After His Last Will

Lily Anderson stood by the busy road of the metropolitan city, waving frantically at every car that passed. She wasn't about to be late for work, not when her boss was the great Alexander. For a moment she thought about running over to the Beaumont Estate but that would be an absolutely stupid thing to do.

When she finally got a car, she heaved out a sigh in relief, and got in. The morning had dark clouds looming over the sun. It looked like it would rain, but Lily wasn't sure about that because it had not been stated in the news. The drive wasn't as long as she expected and she was grateful for this.

She reached the Beaumont Estate, which was a massive array of different mansions and lush green grasses, in no time and just as she was about to go in, she sighted Alexander's car coming out. She swallowed hard, praying silently for the weight she felt to ease off her chest. The car stopped just in front of her as she expected and the black tinted window came down.

He was seated in the back, reading a newspaper. His neck-length hair was left to flow and some strands were styled perfectly to fall to his face.

"Are you coming in or do you want us to be late?" He asked with his usual nonchalant tune.

Lily nodded and was about to open the door to the front seat when he stopped her.

"I have no tie on" he said and she went round the car and got in beside him.

She'd been working with him for five years but it didn't mean she'd gotten any comfortable around him.

He had acknowledged that she was the only one he could stand being around him, but that was more of a curse than a compliment. She was silently waiting for him to say something about her lateness.

He turned to her, his dark eyes immediately pinning her.

"The bag there has three ties, I picked your favorites" he said

Favorites, as if! She couldn't help but think. She took the paper bag beside her and took the first one she could reach.

She flinched when she turned back to him and found him staring at her.

"I spent twenty minutes, picking out the top three and you just pick one without looking at them" He asked and she nodded looking at the tie in her hand. It was black, she looked back into the bag-They were all black! What did the man want from her?

"A tie is the least of your problems right now Mr Beaumont" she said in the usual relaxing tone she used around him, never a pitch higher or a pitch lower.

"What is my problem? That you came late?"

"Your grandfather might have an illness and has asked you to see him this morning," she said, ignoring his remark. It had always been her strategy to remain sane.

He looked up from the paper he was holding and stared out the window with a frown on his face.

"And my schedule has already been cleared?" He asked

"Yes sir" she said and he hissed, flinging the newspaper. She caught it immediately, she had studied him so much that she could discern his next move.

"If he wants to die, can't he just die quietly, he's more healthier than I am" He said but his voice held no trace of displeasure. Lily noticed him stiffen a little bit, before turning to her.

"Let's go then" he said and took the newspaper away from her. A flash of an apologetic look in his eyes.

She smiled to herself, he was aware of her close relationship with his grandfather. Vincent had always asked her to marry Alexander openly and shamelessly, but she couldn't do that. It would be a death sentence to her, and Alexander on the other hand was an anti-romantic.

They reached the hospital some minutes past eight. Lily hurried behind Alexander, perfectly matching his pace. It had been one of her challenges, when she started walking with him. He had long legs and walked like his life depended on it, she wasn't nearly as tall as him and had tried to keep up.

"After the visit, what else is on my schedule?" he said as they walked into the Elevator.

"As I said earlier, your schedule is mostly free today. But you have dinner with the President of Beaumont hotels" she said. She didn't need to look at his schedule on her tablet, she had learnt to memorize things. Alexander would sometimes blow off orders at the speed of lightning and she couldn't write it down but had to practice her hearing. She had practiced a lot of things because of him.

When they reached the VIP ward where Vincent was, Lily stopped. Alexander turned to her with an expressionless face.

"Are you leaving me here?" he asked.

She nodded

"I was told he has something to tell you, I can see him later" she said and forced a smile and he nodded to her and walked inside.

Lily always secretly enjoyed the drama Vincent made with his grandsons, especially Alexander. He pretended to be sick and hospitalized just to get their attention. She heard their voices but wasn't sure what they were saying.

A moment later, the door opened and he beckoned to her to come in. Vincent greeted her with a smile.

"My pretty daughter in law" he said and she smiled awkwardly.

Alexander rolled his eyes, a little bit uncomfortable. "Grandpa please" he hissed.

"You don't have to get married to her, Eric can," he said, eyeing his grandson.

Alexander shot him a look and shook his head.

