by K. Anderson
“What’s wrong with having a business ran by a family? I built my business from the love and support from my wife and children. I want this company to grow to a higher level with you, your wife, and kids.”
“I’m alright with getting married and all of that,” Daniel started. He wasn’t like David; Daniel wanted a woman with a lot of kids to spoil. “However, why can’t we both inherit it if you think it’s a family business?”
“Let me be more specific,” Jeffery started to elaborate. “I want one of you to run the whole thing as the boss. You both can still work here; it’s just that there needs to be one boss.”
“So you mean to tell me whoever the winner is, the other one works for them?” David asked raising an eyebrow. Daniel looked over at his brother and frowned, that shouldn’t even matter.
“To put it plainly, yes,” David looked down at his brother and Daniel’s honey eyes looked back at David. David was pissed that his father wouldn’t just offer the business to him since he was the oldest. David loved Daniel, but he thought the man was weak and that he wouldn’t be able to run this business since he can barely supervise his men now. On so many levels their father’s scheme pissed David off; however, it did ignite the competitive flame in David. He couldn’t and he wouldn’t let Daniel inherit the ranch.
“Fine, I’ll play this little game. Married and a kid, huh, I’ve done harder things before in my life.” David said and made his way towards the door without a second look.
“That arrogance of yours will be your downfall,” Daniel called out after his brother. He saw the look in David’s eyes just now. Daniel knew that the look that David had in his eyes was his way of telling Daniel that he’d do anything in his power to win. Daniel hated that look, and he hated his brother’s greed.
“Dad, why do you fuel him like that? You know he’ll do anything and everything to win, no matter how awful it might be.” Daniel would be lying if he said that he didn’t want the inheritance because he did, but Daniel wanted to marry for the right reason, not for money. Jeffery looked down at his younger son. He knew that Daniel was right, David would probably try to win by any means necessary and to be honest, that was precisely the determination that the company needed. David’s need for power and strength could keep their ranch the best ranch in Texas, but Jeffery also knew that Daniel’s kindness and compassion could also cause the company to flourish as well. Jeffery only wished that Daniel was more assertive with the way he acted, but for now, Jeffery will sit back and watch his children with interest.
*****
“Mr. Marshall” Daniel stopped and turned towards the sound of a man’s voice. He hated when the workers on the ranch called him Mr. Marshall, he wasn’t his father, he supervised them, but it was his dad who called the shots to who stays employed there or not.
“Jordan, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Daniel? You don’t have to be some formal with me, I’m not uptight like my brother.” Jordan had to laugh at that. Jordan agreed that David walked around like he had a stick up his ass, but he wasn’t going to point that out. Jordan learned early on that Daniel was a good guy, David, on the other hand, was something else.
“Sorry, I just saw your brother storm by here. He insists that we call him ‘Mr. Marshalls’ so I sometimes forget that you prefer Daniel.” Daniel sighed. Even though his brother was in his thirties and Jordan was in his early twenties, that still shouldn’t mean that Jordan should have to call David ‘Mr.’ anything.
“Excuse my brother; he thinks he’s bigger and better than everyone.” The younger man could see the irritation in his supervisor’s eyes. He could tell that Daniel and his brother didn’t exactly get along and Jordan knew that the reason for that was David. Daniel was a good guy, never disrespected anyone and saw everyone as his equal. Jordan initially thought that Daniel was going to be stuck up just because his father is the boss, but he was happy to learn that Daniel was laid back and he cared for other people. Meanwhile, his accountant brother was the stereotypical wealthy father's son.
“It’s alright, as long as everyone keeps their distance from him, I think we would be alright.” Daniel cracked a quick smile at that and then he got straight to business.
“How’s everything going outside?”
“Everything is going well. The cattle just got fed, and a guy was inquiring about purchasing one of them. He’s starting his own ranch and he’s going around asking for tips from others.” Daniel frowned at this. He was well aware that his father had people wanting to follow in his footsteps. Daniel respected these types of individuals, but he knew that his father wouldn’t give anyone any of his animals, and Jeffery wasn’t willing to give out any tips. Jeffery Marshalls was a good man; however, he’s a businessman and Jeffery wanted to always have the upper hand. He’d be flattered that people looked up to him and wanted to be like him, but there was no way in hell that he would offer any advice to individuals who might become his rival.
“I’ll let my father know about this. Can you write up a letter explaining everything that transpired with this person and hand it back to me by the end of the day?” Daniel knew Jordan would be wasting his time doing that, but Daniel still needed to follow the proper procedures.
“Sure, I can manage that. By the way, I’m not trying to be in your business or anything like that, but are you alright? You look like you just ate something sour.” Jordan asked looking over his supervisor’s apparent displeased demeanor. Daniel scratched his chin for a quick moment contemplating how he wanted to respond to that. He wasn’t the type of person who would be walking around visibly pissed and tell someone that he was perfectly fine. Daniel honestly could not understand why people did that.
