'Hello, Conrad? Conrad Greene?' said a voice.
'Uh, yeah,' I said, clearing my throat. 'Who's this?'
'My name is Rex Richardson, I'm an attorney representing the estate of your mother's uncle, Patrick Strange. I'm sorry to have to inform you that Mr Strange passed away two days ago.'
'Oh. Um – jeez.' I'd never met my Great-Uncle Patrick; Mom had hardly ever mentioned him, they didn't keep in touch. All I knew was that he was my grandma's younger brother. 'That's too bad. Um, my parents actually aren't here right now –'
'Yes, I know, I telephoned their last known address in Manaus, but the hostelkeeper said they'd left two months ago to go into the jungle. Or possibly the hardware store, my Portuguese is a little rusty. Anyway, it's not actually regarding them that I'm telephoning you. Your uncle, as you may know, died without issue, and his will clearly states that all his money and possessions should go to his closest male blood relative. Somewhat old-fashioned, but it's quite legal. And that relative is you.'
I sat there, dumbfounded. Why would my estranged uncle leave me all his stuff? There must be some sort of catch. Maybe it was some crusty old apartment full of junk I'd have to sort through. 'Possessions – so, like, what sort of thing?'
'Well, there are a number of items here,' said the lawyer, and I heard papers ruffling. Of course, here came the list of random crap. 'Chief among them, naturally, is the house in Colorado.'
My jaw dropped. 'A house? You mean – I own a house?'
'Quite a large one. And that's not including the penthouse apartment in New York City and the villa in the south of France. There are of course a number of stocks and other business interests, and monetary worth of around one billion dollars.'
Rex kept talking, but there was a ringing in my ears. One billion dollars. One billion DOLLARS. One BILLION dollars. One BILLION DOLLARS??
By the time I had got over my minor seizure, Rex was saying, '... and other industries. Now, since you are the sole beneficiary, it's important we establish what you want to do with the money as soon as possible. Do you think you could fly out to Colorado?'
'Uh – yeah,' I said. 'Yeah, I can do that.'
'Excellent. I'm afraid your private jet is currently undergoing maintenance, but I'll have my secretary charter a plane for you to leave early this evening. You may bring anyone you like, of course; the house has eighteen bedrooms and an extensive domestic staff. I'll see you tomorrow morning.'
Rex hung up, and I was left sitting on the edge of the bed in my boxer shorts, Hesper's newest billionaire. But I had to get ready to go to Colorado! Rex had said I could have any guests I wanted. Who was I going to take with me?
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