Alyssa and the billionaire

You know you can't mess this up," Gerald says beside me, and I turn to look at him.

 He grits his teeth and says nothing under my admonishing gaze. Sometimes I wonder if he even has a heart and if anything within him is still alive for anyone else except me. I stare at him for a while longer until his eyes finally soften, and he sighs.

"I know I stepped out of line. Look, I miss him as well but there are things that we have to do, and we must not let sentimentality get in our way. I loved the old man but there are vultures, and guess who the vultures are looking at now. Yes, you guessed right. They are looking at you. You're the one they must uproot," he says to me through clenched teeth.

"Everything that you're saying is based on speculation and that is not what I deal in. That is not what a businessman worth his salt deals in, especially when we don't know what our grandfather decided. All of this won't even matter depending on what we hear today, and I would prefer it if you treated this with the respect that it deserves. He was our grandfather. Now, I can tolerate this cold-blooded madness from others but not from you. Do you understand?" I say to him.

I know that he wants to argue but he looks at me then he sucks his teeth. "Yeah, I understand," he says to me, and I nod at him. I adjust my tie and we start walking into the house.

 I remember all the times when I ran across the staircase as a child, all the times when I sat on them and read novels and stories, books my grandfather would give to me.

He was the greatest man I had ever known, an icon whom I hope to live up to. There are times when I wonder what sort of life he lived and the obstacles he must have faced. But he had already told them to me and I carry them in my heart.

 I suppose that I already know, as everyone does, what will be in store for me. This was not a part that I could fight. There was no one else there that could take over, no one had the patience to endure his tutelage and expectations.

While they might be seeing what he gave me as a reward, I see it as a burden I must carry, one that stretched to every member of the family. Anyone who does not see it that way is simply unfit to lead or play an active role in the family.

 I enter the foyer with the grand rotating metalwork and the sculptures on the wall. I used to think that when I grew up, it would finally seem a bit less overwhelming but as I stand within it, I can see that is not so. The house is still as grand as I remember.

 "Samuel," a voice calls to me, and I turn to see my grandmother, Anna, standing there with her arms wide open. I walk to her and hold her in a hug. She is a tiny woman but just being in her presence is enough to make the strongest men wilt. "By God, child, have you been starving?" She asks me. The truth is that I have actually put on a lot more muscle from working out, but my grandma Anna will always seem to think I have lost weight.

 "I have been eating quite well, Gramma" I say to her, and she shakes her head. "Nonsense. What you need is homemade meals, you need good food and you need lots of it. Why, I hope that you will stay longer after the will reading so you can actually eat," she says to me. I smile and nod, knowing that there is nothing I can say that will change her mind.

 "Hello, Gramma," Gerald says from behind me and she looks at him with loving eyes. "Gerald," she calls him, and he hugs her. He bends so she can kiss his forehead then she tugs at his beard. "What is this madness that has come over you young men these days? Leaving all that mane to hang to your chest," she says and laughs. I dip my head in respect as she turns to greet another family member.

I walk past them and into the living room. It is a massive affair with metalwork and paintings on the wall. There is a young man, a little younger than me, at the bar island and he smiles at me.

"Hello, Anthony. I didn't think that I'd see you here," I say to him, and he beams at me, genuinely pleased that I spoke to him.

 "You remember my name," he says. "Why wouldn't I? You've been here since I can remember. We used to play in the woods together," I say to him and he grins then nods repeatedly.

"Ah, Anthony. What the hell, man? It's almost like your face hasn't even aged a day," Gerald says from behind me.