The Inheritance Clause

This story contains descriptions of graphic sex between males. If that kind of thing does not appeal to you, stop reading now.

This story is pure fiction. If this resembles something that happened to you, it must have been an incredible experience. But it's simply a coincidence.

All comments are welcome: djwarner1984@hotmail.com Please donate to Nifty: https://donate.nifty.org/

-DJ

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The Inheritance Clause - 23

Adam couldn't hide his annoyance at his mother. His jaw tightened. His eyes narrowed. He gripped his drink glass tighter.

"Where is this coming from? I thought you were happy for me," Adam said with controlled frustration.

"I understand you were hurt by Vickie breaking the engagement," Joan said, still speaking in hushed tones with an edge to her voice, "but you can't just rush into a relationship with the next pretty face you see."

She paused. Adam stared at her in shock at what she was saying.

"And you're gay now?," Joan added in a barbed tone, "That's ridiculous."

"Mom..." Adam spoke with determination, trying to keep his frustration with his mother in check, "Dawson is not just a pretty face. You need to get to know him. And I've always been gay. I just didn't realize it."

"That's ridiculous," Joan said again, waving her hand dismissively.

"Stop saying that!" Adam blurted out, his frustration with his mother boiling over.

Adam looked at his mother, too stunned by her flippant attitude to formulate any further response. Joan kept going.

"We have your grandfather to thank for this... always manipulating things. Even now, from the grave, your grandfather is still controlling our lives," Joan said with bitterness in her voice.

"What is that supposed to mean?!?!" Adam said, feeling himself getting angry.

"Do you really think you'd be under the illusion that you're in love with Dawson if your grandfather hadn't given him half his fortune and cooked up this crazy scheme in his will? You'd still be engaged to Vickie and we'd be planning your wedding if it wasn't for Clayton's grand manipulations," Joan said, her breath running out as she forced the last words from her mouth.

"Mom, it's not an illusion!" Adam said angrily, "If you don't accept that I'm gay and I'm in love with Dawson, then you don't accept who I am."

She tilted her head with sympathy.

"Of course I accept who you are," Joan said in a motherly tone, trying to cool the temperature.

"Well, this is who I am... And I don't agree at all with what you're saying about granddad," Adam said trying to refute all the things his mother was throwing at him.

It looked like she was going to start another line of arguments when Adam spoke first.

"Mom, do you want me to be happy?" Adam said in a very calm voice.

"Of course, I do, but..." Joan replied.

Adam cut her off again.

"Do you trust me?" Adam said.

"Hhhh," Joan sighed softly, "yes, I trust you."

"Then trust me. Dawson makes me happy. That's all you need to worry about. I'll worry about the rest," Adam said.

"Oh, honey," Joan said, deciding to give up arguing with him for now.

She stood up and opened her arms. Adam stood and they hugged. Just then, Dawson came into the room.

"Everything ok?" Dawson asked as he watched Joan and Adam separate from their hug.

"Yup," Adam said, looking at his mom.

Dawson sensed there was something more but didn't say anything. Adam and Joan picked up their drinks and sat back down on opposite sides of the sectional.

"Cassie said she'd help us with our PR strategy," Dawson said.

"Good," Adam said right before he took a generous sip of his manhattan.

Joan took a sip of her drink as she straightened out her skirt, pretending like she didn't just have an argument with Adam.

"I promised Cassie a tour of the house before dinner. But now that I think about it, Adam, would you mind leading the tour? You know the house better than I do," Dawson said as he grabbed his drink before sitting next to Adam.

Dawson thought, with Adam leading the tour, Cassie would have an opportunity to interact with Adam so she could get to know him better.

"Of course... oh, we'll start in the ballroom. Mom, you should come too, at least for the ballroom. There's something I want you to see in there," Adam said.

"Sure, honey," Joan said as she looked out at the lake.

Cassie appeared in the doorway of the living room.

"Cass, do you want a drink?" Dawson asked as he gestured his drink glass toward her.

"Can I have a beer?" Cassie replied.

"I got it," Adam said as he got up.

