Billionaire Season 2 (6 page)

“Stone cold sober as a judge, I’m proud of that boy and plenty relieved. I pray for him, you know, and I believe sure as the world that Walden has turned a corner in his life and has found his way onto the right path. Yes sir, our boy is as solid as a preacher and twice as handsome as a movie star. I surely believe he’s come back to us at last, praise God,” Mae said, crossing herself before she turned up her nose and headed in the opposite direction when Hannah called to her from the pool.

“Worried about me, Wills?” Walden stood in the wide doorway to the living room sipping a glass of what looked like lemonade. “Ah, Mae’s fresh squeezed lemonade, my new drink of choice. The air-conditioning feels good, doesn’t it? Father bitched and howled about how unnecessary it was and now he keeps it as cold as a meat locker in here. We should probably join them by the way, Father and his lawyer have quite a little scheme cooking in there, ready to go in and face the firing squad?” He asked with an impish grin and a tilt of his head toward the library just beyond the formal living room.

“You look good Walden, really good. I can’t tell you how glad I am to see you so fit and so… well, in such good shape mentally and physically.” William said and it was true, Walden looked better than he ever had before. He wore a white linen shirt tucked into black jeans and a fine pair of alligator boots that were obviously handmade. “Nice boots, they look custom made. Does that mean you’ve been out to see Alphonse?”

“No, although Abigail would just love to take me down to the Atchafalaya to visit with her daddy. These are Lucchese, I bought them from that leather shop over on Canal Street. But you’re right they’re made from alligator belly so who knows, maybe old Alphonse sold them the ‘gator. Is this really what you want to talk about, bro? My boots and my sobriety? I’ve pulled myself up out of the gutter and I did it for one reason— Alaina. So you’d better mull that information over in your mind, Wills, because I love you, man, but I love that girl and like I told you before, she’s meant for me.”

“Walden, you don’t even fucking know her. You get clean and sober and now you think you can rule the world, is that it?” William said as they crossed the spacious living room walking slowly toward the library, neither of them were anxious to hear what their father had to say.

“See, that’s the difference between us, Wills. I have no desire to rule the world, that’s always been you’re dream. But I do know that you gave me zero fucking credit as a human being when I was I was down and out. You made the decision to ship me out of the country as fast as you could and then you seduced an innocent girl. Man, you have been my hero for my entire life, but I have definitely lost all faith in you, brother. I know you keep her close to you and who knows what sort of charming bullshit lies you whisper in her ear. You and I both know that you cannot be true to one woman, you’ll get tired of her and toss her aside just like all the others. Right now she’s lucky because you’ve convinced yourself you can handle the whole relationship thing. Face it, William, you don’t have the inclination or the attention span for a long term love affair and a girl like Alaina isn’t the kind you use for a passing fling. I’m well aware that I’ve been severely fucked up in the sex department, but my need for pain is in the past now. I am capable of loving a woman and Alaina is the woman I’ve fallen in love with. The question is can you let go of your control freak tendencies and let her choose between us? Wouldn’t you like to know for sure, Wills, if she loves you enough to resist temptation? I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I guarantee she will fall in love me if you’ll stop being so fucking selfish,” Walden stopped at the door to the library, his hand poised on the bronze doorknob and he smiled a smile of utter confidence.

“You know, I was wrong about you Walden. Just because you clean up good doesn’t mean you’re thinking straight, in fact you’re living in a dream. Allie and I are together, TOGETHER! Meaning I’m in love with her and you are going to have to accept that. Yeah, I went through a lot of women in the past but I finally met the one who changed me. So back off, there’s no choice for her to make. She
lives
with me, Walden, we’re in love…” William had to step back from his brother to keep from reaching out and shaking him hard and that feeling pissed him off. He’d been Walden’s protector for their entire lives and in the past week he’d hit his brother and nearly broken his nose and now he was tempted to do it again. Fuck, he had get this situation under control, maybe he and Allie should leave the city for a while, take a vacation and go to the Bahamas or Europe. But then, she would never agree to that, she would insist she had work to do and in fact she had come to New Orleans to complete the research for her thesis….

