“You have to understand something, son. It’s just business. Nothing more,” dad said as I drove us back towards Palm Beach. “And you can’t make business personal. When you start adding emotion to it, you get burned. I’ve always tried to teach you that.”
“Stop,” I muttered before turning to him. “You have no heart, do you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Your empire. It has consumed you.”
My father shook his head. “I hardly think that’s an accurate description of me. I work hard. I built a great company from nothing. And now we are going to take it to the next level. South Florida is a great place to invest right now, and we absolutely don’t want to miss out on it.”
“Something you are willing to do at any cost.”
“Certainly. At any cost.” The corners of his mouth turned down. “Jesus, you’ve done exactly what I warned you to never do, haven’t you? You’ve fallen for that yoga instructor. A nobody.”
I grunted.
“As if I need to ask any more.” His voice turned sharper and he settled back into his seat. “A yoga instructor. Of all people.”
“That’s just it,” I said. “She’s not ‘just’ a yoga instructor. She’s—she’s a better person than I’ll ever be. Did you know that she saved a homeless person’s life the other night?” I looked over at my father, and the anger I felt towards him threatened to spill over into rage. He simply didn’t get it, and for Christ sakes, I knew right then that he never would. “She has a good heart, and she’s not driven by the hollowed out, empty things that you are.”
Fuming, I focused back on the road and tried to concentrate on driving. It didn’t work very well.
“Remember, Luke, you’re a Rothschild. We are one of the most storied families in the country. And that aerobics instructor—”
“Yoga. Not aerobics. Yoga. And she has a name.” I flipped the turn signal as we approached the next four-way intersection. When the light changed from red to green, I drove us back on the bridge toward Palm Beach. “Maybe not a name you recognize, but a name.”
“Think about it, son, how will this look?”
“Her name is Natalie Johnson.”
“I don’t care what her name is,” he grumbled. “I don’t have to know it to know that she doesn’t fit.”
“Oh, really?”
“No, she doesn’t, and I’m certain she never will.” He gripped my shoulder and I moved out from underneath his hold. He sighed. “You can be pissed off at me all that you want, but it’s the truth, and you can’t get away from it. You’re the scion of the Rothschild family. My first born. You have duties that you can’t escape. One of those is that the company I built is your birthright. The other is that you need to make sure we live on—that we don’t become one of those families that fades away. We’ve been in this country for over four hundred years, and always at the top. I’m not about to let you tear that down.”
“But I—”
“No, Luke!” He pounded his fist on the dashboard. “You don’t get to destroy us.”
“Us? Since when is this about us? It’s always only ever been about you.”
“Come on, you know that’s not true.”
“Yes, it is, Dad. You don’t want to admit it, but it is.” I maneuvered the car onto the bridge, silently counting the seconds until we’d get back to The Breakers and I could put distance between my father and myself. “This is always about you. Money. Prestige. The three things you love the most.”
“If you don’t take on this development with me, Luke, there will be no turning back.”
I frowned and stared at his faceless expression for a long moment. He’d said this sentence so clinically, as if he’d completely divorced himself from me. “What do you mean?”
“I’ll be forced to implement the alternative.” He waved a hand. “Delay my retirement. Place your brother in line as the main heir.”
“My half brother.”
“Whatever you choose to call him. I don’t want to do this, but I’m losing my patience. Besides, Marcus is a very bright student.” His mouth twisted into a half-smile. “And perhaps I can make it work with him.”
“Sounds like you want that more than you’re willing to admit.”
“I want someone willing to make hard decisions. Someone who won’t let emotions get in the way of a good deal. You’ve always had trouble with that, Luke. It has always been one of your weakest traits.” His tone softened. “Come on, son, I know you. You’re part of me. We’re the same. This isn’t something you want to turn down. Imagine all we can achieve.”
I sighed. “I need time to think.”
We drove the rest of the way home in silence. As we approached the valet drop-off, he turned to me again. “Listen, Lenora and I are leaving town in the morning. I want your answer before we go.”
“Answer?”
“You’re either a Rothschild, or you aren’t. Simple as that.” He cleared his throat. “You either join the project, or you’re out of the family. For good.” He opened the car door and stepped out of my BMW. “I’ll give you some time to consider everything. But as I said, I expect to hear your final answer tomorrow. We’re departing Palm Beach International at eight.”
After I dropped my father off at the resort, I returned home and wandered around my beach house. I had to admit it—I’d relied on the Rothschild name for everything I had. What would it be like if I didn’t have it to back me up? What would that life look like? Could I make it on my own?
Maybe.
It wouldn’t be pretty or make me comfortable, but I could do it. I had a degree, and decent business background. I knew more about life than my father gave me credit for, and on top of that, I had common sense.
Even better—I knew I didn’t want to let the one decent thing that had happened to me in years walk away.
Sitting in the study about a half hour after the confrontation at the yoga studio, I placed a call to Aaron. He picked up on the first ring. “Luke, what a surprise! Up for a round of golf later this week?”
“No, I won’t be able to make it.” I sank into the blue leather armchair located in the corner of the library. “Listen, if I needed to liquidate my holdings, how much could I get a hold of, and how long would it take?”
“Are we talking the full amount or—”
“My accounts. What I own outright, and independent of the Rothschild holdings.”
Aaron let out a whistle. “You know that’s less than thirty percent of your net.”
“I do.” I rubbed my brow, aware I was asking him for something he never thought he’d hear. “But that’s the figure I need.”
Aaron didn’t reply for a beat. When he did, he croaked out the words. “What is this about? It sounds serious, man.”
“In a way, it is.”
Aaron cleared his throat. “Meaning…?”
“Earlier this month, you mentioned that hedge fund had done pretty well.” I tapped my fingers on the armchair. “Where are we now with that?”
“I haven’t checked the balance in a few days, but it looked good last week, and the market has been up lately.” He paused. “Do you mind if I ask why you want to know? You never care about things like this.”
“Just give me a ballpark. I know it’s a lot less than it was when I first came to you—”
Aaron laughed without humor. “I’ve never seen someone spend money the way that you do. Are you thinking about getting another car? Maybe a vintage one?”
“No.” I sat up straighter in the chair and chose my next words very carefully. “This time it involves my future. My future with Natalie.”
“I see.” He made a clicking sound with his mouth. “It would take a little while, but I can get a number to you this afternoon.”
“Perfect,” I said. “Why don’t you bring over a report this evening?”
“I’ll have something ready around seven.”