He went behind the bar. He reached into the fridge and pulled out a chilled beer glass. He tilted the glass and poured her beer from a tap behind the bar and then handed it to her. Cassie was impressed. Not only was there beer on tap, and a frosted glass, but Adam was able to pour a respectable head on the beer.

"Want a quick tour before dinner?" Adam suggested to Cassie.

"Sure," Cassie said after taking a sip of her beer.

Adam took the lead and they all followed him to the ballroom. When Joan saw the paintings, her jaw dropped.

"Oh, Adam..." Joan exclaimed.

"That's Adam's grandparents," Dawson explained to Cassie.

"Wow, she is beautiful," Cassie said under her breath as she backed up a bit to get a broader look at the two paintings.

"Yes, she really is," Joan said, "Hard to believe she's related to Artie."

The boys glanced at each other, but otherwise ignored the comment.

"Adam, tell your mom and Cassie what you want to do with this room," Dawson coaxed him.

Adam's face lit up and he started to wave his hands and gesture as he described everything he wanted to do. Adam's enthusiasm was infectious. Joan and Cassie began to get caught up in Adam's excitement as they listened.

"It sounds like it will look amazing," Cassie said.

The four of them continued touring the first floor as Adam took advantage of the audience by describing his designs for each room. They finished the tour back at the living room. Dinner would be served shortly, so they all headed for the dining room. Krantz came into the room from the kitchen entrance as they were taking their seats.

"Niven has prepared stuffed mushrooms to start, followed by French onion soup, braised short ribs, and chocolate espresso torte," Krantz explained the menu, "I have paired each course with a specific wine. Who would like the pairing?"

"I will, Krantz," Joan said as she adjusted her napkin on her lap.

Cassie looked at Dawson and raised her eyebrows. He was pretty sure she hadn't had a meal paired with wine before.

"I'll have the wine pairing, please, Krantz," Dawson said, "Cass, you should try it."

He nodded at Cassie as he spoke. Cassie looked apprehensive.

"Try the first course with wine," Adam jumped in and said, "I will walk you through it. If you don't like it, Krantz can get you something else for the rest of the meal."

"Ok," Cassie replied as she glanced at Dawson.

Krantz poured the first wine and served the first course. As Dawson had hoped, Adam took Cassie through the same steps he took Dawson through when he first tried the pairing. Cassie was impressed. Dawson noticed Joan following Adam's instructions, too.

Cassie decided to continue with the pairing for the rest of the meal.

"Honey, how do you know so much about wine?" Joan asked, "Did Clayton teach you?"

Adam explained about his friend from college. The conversation continued from there. Niven, as usual, made a delicious meal. They enjoyed themselves as Cassie told stories about Dawson. Some were embarrassing yet endearing. Joan chimed in with some stories about Adam as well. Cassie found herself liking Adam more than she expected as the meal progressed.

After dinner, Krantz and Niven came in.

"Niven, you've outdone yourself again," Dawson said, "Dinner was excellent."

Everyone else chimed in with agreement.

"Thank you," Niven said, "It was my pleasure."

She paused for a moment.

"I'll have coffee, juice, muffins, and fruit ready at 7:00 in the morning," Niven explained, "Will anyone need anything else?"

They all looked silently at each other. Niven pursed her lips.

"If there's anything else you would prefer, please let me know," Niven said.

Everyone thanked her. Niven pursed her lips, nodded, and left through the kitchen entryway.

"Well, it's been a long day. I'm going to call Melanie and then turn in," Joan said.

Joan got up. As she passed by where Adam was sitting, she leaned down and kissed Adam on the top of his head.

"Goodnight, honey," Joan said.

"Night, mom," Adam said.

Joan left the dining room. Krantz began clearing the remnants of the dinner.

"I don't want to be a burden, but if I'm going to stay here, I'll need some place to work. Is there an office or something that I can use?" Cassie said.

Neither Dawson nor Adam said anything, but they each silently ruled out giving Cassie access to Clayton's personal office. Then Krantz weighed in.

"We have the extra rooms beyond the pool room we don't use. We could clean one of them out. Or we could set something up in Ms. Stewart's adjoining bedroom," Krantz said.