"I'd rather get married to her than for that to happen" he said and looked at her. Lily wasn't surprised. He had tagged her as his possession and he hated Eric. They hated each other.

"I'll be discharged today, I feel a lot better since I've seen my grandson and future daughter in law," he said.

"Stop pretending to be sick everytime. I'm very busy" he said and turned to leave, he reached the door, about to go when he turned to her.

"You can follow me now, or ask the chairman to give you a ride." He said and walked out. Lily sighed and turned to his grandfather.

"You take care of him so well, that's why he can whine in front of you, hurry now. He might actually leave you". He said and She took his hand and squeezed it lightly.

"I'll see you later grandfather" she replied with a smile and hurriedly went after Alexander.

The day wore out slowly, because there wasn't a lot to do. They were about to go for dinner with the president of Beaumont hotel when her phone rang. She stared at it and it was the Chairman's secretary.

Alexander raised his brow, in a quiet inquiry as they walked out of the office.

"your grandfather"

"Did he get admitted again?" He said with a sigh.

Lily answered the phone and when she heard what the caller on the other end said, she paused, her eyes suddenly wide and her heart pounding against her chest. The phone left her hand and fell to a clash on the floor.

"What is it?" Alexander asked, noticing her reaction. She blinked, unable to utter a word as her eyes stung and tears began to well off in them. Alexander understood at the moment what it was her way. He shook his head in denial.

"No way...by any chance...is my grandfather...is he dead" he asked, despair in his eyes. Lily's bent low and let out a low cry, her heart wrenching sobs confirming his fear.

The Patriarch Vincent Beaumont was dead.

It was a quiet ride back to the Beaumont Estate, She'd insisted on coming, against Alexander's wish and she couldn't help but feel helpless when the tears didn't stop flowing from her eyes. She knew she had to stay calm and quiet, she needed to offer comforting words to Alexander, but she was without comfort herself. What would she be able to do in a situation like that?

Her head was pounding, it wasn't just about her personal feelings. The workers in the CEO's office would be having a hard time with reporters and investors if the news of Vincent's death was already out.

Alexander, on the other hand, hadn't said a word to her. His face looked set in his usual expressionless demeanor, but there was something in his eyes that she couldn't quite place. She wiped the tears again immediately and it fell off her face.

Alexander closed his eyes, a little bit annoyed at her whimpering sound. He reached out to his pocket and brought out his handkerchief, he took her hands and placed it in them.

"You're not helping matters here Lily, if you're going to cry, then cry, and if you won't, just be quiet" his face was stern when she looked at him. But there was a softness in his eyes hidden beneath the hard exterior. She nodded and wiped her tears immediately with the handkerchief, his scent filling her nostrils as she did so.

They both came down from the car when they reached the estate, he turned to her and stopped her from moving forward.

"His body is still in there, stay here" he said with a tone of finality.

Lily shook her head in a protest.

"No..I have to..."

"Lily" he cut in sharply. Then walked back to the car.

"Take her back home" he said to the driver who nodded.

"No I can't Mr Beaumont" she said and he looked at her his anger clear in his eyes.

"Stop being a burden and just go, nobody is going to shed a tear when we get in there, but you've already shed dozens" he said and walked away from her, disappearing behind the golden giant doors of the mansion.

Lily stood there for some minutes, still not able to hold back her tears, she turned away and started walking towards the gate of the estate which was a long way. The driver honked at her from within the car but she ignored him continuing her commute.

The hours passed by and she lay in her bed under the covers, unable to snap out of the fact that Vincent Beaumont was dead. The door to the apartment where she stayed opened and she knew that Alexia, her roommate, was back from work.

"You're home early" Alexia said, roughly pulling the covers away from Lily. Lily groaned in annoyance and flung her a pillow at her which she dodged with a smile on her face. Her friend's blue eyes were the most comforting thing to come home to after a day with her grumpy boss, but it wasn't so comforting today, her friend looked like a model, tall and slender with blonde curly hair. She was an eye candy.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Alexia asked and she shook her head.

"That reminds me, what's with your boss? He couldn't have dinner with my boss and it made him a little angry," she added. They were best friends, working for the two top members in the Beaumont companies, and they stayed in the quarters reserved for Beaumont employees.

Lily sighed out, she didn't have enough energy to get involved in chitchat.

"I guess you haven't heard" she muttered rolling over from the bed.