“I’ve just got some rather shocking news from my father. It’s not something that you have to worry about.” Then again, is it something that his people should worry about? If David inherited the company, he would have the full power to do whatever he wanted. The question running around in Daniel’s head was if David was to acquire the company, would he rehire new employees and get rid of the old ones? Would David consider replacing Daniel as well and find someone that he feels is a better fit to supervise the people? The longer he thought about it, the more anxiety started to take over him. “Sorry, I remembered something important that I need to get done. Come by my office later and deliver the letter.”
“Sure, talk to you later.” Jordan gave his boss a quick nod and made his way back outside. Daniel hustled to his office and shut his door and locked it. Leaning against the door with his eyes closed Daniel finally put more thought into his father’s conditions for inheriting the ranch.
“Will David fire us all if he gets married and have a kid before I do?”
Chapter Three
“I honestly don’t have the time to go hunting for women,” David said out loud to himself as he contemplated exactly how he was going to pull off getting married and having a child so that he could inherit his father’s business. Work keeps him at his desk late and his weekends are filled with finishing up things that he hadn’t completed during the week so he didn’t exactly get out much to have fun.
“Excuse me, Mr. Marshalls,” a feminine voice said knocking on David’s door.
“Come in,” David said and looked up from his computer as Lydia, David’s personal assistant, walked through the door with some coffee in one hand and a bag in the other. David watched as the woman walked over towards his desk. She was a gorgeous red head with long legs, a curvaceous body, and breasts that any man would love in their hungry palms. Lydia licked her full lips as she noticed David checking her out. He’d slept with her several times, but David didn’t respect her.
“Here is your food and coffee, Mr. Marshalls,” Lydia said and placed David’s lunch down in front of him. David could’ve easily made Lydia his bride. She didn’t ask for much and she gave it up to him whenever he wanted, but she was too easy to him. Plus, if he had to plant his seed in someone, even though he wasn’t the marrying type
the woman had to have something brag worthy going on with her. Looks in Lydia’s case was not enough.
“Thanks, Lydia,” David picked up his mug and sipped at his coffee absentmindedly thinking about ways to meet his goal as quickly as possible. Lydia stood there for a while looking down at David. Finally, growing fed up that she was still in front of him; David looked up at the woman. “What do you want?” he asked in his normal, ‘I don’t feel like being bothered’ tone. Lydia looked away from David for a few moments, blushed, and then looked back at him again.
“Are you incredibly busy?” Lydia asked and bit her lower lip seductively. David leaned back in his seat and pressed his lips back to his mug. David knew exactly what Lydia wanted, something he hadn’t given her in a few weeks because of his increased workload. David’s eyes went to her red hair and then to Lydia’s full lips. He could actually use some of Lydia’s lip action to ease the stress that was slowing wreaking havoc on his exhausted body. He kept staring at Lydia’s mouth hungrily and she licked them again inviting him to come and have a taste.
“I’m really busy right now, but if you don’t mind doing me a favor, I’d suggest you go and lock the door,” Lydia grinned and did as she was told. Soon she was in between David’s legs trying her hardest to dull the stress he was feeling. David held her head as she pleasured him with her mouth, but his mind was on other things. Yes, I will definitely inherit the company because Daniel isn’t half the man that I am.
****
“What is this?” Jeffery asked Daniel after reading the note that Jordan had written up. Here we go, Daniel thought to himself.
“Jordan, one of the ranch workers that I supervise, was asked to inquire if an individual who is trying to open up his own ranch could purchase some cattle and receive advice from you.” Jeffery wasn’t normally a mean guy, but when it came to business, he didn’t want anyone to get ahead of him. Jeffery balled up the letter and tossed it into the garbage.
“You know that I don’t sell or help the competition.” Daniel sighed but he wasn’t surprised by his father’s behavior, it wasn’t like Daniel thought that Jeffery was going to offer any help to the man.
“I know, but I still followed the appropriate procedure. If anybody has something to say to you, no matter how big or small, have them write a request to you so that you can review it. If I would have thrown it out or told Jordan not to write it, I would have been going against your rules.” Jeffery pursed his lips together. Technically that was one of his rules; however, Daniel should already know that the rule did not apply to this scenario.
“I admire your ability to follow my rules because that shows me that you can get the job done. However, that rule does not apply to people asking for handouts. I will not offer any assistance to someone who wants to compete with me.”
“Alright dad,” Daniel said and turned around to make his leave.
“You’re going home, son?”
“Yeah, I’m tired and hungry.”
“Have you given any thought to what I told you and your brother this afternoon?” Daniel stopped in his tracks and turned his head so that he was looking at his father.
“Yes, I think it’s wrong that you just won’t let us run it as co-owners. Of course, I want to continue with our company long after you’re gone, but I don’t want it under the conditions that you made for us. It almost feels like you’re trying to force us into marriage.” Daniel didn’t wait for his father’s reply, and his father didn’t try to offer one. He walked out of Jeffery’s office without a second glance. Everyone left for the day and Daniel just wanted to get back to his condo and relax.