“Is that right, Wills? Have you said the words yet, have you told Alaina that you love her? No, I didn’t think so. You are full of shit and fooling yourself and that girl….” Walden started but his father interrupted, opening the door and calling his sons into the library.

“Get in here the both of you. My patience is not what it was before my heart attack, which was quite a wakeup call. Sit down William and Walden, my attorney, Mr. Warren, has drawn up a codicil to my will and I think it will interest you greatly, my dear sons. Let me preface this meeting by informing you first off that it’s time for the pair of you to grow up and secondly, I’m getting married. You may save your congratulations until after Mr. Warren has disclosed the changes and additional terms to my will. Before either of you starts shouting that I’m incompetent to make such rash decisions, I’ll have you know that these stipulations were in the works before my bout of poor health. Furthermore, I’ve been declared of sound mind by two separate psychiatrists and you’re welcome to hire one of your own choice to examine me if you so wish. Mr. Warren, would you be so kind as to take it from here, please,” William the third said and he sat down in a leather chair behind a heavily carved desk and watched his son’s faces register mere interest and then shock as his attorney began to speak.

“Good afternoon, as you both know, I’ve been your father’s legal counsel for some twenty-odd years and I do find him to be of sound mind. That being said, he has amended his last will and testament of his own accord to include certain stipulations that must be met by the both of you young men as his heirs apparent. He will be marrying his neighbor, Miss Trudeau, and she and any children born to her during their union will fully inherit the Warfield estate unless….” Mr. Warren hesitated and Walden couldn’t help but laugh at the mention of his father and Marilyn Trudeau having a child.

William the third poured himself a large glass of whiskey, added a few ice cubes from a crystal ice bucket and took over the conversation.

“I shouldn’t be the one to marry first amongst the three Warfield men, by God! What have I raised, two spoiled, trifling, sex crazed maniacs? Oh yes, I’ve heard it all, believe me I’ve heard more than I care to know about your fancy perverted club, Walden. And can you look me in the eye, William and assure me you weren’t the first to obtain membership there? Marilyn Trudeau’s daughter Hannah has apprised me of the situation and God help me I’ll see an end to it immediately. Now, marriages to nice young women and babies born as soon as humanly possible, that’s what’s required to remedy this situation and save our family name from all out shame and degradation. I don’t care how you do it, I don’t care if you love them or not, but the two of you
will
marry and produce the next generation of Warfield heirs or you can you can go to work on a stinking shrimp boat for all I care. I married your mother and it was not a marriage of my choosing, but I did the right thing and forfeited the woman I loved and continue to love to this day. I’m giving you the chance I never had, choose a life companion, pick a woman you can love or at least lust after and settle down to the real business of life.”

He took a long drink of his whiskey and turned his head to stare out the tall French doors for a full five minutes before continuing his rant, “Let me rephrase what I said a moment ago when my nerves were sorely frazzled, one of you will woo and win the heart of Liza’s daughter and through her provide me a grandchild. It’s what I truly live for at this stage in the game, to see the love of my life bear fruit from the combining of my blood and Liza’s. That shouldn’t be too difficult, Alaina is an extraordinary young woman just as her mother was and surely one of you can come to love her. And be assured, I’ll not have the girl hurt or disheartened in any manner, let me make that crystal clear. Alaina… whatever her last name is… she’s like her mother, a woman to be cherished. I hate to treat the two of you boys like… well, like little boys, but so be it— grow up and I mean NOW! That being said, I give each of you one year to marry and produce an heir. Otherwise my entire estate will go to various charities with a handsome sum allotted to care for my new wife as long as she lives. There are a handful of conditions that must be adhered to and Mr. Warren will provide each of you with a copy of the will and codicil to have your personal attorneys scrutinize. Let me point out one small fine point that may or may not be of interest, whomever captures the heart of Liza’s daughter, Alaina, will have controlling interest in all of Warfield Enterprises many business ventures. You are acquainted with the golden rule aren’t you? My father explained it to me when I was wed to your mother, it’s quite simple— whoever has the gold rules. Liza’s daughter, my beloved sons, she
is
the gold. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I believe I’ll lie down and let my thoughts rest whilst you two work things out of your own accord. Goodnight boys, don’t disappoint me,” and their father finished his whiskey in one swallow, poured the glass full to the brim and carried it and himself upstairs.