"Would you prefer an office in your adjoining room?" Adam asked Cassie.

"That will work," Cassie replied.

"I can arrange that first thing in the morning," Krantz said.

"Thank you, Krantz," Dawson said.

Krantz nodded.

"When you're finished here, if you two don't mind, could I have a word with you in the library?" Krantz said to the boys.

"You can talk now. I was going to go up anyway," Cassie said.

They said goodnight to Cassie. Krantz led the boys to the library. When they got there, Krantz waited for them to enter then he shut the door.

"There is something I need to discuss with you," Krantz said with a serious tone as he gestured toward the settee.

The boys looked at each other with concern. They sat down on the settee, the same settee where they first heard about the conditions of clause C.

Krantz brought his hands together and looked at Dawson, then Adam.

"Have you had a chance to look inside the packet yet?" Krantz asked calmly.

Adam tilted his head and looked at Krantz. A thoughtful look came across Dawson's face.

"Yes, yes we did," Dawson said carefully, not sure where Krantz was going with his questions.

"And you've watched the video?" Krantz said.

Both boys looked at Krantz with surprise.

"Wait..." Adam said as his back stiffened, "I thought Niven said only the judge saw what was in the packet. How did you know there was a video?"

Krantz paused and looked back and forth between the boys.

"Because I helped Mr. Jameson record it," Krantz calmly said.

Dawson's shoulders dropped and he sat back on the settee in shock. Adam's mouth opened. He was clearly upset. He didn't move as he tried to keep his composure. There was silence in the room for a few moments and then Adam responded.

"Krantz," Adam said with anger in his voice, "you mean, you knew all this time? And you said nothing?!?!"

Dawson straightened up and looked at Adam with sympathy. Krantz was now visibly nervous, although he tried to remain stone-faced.

"I remained loyal to your grandfather. He swore me to secrecy until..." Krantz tried to explain before Adam interrupted him.

"Loyal?!?!" Adam said in astonishment, "How can you talk about loyalty? You haven't been loyal to me and Dawson," Adam said with incredulity, "You've been manipulating us!"

Joan's comments had clearly influenced how Adam was perceiving things.

"Adam, we should at least hear him out," Dawson said softly, trying to calm him down.

"Why should we listen to him?" Adam said as he looked at Dawson and gestured his hand toward Krantz, "He's been deceiving us this whole time!"

Adam leaned forward and put his head in his hands. Dawson looked at Adam. Then he looked at Krantz with concern.

"Does Niven know?" Dawson asked Krantz.

"No," Krantz said.

"I can't deal with this right now," Adam said.

His voice echoed off the floor because Adam was still leaning forward with his head in his hands. Dawson looked at Adam, who was visibly upset. He decided the best thing to do was to end the discussion for now.

"Krantz, we'll talk about this in the morning," Dawson said.

Krantz nodded and left the library. Dawson knew better than to say anything. The boys sat there, quietly, for several minutes, with Dawson's hand slowly rubbing up and down Adam's back. Finally, Adam lifted his head and slowly leaned toward Dawson.

"I need to feel you holding me," Adam said softly.

Dawson didn't say anything. He simply leaned into Adam and embraced him from the side while they sat next to each other. Dawson gently caressed Adam's bicep as he held him. After a few moments, Dawson began planting little kisses on Adam's head. "Babe, let's go up to bed. I'll be your big spoon for the whole night," Dawson eventually whispered.

Adam nodded slowly. The boys stood up. Adam leaned on Dawson as they made their way to their rooms. The boys didn't speak as they changed for bed and brushed their teeth.

While Dawson was brushing his teeth, he realized that he had missed the fact that in Clayton's video from the inquiry, Clayton was holding the camera. And he fumbled with it when he turned it off. But the video from the clause D packet started and stopped cleanly because someone else was behind the camera. It turned out it was Krantz. Dawson was surprised that he had missed that detail.

Adam finished brushing and got into Dawson's bed. Then Dawson slid in behind him. He wrapped his arms around him. Adam leaned into him.

"I love you, babe," was the last thing Adam heard before he drifted off to sleep.