The street was not as crowded as Daniel navigated through the small city and he was glad for that. Daniel didn’t want to be in traffic, and he didn’t want to attempt to find a quicker route. Daniel’s Lincoln, a gift from Jeffery, cruised down the long road that Daniel knew all too well. Once Daniel pulled into his condo’s driveway, he pushed the button to open his garage and maneuvered his vehicle inside before closing the garage door behind him.
“I wonder what type of scheme my brother is coming up with,” Daniel said to himself as he opened the side door and found himself in his oversized kitchen. Daniel already knew that David was probably going to do something drastic to wed somebody, he just didn’t know what. His brother was good looking; they both were, so Daniel knew David wouldn’t have a problem meeting a charming young woman and taking things slow. But slow wasn’t exactly David’s style. “Knowing him he’ll just flash some money in a decent lady’s face, get her to give it up, and then throw a ring on it.” The thought of that disgusted Daniel and even though David is his brother, he wouldn’t put it passed the accountant.
It took everything in Daniel not to just strip off his clothes, throw it anywhere on his floor, and make his way to take a hot shower. Daniel would have loved to do that, but unfortunately, for him, he wasn’t the typical guy living in a bachelor’s pad. Daniel actually took pride in the cleanliness of his place, thanks to Judith, his housekeeper. Plus, he didn’t want to give the woman in her late forties more work than she needed to do. Going into his master bathroom, Daniel disrobed and placed his clothes in the hamper. Turning the shower on and adjusting the temperature, Daniel eased his body under the spray of water and closed his eyes.
“This feels good,” Daniel said and started thinking about his father. Jeffery was getting older and he hasn’t been quite himself as of late. Daniel was starting to wonder if his father was feeling sick. The man always complained about feeling exhausted and he had this cough for several weeks that hasn’t let up. When was the last time he’s been to the doctor? Daniel and David’s father often neglected his health because of his need to make sure the ranch is running smoothly and Daniel wouldn’t be surprised if Jeffery’s neglect was coming back to bite him in the ass. “I just can’t even deal with this mess right now.”
As soon as Daniel was done with his shower, he quickly dried himself off and wrapped the towel around his waist. He didn’t feel like checking the fridge to see what there was for him to eat and he didn’t feel like working out. He exited his master bathroom and headed straight to his king sized bed. Without a second thought, Daniel crashed into the bed and was soon fast asleep.
Chapter Four
It’s been a full week since Jeffery Marshalls told David and Daniel that the first to marry and bare him a grandchild would inherit his company upon death. Daniel stressed about it for the first few days, but soon he put it behind him. He didn’t want to worry himself about something that wasn’t happening shortly. David, on the other hand, had been plotting since then. During his lunch break, David decided to head to the local library so that he could do a little research without having the company track his browsers history.
“It’s hard working for your parents when they always have their nose in your business,” David mumbled as he looked through dating sites and the women’s criteria, but the more he read through the profiles, the more he began to realize just how complicated women are. They required too much attention when it came to going steady with someone. It didn’t take David too much time to realize that this was going to be harder than he initially thought. “Tsk…” David muttered and looked at the time. He’d been at the library for a while and it’ll probably be a good idea for him to head on back. Just as David was about to log off of the computer, an ad caught his attention.
David looked around the small library to make sure nobody’s eyes had found their way to his computer screen, and then he directed his attention back to the words in colorful lettering. “Mail Order Bride,” David said to himself and clicked on the link. He’s heard of Mail Order Bride agencies, a man would post an ad for a woman, frequently coming from the east coast to travel to where the prospective husband was at and then they’d be married. He didn’t know that people still did that though. David didn’t know anyone who used this type of ‘service,' so he couldn’t ask anyone if they’d been lucky with the match-up,
“
Besides, I don’t want anyone in my business,” David said and read the about page for the company. David pulled up a separate screen to read some reviews about the company and the type of women who answered the ads and the results proved favorable. Of course there were some negative reviews, but it wasn’t enough to turn David off of the whole thing. Once he read enough of the reviews, a sly smile marred his handsome features. “This should be interesting,” David commented and quickly created an account and posted his advertisement. By the time he got back to his office, he was grinning from ear to ear, definitely a rare thing for the accountant to do. As soon as he was seated a knock sounded at his door and before he could answer, Daniel came strolling in. David’s smile immediately turned into a frown.
“What’s going on with you?” Daniel asked marching over to David’s desk. Daniel’s attitude and demeanor made David’s frown deepen. Not only did Daniel barge into David’s office uninvited, but he also came in asking him questions.
“What?” David asked irritated. For Daniel to always be shouting ‘you need to be more respectful to people, the ranch’s supervisor definitely wasn’t respectful when it came to David and his personal space. “What has you barging into my office and demanding answers from me?” Daniel looked around as if he was looking for something in particular and this just strengthened David’s irritation. “What the hell Dan,”
“One of the workers saw you hustling in with a huge smile on your face. What did you do and are the police on their way here?” David looked at his brother like he had lost his mind.
