NASH

I've never been more ready to throttle someone, I think. I get to the offices of Goldman, Hackett and Taber early, well before any of my useless siblings show up, and plan to sit down with my father’s attorney and see if I can get anything out of him. But Ethan Goldman refuses to talk to me before anyone else arrives.

Asshole. With a sigh, I run a hand through my hair and realize I should probably get a trim soon. I normally keep it cropped short, but it's grown out some and reaches the edge of my collar.

Ignoring the beverage station set up in the corner, I sit down in a leather chair and wait for my estranged siblings to arrive. This should be interesting. I haven't seen or talked to any of them in years. At least not until the other day when I had to cal each of them and inform them that our father died of a heart attack.

I had called Tanner first since he and I didn't have an actual falling out. Not exactly, anyway. He's two years younger than me and a little too sensitive, if you ask me. He left the city a couple of years ago in a cloud of curses and hate directed at our dad. Basically, he fell in love with a woman that didn’t meet Thomas Beckett's standards. It was a disaster of epic proportions.

I don't know all of the dirty details, but Tanner told our father to go fuck himself and he lost the girl. Devastated, he left tow and didn't look back. I have no idea what he's been doing.

When I called him, Tanner sounded surprised, but almost happy to hear from me. Until the bad news, of course.

“I can't believe he's gone.’

I look up and there he is, my brother Tanner standing there in the flesh. Getting up, I walk over and I'm not sure if I should shake his hand or what. When I reach out, Tanner grasps my hand then pulls me into a half-hug and slaps my back. I return the gesture and it feels good.

Damn, I missed him.

“How are you?" I ask.

Tanner's golden-green gaze looks tired, and he forces a smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes, “Oh, you know."

“No, I don't," I say, and we both laugh. “It's been a while. What have you been up to?"

“Just hiding out in upstate New York. Nothing remotely exciting” he answers vaguely. “What about you? I'm assuming you're President of TB Tech by now.”

“No. I left the company two years ago.”

“What? Why?"

I can tell he's shocked, and I merely shrug, not wanting to get into the details. “Guess I just felt the urge to strike out on my own. Stick it to the old man and prove I didn't need him or his money."

“I wasn't expecting to hear that.” Tanner arches a dark brow. “You were the only one who got along with him."

“More like tolerated him. He was just as overbearing and controlling with me as he was with you and the others.”

“Telling you what to do when it comes to work and career is one thing. When it comes to your personal relationships...that's crossing a line”

From the tone in his voice, I can tell Tanner is still pissed about our father meddling in his love life. Just as I'm about to ask him more about what exactly happened, a feminine voice fills the air, “I can't believe it. Two of my four handsome brothers are in the same room and not arguing. Will wonders never cease?”

We both turn to see our little sister Sierra. She's 28 and a firecracker who is one half of twins.

“That's because Sawyer isn't here yet" I grumble.

“Shut up and give your sister a hug,” she says, blue eyes bright like the Caribbean Sea.

I give her a quick embrace and Tanner does the same. Sierra and I get along, but we just don't ever make the time to talk. She's always running around to some exotic place for work and lives in a world that I know nothing about.

“How's the fashion world?” Tanner asks.

She places a hand on her hip and grins. “Cutthroat, devious and competitive as hell.”

“still loving it?" I ask.

“Every minute.”

“Good for you" Tanner says.

“What about you two?” she asks. “It's been-"

“-a while" I finish. “Yeah, we were just saying that"

“Not sure why it takes a death to bring us together,” she says.

“I think because we've all been so busy with our own lives” I say.

“That's lame, Nash, and you know it. There are people much busier than us who make time for their family. The truth is I mis my big brothers.”

Well, shit, I'm not expecting that, and emotion tightens my chest.

“C'mere, sis" Tanner says and pulls her into a hug.

I'm not as good at dealing with emotions like Tanner so I let him handle it. The last thing I want is to be around a weepy female. When the waterworks start that is normally my cue to exit.

“Well, well, well" a deep voice says from the doorway. “It's a goddamn family reunion.”

Sawyer, wearing jeans and a worn t-shirt, walks in and crosses his arms. Five years younger than me, he's always been a pain in my ass and our relationship is tempestuous at best. While I thrive in the corporate world, he is the complete opposite. He has no interest in sitting behind a desk all day and would rather be shooting a gun and taking down bad guys in some third- world cesspool. The moment our father tried to control his life, Sawyer flipped him off and joined the military.

Tanner, always the mediator, releases Sierra and offers his hand to Sawyer. They shake and I reluctantly turn and do the same. Sawyer c***s a dark brow and accepts my hand. The two of us are night and day and I don't ever foresee us being on the same page.

“What did I miss?” Sawyer asks.

“Nothing. Ethan is waiting for everyone to arrive before he starts.”

“Well, I'd imagine,” Sawyer replies smoothly. “You try to get a sneak peek at the will before we got here?”

My eyes narrow. “You really think there's something in there for you?"

He shrugs a broad shoulder. “Probably not since he told me ten different times at the top of his lungs that he'd cut my a*s out. But we definitely know good ol’ Dad left his billion-dollar company to his precious Nash."

My blood heats up. “For your information, we had a falling out. I haven't spoken to the man in two years."

It’s clear my admission catches them all by surprise.

“What happened?” Sierra asks, concern furrowing her brow.

“Nothing we all weren't already familiar with. I'd had enough of his heavy-handedness and left TB Tech."

