The Game

3. Advantage

    The room was silent again, and everybody was staring at Jess. Some believed his s********e, like his uncle Val, didn’t. It didn’t matter. He didn’t continue his story and left no room for arguments. There was no way they could prove he was lying, anyway. Jess stared back at Val until the older man turned away.

    “Who’s next?” George asked in his croaky voice.

    “I’ll go.” A voice came from a chair at the far side of the room.

    The man who stood up was dark-skinned, had black hair and gray eyes. He buttoned his suit jacket and started closer to the group. The suit he was wearing must’ve been the nicest in the room. Everybody studied his face, but nobody could recall if they knew him. This man was a complete stranger to everybody in the room. The man grinned.

    “Oh, don’t worry if you don’t recognize me.” He said, perfect white teeth shining. “My name is Ward Moore. I am fifty-three years old, and I was Mr. Udall’s personal tailor. I designed all of his clothes.”

    “Did you design that suit you’re wearing?” A man sitting on the couch asked.

    Ward smirked. “Why, of course. You won’t find these stitches on any designer brands. They’re one of a kind.”

    Ward moved back to his chair and sat down. Some people were still watching him. Some of them were trying to figure him out. Others were disgusted by how open he was about his sexuality. However, like Jess, he didn’t care what these people thought of him. His business was his own.

    The next man to stand up had light brown skin, black hair, and brown eyes. He scanned the room for a second before clearing his throat, and all eyes fell on him. He made eye contact with a few people before speaking.

    “Hello. My name is Levi Ashpole.” The man said. “I am thirty-eight, and I was Mr. Udall’s private chef.”

    Levi sat back down. Another red-headed man stood up next. Even those who didn’t know the family were beginning to see the similarities in the brothers. This brother flashed everybody a bright smile before he said anything.

    “Hi everybody. My name is Payton Udall. I am the second eldest son of the family, and I’m the CFO of WIC Corp.” He told everybody and then sat back down.

    The next man who stood up had dark skin, brown hair, and brown eyes. His face was one that everybody recognized. His was one of the few faces that anybody who had anything to do with Randy Udall would come across. He smiled, scanning the faces.

    “Nice to see you all again.” He cleared his throat. “I guess. My name is Richard Hatch. I was Mr. Udall’s secretary. And I am fifty-one.”

    Richard sat back down, folding his hands back into his lap. Next up was Jude. He stood from his seat next to Rowland. His blonde hair shimmered in the light of the room as his green eyes danced around the faces before him. He grinned.

    “Hello, everybody,” Jude said. “I am Jude Christensen, lawyer extraordinaire. I was Mr. Udall’s personal attorney for…” he paused, thinking, “three months. And I am twenty-three.”

    Everybody rolled their eyes at Jude’s speech. Nobody liked Jude, and he was probably the biggest question mark in the room. Nobody knew why he was here. Nobody had seen any indication that the old man actually liked him. Did he feel sorry for him? It was hard to when the man was so full of himself. Most people just wanted him dead.

    Jude scowled at everyone in the room. “You’re all assholes. I can’t believe you’re here. I’m the only one who deserves the inheritance.”

    “Only because you weren’t around long enough to take advantage of him.” Richard scoffed.

    Jude glared. “Does that mean you’ve taken advantage of him?”

    Val laughed. “Everybody has at one point or another. The old man was such a pushover. He didn’t know about half the things going on under his nose.”

    Most of the other men laughed and agreed. They all commented on how stupid Randy Udall had always been. Some said his heart was too big, while others said his brain was too small. The only person who wasn’t laughing and agreeing was Jess. He watched the other men, wondering how these people could be so cruel to his grandfather in death. His heart clenched, and he wanted to get mad, but he held it in. They weren’t worth his anger.

    “Anyway, who’s next?” George asked.

    “I’ll go.” Rowland stood up, smoothing his red hair back. “My name is Rowland Udall. I am the eldest Udall and the COO of WIC Corporation. After this adventure,” he rolled his eyes, “I will take my rightful place as the CEO of the company.”

    Every set of eyes turned to look at Rowland. To him, the statement probably didn’t seem so strange. He was the eldest Udall child, after all. WIC was a family business. So, he was probably raised to think the company would absolutely be his one day. However, it was evident that his father didn’t feel the same. If he did, they wouldn’t be battling it out for the inheritance. Randy Udall would’ve just given it to his oldest son.

    “Does anyone have a problem with that?” Rowland asked.

    Christopher scoffed. “It’s not us that have a problem with that, kid. It’s your old man. Obviously, he didn’t trust you to run the company. If he did, we wouldn’t be here.”

    Silence filled the room once more. Rowland, instead of arguing, sat back down. He knew it was true. Since his father turned fifty, he’d been begging to know when he could take over the company. The old man had never given him a straight answer. And then, when Jess had graduated high school, he began to favor him. He looked over at his nephew, who was staring straight ahead. Rowland would never understand what his old man saw in the kid. It didn’t matter now. He was dead, and the company would go to Rowland one way or another.

    “Alright. I’ll go next.” The man who stood up was too gray in his hair for his age and had dark green eyes. He scanned the room quickly. “Hello. My name is Raymond Ellis. I am a politician in the state of New York. I am forty-four. Randy Udall was a big supporter of my campaign when I first started, and we had been friends since then.”

There was nothing out of the ordinary about Raymond, so nobody regarded him any further than that. The next man who stood up also had gray hair, but it was dyed, and more of a charcoal gray set over his brown eyes. He scanned the room, taking in each face at a time.

    “My name is Jamie Matthews. I am forty-nine. I was Mr. Udall’s translator when he went overseas for business.” The man said and sat back down.