CHAPTER 2: THE INHERITANCE CLAUSE
935 Words
In Mr. Collin’s office…
“You’re late almost every other day Esmée”. He said calmly.
“Now you’re spilling alcohol on guests?”
Humiliation crawled beneath her skin.
“I can explain—“
“You’ve had enough chances to explain”.
The words sliced through her.
Mr. Collin looked at her nervously before lowering his voice.
“Esmée… maybe go home for the night”.
Her heart dropped
“Mr. Collin, I—“
“You’re fired”.
Silence. Complete silence.
Esmée blinked at him as if she had heard him wrong.
“What?” She asked in disbelief.
Mr. Collin avoided her eyes.
“You’ve been warned several times already”.
Tears welled behind her eyes instantly, but before she could stop them, they fell.
Slowly, she untied the black apron around her waist and placed it on his desk.
Then she looked directly at Mr. Collin. For a brief second, something flickered in his expression.
Guilt.
But it disappeared way to quickly to matter.
“Enjoy the rest of your evening, Mr. Collin”. She said before walking away.
Her hands shook the entire way out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hours later, Ozbert sat through the most suffocating dinner of his life.
The restaurant glowed beneath golden lights while politicians, investors, and socialites filled the massive ballroom celebrating his grandfather’s eighty-fourth birthday.
Ozbert hated every second of it.
He loosened his tie slightly as another businessman approached him with a fake smile and a handshake.
“Ozbert! Your grandfather tells me you’ll be taking over Fitzwilliams Holdings soon”.
Ozbert forced a smile.
“That seems to be the plan”.
The older man laughed. “You’ll make an excellent successor”.
Successor.
Hier.
Future CEO.
As if he had ever been allowed to become anything else.
Across the room, Theodore Fitzwilliams — his grandfather — raised a glass while speaking to some board members.
Despite his age, he still carried authority effortlessly.
One glance from him could silence an entire room.
Ozbert finally got a chance to escape to the rooftop for air only to hear the doors open behind him moments later.
“You disappeared”.
He sighed softly. “Good evening to you too, grandfather.”
Theodore stepped beside him adjusting the cuff of his tailored navy blue suit.
“You look irritated”. Ozbert pointed out.
“That’s because I am irritated—“,
“What was that stunt you pulled earlier?”
Silence.
Then Ozbert laughed humorlessly.
“You’re twenty-nine years old, Ozbert”.
Ozbert stiffened. Here we go.
Theodore remained silent for a moment before speaking again.
“You run half the company already. The board respects you. Investors trust you”.
His grandfather’s gaze hardened slightly.
“But you lack stability”.
Ozbert frowned.
“What exactly does that mean?”
“It means no one trusts a man incapable of building a family”.
Ozbert turned to stare at him.
“You followed me out here to give me relationship advice?”
“No”
Theodore folded his hands behind his back calmly.
“I followed you out here because there’s something you should know”.
Something about his grandfather’s tone made ozbert’s jaw tighten.
“I updated my will a few hours ago”.
Ozbert’s expression darkened.
“And?”
“If you intend to inherit Fitzwilliams Holdings, you must be legally married before my eighty-fifth birthday”.
Silence.
Ozbert laughed. Surely this was a joke.
“You cannot be serious”.
“I’ve never been more serious”.
“This is insane”.
Theodore’s face remained expressionless.
“It’s final”.
Ozbert stepped away from him, anger rising rapidly in his chest.
“So if I don’t get married within a year, what happens?”
“Control of the company goes to the board”.
He replied.
Rage exploded inside him instantly.
“You’re blackmailing me”.
“No”, he replied slowly, “I’m securing the future of this family”.
In a fit of rage, Ozbert kicked a table, drawing the attention of several guests as they turned towards the source of the noise.
He ran a frustrated hand through is black hair.
“This is outrageous”.
“You’ll understand eventually”.
Without another word, he stormed back inside and made his way towards the back exit where his car awaited him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After driving around the city for a while he found himself at a bar downtown and made his way in because it looked like they were having a slow night.
Less customers equals less attention.
Great.
The bar smelled like alcohol, smoke, and bad decisions.
Perfect.
Ozbert sat alone at the counter several drinks later completely ignoring the endless stream of calls and text messages flooding his phone.
He was furious.
At his grandfather.
At the board.
At himself.
— Marriage —
The word alone irked the hell out of him.
Every relationship he’d ever had was built around his money, his fame, or his status.
None of it had ever been real.
“Another whiskey?”
He heard the bartender ask someone by his side. Apparently he had been so invested in drinking himself to a stupor that he became completely oblivious to the happenings of his surroundings.
The bartender placed a drink in front of the woman beside him.
She looked familiar.
Wavy ginger hair.
Freckles.
Hazel eyes.
The waitress from the restaurant earlier — Esmée.
- Writer