“This is ridiculous,” William said as Mr. Warren handed him and Walden copies of the will and closed his briefcase. “Surely you find this preposterous, Warren, we’re not living in the middle ages for the love of God. How could you agree to draw up a codicil to his will with such outdated and ludicrous demands?”

“You’re the only one concerned about his damned money, Wills, I couldn’t give a fuck who he leaves it to,” Walden said, he held up the smooth crystal decanter of whiskey, hesitated as if he were deciding whether or not to take a drink and then set it back on the desk untouched. Then he turned to speak to the lawyer. “As for me, I make enough money from my sordid club and Alaina is the only part of this train wreck that holds any interest for me. But not for financial gain, I’m in love in the girl, Mr. Warren, and you can tell that to my father. My brother has been monopolizing her time but I think we can all agree that it’s only fair that the three of us, meaning Wills, Alaina and I, sit down together and go over the fine print to see if she can love my brother to aid in his monetary gain.”

“You’re an asshole when you’re sober, Walden. I guess you never laid off the drugs and booze long enough for me to realize that before. Do I need to remind you that the idea of having a child is highly repugnant to you? Haven’t you been preaching about the virtues of male sterilization since the day you got your first hard-on? Alaina and I are already a couple, you have no claim on her and I’m not going to have her subjected to a discussion about Father’s preposterous whims,” William said, but how the fuck would he explain this troublesome development to Allie without scaring her away? He was absolutely in love with her and now he wished he’d already said those simple yet oh so complex and life-making-or-breaking three words. “I love you.” Why the hell hadn’t he listened to his heart for once and told her from the very first moment when he knew it was true? If he had already bared his heart to her then there would be no doubt in her mind as to his motives.

“You’re right Wills, I never wanted to have kids and I sure as hell wouldn’t have one just to make our old man happy. If Alaina wants to have a child, well that’s a different story because she should have exactly what she wants. ” Walden said and he laughed at the way that William ran his hand over his face as his eyes narrowed with unease. As far as Walden was concerned it was an awesome sight to see his normally unfazed big brother at a loss for words.

“Um, William,” the lawyer began and then hesitated as if measuring his words. “I would be willing to bet that you of all people know to the penny how many billions your father controls. I’m merely his employee and if not me then another would do his bidding. Don’t trouble yourself with trying to discredit him or have him declared incompetent, this is New Orleans, the Deep South. He’s a powerful man and as much as it may distress you to acknowledge it, he has much deeper ties and more powerful allies than either of you. It’s the ‘Good Ol’ Boy Club’ down here and he is a dyed-in-the-wool lifetime member. The Governor himself changes laws to suit your father, so don’t fool yourself that you can beat him and have his wishes overturned. Marry the girl, I hear you’ve been seeing her anyway. If not you then Walden, maybe he should step up to the plate. If you both meet your father’s terms with one of you marrying the girl Alaina, you’ll inherit equally and all will be well. Just do it, we’re talking about a ten digit sum of money here and suffice it to say neither one of you has any idea how to live without that kind of money. Make your father happy, get married, give him a grandchild and divorce after he’s gone. Otherwise the ladies over at Trudeau Hall are going to be a whole lot richer in the end. I’ll say goodnight now, it’s a bit of a tricky drive back into the city once the sun goes down and the mist starts rising off the bayou.”

“Mr. Warren I’d like to ask you something,” William said when he and Walden walked with him out to his car in the settling twilight. “You’ve known my father since his college days, isn’t that right? It’s common knowledge that my mother was pregnant with me when he married her and that it all happened when he and Liza and my mother were friends at Tulane. But if he was so in love with Liza how did he let that happen? I’d really like to know what caused that lapse in his judgment, why did he sleep with my mother and risk losing the love of his life?”