Sawyer's mouth edges up and he scrapes a hand through the scruff on his lower face. “In other words, Daddy pissed you off

I grit my teeth, trying not to let him get under my skin because if there's one thing that Sawyer does well it's pushing my buttons. “He was a domineering asshole. We all know that”

The smirk on Sawyer's mouth makes me want to punch his smug face and Tanner steps in, trying to ease the tension. “None of us got along with him. Hell, we barely get along with each other”

“That's not true,” Sierra exclaims. “I love you stubborn jerks, but you're all so damn proud and difficult”

None of us says anything. We have never been the best at communicating and it's probably why our sibling relationship is in tatters. Then Sawyer clears his throat. “Where's your other half?"

“Crew is running a little late,” she says with a vague wave of her hand.

“Shocker, I mumble. Our youngest brother and Sierra's twin is Crew. Another pain in my ass. He's irresponsible and a total screw-up. None of us take him very seriously and the last thing I heard, he was off romping through the French Riviera, galavanting around with some Sugar Momma. When it comes to the real world, Crew is completely clueless, and I don't think he's ever had a real job a day in his life.

“Hey, guys. Sorry I'm late."

Speak of the devil look up and see my little brother. Wearing jeans, a t-shirt and leather jacket, he cradles a helmet under his arm. He has dark smudges under his bright blue eyes and runs a hand through the bleached tips of his messy hair. “What did I miss?” Crew asks with a non-repentant grin, sounding just like Sawyer.

“Nothing,” I say. “I'l get Ethan.”

“Who the hells Ethan?” Sawyer asks.

“The lawyer” I clarify, struggling not to roll my eyes.

When we're all finally seated in the large conference room, I look over at Ethan Goldman as he welcomes us and then expresses his sympathy for our loss. “Let's begin,’ Ethan says and adjusts his glasses, looking down at the paperwork in fron of him. “I, Thomas Morgan Beckett, residing at...

I lean back, hands clasped on the table, glance down at my watch, and just want to get this over with. I'm certain that it's going to prove to be an absolute waste of time. As Ethan's monotone voice drags on, certain phrases and keywords stick out “..being of sound mind, of legal age, not acting under duress or undue influence, and fully understanding the nature and extent of all my property...I hereby nominate, constitute and appoint Nash Morgan Beckett as Executor of this Will..."

What? My heads snaps up. Interesting. Although I suppose that I shouldn't be too surprised since who the hell else would dc it? I'm the oldest and, other than Tanner, the most responsible one of us. Basically, I'm now in charge of his estate and making sure his final wishes in the will are carried out.

Across the table, Sawyer snorts and I fight back a nasty retort, ignore him, and turn my full attention to the lawyer. The third part of the will mentions “Debts and Expenses’, and no one really cares. But part four is “Bequests” and snags everyone's interest. Not because we think he's going to leave us anything- hell, he flat out told us that he'd written us all out of his will at one point or another- but more so because we're all damn curious to see who he chose to leave his billions. Probably some charity, I think.

“I bequeath unto the persons named below, if he or she survives me by 30 days, the following property...Content © copyrighted by .

You could hear a pin drop and my gaze wanders over my siblings.

“Nash Morgan Beckett, Tanner Morgan Beckett, Sawyer Morgan Beckett, Crew Morgan Beckett and Sierra Morgan Beckett, I leave you TB Technology and all of my personal property to be divided equally. Please, see individual letters and clauses.” Stunned, unable to believe what I'm hearing, I watch as Ethan hands us each a white envelope and I take mine and look down to see my dad's writing, always printed and in all capital letters, where he wrote “Nash.”

“Is this a joke?” Sawyer asks, just as bewildered as the rest of us.

“I don't want his company,” Tanner says in a low voice.

“I have my own career, Sierra says.

I swallow hard, trying to absorb the news.

Ethan raises his hands in a calm down gesture. “Thomas knew there would probably be a strong reaction from some of you and I ask you to please take a moment, somewhere private and quiet, to read his letter. Don't make any rash decisions right now. You've all just inherited a billion-dollar corporation but there are specific stipulations that you must agree to."

“Of course, there are,” Sawyer says. “You don't think he'd just hand it over, do you? That's not his style. Even from the grave, he’s going to try and control us.”

“What stipulations?” I ask.

“Thomas wanted the transition to be smooth. Before any permanent decisions are made, he asked that all four of you first visit TB Tech and meet the Interim President that the board chose and give it three months. After that, you are free to sell your share in the company or become a partner yourself. Anyone interested in the day-to-day operations,” he looks pointedly at me, “is welcome to stay on and will be groomed to step in and take over as the new full-time President, if you choose. Of course, you will need the board's full approval”

“Wow,” Crew mumbles. “I don't know anything about tech shit, but I want to check it out.”

Of course, he does, I think. My brother sees a lot of dollar signs right now and wants to figure out the quickest way to cash ir “The meeting with the Interim President and the board members is set for Monday at I0:00 a.m. Since the funeral is Saturday, we figured Sunday off would give you a day to settle in for those who traveled. I'm assuming everyone can attend Monday morning?” Ethan asks.

Everyone gives a reluctant nod and I suddenly frown. “Who was named Interim President?” I suddenly ask.

Ethan looks down at his paperwork then says, “Charlie Langley. It looks like he's worked for TB Tech the last three years” F**k me.

“Charlie is a woman,” I say and try not to sigh. Dealing with that bitch is the last thing I want to do.

Great. Just fucking great.