Adam had a restless night. But Dawson, true to his word, was his big spoon all night long. Adam moved around a lot but Dawson never let go of him.

Just after the sun came up, Adam took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled as he awoke. He moved slightly. Dawson, still sleeping, pulled him closer and faintly whispered, "I've got you."

Adam began replaying all the interactions he could remember having with Krantz since September, when his granddad made the video. He started to absentmindedly rub his thumb gently on Dawson's hand, which was holding his bare chest. Adam was so engrossed with his thoughts that he didn't realize Dawson's morning wood was now pressing into him and that Dawson's breathing had changed.

"Are you ok?" Dawson whispered the phrase to Adam on purpose.

He hoped that recalling when they first met would bring Adam some comfort. Adam chuckled. He slowly turned his body so he could look at Dawson. Adam lay on his back. He gripped Dawson's hand where it rested on his chest.

"Um... I was ok..." Adam said and then smiled.

Adam cleared his throat. Dawson leaned in and gently kissed Adam's cheek.

"Whenever I think of that day we met, I remember how comforting it was when you hugged me," Dawson said.

"When I think of that day, I remember your face. You looked so lost," Adam said.

"Hmm, I was lost," Dawson said, "I'm not lost anymore."

Dawson snuggled closer to Adam, pressing his erection into Adam's side. Adam leaned into him.

"I think my granddad was right to isolate us," Adam said, "I liked it better when we didn't have any outside influences."

Dawson sighed and squeezed Adam's hand.

"Did your mother say something?" Dawson asked.

"Yeah," Adam said and then turned his head, "How did you know?"

"Just a feeling..." Dawson said, "Was it bad?"

Adam paused.

"Well, it wasn't helpful," Adam finally said.

"Cassie said something, too," Dawson offered, "It wasn't helpful either."

"I wish we could go back to last week, when it was just us," Adam said, "I finally know who I am, but I don't feel like I can be myself. Except when I'm alone with you..."

"Mmm," Dawson agreed, "I have the same feeling... like everything is pushing at us..."

Adam snuggled closer to Dawson. Dawson softly caressed his cheek against Adam's hair. They stayed like that, close together, silently thinking while listening to each other breathing.

"There's something else..." Adam said softly, "Vickie..."

"What about her?" Dawson said.

"I'm going to have to see her. To make a clean break," Adam said.

He told Dawson about the messages and voicemails he got from Vickie.

"I know this is something you need to do yourself. But I'm here if you want my help," Dawson said.

"Just be here. That helps," Adam said.

Dawson felt content as he kept rubbing his cheek against Adam's hair. He kept inhaling Adam's musky aroma. They stayed like that, quietly holding onto each other for a few more minutes.

"I still can't believe Krantz knew everything... the whole time..." Adam said quietly.

"I know. Are you still mad at him?" Dawson asked.

"Aren't you?" Adam said as he turned so he could look at Dawson.

"Not mad... more like frustrated..." Dawson said, "I don't like that he deceived us, but a part of me gets it. He worked for your granddad all those years. He thought he was doing the right thing."

Adam didn't speak.

"I know you feel betrayed. Do you think you can ever trust him again?" Dawson said.

"Hmm, I don't know," Adam replied.

There was silence again. Dawson gently nudged Adam until he turned onto his side again. Dawson pressed his chest into Adam's back. Dawson's erection had dissipated. He embraced Adam, their legs intertwined under the bed covers. Dawson began gently caressing the hair between Adam's pecs with his fingers.

"How are you not mad at Krantz?" Adam said finally.

"Well, I look at it this way... Your granddad trusted him with a pretty big secret. And I trusted Clayton's judgement. I respected his decisions. If he could put that much trust in Krantz, then I think that should count for something," Dawson explained.

Adam didn't respond as he contemplated what Dawson said. Dawson's words reminded him of what Krantz said on the terrace when he defended Dawson with his father. He remembered how passionate Krantz was in saying to Niven that it was his duty to protect him and Dawson.

"Besides, if Krantz had told us before, I don't think we would have been ready to hear it," Dawson said, "And think about this... If I hadn't figured it out, how receptive do you think you would have been hearing it from your granddad by video for the first time?"

