Bloodcurse

Preparation

"See, you need to multiply it with the reciprocal value, and then you can convert it to decimals."

I stare at Adam, who is engrossed with my mathematics textbooks at the moment. "Why would I do that?"

Adam frowns at me. "Because you're supposed to. Are you even reading the problem definitions?"

"How am I supposed to do that when you're hogging my books?"

"Did you want my help or not?"

Blowing out a long breath, I scoot closer to Adam to see what he's doing. He's filled the entire sheet of paper in front of him with equations, formulas, sketches of geometric shapes... and I'm bitterly reminded that he's the smart one.

"It's literally been ten years since you've done any of this, how are you still good at math?"

Adam playfully spins the pen in his hand as he glances up at me with a smile. "I used to love maths. Wanted to study it after high-school, actually."

"Then why didn't you? I thought Dad offered you to go back to school?"

My brother sighs. "Yes, but he wanted me to go to college in Sacramento, and I wanted to go to Cambridge. We couldn't agree on it, so in the end I just took the job he offered me."

"Why Sacramento?"

"If I only knew," Adam says with a shake of his head. "He was adamant, though, it had to be Sacramento State."

"Okay, but then why didn't you go to Cambridge, anyway? It's not like he could have forced you."

Adam smiles, but he doesn't look particularly happy. "I wasn't as good at controlling my thirst as you are. To be honest, I was horrible. I heavily relied on Dad's help to just... get through the day. I couldn't leave him, and he wouldn't go to Massachusetts. That's all there is to it."

My mouth twists in annoyance. "What do you mean 'that's all there is to it'? You're so talented, Adam. Edward should have supported your decision."

"He must have had a good reason not to," Adam sighs, flipping to the next page in the textbook. "Besides, I like my job, even if it's far from anything that involves mathematics."

Sensing that this may be the perfect opportunity to ask more about his work, I decide to subtly nudge Adam away from his focus on my schoolwork. "What do you like about it?"

Adam shrugs. "I like the interpersonal challenges. I talk to a lot of people who would rather sit on their wealth like a dragon than invest it, so I take them out to dinner, drinks, I show them around our headquarters and flatter them enough to give up some of their money. I'm basically a salesman."

"Wow... so, what exactly do you sell?"

"Mostly ideas," Adam says with a small smirk. "Edward buys run-down buildings or plots of land and turns them into offices, apartments, hotels... I present those plans to people who are interested in buying high-profile real estate. I show them the plots, the blueprints, I paint a picture of the commercial opportunities, and I make it sound like not closing the deal would be their personal financial ruin."

"So, you're... a realtor?"

"Intermediary," Adam corrects me with a meaningful inclination of his head. "I don't gush about natural lighting and kitchens."

"Gotcha," I reply through a chuckle. "Edward's in real estate development, then?"

"Hey, you're not nearly as stupid as you pretend to be when I'm trying to teach you calculus."