Chapter 3 Get married or lose your inheritance

Elijah's POV

My grandfather had to be kidding me, this man was nowhere near death but he wanted to have his will read. He was the healthiest seventynineyearold I knew but I would just humor him.

I parked my Audi Q8 in the garage and then headed up to his office.

"Hey Mrs. Smith, how are you today?" I bumped into his housekeeper, the stout grey-haired lady with more wrinkles than I could count, and smiled as she saw me. She was retired now but she never got married or had kids so she practically lived with my grandfather, I suspected something was going on between them but I wasn't going to say a damn thing.

"Elijah, my boy, it's been a while, you never come to visit anymore." I hugged her and bent so she could pinch my cheek. It was our normal tradition.

"I'm sorry, Mrs Smith, work has been hectic. I'll just talk to Grandfather quickly and I'll stay for lunch. I miss eating your famous spaghetti Alfredo."

" I'll make that for you then. Make sure you stay for dinner, my boy." She pinched my cheek again and waddled away. I might be thirty-one but in her eyes, I was still the raggedy seventeen-year-old with a chip on his shoulder and hatred for the world.

I knocked on the door to grandfather's study, " It's Elijah, can I come in?"

"Yes." I opened the door, entered, and shut it. My grandfather, Simon Warren, was a proud and smart man who had grown his father's small newspaper company into a multimillion-dollar empire. To most people, he was stoic and imposing, I had felt the same way about him when I initially met him but after years of knowing him, I realized underneath that stern facade was a huge prankster and manchild.

Right now as his lawyer blotted his forehead with his napkin, trying to keep up with Simon's dictation, the culprit was twirling around in his swivel chair, playing a game on his iPhone.

Grandfather's eyes lit when they fell on me, he placed his phone on the desk, "Elijah, welcome, take a seat, let's get this meeting started." I gave him a small bow and then sat in front of him.

"Scotch?" He gestured to the bottle of liquor on the desk.

"None for me, I'm driving. Grandfather, why did you call for this will reading? Aren't wills supposed to be read when the person is dead?" I rested my back on the chair and crossed my arms and legs.

"Typically, but I'm a nonconventional man, what's the fun in having a will if you can't see people's faces when the will is read? This is much better.'. As I earlier said, a huge manchild.

"Gideon, go ahead with the will reading." Gideon, the lawyer, gulped and pushed his glasses up then began to read, he went through a lot of things that didn't concern me and I blocked him out until I heard my name.

"What! Tell me this is a joke, it's a fucking prank right, haha so funny. Now read the actual thing." I jumped to my feet. As I also mentioned before, my grandfather was a prankster. This was one of them.

Gideon cleared his throat and adjusted his spectacles. "I bequeath my company to my grandson, Elijah Warren. However, he can only inherit it along with my fortune if he marries and has a child within the year that the will is read. Failure to do so will result in the sale of my company and donation of my fortune to Beating Hearts Foundation."

My heart pounded, blurring my vision as though I had hypoglycemia.

"Grandfather, what on earth? Don't you dare! You know very well that I have no interest whatsoever in marriage or children!"

Grandfather smiled; I wanted nothing more than to wipe off his smug expression.

"Elijah, I don't want you to be alone after I'm gone. You deserve the kind of love your grandmother and I shared: someone to come home to and children who brighten up your days."

"Yeah right! Just like Mom brightened up your life when she was high ninety percent of the time?"

Grandfather sighed and scratched his head. "I understand all too well that your parents' toxic relationship was your only experience with family love. Not everyone is like them; for twenty-six years, yours truly enjoyed happiness with Grandma."

"I don't care about any of this! You cannot just cut me out because of personal choices! Do you have any idea how hard I've worked at taking Warren Media where it is today? And now you're kicking me out!"

"Son, "Grandfather spoke calmly, "that's precisely why we are reading this will now—so that it catches you by surprise giving you enough time before next year comes around—to find someone whom you would want as a wife so that together both of you could produce some great-grandbabies for me."

Marriage wasn't something I ever saw myself doing; yet somehow, some way—I needed leverage against him.

"Okay then Simon Warren let's work something out here: while getting married isn’t exactly what appeals most to me right now but having a child might just be feasible...I'll hire a surrogate mother who can give birth on our behalf thus providing us both—that great-grandbaby which means so much for us all!"

Silence fell upon us whilst Gideon gestured towards grandfather signaling they should discuss further behind closed doors.

Eventually turning back around grandad swiveled in his chair extending an arm forward.