Adam thought Dawson made a good point. He began to consider whether he had been too harsh with Krantz and maybe not harsh enough with his mother. One thing he took comfort in, though, was Dawson's embrace. Knowing he could count on Dawson to be there for him helped center him.

The boys lay together quietly for several more minutes. Adam began thinking about all of the things they needed to do that day. He started to feel overwhelmed. He pulled himself in closer to Dawson, pressing his back against Dawson's chest.

"When do you think we can get to Rosemary's Point?" Adam said, "It doesn't feel like we'll ever get there. Can we go this afternoon? Get away for a few days and come back Sunday?"

"I don't know," Dawson replied, "We have to settle the assets and figure out how we're going to handle the media. And you should straighten things out with Vickie before we go."

"Yeah," Adam said as he thought about it.

"We could settle everything today... And if you can see Vickie tomorrow morning.. Maybe we could get there tomorrow afternoon?" Dawson said.

Adam didn't respond. He was starting to think he didn't want to wait for Rosemary's Point. He began gently grinding his hips so his butt would rub against Dawson's penis. He wanted to get Dawson's cock to harden again.

"Adam..." Dawson said in a softly admonishing tone.

"Mmm," Adam said, pushing himself back into Dawson.

"What are you doing?" Dawson said with a light tone.

"What?" Adam replied, pretending he didn't know.

He squeezed Dawson's hand, which was pressed against his chest, and then stopped grinding.

"I'm sorry," Adam said.

He let go of Dawson's hand and turned so he was facing him.

"I'm just so turned on when I'm with you. I almost don't want to wait for Rosemary's Point, even though I know we should," Adam said.

Dawson reached up to cup Adam's face in his hand. The boys began to kiss passionately. Adam put his free arm over Dawson and pulled him in closer. Dawson felt a wave of passion sweep over him. He began to feel like he didn't want to wait for Rosemary's Point either.

Suddenly, the alarm went off. Adam reluctantly stopped kissing Dawson. He rolled onto his back and turned the alarm off. Dawson rolled onto his back. Both boys pressed their heads into the pillows with frustration.

"We should get moving. We have a lot to do today," Dawson said.

"Ugh!" Adam replied, "Just one more minute?"

Adam rolled toward Dawson and embraced him. Dawson turned and kissed Adam's cheek. Dawson pulled away. He rolled off the bed and stood. He grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it up, over his head. He went up on his toes and stretched as he held his shirt up high. Adam had a side view of Dawson's body. He could see Dawson's penis had hardened again and was stretching his shorts. Dawson slowly made his way to the bathroom and peed. Then Adam heard the shower start.

Adam lay in Dawson's bed, thinking. The decisions the boys would need to make with the hand off of the assets started to creep into his head. It all seemed so overwhelming. Adam also thought about how he was going to handle Vickie. He finally got up and peed in his toilet. The shower stopped and he heard Dawson step out. Adam flushed and came out. He pulled his boxer briefs off and tossed them into his bedroom. He went up to Dawson. He planted a single kiss on his cheek and then got into the shower.

After Dawson dried off, he went into his bedroom. Adam finished his shower and the boys got dressed. They met up in the bathroom and were both brushing their teeth. They finished at the same time. Dawson opened the hair gel and put it next to the sink. Adam came over and got behind him. He began working on Dawson's hair as he watched him in the mirror.

"We should probably talk to Krantz about getting haircuts when we get back from Rosemary's Point," Adam said as he styled Dawson's hair, "You're going to need one soon."

"Mmm," Dawson agreed, "I am about due for one. But your hair looks better the more it grows out."

"Yeah, but then birds will start to nest in it," Adam said as he smiled.

He finished and stepped back. He looked at Dawson's reflection.

"Gorgeous..." Adam said as he wiped his hands.

"You know, maybe I don't want you to show me how you do that. I like it when you fix my hair. It makes me feel special," Dawson said.

Adam kissed the back of Dawson's neck. He reached out for Dawson's waist as they made their way to the bedroom door. The boys both sighed before Adam reached for the door handle.

