Chapter 57
CHAPTER
LAUREL BURKE PROVIDED RHETT AN alibi from ten o’clock at night to six in the morning, which was well within the forensic window of when his father pitched over the balcony to the stone pavers below.
And it only cost him another ten grand. And he had confirmed there were no cameras between his father’s estate and Burke’s home that could definitively prove otherwise.
Thank God I didn’t drive through the gate, so no one other than Mindy saw me.
“And maybe you can come by and take me out to some nice places,” Burke had told him.
“Maybe I can, yeah,” he’d told her with no intention of ever doing so.
Barton’s funeral had been attended by VIPs from all over the world, and Rhett had accepted condolences from people he barely knew.
The accolades bestowed upon his dead father by a litany of innocent-eyed celebrities, politicians paid off by Barton for decades to do his bidding, and fellow business titans who would have slit the dead man’s throat if they thought they could get away with it nearly made Rhett retch.
But now, with the grieving period over, he was headed to the lawyer’s office to see what his father’s will said and what his piece of the empire would be.
If you screwed me over, old man, I will dig you up and feed you to the coyotes.
Mindy would be there too. Angie, of course, would not be, and DeeDee was still in Paris and only cared about her outrageous bills being paid.
Rhett’s sister, Beth, was also not in the country currently.
She had told her brother to let her know the terms. Though she had felt no need to hurry back in the wake of her father’s death, she apparently was sure she would be taken care of.
You have more faith than I do, sis.
The law firm of Hobart, Selkirk and Robins, LLC was in a downtown office building not that far from Sybaritic Investments.
As Rhett walked in, he saw the fruits of client billings on the walls in the form of expensive artwork, and the luxurious finishes throughout the space.
He also knew there was a fitness center and on-site massage therapist. He’d also seen the expensive cars in the part of the garage reserved for the law firm.
Harvey Robins was his father’s lawyer, a bloated, pompous man of sixty-five, who drew most of his professional self-esteem as well as his wealth from having repped the late billionaire for nearly three decades.
Rhett and Mindy met in the anteroom of Robins’s office and were led to a private conference room adjacent to the lawyer’s corner office suite.
Robins also brought along a lovely young woman and introduced her as Lindsey Cole.
He proudly told them she was a second-year attorney who’d graduated from Stanford.
“Only the best and the brightest here,” he added.
They all sat at the table, and Robins conveyed to them in succinct sentences the last earthly wishes of Barton Temple and his billions.
At the end of it Rhett looked at Mindy and Mindy looked at Rhett. She was dressed as conservatively as she probably ever did, meaning her butt was fully covered, her cleavage was not visible, she wore nylons, and her heels were a mere three inches high and not open-toed.
Rhett said, “So Mindy gets a quarter of the estate outright despite her prenup, my sister gets fifteen percent, DeeDee gets fifteen percent, and Angie gets forty-five percent to be held in trust?”
“That is correct,” said Robins.
“And when Angie dies?”
“The residual goes to the Barton S. Temple Foundation to fund good works around the world.”
“Like what sort of good works?” asked Rhett.
“That will be up to the committee.”
“What committee?”
“The one appointed by your father’s executor,” answered Robins.
“Who is?”
“Me, actually.”
“And I get what exactly?” said Rhett.
Robins appeared to struggle to hold back his sneer. “Well, I’m no math whiz, but after those distributions your share would naturally be zero.”
“And his homes?”
“The main one goes to Mrs. Temple. The other homes are to be held in trust for the benefit of his daughters.”
“So no roof for me?” said Rhett.
Robins’s sneer deepened. “You have your penthouse, Mr. Temple. Our records show it is valued at fourteen million dollars. So you have a very nice roof indeed.”
Rhett’s fingers curled to fists and he cleared his throat. “And my position at Sybaritic?”
“In the will Walter Nash was designated to take over as CEO of Sybaritic, but that, of course, will not be possible now. As a backup your father named Elaine Fixx. His other companies will continue on with current management in place.”
“But Elaine Fixx is a junior exec with no experience at the CEO level.”
“Nevertheless, those were your father’s wishes,” said Robins, as though that would explain all.
Rhett looked at Mindy. “He was clearly screwing her, too.”
“Excuse me?” said Robins with an indignant harrumph added on.
Rhett looked at him. “I said he was screwing Elaine, too, Harv. She was apparently good in bed, so why not give her my job?”
“I have no knowledge of—”
“Yeah, just stop right there because you said all that needs to be said in the way of your knowledge or lack thereof,” snapped Rhett. He eyed Lindsey Cole, who looked enough like Margot Robbie to arouse Rhett’s baser instincts. She had managed a tiny smile at his retort to her boss.
Mindy said, “Well, if he was sleeping with her, she’s been handsomely paid for it.” She was obviously over the moon at her good fortune, since her side deal with Rhett was no longer needed.
“Any other questions?” asked Robins, who looked highly offended by Rhett’s comments and none too happy with Mindy’s words, either.
“Not unless you can find a few billion for me,” replied Rhett. He rose. “So when am I getting kicked out of my office?”
“Close of business today. The will is clear on that.”
“I’ll be sure to give Elaine the old Temple rah-rah speech and wish her luck.” Under his breath he said, “All bad.” He eyed the young lawyer. “You have a card, Ms. Cole?”
She hesitated, glanced at Robins, but then handed him one.
“I’ll be in touch,” he said. He turned to Robins.
“I guess I’ll have to make do with my personal fortune and my locked-in percentage of the firm’s ownership and profits, which is, thankfully, beyond the reach of my old man.
So I’m going to leave here and have my own little party since the asshole’s no longer around to jack me just because he wants to. ”
“Sir, really,” exclaimed Robins.
“Oh, and just FYI, I will be advising Elaine Fixx and the CEOs at all my father’s other companies to drop your firm as corporate counsel. I’m tired of overpaying for below-par performance.”
Robins looked like he had bitten his tongue off. “Mr. Temple, I can assure you—”
“Oh you have, Harv, you’ve assured me so much it’s taking all my willpower not to beat your fucking face in.” He stalked out.
“Wait!” exclaimed Robins. “We’re not done!”
But Rhett was already gone.
Mindy looked at Robins and Cole, and smiled. “I miss Barton so very dearly, but it’s so heartening to know that he thought so much of me as to make sure I was taken care of after his tragic passing.” She produced a tissue and rubbed her eyes with it.
“Um, there is one more thing, Mrs. Temple, as I just indicated,” said Robins in a delicate tone.
Mindy said eagerly, “Yes? Did he leave me something else? I am partial to the Gulfstream jet. It’s so roomy.”
“Actually, the entire distribution to you is premised on your being pregnant with Mr. Temple’s child. Naturally, you will have to be tested for this.”
Mindy’s smile dimmed. “And if I’m not?”
“Then your prenup will kick in.”
“But that only provides for twenty million.”
“Only twenty million?” said a wide-eyed Cole.
“What happens to the money if I’m not pregnant?” asked Mindy, ignoring the other woman’s comment.
Robins said indignantly, “I’m afraid your share then goes to Rhett along with the house and the Gulfstream. I would have told him so if he hadn’t… if he hadn’t walked out… prematurely.”
“Are you pregnant?” asked Cole.
Mindy swiveled her gaze to the woman. “Yes I am, actually.”
“I’m sorry I have to ask this, but is the child Mr. Temple’s?” said Robins.
“Yes, it most certainly is,” answered Mindy quite truthfully.