"You got yourself a deal young man but remember one thing: make sure that baby arrives before next year ends."

Clasping grandfather's hand firmly into mine shaking it assuredly saying: "It’s settled then!"

"That’s terrible news Mei", Tyler said, pulling me from deep thought and realizing they were staring at me expectantly waiting for a response.

"I’m sorry what did ya say again?" I scratched my head nonchalantly wondering why she appeared distressed.

Mei rolled her eyes"Cora…her sister-in-law Blossom showed up causing a ruckus threatening eviction tossing Cora and Becca’s belongings outside."

Tyler chimed in lawyer mode stating “If the house is not owned by Vince then legally speaking Blossom has every right.”

" She can sue her since she can’t evict without prior notice however won’t change anything or get house back” adding little value given situation bleakness felt throughout the room

Mei frowned and drew her eyebrows together, "I can't believe Cora lost her home. I offered to let her stay with us but she declined. I don't understand why she won't accept my help."

"Well, because Cora is proud. She doesn't like owing anyone and doesn't want any assistance. Let her be; she'll figure things out, "I said while playing with my food, feeling weighed down by my conversation with my grandfather.

Mei gasped, "Elijah, you're so cruel! How could you say that about Cora?"I raised an eyebrow but didn't deny it. "You're right though; we need to support our friend."

I dropped my fork and pushed away my plate while gesturing for the waiter to bring the check. "Coraline is your friend, not mine - good luck."The waiter arrived; I paid for our meal and stood up to leave. "Where is Coraline staying now?"

Mei brightened up at this question: "Oh yes! She's staying at your hotel - The Deluxe! Can you call someone and make sure she has everything she needs?"

Hearing Coraline was supposedly staying at my hotel made me suspicious: there was no way on earth that Coraline could afford a room there! But instead of expressing doubt outrightly, I grinned as a genius idea came into mind: "Really? Okay then...see you guys tomorrow!"And just like that, I left the restaurant and immediately drove straight towards my hotel whereupon entering into reception met Carrie-the concierge.

"Oh wow. Good evening Mr. Warren, welcome back again. The presidential suite should be ready if needed tonight. How may I assist?"She exclaimed.

"No thank you. Carrie, a friend of mine booked a room earlier today. I would love to send in a complimentary dinner for them. Her name is Coraline Warren, she should have come along with a little girl."

"I will check" She replied whilst typing through their computer screen. Afterward, she frowned: "Sir, I am sorry. There seems to be nobody here under such a name"

This confirmed what I had suspected all along: "Are You certain? Perhaps another name was used. If I show you her picture, maybe you can recognize her?"Carrie nodded affirmatively-and thus, I showed Her a clip from Mei's wedding where both Mei and Coraline were present.

"I remember Her. She came around asking questions concerning our rooms and prices, but never actually checked in."

"Okay.Thank You very much, Carrie. You've been helpful. Enjoy Your night!"

Carrie smiled, "Thank You too, Sir".

Leaving the premises, I felt ecstatic. Coraline thought She had deceived Mei-but guess what?-she couldn’t deceive Me! I always stayed one step ahead of Her. I couldn’t wait to rub this fact in Her face tomorrow morning!

**********

Coraline's POV

I barely slept last night, with every small movement I made, the bed creaked, and I was aching in places I never expected to ache. It felt like I had aged ten years. I dropped Becca off at daycare and drove to work.

The first thing I did when I got behind the counter was to make myself a cup of coffee extra strong, I needed all the caffeine I could have to get through the day. After prepping the cafe opened for the day and our first customer walked in.

"Hello people, how's today? It's such a splendid day, isn't it?" Elijah strolled into the cafe, he moved like he owned the place.

My junior barista sighed dreamily as he walked up to the counter, I jabbed her softly. " Don't waste your air on this demon."

"Now, Coraline, I heard that and it wasn't very nice. Did you enjoy your night at The Deluxe?" My shoulders stiffened. Why the hell was he bringing that up?

I curved my lips, " I did, I enjoyed it a lot. I can't wait to go back there tonight."

" Wow, that's a surprise, you see I was at The Deluxe last night, I happen to be acquainted with the owner and I asked for your room number. Surprisingly they couldn't find anyone with your name registered in the system." Elijah ran his finger over the counter.

My whole body reacted to his words, I froze in my spot.

"I wonder what happened? How did you get to spend the night in The Deluxe if your name isn't in the system? I wonder how Mei will feel about this when I tell her." He grinned and retracted his finger.

Holy fucking shit.