As soon as he opened the door, all they could hear was noise coming from what seemed like everywhere.

The boys could hear a work crew moving an office setup into Cassie's adjoining bedroom. They could hear a lot of voices downstairs as well, like there was a cocktail party going on. They made their way toward the stairs. They realized that Carmen, the panel, and more lawyers and financial advisors from the firm were already there. When they got downstairs, they also found out Cassie had invited a bunch of people from her PR firm. There had to be about thirty people, all gathered near the bottom of the main staircase, all chattering away

The boys were pulled into a number of introductions and conversations. They got separated. After a few minutes of chaos, where they could barely hear themselves think because of all the chatter, Dawson locked eyes with Adam across the hallway. He raised his eyebrows and gestured to Adam. Dawson went up a couple steps on the staircase. He put two fingers of each hand on the sides of his mouth. Adam understood. Adam brought his fingers up and he whistled at a moderate level to get everyone's attention. The noise died down.

"Folks, if you're here for public relations, please go this way into the living room," Dawson said loudly as he gestured. "If you're here for the handing over of the assets, please go this way to the library."

People began moving. Except for one woman. She just stood there. When the crowd had mostly cleared, Dawson stepped down to the landing.

"Who are you?" Dawson asked the woman standing there.

"I'm Melanie Barton. I'm here to see Joan Jameson," she replied.

"Melanie!!!" Joan cried as she came down the stairs.

The two women screeched as they came together in a hug. Dawson looked at Adam with confusion. Adam had frustration written all over his face.

"Mom, what are you doing? Hi Mrs. Barton... Mom, we have a lot of people coming today. We have a lot to do... It's not that I don't want to see you, Mrs. Barton... Mom, we already have enough to deal with," Adam said as he spoke back and forth between the two of them.

"Oh, honey," Joan said, "We won't be in the way. You'll never even know we're here."

She reached out toward Melanie and pulled her as she started walking.

"Come, we'll have breakfast and then get started," Joan said to Melanie as they started toward the dining room.

Dawson started to grin and shake his head at the absurdity of the situation. Adam threw up his hands in defeat. Dawson slid his hand around Adam's waist. Just then, Cassie came down the stairs.

"Cass, who are all these people you invited here?" Dawson asked with frustration.

"Oh, good, they're here," Cassie said, "Where are they?"

She started to go down the hall to look for them.

"Wait... Hold on..." Dawson said as he stretched his arms out to block her, "Adam, can you take Cassie to the dining room and keep her there until I get back?"

"Sure," Adam said, trusting that Dawson had some kind of plan.

Adam held his hand out to guide Cassie. She followed with a slightly bewildered look on her face. Adam and Cassie went into the dining room. Joan and Melanie were sitting at one end of the table fixing their coffee. Cassie began to get some juice. Dawson appeared in the doorway with Carmen.

"Ok, have some breakfast," Dawson said, "We are going to make a schedule so Adam and I are not pulled in a million directions."

Krantz wasn't there, so the boys poured their own coffees. Cassie and Carmen sat across from each other and began hashing out a list of things that needed to be accomplished and in what order. They went back and forth, barely letting Dawson or Adam weigh in with what they wanted.

At one point, Niven came in from the kitchen entryway.

"Can I get anyone more coffee?" Niven asked.

Joan and Melanie raised their cups and Niven poured more coffee for them.

Cassie and Carmen didn't respond. They weren't paying attention to anyone else. They were continuing to go back and forth on the schedule. Cassie was insisting they start the process with Cassie's firm first. Carmen was entrenched on getting all of the legal hand offs completed first. Neither was interested in asking Adam or Dawson what they thought.

"Niven, where is Krantz?" Dawson asked.

"He's taking care of something," replied Niven as she checked the muffins and fruit.

Dawson thought Adam might react when he said Krantz's name. But Adam wasn't paying attention. He was looking at his coffee, still annoyed with his mother. Dawson slipped his hand across the table and took Adam's hand. Adam smiled as he looked down at their hands. Joan and Melanie began to get out of their seats.

"Let me know when that divorce lawyer gets here," Joan said, "I'll be on the terrace with Melanie.

