The rain hadn't stopped since my plane touched down. It slicked the glass of JFK like a curtain, blurring the world I hadn't stepped into for years.
I adjusted the cuffs of my jacket as I walked through the terminal. Money had a way of clinging to you like a scent cause, the weight of eyes following me though no one truly knew who I was made me start to feel like I own the world.
"Or perhaps, they haven't seen this type of expensive outfit in a long time" I thought, with a slow calculated smile on my lips.
"Mr. Julian!, Mr. Julian"
A voice called out my name desperately like he had seen a god.
I heard the hurried footsteps before I saw him.
"Oh, seems like dad appointed him to be my assistant. He must be David".
The guy jogged toward me, his face pale, hair damp, probably from the drizzle outside. He was young, efficient, and a little too eager to prove his worth.
He carried himself like one mistake would cost him everything, which, in my world, was true.
"The car is ready, Mr. Julian" he said, slightly breathless as he fell in step with me.
"Your luggage has been taken care of, and I've cleared your schedule for the afternoon so you can head straight to Cart & Associates. The lawyer is already waiting."
"who cares?" I muttered, as I adjusted my sleeves and slipping on my sunglasses, I said, "Let's not waste time."
Outside, the air was heavy with rain, the kind that clung to your skin instead of washing away. A sleek black town car idled at the curb, the kind my father always favored—subtle but expensive. David opened the door, and I slid into the leather interior, inhaling the faint smell of polish and smoke.
Today would be my first step inside Cart Industries after a very long time and now, as its head. My father was gone, the empire is mine now. "At least, it should have been". I said as I looked through the window of the car.
Traffic crawled through the city. Skyscrapers rose like steel blades into the storm, their glass faces reflecting a world I didn't recognize anymore.
"oh, no, time is not on my side" I exclaimed staring at my wrist watch then I lifted my head only to notice that David kept glancing at me in the rearview mirror, probably waiting for me to say something.
But I didn't. "Words were currency", I thought, and I never spent them on small talk.
Halfway down Fifth Avenue, the car shuddered.
My head snapped up. "What the hell was that?"
David's hands tightened on the wheel. "I—uh—it's nothing, sir. Just a hiccup."
The engine coughed again, wheezed like a dying animal, and then… silence. The car rolled to a reluctant stop in the middle of traffic. Horns blared immediately, drivers leaned out their windows to curse us.
"Brilliant." I pinched the bridge of my nose.
David fumbled for his phone. "I'll call for another car. It won't take long".
"Forget it," I snapped, shoving the door open. Rain pelted down, soaking my shoes as soon as I stepped onto the asphalt.
"I'll get there faster on my own."
"Sir", he called out
But I was already gone, weaving through angry honks and splashing puddles, my mind locked on the firm. My father's lawyer. My stepmother and stepsister, both of whom would be sharpening their smiles like knives, waiting for me to stumble.
The empire of Gregory Cart was mine to claim. And I refused to show up late because of a dead engine.
I cut across the sidewalk, rain dripping off my coat and trying to wipe up my face, I collided so hard with someone.
"Aww, watch out" she screamed as she staggered back, nearly falling into a puddle as dirty water splashed across her boots. Her umbrella tilted uselessly, and her dark hair plastered to her face in messy strands.
"Oh no! Oh no!" her eyes widened as she knelt in front of some drugs scattered on the wet floor.
She tried to pack them up hurriedly but unfortunately, some were wet already.
"Are you okay, miss?" I asked.
"Okay!? Is this being okay?" she asked as she pointed to the drugs lying useless on the floor.
"I didn't mean to bump into you and you should have watched where you were going," I said as I glanced at my wrist watch.
"I was getting out of a taxi and you were walking on the free street, don't I have a right to get mad at you!" She yelled at me like I was her child or something.
"Look miss, I have to get to an appointment soon and you doing this will delay me," I said as i stared at my watch again.
"Why don't we just do it this way!"
I will give you my number, you can call me later and make any complaint about your cheap medicine and I will settle you handsomely, but right now I have to get to that appointment," I added as i turned to leave.
But quickly, she obstructed my path making me stop.
"Miss!" i called, a bit more impatient.
"Mr! I didn't do all this to get your stupid money or to call you, as you must know, am also going to a very important place and all I had was spent buying these drugs and...…."
"Okay you need the money now right, Well wait!" i said, bringing out some notes from my wallet and then i took her hand and pressed the notes into it.
"This is all I have with me, if you had called me later on, I would have given you more than this, so now, we have even the score" i said as i moved past her again.
Angrily, she came after me and when she got to my front, She pushed me so hard that i lost my balance and fell on the floor.
"Are you crazy miss!" i asked looking very furious."you've just ruined my expen... ".
"You think your damn money is everything right! A simple sorry would have done the thing yet you kept on being arrogant through and through, just how much do you possess that you flaunt it around" She asked feeling so very angry
"Your money wouldn't do it Mr! so have it back!, I think you need it more than I do, to help wash off your damn arrogance" she said as she threw the money on me.
"How dare you?"
"No how dare you, Just who do you think you are! Or no I know who you are, you are nothing but a mannerless jerk, your parents didn't train you properly"
"Watch your wo...…."
"You haven't been told this before right! Well I just did, that will give you some thing to think about, you arrogant jerk" She said as she left me sitting on the floor.
"What sort of wild animal is she?, No one has ever talked to me in that manner" thought as I stood up, and took the lift that will take me straight to 'Cart and associates'.
By the time I reached Cart & Associates, the rain had slowed, but the storm inside me hadn't.
The building rose above the city like a cathedral of glass and steel "Manhattan's most exclusive law firm, the place where fortunes were sealed and lives destroyed in quiet, expensive rooms". I thought, as i adjusted my suit and headed in.
My father's lawyer, met me in the marble lobby. His face was grave, lined with the weight of decades spent managing men like my dad (Gregory Cart). He ushered me into a boardroom where my stepmother and stepsister were already waiting.
As soon as i entered, their eyes were all on me. They looked me over like sharks scenting blood. My stepmother, Veronica, was all polished with damonds at her throat and bitterness in her eyes.
Beside her, my stepsister seated with studied boredom, twirling her phone like she had better places to be.
"Have a seat Julian" the lawyer said with a croase voice.
But i didn't sit. I leaned back in the leather chair instead, my fingers laced, and my face unreadable.
The lawyer cleared his throat and opened a thick manila folder. The will was inside.
"We are gathered for the reading of the last testament of Mr. Gregory Cart," he began, his voice echoing in the quiet room .
"The estate, valued at over ten billion dollars, will under one condition...