1 CHAPTER ONE
Roger Chamberlain, a billionaire tycoon, stood in his expansive office after hanging up the phone. He had just made the last, and most difficult of the calls, to his stepdaughter Bethany. It wasn't bad news that he was relaying; it was just Bethany's nature to be difficult. Her mother had said that the twenty-three hour delivery had been a “heads up” for her. Roger, now 62, had made three phone calls. They had been to his two sons, Evan and Trevor, and of course Bethany. The first two calls had been predictably easy as he had simply told the boys that he was holding a family meeting tomorrow at 2 pm, and would they be able to make it? They could. They committed without questioning. Bethany was full of questions, and obstacles.
“Well father,” she had started, “ I was supposed to play tennis at that time. Is it really important? Couldn't we make it 5 pm instead?”
Shaking his head Roger had remained stern. “No... We cannot Beth. Are you coming, then?” Then the questions had started. “What is this about? You just got back from your trip out West...did something happen? Have you talked to Evan and Trev? Are they coming? Just tell me what this is about!”
He could just imagine her bottom lip poking out as she pouted...much as she had done in the past when she was a little girl. “I'll see you at 2 pm tomorrow Beth. Please think of the rest of us and respect our time...be prompt please.” He had hung up as she was starting to protest again.
If she wasn't such a deceitful angry woman he might find the constant questioning endearing. The truth is Bethany had always been one to use whatever tactic she could to get her way. When Roger had married Bethany's Mother, Lily, Bethany had been 14. Even at that early age she had been on the path of petulance. She protested the marriage. She scorned her new brothers, Evan and Trevor. She would soon warm up to Trevor, but it was to be able to attain things that she wanted. She was sugar sweet to him, he was 12, and soon had him in the palm of her hand. Even to this day there was a special closeness between the two, even bordering a love affair one might think.
Roger sighed and walked to his expansive liquor cabinet. He decided on a 20 year old scotch and poured two fingers worth. He set the glass to the side to breath, and sat down at his desk. He opened the top left drawer of his eight foot long oak desk, and pulled out an envelope. He was a good-looking man with a full head of gray hair. He had all of his teeth, and a broad chest. Time, and the loss of two wives had aged him, however. Deep lines that showcased his pain were etched on his once handsome face. His first wife Abigail, was the mother of Evan and Trevor, and had died when the boys were just 13 and 10, respectively. She had been flying to a meeting for their company when her plane had gone down. Two years later, maybe too soon, Roger had married Lily. She had been a single mom, as Bethany's Father had split town.
Lily had not come from money, and she was almost overwhelmed with Roger's wealth. Bethany had taken right to the privileged life, and to this day continued to live off of the family's fortune. He had considered cutting her off for a bit, after all a single woman of 32 should have some desire to fend for herself, but in the end he couldn't commit. Lily had made him promise, on her deathbed stricken with multiple cancers, to take care of Bethany despite her obvious shortcomings. He had promised. After all, he had loved Lily immensely. He had thought that his broken heart would never heal, and wondered if he would find a reason for joy. Miracles do happen he thought as he looked over the document. Placing it down on the desk he dialed his lawyer.
“David Spencer speaking.” Came the voice on the other end after just two rings.
“David. Roger Chamberlain. I'd like to arrange a meeting so we can make some adjustments to my will.” He said as he picked up the Will and studied it.
******
Evan put down the phone and frowned. The family hadn't had a meeting in years. Mainly because when they did Bethany turned it into a platform for finding out how much she would gain when dad died. He sighed and got out of bed. He walked naked to his sitting chair in his massive bedroom, and started to put on the jeans that he had thrown there.
“Were ya goin'…” the pretty blond mumbled from his king sized bed.
“None of your business...” He smirked.
She sat up and looked at him, while she leaned on one arm. Her naked breast drooped a little and it made Evan smile. He was a handsome man with blond hair. A touch of gray had found it's way into the sides, but he wasn't one to dye it out. He was six feet tall and well built.
The blond smiled back at him. “Don't put your pants on Ev...I want a quickie.”
He laughed and pulled his pants up. “We don't always get what we want, Deb. Get dressed I'll take you home.”
After dropping her off, and assuring her he would call her again, he drove off in his BMW. He might call her again, after all a girl that could give head like she could was certainly worth at least one follow up. But there had been very little else, chemistry wise, to inspire another date. She had kept talking about how she had met some famous romance writer, and that her friend had ended up dating him, and wasn't that cool? Evan had nodded and smiled, and thought that she looked a little like America’s blonde sweetheart movie star, only thicker.
Now that he was alone, he could think. He had an uneasy feeling about the family meeting, given that his father had just returned from an unscheduled trip. Dad goes on a trip out of nowhere...and the day after he gets back he calls a meeting of the family. He turned down the street and drove, staying lost in thought. Unlike his stepsister Bethany, Evan had made a small fortune by himself. He didn't need, or want, his Dad's money.
Evan had been a standout shortstop at B. C. High. He had gone on to play ball at Boston College, and had been drafted by the Red Sox after graduating. He had done well in the minors and gotten his call up. After his rookie contract ran out, Evan and the Sox had agreed on a five-year, $55 million guaranteed contract. In the second year of the contract he had broken his ankle sliding into second base. He rehabbed and the following year he had blown out his knee. Try as he might he had never made it back up to the bigs. His legs just didn't seem to want to work the way they did before his injuries. The Sox had released him and that was the end of his baseball career. He had spent a couple of years bemoaning his situation.
It had been his Dad that had finally snapped him out of it. “Your money is going to be gone in a few years if you keep this up.” He had told him one day. “Son. You have capital. You can invest and make your money work for you. You're still young. Don't waste the opportunity.” Evan took his dad's advice. He heard of a movie project that needed some funding. It was a beautiful screenplay and Evan had felt it would do well. The production company was out of Hingham, so he used his dad’s name and scheduled a meeting with the project’s producer. His 10 million dollar investment was tripled as the movie, “It Happened on Tuesday,” made $150 million statewide on opening weekend. Liking the return he turned around and financed the production companies next movie, “Inner Peace.” It made $175 million, and the $10 million investment that he made was once again tripled. He earned $60 million in a year and a half.
Roger Chamberlain had been extremely pleased with his eldest child. “Could you pass on some of that determination and smarts to your brother and sister?”
Evan grinned.
“You know that Trevor tries hard...he just has no common sense. Bethany is just ...never mind.”
Roger had nodded his head.
He knew that Evan and Bethany disliked each other. They had long since given up on trying to be nice to each other. Sometimes they weren't even civil. Now the whole family was going to have to be together in one room for the first time in years.
“Can't fucking wait...” Evan said out loud as he drove.