The boys had forgotten about that. They looked at each other. Adam threw up his hands then leaned back in his chair in frustration. Joan and Melanie picked up their coffee cups. Melanie grabbed another muffin and Joan grabbed a banana as they passed by the service table. They left the dining room. Carmen and Cassie were continuing to argue, oblivious to what was going on.

Niven pursed her lips. She looked at the boys, then looked at Carmen and Cassie arguing. She looked back at the boys again. She pursed her lips and shook her head. She sighed and nodded to herself. She turned and left the dining room, heading into the hallway.

Adam was looking down at his coffee when it felt like someone nudged his foot. He looked up and saw Dawson tilt his head toward the doorway. Dawson mouthed, 'let's go'. Adam looked at Carmen and Cassie still arguing.

"We'll be right back," Dawson said as he stood up.

They didn't respond or even acknowledge the boys. Adam got up. The boys left the dining room.

"C'mon," Dawson said as he took Adam's hand and started down the hallway.

Dawson led them toward the stairs.

"Where are we going?" Adam said.

"Your granddad's office," Dawson said as he patted the hippo in his pocket, "I don't feel like myself anymore. I just want to get away for a few minutes so I can think."

They held hands as they made their way to the second floor. They turned toward the west wing and suddenly stopped. Niven was standing there in their path, with her hands on her hips and her lips pursed. They both looked at her in confusion.

"Where did you come from?" Adam said.

"I figured you might try to hide in the office," Niven said with a knowing look on her face.

"We weren't trying to hide," Dawson half-heartedly protested.

"Mmm-hmm," Niven sarcastically responded, "Come with me," Niven said in a pinched voice.

"Why?" Adam asked suspiciously.

"Where are we going?" Dawson said.

"To talk to Krantz," Niven said.

Adam let go of Dawson's hand.

"Krantz?" Adam said in an agitated state as his hands flew up, "Why should we talk to him?"

Niven's usually gruff face shifted. It took on an air of empathy and compassion, almost motherly. She sighed softly.

"Do you want to go back downstairs and deal with those people," Niven said as she pointed at the stairs, "or would you rather hear Krantz's plan?"

Adam was still angry at Krantz.

"I feel like we're being manipulated..." Adam said as he looked pleadingly for confirmation in Dawson's eyes.

Adam was still influenced by his mother's comments from the night before. Dawson reached out and took Adam's hands into his.

"No, babe. Down there is where we're being manipulated. I'm not saying they have bad intentions but look at what's happened to us. We haven't controlled anything that's going on. And I don't feel like I'm myself. Do you? Do you feel like yourself?" Dawson said gently as he softly rubbed his thumbs against Adam's hands.

Adam looked down at Dawson's hands holding his as he absorbed what he said. He gently shook his head.

"No," Adam said softly.

"Niven and Krantz are not manipulating us. They're giving us an opportunity. It's our choice. We can choose to listen to Krantz. We can hear Krantz out and then we decide what we do next," Dawson said.

Adam began to soften.

"We're in this together. I'm right here, by your side," Dawson said.

Dawson reached up and lifted Adam's chin. He kissed him softly. They looked at each other. Adam nodded.

"Ok," Adam whispered.

Dawson embraced Adam. He looked at Niven over Adam's shoulder and nodded at her. Niven put her hand out, indicating they should head toward the stairs. The boys held hands as she led them up to the third floor. Adam had been to the third floor a few times as a child but couldn't member the last time he was there. Dawson had never been to the third floor. They both looked at the barren hallway as Niven led them into the east wing.

Niven stopped in front of the door at the end of the hallway. She was about to knock when she stopped and turned toward the boys.

"You know, one thing I learned from your grandfather, when you have all the money, you can make all the rules," Niven said, "Keep that in mind."

The boys had confused looks on their faces. Niven knocked on the door. She then looked at the boys, nodded, and walked away down the hallway. The door opened. Krantz gestured for them to enter the room.

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The Inheritance Clause - 23

If you like this story, tell me: djwarner1984@hotmail.com And then donate to Nifty: https://donate.nifty.org/

-DJ