āLess than an hour ago, right before the smoke alarm went off,ā I said. āI saw Isaās text on my lock screen.ā
Iād eagerly googled the story while Xavier paid the delivery guy. After Soraya posted her denial video earlier this week, her fans had swarmed Perryās accounts with vicious determination and successfully gotten all of his social media banned. Apparently, the platforms had denied his appeals, and heād already uploaded a new blog post begging for help reinstating his accounts.
It wouldnāt make my father rehire Rhea or help me see Pen, but it was deeply satisfying.
āSo revenge has been served,ā Xavier said.
āNot yet. Thereās still the matter of his blog.ā I tapped my phone. āA little birdie told me Bryce is suing him for libel and the emotional distress it caused in his marriage.ā
āPlenty of people have sued him for libel before. Itās never stuck.ā
āThis time is different. Thereās proof Perry acted with reckless disregard and published that post without verifying any of the āfacts.āā
āPerry Wilson in court. That would be a sight to see,ā Xavier drawled. āIām surprised he was foolish enough to do that. Say what you will about the man, but heās usually more careful about these things.ā
I shrugged. āManās ego is always his downfall.ā A tiny smile crept across my mouth. āPlus I may have planted a rumor that an upstart blog was about to scoop him on the scandal of the year.ā
Besides his general mean-spiritedness, Perry was famous for his paranoia over someone usurping his throne.
āHis advertisers are already spooked,ā I added. āIf this libel suit has legs, which I think it does, thereāll be an exodus, which means heāll need money, which meansā¦ā
āItāll be primed for a takeover,ā Xavier finished. āKai Young?ā
āHe emailed me yesterday. He said heās open to it if the price and conditions are right.ā I didnāt doubt Kaiās ability to squeeze the best deal out of Perryās soon-to-be-dying blog.
āSo youāll be rid of Perry Wilson the man, and youāll ensure his only remaining platform will be in friendlier hands.ā Xavier whistled. āRemind me never to get on your bad side.ā
āI donāt do stuff like this often, but he deserves it,ā I said. It wasnāt about just me or Xavier; it was about the entire culture Perry had propagated. Gossip and rumors had always existed, but heād taken them to a new nasty, underhanded level.
And yeah, okay, it was also a little personal. My blood boiled every time I thought about his blog post on Pen. Attacking adults was one thing; dragging a child into it was another.
āIf I had access to my inheritance, Iād buy it out and save you the trouble,ā Xavier said. āIāve always wanted a little slice of the internet kingdom.ā
I laughed. āI appreciate the sentiment, but the thought of you running a news blog is terrifying.ā
āYou donāt think I can do it?ā
āI think you can do it too well.ā Except instead of celebrity news, heād probably use it to document his adventures, many of which would land him squarely in the middle of the pressās crosshairs.
I tore off a piece of cupcake, my mind churning. If I had access to my full inheritanceā¦
āIf I ask you a question, will you answer truthfully?ā I asked.
Xavier glanced at me, then grimaced and paused the movie. āUh-oh. Nothing good ever comes after that opening.ā
āItās nothing bad,ā I reassured him. āIām just curious. Why do you want your inheritance so badly? It canāt be about just the money.ā
At first glance, it seemed obvious why someone would want billions of dollars. But Xavier had his hang-ups about his fatherās money, and while he blew through cash the way certain celebrities blew through cocaine, he didnāt strike me as someone whoād sit on that much money simply to have it.
āWhy not?ā he asked lightly. āMaybe Iām a greedy bastard, plain and simple.ā
I merely looked at him without saying anything, and after a long, tense silence, his irreverence dissolved into a sigh.
āIām giving half of it to charity.ā
I almost choked on my cake. That wasnāt what Iād expected.
At all.
āNot that I donāt think giving to charity is admirable, but isnāt that exactly what your fatherās will stipulates will happen to the money if you donāt pull off this CEO thing?ā I asked.
āYes.ā
āSo whyā¦ā My question trailed off at Xavierās smirk. My eyes narrowed and drifted to the tattoo of the Castillosā rival familyās crest on his bicep. It represented the duality of Xavier: his stubbornness and resentment, but also his dedication and passion. He was the type of person whoād ink a permanent symbol of his war against his father on his body, and I suddenly knew exactly what the catch was. āYouāre donating to charities your father hated, arenāt you?ā
His smirk widened into a grin. āI wouldnāt say he hated the charities themselves,ā he said. āBut he certainly wouldnāt have approved of donating to some of their causes.ā
He handed me his phone. The Notes app was open, and I scrolled through the list of charities heād put together. Most of them focused on civil and human rights, with a few arts and music causes thrown in. Iād bet my apartment those were for his mom.
She loved art, so she donated a lot of money and time to local galleries.
I also flashed back to the organizations listed in Albertoās will.
All of them had been business or commerce oriented.
I reached the last name on the list and laughed out loud. āThe Yale endowment fund?ā
āMy father was a Harvard guy; he hated Yale with a passion. School rivalry and all that.ā Xavierās dimples played peekaboo. āIāll make sure he gets a nice library on campus.ā
āYouāre evil but genius.ā I handed his phone back, still laughing. āYouāre an evil genius.ā
āThank you. Iāve always aspired to be both those things. Evildoers have way more fun, and geniuses are, well, geniuses.ā Xavier pocketed his phone. āTo be fair, I wouldāve donated to those causes anyway. The fact my father wouldāve disapproved of ninety percent of them is the cherry on top.ā
I lifted my half eaten cupcake. āTo revenge.ā
āTo revenge.ā He tapped his chocolate against my lemon raspberry. He chewed and swallowed before adding, āDonāt get me wrong though. Iām definitely keeping some of the money. I like my cars and five-star hotels.ā
āYou mean you like trashing five-star hotels.ā
Xavier pointedly ignored my allusion to his birthday weekend in Miami. āBut I donāt need all of it. Itās more than any reasonable person could spend in a lifetime.ā His expression turned pensive. āOnce I get the club off the ground, Iāll make my own money, and I wonāt have to rely on his. Itāll be a clean break, once and for all.ā
He didnāt mention Eduardoās theory about the willās loophole, and I didnāt bring it up.
āYouāll succeed,ā I said simply.
Xavierās answering smile was pure warmth, and later that night, when we lay sweaty and sated in each otherās arms, I still felt the brush of it against my skin.
For the first time since The Fish died, I fell into a dreamless sleep.