The Royal Contract

Several minutes later, he was knocking on his door. He knew he was home because he had asked one of his men to check on his schedule. His man informed him that his brother was not on duty today.

Knowing his brother, he probably was still sleeping or just sulking in his apartment. His men had reported before that he rarely went out, not even with the other hospital staff.

"Jacob, open the door." He demanded when no one responded on his first knock.

He had Jacob surveillance when he decided to move to this city. He was doubtful of his intention and would like to check if he had other ulterior motives. 

So far, he concluded that he was just interested in the work offered to him. He had called off his investigation afterward. His brother was a harmless being who could not even hurt a fly.

"Jacob, are you in there?" He shouted when his brother had failed to react to his second knock. 

He suddenly wondered if he was home or had gone out to do some errand. He might have done some grocery shopping. A man had to eat sometime, he thought. It was what his brother did in his free time, as far as he knew.

Although he had not been in one, having people to do it for him. He never liked doing mundane things. It was just a waste of his time when he could be more productive doing other things.

He was about to bang on the hardwood again when he finally heard a movement and a few seconds later, the knob rattled and unlocked. Then, the door was flung open, and his brother stood with just his towel covering his lower body.

"Hey, Nick." Jacob greeted, quite surprised to see his brother standing outside his door. "Sorry, I was in the shower," Jacob immediately added as he held the towel on his waist. 

He had rushed out of the bathroom to check on the loud noise coming from his living room, with his hair still dripping with water on the floor.

He was not expecting any company since not many came to visit him anyway. He also had no deliveries scheduled today. Then, he thought his brother was still on his trip.

"Hey, brother," Nick replied, seeing his brother for the first time without his clothes.

He had never noticed that his brother had been working out. He still remembered him as the skinny nerd who had his face always buried in those thick books.

He was glad that he became a responsible doctor rather than a pain in his ass. He was not proud of him. That was not it. But he just did not like the complication of having a troublesome brother to deal with.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, slightly surprised, since he usually called before dropping by. He was not the kind of brother who just liked to hang out with him.

Besides, he thought that he was still out of town. Actually, he had never heard from him since he had left. So, he was not expecting his unannounced visit.

"Do I need a reason to visit my brother?" He asked as he strode into the room without waiting for his invitation. 

As always, he had never liked the place that his brother called home. He could not understand why he would prefer to live in this death trap compared to the apartment he offered.

Anyways, it was none of his business how he had lived his life as long as it did not affect his own. But as of now, he had to make sure that he did not do anything stupid that would ruin him and his business.

"Of course, you are always welcome to visit." He answered, not wanting to offend him. Not that he owed him anything, but he was still family. "But will you excuse while I change?" 

He was still only wearing a towel around his torso, and he was not comfortable standing in front of his brother in just a piece of cloth.

He quickly wore a shirt, jeans, and comfortable sneakers before returning to the living room. He was curious and wary at the same time about the reason for his brother's presence in his living room.

"I was thinking of inviting you to dinner. It had been a while since we went out together." Nick offered when he returned and sat on the opposite chair in his living room.

He was not inviting him to bond with his bastard brother. He just wanted to make sure that he would not be crazy enough to sell his shares in the company.

He knew his brother never wanted anything to do with his inheritance. He feared that Jacob would suddenly sell his shares then donate everything to charity. His brother had always been a good samaritan, helping the sick and the needy.

Only if he had been crafty and cunning just like him, he might have liked Jacob for a brother. But he had to turn out like her mother, raised like a saint.

"But I can not have dinner with you tonight." He answered.

He sat on the opposite chair and quickly thought of a possible reason why he was not available. 

He was, in fact, in a hurry because he was about to go out with Cassie. She wanted to go out again after their successful trip out the other day. He did not want to, but she threatened to do it alone.

"Why not? Are you going on a date? Do I know her?" He fired some questions. It was the only logical explanation why he was not available. He believed he was not on duty today.

He was suddenly curious about the type of girl his brother would be dating. He had tried to give him a date with some of the eligible girls in the high society, but he always declined. He almost thought that he might be gay. 

He always made his profession as an excuse. Due to his lack of time for his personal life and devotion to advancing his career, his brother could not consider dating.

"No, I am not dating. I just had a call from the hospital. We have an emergency case." He quickly came up with a valid reason, although he sounded a bit defensive.

He had used that excuse several times before. So his brother should not suspect that he was lying. He just hoped Nick did not notice that he was slightly nervous.

"Ok. I don't think I can convince you to ditch your emergency case for me." He concluded, knowing how devoted he was to his patients. 

"Anyway, just in case, someone tried to approach you with a proposal about your shares to the company. I hope you will consult me first before making any kind of deal." He quickly added, looking his brother in the eyes to make his point across.

"Of course. As I said to you before, I will let you handle my shares until I know what I want to do with them." Jacob was not the least bit interested in them. 

But it was the only connection he had with his family.. Call him a sentimental fool, but it was the only thing that indicated that his father did love him at some point.