"Heard what? And if something came up, he could have at least called" she said. Lily massaged her templates with her index finger.

"You will find out later"

And she did, they all did. The news spread like wide fire on the net. It was a great loss to the public, the cause of his death was a heart attack and it came as a shock to everyone. They had just finished his funeral, and Lily was standing on the balcony looking down below at the green grasses. She had loved Vincent Beaumont like she would her father, and she knew his grandchildren weren't so fond of him. She also knew that beneath the sad faces was a question of his will and the inheritance.

She didn't want to have anything to do with the sickening power play in the family. She'd overheard that his lawyer was coming to read his will and she wanted to be out of that place, as fast as she could.

She went in search of her boss to tell him she was leaving. There were few distant relatives and reporters at the mansion, all clouded in black to give their last respect to the patriarch. She also wore a black suit trousers and black stilettos. Her short bob hair added a layer of professionalism even in that moment.

She finally found Alexander amongst the crowd, she saw her coming towards him and asked to be excused. She stopped when he started walking to her. His hair tied to the back, he looked handsome as always but with dark circles around his ever piercing dark eyes. They hadn't seen each other in three days.

"I'll be leaving now," she said, clutching her bag to her side. Since she started walking with Alexander, that period was the longest she'd been away from him, she even had to work on weekends with him most times.

"You just came" he said in a careless manner that made her think she heard wrong.

"We resume work fully tomorrow, I need to rest up" she said.

"Stay a while longer, I'll drop you off" he said and without waiting for her response, he went away to attend to other business. Lily wanted to stone him with her heels. But she looked away instead, she hadn't seen his brother or his sister during the funeral, and she wondered what they were up to.

She stayed until everyone left the estate except the workers and Vincent's grandchildren. She'd finally sighted Eric and Emilia.

"Hi beauty" Eric said to her and she turned to him, he had his ever charming smile plastered on his face.

"Hello, Mr Eric" she said politely. The lawyer walked in that moment and Lily knew it was the time they all had been waiting for.

Alexander came to her then, "let's leave" he said and she stared at him with furrowed brows. What was he talking about? Leave at that moment?

"Miss Anderson, please stay. You play an important role hear" The lawyer said, his face grim.

They all turned to her with confused glances, she was surprised at his comment.

The lawyer started by reading through Vincent's last wishes and messages to his grandchildren, her chest felt heavy and she began to tear up. It was time to read the will and there was a sudden change in mood,tension arose as the obvious question was who would inherit the company as the two brothers had always been in constant battle with each other.

"I leave the mansion in the hands of my beloved daughter Emilia..." the lawyer read out. Of course no one cared about the house. They had their own mansions. It was the company that was the issue. Emilia sighed as she seemed to resign to her fate.

"And the company, subsidiary group, shares and international businesses, including all my money and valuable possessions...." It was at that moment, the tension worsened. Lily held her breath and crossed her fingers not sure who he would pick. Eric was his first born son and always close to him, on the other hand Alexander was grumpy and rude but was the driving force behind his company.

"...I leave them all in the hands of Lily Anderson" Time stopped, the world seemed to spin and her eyes widened, she shook her head not sure she heard right.

"I'm sorry, who?" It was Eric's voice, it came out strangled.

"Lily Anderson," The lawyer repeated.

The silence in the room was palpable when the lawyer mentioned her name for the second time. Lily's head was spinning and her hands trembled as she held her bag to her, as though it could give her some kind of comfort. She wondered if she was dreaming at that moment. Alexander turned to her in astonishment, even though he couldn't hide the shock on his face.

"You must be joking," Emilia said, rising.

"I would like you to have a sit ma'am, this isn't all to it" he said and Alexander raised his brow. What more could it be?

"There is a note attached to it, I'll read it now" he said and began to read.

The letter sounded very much like Vincent, and Lily couldn't believe he had made her part of his scheme. He knew what he was doing all along; he had always called her daughter in law. It read:

My dear family,

I know you all are surprised by the turnout of my will, and I guess Lily is the most astonished of you all-I'm very sorry sweetheart for putting you in a tight corner. But the truth is, your late father and I started this company and though he couldn't live to see it, I really would love you to take a part in it.

