces.

“You are the best husband. That’s why I love you.”

“I love you more.” He kisses Luna again then she and Layla saunter back inside.

“You need a woman like my wife.” Hunter grins at me, glancing back at the path where Luna was.

“There’s no chance of that happening. You got lucky.”

“I know I did. But you will too. We just have to put a little more work into it.”

Work … He’s right. I wish he wasn’t but he is.

Everything that’s going on around me will require work and keen focus. But first I have to take back control.

The Fairchilds threw me off and so did this thing with Father and his idea that I marry Portia.

My hunches have never been wrong so I won’t play their game.

I’ll sort everything out and when I’m done I’ll make sure the Fairchilds don’t get a goddamn thing.

That asshole Nolan will regret ever messing with me.