The Wills

Joe picked up the phone. It turned out that it was his father's personal lawyer calling him. He hurried downstairs and went into his office.

"We are waiting for you to come to your father's house tomorrow. I hope you don't miss it," said Mario, his father's lawyer.

"Can you explain about tomorrow's event?" Joe asked curiously.

"I can't tell you over the phone. You just come. You'll find out later," Mario replied firmly.

Joe didn't ask any more questions. Maybe he should wait until tomorrow to find out the truth. His brain was so stuck that he couldn't guess anything. He chose to wait, and save his curiosity until he met the lawyer.

Joe left his office not long after. He looked upstairs, to Briana's room. He thought Briana might still be waiting for him to continue their fun that had been delayed by the phone call. He then darted upstairs, jumping up two flights of stairs at a time in order to reach Briana's room as soon as possible.

However, the opposite was true. Joe froze in front of the door to the room when he saw that Briana had fallen asleep without turning off the light. Joe smiled slightly. Maybe Briana was very tired. Joe immediately pressed the light switch until the room became dark. After that he left Briana's room slowly, without making any noise.

***

"Good morning."

Briana raised her head as Joe walked into the dining room and sat right in front of her. Sitting across from him like this made Briana's heart beat faster than usual. Moreover, Joe looked at her face intensely.

"Good... morning," Briana stammered back.

"I went back to your room last night, but you were already asleep," Joe said as he spread peanut butter on his bread.

From the sound of his voice, Briana understood that Joe harbored a deep disappointment. She should not have slept, and waited more patiently for Joe's return. This was not the case. It was like she had taken some kind of sleeping pills that made it hard to keep her eyes open.

"I'm sorry, I overslept. My eyes are very heavy. I didn't realize I was lying on the bed like that," Briana said. She hadn't even changed her clothes and taken off her bathrobe, Briana thought to herself.

"It's okay. There's still time," Joe said quickly.

Briana lowered her head to hide the blush on her cheeks. Apparently Joe remembered last night. She must have hurt Joe's ego by not waiting for him to take someone's call.

"Today I'm going out. You can do anything to pass the time," Joe said a minute later.

Briana raised her head again. "Can I work in the stable, and play with your horses?" Briana asked with a look of fear.

She had actually thought about this beforehand, and was prepared for Joe's answer. Maybe Joe would try to stop her, but she didn't care. There was nothing she could do here other than that. After all she didn't mind doing manual labor in the stables at all.

"Tell me, why do you like spending time there so much? Wouldn't a girl like you rather sit around without doing any work?"

Briana heard Joe's words which were full of prejudice. She didn't like that fact. Joe didn't know her well, so he had no right to judge her and lump her in with the average girl.

"Not the kind of girl I am," Briana snapped. She unconsciously pursed her lips, and it looked very adorable in Joe's eyes.

"Then what kind of girl are you?"

Briana took a deep breath. "I'm not a spoiled girl. My mom and dad taught me to live independently from a young age." Briana looked Joe straight in the eye. "Also, as a teenager, I used to work at my grandfather's horse farm." Briana added.

Joe smiled broadly. It seemed like he couldn't forbid Briana. The girl was very stubborn and did not give up easily to get her way.

"I'll let you do it. I have no other choice but that," Joe concluded before leaving the dining room.

Briana's eyes lit up with happiness after hearing Joe's words. She gave Joe a sweet smile. The man returned her smile with a quick nod of his head.

"See you later," Joe said before getting into his car.

Briana approached Joe and wrapped her arms around his waist. "See you later. Thank you for understanding me," Briana said and raised her head, looking at Joe's handsome face that was very close to her.

Joe lowered his head, then kissed Briana lightly. He slowly pushed Briana's body away. He got into the car, leaving Briana standing on her porch.

***

Joe stepped into his father's house. He could see several of his brother's bodyguards standing guard around his father's study. They had hard, rigid, and sinister faces. But Joe pretended not to care about them, continued walking and entered the large room.

"How are you Chris?" greeted Joe when he saw Chris leaning against the window in a lazy manner. He approached his brother, then extended his hand to shake Chris' hand.

Chris immediately brushed Joe's hand away. "We're brothers, but we're not that close," Chris snapped.

Joe withdrew his hand. His face immediately hardened, and turned cold because of his brother's attitude. Chris had always shown hostility towards him. Chris never acted like a normal brother.

The door to the room suddenly opened. They immediately turned their heads together, and saw Mario walk in with strides and a big smile. Mario placed his bag on the desk, then greeted them one by one.

"Good morning," Mario greeted them pleasantly. "I invited you here to hear me read your father's will."

The two brothers looked at Mario quizzically and were surprised that Chris was still where he was. Meanwhile, Joe chose to sit on the sofa. They were prepared to listen to Mario next.

" .... All assets owned by Richard Carter will be transferred to Joe Carter," Mario said after reading the opening few sentences.

Chris jumped up in surprise. His eyes turned red as he stared at Mario. His face looked very tense, and his hands were tightly clenched.

"What do you mean? You must have conspired dad's will. You must be in drafting a will with Joe." Chris stepped forward, grabbed Mario's shirt collar and was about to punch the lawyer.

Joe walked quickly over to his brother. He had originally intended to prevent his brother from hitting Mario by pulling Chris' hand. The opposite happened. Chris turned his body around, then hit Joe hard on the jaw.

Joe staggered backwards. He held his jaw which was in pain. Of course he didn't accept his brother's treatment. He immediately lunged forward and retaliated. Joe hit his brother several times until he fell to the floor.

Joe's breath caught in his throat. His eyes were red from holding back his anger. From now on he would not let his brother do whatever he wanted to him. He had to get back at Chris.