The Heir Read Online Free Page B

know about this?”
    “I’m not sure. I will meet with him this afternoon. You might wish to speak with him yourself soon. He is leaving the country next week on business.”
    Leaving the country sounded like a good idea. “Does anyone else know?” I asked.
    “Not yet, but they soon will. You will start getting calls. It would be better if you signaled your intentions and initiated the calls yourself.”
    I was getting better at recovering. The more Fred talked, the easier it was getting to turn him down. I hadn’t thought through the consequences, though. “So who would I call?”
    “Governor Bright and Senator Forrester. They represent the two main political factions. The governor’s chief of staff, Clinton Grainger, will approach you very soon, I expect. That will be critical. As I said, he has already made some moves. Forrester is more cautious but more dangerous.
    “Next, your father controlled his corporations through three boards of directors, and those gentlemen and ladies will be awaiting your instructions. The businesses themselves are all capably run. There is no day-to-day management involved, just strategic decisions.
    “I will arrange for you to be offered your father’s positions on nonprofit boards, particularly the opera. Those boards have a great deal of influence.”
    He was talking fast, to get it all in before I had a chance to stop him. “Your father also had a large minority share of First Media, which owns the newspaper and Channel Six. Stanley Morton is the chief executive and he will be very anxious to meet you.”
    “I know him. I dated his daughter at Yale.”
    Katie squeezed my hand. What was she thinking? That it was a done deal? We were talking specifics, the course of action. Katie could relate to this. Or maybe she just wanted me to remember that she’d won her own war against Natalie Morton.
    Fred was still listing names, but I held up my hand. “That’s enough. I understand. I’ll think about it for a while.”
    “Of course, of course.” It was jarring, how he suddenly turned back into Uncle Fred.
    “I don’t think I’ll change my mind.”
    “I know it’s difficult. I know it’s not what you had expected. I am sorry, Jason. I truly am. But we do not always control our own destiny.”
    And I’d always hated the one who controlled mine. “I was never close to him,” I said. “But I thought he knew me better.”
    “I think he knew you quite well. Better than you know yourself.”
    I’ve never really wanted to. My question has always been Why? not Who?
    “It’ll be tough,” Eric said. “But you can do it, Jason. You can, really.”
    Big brother can do anything. “So what’s in it for you?”
    He beamed. “Everything I’d ever want. Right?”
    “And what if I refuse it all?”
    Eric laughed. “I’d kill you.” He looked at Fred. “Would I get the money then?”
    “I would,” Katie said.

3
    I didn’t want Eric riding his motorcycle on this planet while his mind was on another one, so we stuffed him into our car and got home for lunch. I’d told Fred I’d think about it, so I did. I was over the emotional reaction, just down to annoyance and bewilderment and being tired of it all.
    Fifty million. I knew at least enough about Melvin’s business to know that Eric was wrong about that. My guess was five or six times as much, maybe. It didn’t make any difference, except the more it was, the less I wanted it.
    I was curious—that was all. But ask any cat about curiosity.
    With what we had now, we still managed to pay the mortgage each month. As we pulled up to the house of that mortgage, I wondered what Katie would do with real money. Our little French Provincial cottage with six bedrooms, two formal and three casual living rooms, a dining room that could seat twenty—plus the few informal areas that I actually liked—all on two acres, would only be practice.
    We chose the sunny dining nook overlooking the gardens for our lunch. Rosita did a great