Customer Satisfaction [COMPLETE]

L. M. Greymark

"Odd hanging back out here again, isn't it?"

Kate glanced at Mark from her perch near the window, letting out a grunt of agreement, shooting her surroundings a barely cursory look. She was back in her old bedroom in her adoptive father's chateau style home where she had taken refuge for the past two days to stew in fury. She couldn't even stand to look at Luke after what he had done, and the idea of running into him following the deception was intolerable.

Once she felt like she could return and act around him as if his revelation hadn't made something inside her die, she would. But for now, she stayed in her father's house, licking her wounds, under the guise of helping him redecorate the house. It was good for her to have a project to concentrate on, or she was afraid she would march straight to Luke and proceed to--to--

"Hey, our old video games!" Mark said, having idly opened a compartment under her old television trolley, "Do you want to try these?"

Jess had an evening classes nowadays, so Kate and Mark hung out often enough, but for the first time since their friendship, she found herself unable to tell him what was going on with her. Funnily enough, her brother and Luke were one subject she had never broached with her best friend.

Without waiting for her consent, Mark set about hooking the video game to the television to see if it worked, and she returned to the novel she was pretending to read, while flashes of what had happened two days ago appeared vividly in her mind, the way they had been torturing her since.

"I'm Greymark." Luke had said, with all the delicacy of a bull, staring hard into her eyes with grim determination.

She had stared blankly at him for a few moments, and then had reared back in offense. Her response had been an icy, "Oh, very funny."

But unfortunately, Luke wasn't joking around. "It's true."

She had laughed then, disbelieved and a little annoyed, "Oh, come on, Luke. You won't keep me from him this easily. I know you since childhood. You're Luke. Luke Marshal."

"Yes, that is the name I was born with. But now, I'm Luke Marshal Greymark." he looked at her for a damning second, before enunciating clearly, "L...M...Greymark."

Still not quite believing him, she had let out a scoff. Him making such a successful life for himself was impressive enough--but for him to have built an empire? It was unbelievable! This kind of stuff only happened in movies. She had been around enough rich people to know the generations of effort it took in most cases, combined with luck, to create one rich generation. For it to happen at the hands of a single man would have taken fantastical luck and innovation and would have certainly put his face in the news. It would be just...too much...

Taking advantage of her sputtering silence, he had continued softly, "My father...Henry Greymark. I believe I told you he found me...and that he owned several businesses?"

She had forgotten that. She reeled. "Did you inherit..."

"I inherited the hotel from him, yes." Luke nodded, sitting back, is gaze  contemplative, "But at the time it was running a loss. I doubt he would have left such an affluent business to a child he never knew. However, he cared enough to leave me a crumbling investment that he probably expected I would sell to create a comfortable living for myself. I did consider doing so at first...but I decided against it."

She had stared at him, uncomprehending.

"I worked hard...and poured in money. Money from your brother." Luke explained, "Will came into his inheritance, just as you did, I'm sure. You're aware its a considerable amount. He let me have full control over it, the idiot. I could have run us both to the ground."