Page 1 of Blue Gold

PART ONE

Entrée

1

DANIEL

The heavy rain knocking on the windows nearly drove me out of my mind, making it even harder to focus on the excruciating, boring brief I was currently reading. When I passed my bar exams eight years ago, I somehow dared to imagine a fancy career. One full of dramatic court performances and exciting moments worthy of Oscar-winning movies, not this tedious litigation crap orchestrated by rich men and women who had way too much money and time on their hands.

It almost sounded like I wasn’t one of those people with fat bank accounts and a comfortable life. Considering my job, my town house on the Upper West Side, and the additional one in the Hamptons, it would be safe to say I was wealthy. Disgustingly rich would be more accurate, but over my dead body would I ever file a million-dollar lawsuit seeking compensation for the emotional distress caused to my pet poodle after the neighbor’s dog… well, mounted her? I wasn’t even sure that was the correct term, given the fact that those were two dogs.

“What a joke,” I huffed, tossing the files on the desk.

Having had enough, I closed my eyes and leaned back in my chair. The rain still pounded against the glass, creating a sound so annoying I feared a nerve in my brain might burst. With a heavy grunt, I spun my chair to face the floor-to-ceiling windows behind me. In clear weather, I could see about half of New York City from my office on the fifty-seventh floor of this skyscraper, which just so happened to be owned by my father. My dear old man, who was the sole reason I was here, dealing with crap like the lawsuits laid before me.

I’ll drop them later on some legal associate who’s thirsty to impress me.

I held much respect for my father, the great Theodore Williams. A respect I only sometimes—and with great effort—received back. Neither he nor Mother was the type of person to spread compliments around. Growing up, I’d had to earn every good word or a tap on the back. Nothing came free in the Williams dynasty, love included. Life was nothing if not a job that needed to be done properly, and God forbid I failed. So far, I hadn’t. Unless you counted the one tattoo I had on my arm. It was a cliché design of a tiger, which I thought was cool back in my late teens. Only it nearly cost me my inheritance and my place at the family table.

I folded the sleeve of my shirt up to reveal the tattoo. By now, more than fifteen years later, the ink had spread, and the lines weren’t as sharp. What a ridiculous cause for a feud, wasn’t it? To my parents, not so much. In their narcissistic eyes, this laughable tattoo was nothing if not a stain to our family’s name. A sign of rebellion that should be nipped in its bud. If, in my youth, I suffered from fleeting thoughts of going against them, they’d successfully made me succumb to their whims, considering I was now exactly where they wanted their eldest son to be—a senior partner at the family law firm, one of the largest in the state, established years ago by Father.

Now running the rest of his multi-million-dollar business, Father left this firm to me. Of course, he was still here, walking down the halls every now and then, ensuring everyone remembered who the real boss was. Did it bother me? Not so much, as I knew better than to challenge his might at this point in life. It wasn’t that I didn’t like my father. In fact, I cared deeply about him, but after thirty-three years on this planet, I was sick of his competitive nature that constantly sought to make everyone around him smaller. His children in particular. You could never win against Theodore Williams. You could either obey him or stay out of his way.

Three knocks intruded on my thoughts, and I quickly straightened up.

I pulled my sleeve down and coughed to clear my throat before turning in my chair to face the door.

“Come in.”

My secretary soon poked her head inside the office. “Mr. Williams?”

“What is it, Sherry?”

Her brows curved in distress before she fully stepped in, closing the door behind her. “Mr. Williams called, I mean, Theodore, your⁠—”

“My father,” I finished her sentence, my lips moving with displeasure. “I’m well aware of who he is.”

She swallowed hard, her already pale face looking even paler.

“What did he do now?” I asked, as Father had the tendency to be an asshole.

To say the least. Thus far, he’d made five of my secretaries quit.

“He called to say he wants to meet you.”

Not understanding the issue, I raised one irritated brow her way. “So what’s the problem? Set up a meeting.”

“Today.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Today, Mr. Williams,” she squealed like a frightened little bird. “Your father wants to see you today.”

Oh, for heaven’s sake.

I rubbed the bridge of my nose, already tired despite it not even being noon. “Don’t we have a full schedule for today?”

“We do. But your father⁠—”