Page 5 of Alpha Bait

Kendrick’s Funeral

INDIE HOLLOWAY

"You need a veil for that dress," Jamal said when I walked into the foyer.

I rolled my eyes.

"What, so now you're telling me what to wear?"

"There are going to be cameras, Indie."

"Right."

"You and I both know you won't cry, so put on a damn veil so you can at least pretend to be sad about our father's passing."

"I am sad."

Jamal stared at me in disbelief.

"You aren't and neither am I. We barely knew the man. He loved his company more than he ever loved either of us."

"Our company," I corrected him. "It's our company now."

"And mother's."

"And Donnie's," I added.

"Right," Jamal sighed, “Put on a damn veil and get your assistant to go downstairs and make sure everything looks good."

"It's weird, isn't it? He's lying there... dead."

"It's not weird. It happens to all of us. Now move."

Geez. Jamal had grown testy since father's passing and the more pressures that piled onto his plate, the more difficult dealing with him became. My older brother had the responsibility of becoming Holloway Inc.'s CEO and I'd stepped in as the Vice President of the company. Most of the responsibilities that came after our father's passing fell squarely on Jamal's shoulders, something he was entirely bitter about.

I slung a veil over a black hat to cover my face and I clicked my heels across the marble floor until I came to my assistant.

My assistant, Betty, had a terrified expression on her face when she saw me.

"What's wrong?" I precluded her tale of woe with a question.

"I have bad news."

"Spill."

"The Carmichael's are here."

"What?!"

"Richard, Ames, Selena and three more cousins."

"Shit!"

"I don't know how they got on the guest list!" Betty stammered.

"SHIT!"

"Hey! Language!" My mother's voice snapped around the corner as she came around in a floor-length black gown.

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