My assets will be in the hands of Lily and if any of my grandsons are able to get married to her, the company falls automatically in his hands. Now children this is the last I can do for you. If you marry Lily you get the company, but if at the end of a year none of you can get married to her, the other assets will remain in her possession, but the company will be taken from her to an expert business practitioner who will take charge of the company, and all managerial rights will be taken away from the Beaumont family.

P.s you should have gotten married when I told you so.

Alexander let out a scoff and ruffled his hair. Their grandfather was a great prankster and he had given them a special treat even in death.

Lily would have burst into a round of laughter if it were under different circumstances. What was she supposed to do with such a situation? In other words the fate of the Beaumont family lay in her hands?

Nobody said a word as they seemed to recover from the shock of the letter. Lily was the one to break the silence, she couldn't let the weight suffocate her.

"Excuse me sir, but what if I don't want to get married to any of the brothers?" She asked and they all turned to her, different expressions on their faces but it was Emilia who spoke up.

"You can't do that, the management rights will be taken away from us" Emilia snapped and Lily flinched, surprised at her tone.

"Don't sound that way sister, it isn't her fault, she must be as shocked as we are" Eric said and Alexander scoffed.

"I can't believe you've already started sweet talking her" his voice was low and mocking.

"What do you mean, I've always been friends with her, you're the one always dragging her around like a slave" Eric shot at him.

"Now boys, I believe your grandfather did this with your interest at heart" The lawyer stepped in before an argument could start.

"As if," Emilia muttered. " Well it's good it's Lily, brothers, she isn't exactly a stranger" Emily said but it wasn't a compliment at all. Lily could feel her sarcasm even from the far end of the room.

"I'll be waiting for a wedding invitation then" The lawyer said and walked out of the sitting room. Lily wanted mostly to follow him out. She didn't want to be left with the Beaumont trio, in fact she didn't want to be seen anywhere near them as of that day.

Alexander, who had been standing near, turned to her. His expressionless face was back to normal.

"Come, I said I would drop you off" he said and she heaved out a sigh of relief, thankful to him.

"Not so fast Alex, you can't just sweep her away," Eric said, coming to stand beside her. He took her hand and smiled at her.

"Can we have a quick chat over there?" he asked, she looked at him perplexed, not sure what to say.

Alexander looked irritated, he scoffed and took her other hand.

"She is my secretary and I can do whatever I want with her," he said coldly. His eyes shooting bullets.

Lily swallowed hard and Emilia watched the scene in amusement, she would have an absolute thrill watching the drama unfold.

"She's no longer just your secretary now, she's the most important part of this family and you can't have her all to yourself" Eric said pulling her to him, Alexander pulled her back. Lily felt dizzy with all the shaking that was going on.

In highschool she'd dream of boys fighting over her heart, but this wasn't what she expected. In Fact this was sheer horror. She wished to be with her father and Vincent at that point.

"Let go of me!"she yelled when she felt a bone in her finger snap. They let her go, surprised at her outburst, They had never seen her like that.

I loved you so much grandfather, how could you do this to me?

"Mr Beaumont" she called

"Yes" they both answered and eyed each other. Lily hissed in frustration, it was absolute madness.

"Mr Eric" she called and he answered her, pleased. Alexander shot her a shocked look.

"I'll see you tomorrow, how about that, I'm a bit tired today" she said and he smiled.

"Just call me Eric dear, and I'll be here when you need me" he said.

"Mr Beaumont, let's go now" she said and almost ran out. Not ready to spare another moment with the two men looming over her. Lily breathed in relief when she was out of the house, the fresh air a welcomed distraction.

Alexander came behind her and walked past her without saying a word. She was grateful for this. She wasn't in the mood to answer any questions.

The drive back home was a long one, she noticed how Alexander occasionally looked at her and then back at the road. It kept occuring and she felt uncomfortable.

"Can I help you with something sir?" She asked and he shook his head.

"Why...do you keep looking at me?" She said, quite uncertain.

"I'm just wondering...if I can really get married to you" he said and she choked on her own saliva. She coughed for a while before answering him.

"You're the last person I thought would think of that" she said and he nodded.

"I can't exactly let go of the managerial right, not after everything I worked for..."

He said then turned to her.

"...and I can't let Eric get married to you, that's an appalling thought" he said and looked back at the road.

For some reason, Lily felt her rate increasing and she didn't understand why.

"So that brings me to this question, Lily Anderson, will you marry me?"