Chapter Three #2
"I don't mean to disparage Dorothy, but this plan is crazy. And you two." He turned and pointed directly at the two men on the other side of the table. "You two went along with this knowing how much was in the account."
"We did what our client asked us to do," George said. "And to be fair, I didn't know how much was in the account. That was all on Charles and whatever agreement he had with Dorothy."
Chase slouched back in his chair. "Whatever."
"Now, as I was saying, there is a plan in place for how you should spend the money in order to get your inheritance."
Charles pulled out a credit card from the envelope in front of him and handed it to Emma. He explained that it worked just like any other credit card. All she had to do was charge something to it, and it would show up on the account, which was being monitored by Charles.
"You guys really thought this out," Chase said sarcastically.
"It's our job," George said.
Chase huffed. "I've seen bankrupt actors with less restrictions over their money than this."
"This is what Dorothy wanted," Charles replied.
"You mentioned that already," Emma said.
Her dour attitude didn't make an impression on Charles, who continued to plow through the instructions.
They were all typed out on some page in front of him, and he told Emma that he would give the printout to her as well.
That was good considering she was sure she wouldn't remember much of this once she walked out the door of the law firm.
Then George pressed a button on the phone and a buzzing sound came through the speaker.
"Yes?"
"Rebecca, can you come in and make copies of some documents for me?"
"Sure thing!"
Rebecca sounded way too perky for the current situation in this conference room. Emma really didn't like anyone in this office right now. No one. She watched as the assistant came waltzing in with her perky glow, took a few instructions from George, and waltzed out.
And then it was quiet as it started to sink in that her grandmother had really done this thing with her will. She was really going to make Emma spend money on a stranger who also happened to be a movie star.
"Do you have any questions?" George finally asked her.
"Actually, I do," Chase said. "So how exactly is this supposed to work?"
"Emma puts any purchases on the credit card and then it's deducted from the total," Charles said. "If she uses cash, she has to email me a copy of the receipt, and I'll deduct it from the total."
"Yeah, but how do you know it's been spent on me?"
Emma glared at him. "You seem very obsessed with me spending this money on you."
"I just want you to get your inheritance," he said with a shrug.
Rebecca came in with copies of papers and some extra manila envelopes. George started passing all of them around with instructions. There were official copies of the will.
"Chase, make sure you give that to your lawyer."
Right. Chase was a movie star with an actual lawyer while Emma was sitting here having to rely on the lawyer who let Nana talk him into this ridiculous nonsense.
There were a few more official-looking things and more instructions.
Charles dropped a whole packet of papers into the manila envelope meant for her.
It was probably some more spreadsheets that she didn't understand.
She was going to have to look them over and figure them out pretty quickly for when she would inherit this money.
If she were to inherit this money. There was still that pesky spending spree to get through with Chase Warwick.
"Oh, Chase. We have your agent's number, but they said you changed your personal phone number."
"Yeah, some fans got it and passed it around the internet again."
George just turned back to the page as if this was a normal excuse he had heard before. "Can you give it to us so we can contact you?"
Chase pulled out his phone and started pressing buttons until he found what he was looking for. Then he started rattling off some phone number that George and Charles were quickly writing down. Emma just froze. Crap, she was probably supposed to be doing that too.
Chase noticed and gave her a small smile before reaching across the table for a pen, and she watched as he took the list of numbers meant for her, casually wrote his number down on it, and slid it into the manila envelope with her name on it.
"Well, then." George smiled and stood up from the table. "That's all we need from you for now. You have the credit card in your folder along with the other documents."
Emma slowly grabbed the folder and double checked the inside. Yep, the credit card. She was really going to need that.
She stood up and had to quickly grab the edge of the table, not realizing how hard it would be for her to stand on her legs after that whole shocking meeting.
"I guess I'll be in touch," Charles said. "Is Friday morning a good time to check in?"
Emma just waved a hand in the air. "Sure, I guess."
She turned to see Chase standing right next to her now, ready to usher her out of the room. She was at least thankful for that. The sooner she got out of here, the better.
"Gentlemen." He nodded towards the two old guys that had pissed her off for the past... half hour? Hour? She had no idea how long it had taken by now. She just wanted to get out.
She could feel Chase's hand land on the small of her back to gently usher her out of the office towards the elevators.
She wasn't sure what happened after that.
She knew he pressed the button. She knew she was walking next to him.
But her brain was just so overloaded that she was still having trouble processing all of it.
Everything had happened so fast. Nana had a cold a few months ago, and then it wasn't a cold, and then she was gone. And now Emma was left picking up whatever pieces she could pick up from a lawyer's office in Torrance.
The sun was bright and glaring as she and Chase walked out of the building, dragging her back into the harsh reality of what Emma had to face. Her grandmother was gone. Emma's dad was about to sell Nana's home. Money had to be spent.
And Chase Warwick wouldn't leave her alone.
"Is there a reason you're still standing here?" she snapped at him.
"Uh, I just wanted to walk you to your car and make sure you were OK."
She took a deep breath. "I'm fine," she huffed.
They walked past a few more cars in the parking lot until they reached an expensive-looking black BMW that she assumed belonged to Chase.
"So I think I have your number in my folder, but it would probably be good to get it from you again just in case." He pulled out a sleek new phone with one of those fancy expensive phone cases. "OK, ready when you are."
She rattled off her digits and waited until she heard her distinctive ringtone in her pocket. Chase smiled as he pressed some buttons on his phone.
"OK, I'm saving your number, and the fact that you have the Knight Rider theme song as your ring tone will be our secret."
Emma rolled her eyes. "It's not a secret. Everyone knows I have it."
"Really?" Chase said with a questioning eyebrow raised. "You're a big Knight Rider fan?"
She took a deep breath. There were moments like this that would sneak up on her at the worst times in the past month, and she would have to swallow down whatever emotions were trying to escape. Again.
"Nana was a big Knight Rider fan," she said quietly. "If it was from the nineteen-eighties, she liked it."
"I remember."
Emma looked up to see Chase staring down at her with.
.. what? Sympathy? Pity? It was disconcerting whatever it was.
She hated seeing this kind of reaction from people whenever she told them Nana had passed away.
It just made things worse. But with Chase?
It felt comforting. He remembered what she liked, because that included him.
And while that should've made him sound more self-centered, the way he said it to her was just different.
She couldn't put her finger on it, but she also didn't want to linger on it.
"Uh, yeah. So I should probably let you go."
"I can stay," he quickly replied. "I think I saw a coffee shop a block away if you wanted to get a drink. Your treat."
That movie star smile was back, but it just wasn't enough for her right now. "I just want to go for a walk and get some fresh air."
"Well, uh, let's talk soon and come up with a plan to spend lots of money. Maybe dinner this week?"
"Yeah, sure."
He reached out and grabbed her hand, his palm warming her entire body in a way that she didn't expect. "I'm really sorry about your grandmother, and I promise I will do what I can to get you this money."
Emma swallowed down the lump in her throat and nodded. She couldn't say anything because that would only make her cry, and she didn't want him to see her cry.
So instead, she gave his hand a small squeeze, slipped out of his grasp, and left him standing in the parking lot alone.