Page 7 of Alpha Bait

"He's a bastard. He's just like his dad, except worse."

"Ew."

"He got kicked out of Princeton, kicked out of his MBA... All he does is frolic in the Caribbean on a yacht, collecting checks for doing jack shit."

"They're lazy."

Jamal chuckled, "You could say that."

"They have all the privileges you could ever want and all they do is feed their hedonism. It's sick."

"Stay away from them."

"You don't have to tell me!"

"Mama might try to make us all meet but stay strong. Dad taught us how to handle Carmichaels."

"Yeah," I smiled, "Beat them at their own bloody game."

"Ready to head down there?"

"Yes," I replied, "I'm ready."

My brother reached his arm out and I linked mine with his. I took my first wobbly step down the staircase. As the noise from the guests drifted upstairs, a sudden bout of nerves overcame me. I clung to my brother, my greatest strength throughout my father's sudden passing, and felt thankful not just for his presence, but for all of the Holloways.

My father had overcome so much to build his company. Why would my mother want to make peace with the very people who had attempted to take that company from him? I didn't understand. Jamal gripped the railing. I gripped Jamal. We bowed our heads in mock distress as we reached the crowd of the grieving.

My father's golf buddies, private jet club, shooting club friends, business associates and their families greeted us with the expectation of a performance of grief. So much about being rich was about pretending. My father, the stranger, left us with the burden of tidying up his messes.

Kendrick Holloway died and left us desperate, hungry, greedy for a love we'd never known. Calling that fact to mind was enough to make my tears very real. I kept my veil over my face, grateful for shelter from those critical, prying eyes.

Mama and I agreed to keep the service brief and tasteful. There were speeches, tears and everything you'd expect. The funeral home carted his body out for cremation -- his special request. I said goodbye to my father and returned to my mother's side. Mama twisted her face into an expression of anguish as the funeral ushers led him out of the house. I couldn’t tell if she was certain or putting on a show.

She grabbed my hand and squeezed it.

"Come, Indie. I gathered everybody in the small dining room. We need to talk."

"Who is we?" I asked.

Mama scurried ahead with surprising speed for her age. She pushed open the door to the small dining room and invited me to sit. I glanced around the room. My brother and my closest cousins gathered around on one side of the room. On the other side sat the Carmichaels.

Mama had only managed to wrangle two of them -- Ames Carmichael and Selena Carter, his younger cousin. The Carmichaels stood off to the side with their arms folded. Selena wore her bum length red hair straight like a hippie and round tortoiseshell glasses that softened the angles of her heart-shaped face. She didn't look much like Ames, except for the height characteristic of those in the Carmichael bloodline.

Selena must have been six feet tall and her cousin a few inches taller. Their facial expressions betrayed their paranoia that somehow my mother had led them into a trap. I kept my veil pulled over my face and joined Donnie on our family's side of the room.

My mother sighed and clasped her hands together, eyeing all of us with an expression that I had misinterpreted as grieving at first. Mama glared at us with anger she could barely contain. Her hands shook as she spoke, in a low, serious voice.

"I see you have all chosen different sides of the room. Thank you for meeting with me here, I appreciate it, especially Selena and Ames."

Selena pouted and neither of them responded.

"In the wake of my husband's death, I'd like to extend my sympathy to the Carmichael family for their own loss. My condolences."

"Thank you," Ames mumbled. Selena said nothing.

"I want to get one thing straight here. I haven't called you here to debate anything. I'm here to inform you of what I expect and let you know what consequences will come from your actions if you question anything I've said in this room."

Ames and Selena exchanged glances and their discomfort intensified. I smirked. Finally, mama was standing up to the Carmichaels. Thank goodness.

---